AFS and ZENJEX partner to boost payments offering to Bahrain’s unbanked

By Leandra Monteiro

Arab Financial Services (AFS) has signed an agreement with Zenj Exchange (ZENJEX), that will enhance AFS’s Wage Protection Scheme (WPS) with a range of value-added payment services. These services include fast secure, and efficient global money remittances and cash-out transactions from any ZENJEX branches.

AFS’s WPS solution is the Kingdom of Bahrain’s first digital payroll solution, serving the unbanked community. It is a convenient and simple wage protection system that enables employers to pay wages digitally to those of their employees who do not have a bank account.

Samer Soliman, Chief Executive Officer, AFS commented, “As the leading digital payment solutions provider and fintech enabler in the Middle East and Africa, AFS’s partnership with ZENJEX is enriching our WPS offering. We are pleased to be extending our WPS services to a larger audience with this partnership with Zenj Exchange. We always partner with strong players in the market to deliver value-added services and attractive, relevant digital payments products that accelerate financial inclusion. I am pleased to partner with Zenj Exchange for this goal.”

The AFS WPS solution is available to all employers, regardless of their workforce size. The service allows employers to securely upload wages and benefits onto payroll cards through an online portal that is configured with their own payroll system. Cardholders can withdraw funds at any ATM, transfer funds globally and can use Point of Sale (POS) terminals locally or abroad. Cardholders can also access financial services including statements, interactive dashboards, 24/7 customer care and multi-lingual customer support.

Fatima Hamad Abul, Zenj Exchange, Managing Director said, ‘With over 40 years of service to the expat community in Bahrain and a keen determination towards digital transformation while leveraging our strong platform and history of service across markets, we are very proud to partner with AFS a leader in payment solutions to expand our offering to include Wage Protection Services (WPS) a strategic national project.  We look forward to maximising synergies between the two organisations towards our common goal of product and service excellence.