Consumers who rely on micro-loans in the UAE will now find those obligations reflected in their official credit records, a shift that gives banks and licensed lenders visibility into a form of borrowing that had previously sat outside the formal system.
Etihad Credit Bureau confirmed the development on Tuesday, pointing to account data from micro-loan services including CashNow, which is submitted by Botim Finance, the firm formerly known as Quantix. The information now sits within the national credit reporting framework alongside other categories of consumer debt.
Repayment conduct on these products carries weight for account holders. Dr Tariq BinHendi, who serves as CEO of Botim as well as CEO and Board Member of Astra Tech, said that CashNow users who pay on schedule can see that behavior recorded in their credit history, gradually reinforcing their standing with lenders. He framed the wider purpose beyond risk screening alone: “Credit reporting and scoring are not only tools for assessing risk; they also create a pathway to financial participation,” he said.
According to BinHendi, the volume already moving through the system is substantial. Botim Finance has passed micro-loan records tied to over a million CashNow customer profiles to the bureau since the second quarter of 2025.
The practical effect for lenders is a wider window into what a borrower already owes. With micro-loan commitments and payment patterns now available to participating institutions and other authorized bodies, credit assessments and risk management can draw on a fuller picture of an applicant’s obligations.
Brian Gambin, Director of Partnerships at Etihad Credit Bureau, tied the step to a shifting borrowing environment. “The UAE’s financial landscape continues to evolve, with consumers accessing credit through an increasingly diverse range of products and digital channels,” he said, adding: “Following our recent inclusion of Buy Now, Pay Later data, the commencement of micro-loans data submissions such as ‘CashNow’ from Botim Finance marks another important step in broadening the information captured within UAE credit reports.”
The addition extends a pattern set earlier when Buy Now, Pay Later arrangements and other short-term credit products were folded into credit reports, drawing another fast-growing strand of digital consumer lending into regulated territory. The change reaches current and incoming CashNow customers alike and carries relevant past account records with it.
Support for the move also came from the banking side. Reem Bank CEO Sara Al Binali said bringing financing arrangements and repayment records into the formal system helps consumers establish their credit histories while equipping lenders to reach sounder decisions.
Account holders wanting to verify how these commitments appear can do so themselves. The Etihad Credit Bureau app displays both BNPL and short-term loan account details, and users can generate a PDF copy of their full report to review how each borrowing line registers against their profile.
The bureau, owned entirely by the UAE federal government, describes this as part of a continuing effort to widen the data it captures as new lending formats take hold, working alongside financial institutions, licensed lenders, and other data providers to gather that information.
