Alfii partners with Al Fardan Exchange UAE to bring end-to-end payroll solution to the region

DUBAI, UAE - JUNE 1, 2023: Alfii, a UAE-based HR tech startup, has announced a strategic partnership with Al Fardan Exchange UAE, the leading money transfer and currency exchange firm in the UAE. The two companies have signed a cooperation agreement under which alfii's cloud-based HR software will utilize Al Fardan Exchange’s market-leading payment-platforms to provide a seamless, end-to-end payroll solution for alfii customers. 

The agreement—which was signed by Yousef Albarqawi, Co-founder and CEO of alfii, and Hasan Jaber, Deputy CEO of Al Fardan Exchange—marks a significant milestone in alfii’s journey to build the region’s most comprehensive, fintech-powered HR platform. By connecting clients with an easier way to serve both banked and unbanked employees, this cooperation also marks a step towards greater financial inclusion.
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“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Al Fardan Exchange. This enables alfii to become the region’s first mover in offering end-to-end payroll solutions within a single platform,” said Yousef Albarqawi. “By integrating real-time payment processing into our interface, we’re bringing our customers a powerful HR solution that streamlines an otherwise cumbersome process, while providing the accuracy and security that comes with a reputable and well-established financial institution. This offering is unlike any other solution in the market.”

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Hasan Fardan added, “we look forward to working closely with alfii to deliver our market-leading services to their customers. Creating a faster way to disburse salaries is a win-win for all involved.”

Founded in Dubai in November 2022 by Yousef Albarqawi, Becky Jefferies and Dina Mohammad-Laity, alfii was created to help startups and SMEs take better care of their people by freeing overwhelmed HR teams from time-consuming administrative work. The early version of the product is designed to simplify core HR processes—like onboarding, document collection, and payroll—while bringing together all employee data into a single source of truth. 

As the alfii platform evolves, the team will introduce more features like time tracking and vacation management, performance reviews, and more—ultimately covering the full employee lifecycle. But in the near-term, building the most comprehensive payroll solution is the first priority. 

The alfii team not only discovered extensive gaps and shortfalls in other payroll solutions, but also came to learn that many HR teams—even some with a workforce of several thousand people—are still relying on manual, outdated systems to manage their payroll processing. By building a comprehensive payroll offering packaged in a seamless, consumer-focused user experience, they aim to address one of the most critical pain points for HR teams of all industries and sizes. 

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According to Nabil Fates, Senior Product Manager at alfii,

"We distinguish our product from other solutions by how easy it is to use and how quickly our customers can get set up to process payroll. Gone is the need for complex spreadsheets to manage salaries—and we’re proud to claim that."

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“This partnership is a testament to how UAE startups and more traditional, long-standing institutions can combine forces to innovate and bring better solutions to the market,” said Albarqawi. “We look forward to a long and fruitful collaboration that benefits regional startups and SMEs, and the UAE economy as a whole.”

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ABOUT ALFII

Alfii’s mission is to be the most comprehensive all-in-one people platform that helps companies thrive by taking care of their people. By automating and simplifying HR and people operations, alfii is giving startups, SMEs and fast-growing companies the tools and insights they need to create and deliver a better, people-first experience for their teams. The product focuses on core HR processes with a refreshingly easy way to onboard and pay employees, designed with a simple and highly intuitive interface to make it a great user experience for both employers and employees. A Dubai-based startup, alfii was founded in 2022 by Yousef Albarqawi, Becky Jefferies and Dina Mohammad-Laity. Learn more at www.alfii.co.

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ABOUT AL FARDAN EXCHANGE

Al Fardan Exchange is a member of the Al Fardan Group, which has roots stretching back to 1954. Emerging from a seafaring and pearl trading tradition to a commercial trade, the Al Fardan name is built on a solid bedrock of security and reliability. Leveraging on the Group’s diversified business interests and successful operations in real estate, high-end jewellery and financial services, Al Fardan Exchange holds global reach with trust and credibility as its main ethics.

Established in 1971, Al Fardan Exchange has had the unique opportunity of playing a part in supporting communities who have helped build this nation, by helping them bring life to their own dreams – both here and in their home countries. Today, we are incredibly proud to serve the UAE’s cosmopolitan community through our 80+ strong network, spanning across all Emirates. Reinforced by strong relationships with over 150 global corresponding banks, financial institutions, and other financial service providers, we offer secure transactions that firmly place reliability and trust in the forefront.

To learn more about Al Fardan Exchange, visit alfardanexchange.com.