A prepaid card enquiry is a balance check on a prepaid card — a card loaded with money in advance, with no bank account behind it. In the UAE, the most common prepaid cards are salary cards issued under the Wage Protection System, and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) is one of the main issuers. This guide explains how the enquiry works, which portal to use, and how to avoid scams.
If you hold a regular FAB bank account instead, use the FAB Mobile app or FAB Online Banking. For every FAB balance method, see FAB Balance Check.
What “prepaid card inquiry” means
“Prepaid card inquiry” and “prepaid card enquiry” mean the same thing: how much money is on my card right now?
A prepaid card is different from a debit card. A debit card is linked to a bank account. A prepaid card is loaded with money by an employer, and you can only spend what has been loaded. There is no chequebook and no overdraft. When the money runs out, the card stops working until it is loaded again.
FAB’s prepaid salary cards are issued through employers under the UAE Wage Protection System (WPS), the electronic salary-transfer scheme supervised by MOHRE and the Central Bank of the UAE. The best-known FAB prepaid salary card is Ratibi, built for workers earning up to AED 5,000 per month. Other cards on the same system include the Lulu salary card and other WPS cards. The enquiry process is the same for all of them.
Which prepaid cards this guide covers
Ratibi is a FAB prepaid salary card. Your employer loads your salary onto it each pay cycle, and you withdraw cash at ATMs or pay in shops with it. It is not a bank account, so the FAB Mobile app may not show a balance for it. Use the PPC portal instead. For a full Ratibi guide, see Ratibi Card Balance Check.
Some prepaid salary cards were issued before 2017 by the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD). NBAD no longer exists as a separate bank. It merged with First Gulf Bank in April 2017 to form FAB, and old “Ratibi NBAD” cards carried over into FAB and Magnati. If you still hold one, check it on the current PPC portals below. The old PPC NBAD portal is decommissioned, and there is no separate NBAD online banking portal any more. See NBAD Balance Inquiry.
The Lulu salary card is another prepaid salary card used by some employers. The enquiry method is the same: the PPC portal, an ATM, or the Payit app. If you are unsure who issued your card, look at the name printed on it or ask your employer.
How to check: the PPC portals
The fastest way is the Prepaid Card Inquiry (PPC) portal. There are two official portals, and both work for FAB prepaid cards:
- FAB portal: https://ppc.bankfab.com/PPCInquiry/
- Magnati portal: https://ppc.magnati.com/ppc-inquiry/
Magnati is FAB’s payments technology partner. No registration or app is needed. Type the address into your browser yourself. Never reach the portal by clicking a link in a text message or an email.
The fields requested vary by portal version. The Magnati version asks for the last 4 digits of the card, your Card ID, and a CAPTCHA. The FAB PPC version asks for the 16-digit card number and CVV. The Card ID is a separate reference number printed on the card or on its welcome-envelope carrier. It is NOT the card number. If you cannot find it, check the envelope your card arrived in, or ask your employer.
The portal never asks for your PIN or OTP. FAB warns that it never asks for PIN, OTP or password via phone, SMS, email or WhatsApp. If any balance page asks for your PIN or OTP, close it at once. Never enter your PIN, OTP or CVV on any balance page you reached through a link in a message.
How to check: ATM
You can also check at a FAB ATM. Insert the card, enter your PIN on the keypad, and select Balance Inquiry or a mini-statement. This is a good option if you have no internet access or no smartphone. FAB ATMs are free for this check. A balance enquiry at another UAE bank’s ATM costs AED 1 per transaction under FAB’s official schedule of charges.
Cover the keypad when you type your PIN. If the ATM keeps your card or shows an error, contact FAB on 600 52 5500 in the UAE, or +971 2 681 1511 from outside the UAE.
How to check: Payit app
Payit is FAB’s wallet app. Ratibi cardholders register in Payit as a “Ratibi Cardholder”: download Payit, select “Ratibi Cardholder”, scan your Emirates ID, confirm your details, then add your card ID and the last 2 digits of your card number, enter your mobile number, enter the 6-digit SMS code, and create a 4-digit PIN — then check the balance in the app. If Payit does not show the balance, fall back to the PPC portal.
Methods to be careful about
No SMS balance method for Ratibi cards is documented on bankfab.com, and the guides conflict: one says CBAL to 2121, another says BAL to 4488. Note that CBAL is documented for FAB credit cards, not for Ratibi cards. For a Ratibi balance, use the PPC portal, a FAB ATM, or the Payit app.
For Ratibi questions, use the confirmed FAB customer care number, 600 52 5500. There is no confirmed separate Magnati prepaid helpline. Use the confirmed FAB number first.
FAB does not offer balance checks through WhatsApp. In 2026 the Central Bank of the UAE directed all UAE banks to stop using WhatsApp for customer communication and financial services. Never share your PIN, OTP, card number or Card ID with anyone on WhatsApp, and never send a photo of your card to anyone.
If the balance looks wrong
First, check which card you looked up — many workers hold more than one. Second, check whether your salary has actually been loaded yet. The portal shows the balance on the card, not money your employer has promised but not yet sent. If a transaction you do not recognise appears, call FAB on 600 52 5500 straight away. If your salary has not arrived at all, see Salary Check, starting with your employer.
FAQ
This is an independent informational guide. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB). Always confirm balances, fees and procedures through FAB’s official channels at bankfab.com or by calling 600 52 5500.