Edenred Fortifies UAE Position With Mint Payroll Cards Acquisition

Edenred is acquiring Mint’s payroll card portfolio to bolster its leadership in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Edenred announced Thursday (Jan. 9).

Mint is the second-largest company handling pay distribution and management for under- or unbanked UAE workers. Over 1 million people currently use Edenred’s C3 solution and its myC3card mobile application.

The 600,000 people using Mint payroll cards will now be able to tap a full suite of new services with the C3 card and app.

The acquisition gives Edenred a presence in Abu Dhabi, which Mint primarily services. Edenred’s operations focused mainly on Dubai.

Arnaud Erulin, chief operating officer, Edenred Europe, Middle East and Africa, said Edenred is “improving the daily lives” of UAE residents that are under- and unbanked with its mobile app “that each year adds new functionalities to closely match their needs.”

He added that Edenred’s “commercial and technological know-how” serves in excess of 1 million workers “up from 400,000 five years ago” and now adds nearly 600,000 Mint cardholders.

Almost 60 percent of the UAE workforce doesn’t participate in the country’s financial system. Edenred’s solution brings monetary inclusion while offering companies traceable wages, a requirement of local laws.

Edenred’s C3 digital service offers a safe, stable digital gateway that makes it easy for companies to administer employee payroll — for all or some of their workforce. This can be especially useful in fields like construction that require a big labor pool.

The C3 card is also an assurance for employees that they will get paid on a regular basis. In addition, they take cash out at ATMs and make both physical and digital payments. The app offers a portfolio of services, including rate-friendly cross-border money transfers and real-time customer service to discuss their transactions and balance.

In May, Edenred partnered with Mastercard to launch a biometric card technology test in Mexico. Credit card issuers can use the biometric match data to boost approval rates and reduce the potential for card-present fraud.