ISLAMABAD: UAE financial services firm LuLu Exchange has partnered with Pakistan-founded fintech ABHI to provide instant earned-wage access and faster cross-border remittances for migrant workers in the UAE, the companies said on Thursday.

The agreement aims to allow workers to withdraw a portion of their already-earned salaries at any time of the month and immediately transfer money to their families overseas, instead of waiting for monthly payroll cycles. The UAE hosts more than eight million expatriate workers, largely from South Asia, who depend heavily on remittances to support households back home.

Announcing the partnership, LuLu Exchange said it would combine its remittance network with ABHI’s digital platform to help low-income workers manage liquidity and avoid delays that often push migrant laborers into informal borrowing.

“At Lulu Exchange, we believe that timely access to earnings is a fundamental need and this collaboration enables workers to support their families with greater control and confidence,” Thampi Sudarsanan, CEO of LuLu Exchange UAE, said in a statement.

“Partnering with ABHI allows us to take a decisive step toward reshaping financial access for the UAE’s workforce. We are creating a powerful ecosystem that places customer empowerment at its core by merging ABHI’s innovative EWA technology with our trusted remittance network.”

Earned Wage Access, or EWA, is an increasingly common fintech model that allows employees to receive part of their accumulated wages ahead of payday. Gulf governments have been encouraging regulated digital-payments systems to improve workers’ financial stability and reduce dependence on high-cost loans.

Omair Ansari, co-founder and CEO of ABHI Middle East Limited, said the partnership would help migrant workers send money home with fewer financial strains.

“Partnering with LuLu Exchange, a trusted name synonymous with excellence and accessibility in financial services, allows us to enable workers to gain control over their earnings and support their families back home without financial strain,” he said. 

“By integrating ABHI’s technology with LuLu’s deep market expertise, this collaboration represents a step forward in advancing financial inclusion and delivering true economic empowerment.”

ABHI, founded in Pakistan in 2021, has expanded to the UAE and Saudi Arabia and now serves more than one million users and 5,000 businesses across the region. The company says it has processed more than $500 million in transactions to date.

LuLu Exchange is part of LuLu Financial Holdings, one of the Gulf’s largest remittance and foreign-exchange operators, serving millions of expatriate workers in the UAE and the wider Middle East.

The companies said their partnership is intended to make financial access more secure and predictable for migrant communities that form the backbone of the UAE’s labor force.