By Staff Reporter
Abu Dhabi: The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has instructed banks to abolish the long-standing minimum salary requirement for obtaining personal loans, a threshold that had typically been set at Dh5,000 across most banks for many years.
Under the new directive, each bank will determine its own salary criteria according to internal policies, allowing low-income earners greater access to financial services, including “cash on demand”.
The change will enable all residents — particularly young people, low-wage earners, and labourers — to open bank accounts in the UAE. These accounts will be linked to the Central Bank’s Wage Protection System (WPS), allowing banks to automatically deduct instalments from the salaries of blue-collar workers and other low-income borrowers as soon as their monthly wages are transferred.
The initiative is part of a broader push to expand financial inclusion nationwide and ensure that everyone in the UAE has access to safe, regulated banking services.
