Underbanked employees and gig workers will be able to instantly access their wages in advance through “Khazna Card,” a Meeza prepaid card launched under a partnership between fintech startup Khazna, banking partner Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) and Masria Digital Payments in a bid to extend Khazna’s financial services to underserved sectors, the startup said in a statement (pdf). This comes after Khazna and ADIB got the Central Bank of Egypt’s approval for the co-branded card.

The new card gives Khazna’s users 24/7 instant access to their earned wages in advance upon submitting a request through the Khazna app, a team member at Khazna told Enterprise.The card and app aim to provide a solution to short term liquidity gaps faced by employees between paychecks by allowing them to access their salary at any point during the month. The app already provides other services including the payments of bills and the purchase of electronics and household products, and thus reduces paper transactions.

Employees of several bold-name corporations will be eligible for the cards: Khazna will provide the offering initially to the employees, contractors and customers of its partners, including Hassan Allam Holding, Orascom Construction and Integrated Diagnostics Holding, among a host of others.

Founded in April 2019, Khazna provides online financial services to Egyptians who don’t have a bank account through its salary advance app. The Cairo-based startup aims to increase their paper money advance service to cover 20 mn Egyptians with limited credit access. In March 2020, Khazna landed an undisclosed amount of seed funding from a group of investors led by Algebra Ventures, before Disruptech, a USD 25 mn fintech fund, made its a six-figure USD investment in both Khazna and Brimore.