UAE residents to get monthly rent option, ending the one-to-four cheque cycle

A new Property Finder–Keyper partnership introduces monthly rent payments across the UAE

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Property Finder move brings monthly rent to UAE, easing pressure on tenants.
AFP

Dubai: Property Finder has announced a strategic partnership and investment in Keyper, the UAE firm that enables tenants to pay rent in monthly instalments. The agreement will make the feature available directly on the Property Finder app and website, marking the first time the region’s rental market adopts a fully integrated monthly payment option.

A shift away from large upfront cheques

Annual rent in the UAE is typically settled in one to four cheques, a structure that places significant pressure on residents and restricts choice. Keyper’s system already supports more than Dh2 billion in rental demand, allowing thousands of tenants to move to predictable monthly payments through card or direct debit. The platform will now sit within Property Finder’s ecosystem, widening access across the market.

“This partnership marks an important milestone in our mission to bring greater transparency, flexibility and convenience to the UAE’s real estate market,” said Michael Lahyani, Founder and CEO of Property Finder. “By easing the financial burden of large upfront rental payments, we’re helping new residents establish themselves more easily and build long-term roots in the country.”

Gains for tenants, agents and landlords

The companies said the change is designed to streamline rental transactions. Tenants gain the ability to budget on a month-by-month basis. Agents can close deals faster with fewer fall-throughs linked to upfront costs. Landlords benefit from consistent digital payments and lower default risk.

Omar Abu Innab, CEO and Founder of Keyper, said the model brings the UAE closer to norms in major global rental markets. “Monthly rent payments are the norm in major global cities, and the UAE is moving in that direction,” he said. “By bringing Keyper’s technology into Property Finder’s ecosystem, we’re offering renters greater flexibility and landlords greater certainty.”

The partnership supports Dubai’s broader move to modernise rental processes and expand digital services. The integrated rent-in-installments feature will go live on the Property Finder platform in the first half of 2026.

Nivetha Dayanand is Assistant Business Editor at Gulf News, where she spends her days unpacking money, markets, aviation, and the big shifts shaping life in the Gulf. Before returning to Gulf News, she launched Finance Middle East, complete with a podcast and video series. Her reporting has taken her from breaking spot news to long-form features and high-profile interviews. Nivetha has interviewed Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed Al Saud, Indian ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and N. Chandrababu Naidu, IMF’s Jihad Azour, and a long list of CEOs, regulators, and founders who are reshaping the region’s economy. An Erasmus Mundus journalism alum, Nivetha has shared classrooms and newsrooms with journalists from more than 40 countries, which probably explains her weakness for data, context, and a good follow-up question. When she is away from her keyboard (AFK), you are most likely to find her at the gym with an Eminem playlist, bingeing One Piece, or exploring games on her PS5.

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