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.
This pivotal change is designed to radically expand financial inclusion across the nation. Instead of a mandated central figure, the CBUAE has now empowered each individual bank to determine its own eligibility criteria and salary thresholds based on its internal lending policies. This means banks now have the flexibility to create products tailored to a wider range of customers.
This crucial policy adjustment provides low-income earners, blue-collar workers, and younger residents with unprecedented access to regulated financial services. The inability to meet the high salary minimum previously acted as a massive barrier to formal banking.
By removing this hurdle, the directive enables virtually all UAE residents, regardless of their income level, to open bank accounts and access basic services, including small-scale personal loans or “cash on demand.” The CBUAE’s primary goal is to ensure that everyone in the UAE has access to safe, regulated banking, fostering a more equitable and inclusive economy.
