Botim becomes the first fintech to issue a card on Jaywan in the UAE

Botim has become the first fintech to issue a card on Jaywan. The Abu Dhabi-based platform launched the Botim One Jaywan Prepaid Card in late October 2026, giving workers who receive salaries through its Wages Protection System solution a prepaid card on the UAE’s national card network. The initial rollout is expected to reach more than 200,000 workers through Botim’s corporate payroll relationships and partnerships with exchange houses. Botim aims to expand the card to up to 4 million workers across the UAE as adoption grows. The company has more than 8.5 million users in the UAE, of whom about 65 per cent are blue-collar workers and 31 per cent work in grey-collar roles. Jaywan is operated by Al Etihad Payments, a subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE. Domestic transactions are processed inside the country. The prepaid card has no minimum salary or minimum balance requirement and supports multilingual digital onboarding. Cardholders can also access Botim’s wider services, including international money transfers to more than 170 destinations, dining and lifestyle offers across more than 125 outlets, and fractional gold and silver investments starting from AED 10. Botim is accredited by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization to provide Wages Protection System services. The card links digital salary payments with everyday spending at point-of-sale terminals and online. Botim has not published the number of cards already issued, the fee structure, or the commercial terms agreed with Al Etihad Payments. Those details would show the starting economics. For workers the practical change is a prepaid card that sits on the national network and connects to existing payroll flows. The value depends on whether the card is accepted at enough merchants, whether fees stay low, and whether usage moves beyond the initial payroll channel. The launch is framed as expanding access and does not include any announced capital commitment or external investment. Other banks have already issued Jaywan cards. Botim is the first fintech to do so. The company has not published a comparison of its card with bank-issued Jaywan products or the share of its user base that will receive the card in the first phase. It has not published the technical integration timeline with Al Etihad Payments or any exclusivity terms. The announcement does not list the specific interchange rates or the percentage of transactions expected to stay domestic. Those figures would show the cost advantage. Without them the card remains a distribution channel description rather than a fully costed payments product. Jaywan was launched in 2024 and is accepted at more than 90 per cent of point-of-sale terminals in the UAE. If Botim publish the number of cards issued, transaction volumes and any fee changes within the next six months, the launch has a measurable follow-through. If the next update is only a restatement of the ambition to reach 4 million workers, the change for the market remains the same as the initial announcement. The figures missing are issued cards and fees. The card is one element in Botim’s wider payroll and financial services offering. Companies outside the initial payroll channel can still access the card through the exchange house partnerships. The platform also offers credit products for eligible customers. Botim describes itself as an AI-native platform delivering inclusive financial solutions. The company has not disclosed the exact launch date beyond late October 2026 or the first employer names participating in the rollout. Mono-badged Jaywan cards can be used in the UAE and GCC countries. Co-badged versions exist with international networks. The card supports both in-store and online purchases. No minimum balance is required.