Pay salaries with a WPS file

This page applies only to organisations whose country is the United Arab Emirates. Kluvan works the same everywhere without it.

In the UAE, salaries are paid through the Wage Protection System (WPS): your bank or exchange house uploads a salary information file (SIF). Kluvan builds that file from a finalised payroll run, works out the pension shares of UAE and GCC nationals, and shows your Emiratisation figures.

Before you start

• HR must be switched on, and you need the HR right Salaries and payroll.
• Have your establishment (employer) ID and your bank's 9-digit routing code ready. They come from your bank and MOHRE.

Steps

Set up the salary file once

1. Open HR → HR settings and go to Salary file (WPS).
2. Enter the Establishment (employer) ID and Your bank's routing code. Add Your reference if you like.
3. Under Your bank (the file layout it publishes), choose your bank. Kluvan has the standard Central Bank layout and presets for Emirates NBD / Emirates Islamic, Mashreq, Dubai Islamic Bank, HSBC (.SIF or .txt), RAKBANK, ADCB, exchange houses, and the "SCR first" layout some vendors describe. Choose Custom to set the points yourself.
4. Select Save.

Prepare each employee

5. On each person's file, set Paid by to Bank transfer, then fill in Labour card person ID (WPS) (14 digits), Their bank's routing code (WPS) and the IBAN or salary card number (23 characters).
6. For a UAE or GCC national, choose the Insurance scheme. Leave it empty for someone not insured, which is usual for expatriates.

Run payroll and download the file

7. Open HR → Payroll, make a New payroll run for one calendar month and select Work it out.
8. Review, approve and select Finalise.
9. On the run, look at WPS salary file (SIF). Fix every problem listed in red, then select Download the SIF file and upload it to your bank's salary service. For people outside WPS, download the Non-WPS bulk transfer file (CSV).

Good to know

• Check the first file with your bank. The file follows the published layout, but no bank has confirmed it yet. Ask your bank to accept a first upload before you rely on it.
• A file covers one calendar month. People paid in cash are left out; a person with an invalid IBAN, routing code or labour card ID blocks the file until fixed.
• Pensions. Payroll rule tables carry the schemes: GPSSA for UAE nationals (11 % employee, 15 % employer for those first insured from 31 Oct 2023; 5 % and 12.5 % for earlier members), the Abu Dhabi fund (ADPF), and GCC nationals' home schemes. The rates for Saudi, Kuwaiti, Bahraini and Qatari nationals come from a single source: have them checked. The government's share is shown, never charged.
• There is no income tax on salaries. Deductions together never take more than 50 % of the wage.
• Emiratisation. Mark UAE national, Registered with Nafis and In a skilled role on the files. HR → HR reports → Emiratisation compares them with the targets set under Emiratisation in HR settings. It is an indication only: MOHRE's portal is the record.
• For the gratuity and the final settlement, see Estimate gratuity and settle a leaver.