Business Account
If you require a bank account for commercial reasons, the first step is to establish a company in accordance with the laws of the land and then proceed to open a bank account.
According to UAE regulations, you will not be able to conduct a business activity through your personal account. In general, your business account will need to be a current account to facilitate a high volume of transactions.
The process of opening a business bank account for your business can take anywhere from two to four weeks.
Expats will require an additional set of documents when opening a business bank account. It is, however, important to note that the document list may vary according to the bank and company type.
The documents may include the following:- Company trade licence
- Certificate of registration
- Share certificates
- Company Memorandum and Articles of Association
- Board resolution empowering a company officer to open the account
- Passport and visa copies for shareholders and authorised signatories
Each bank has its own regulations regarding a customer’s profile and their activities and minimum transactions. Consequently, customers are subject to specific requirements at nearly every bank.
While it is extremely unlikely that a bank will refuse a bank account for a legal resident expat, they are still within their rights if the applicant could be considered a risk.
A bank may reject an account opening application for the following reasons:- Documents confirming your identity, employment status and nature of the job are not provided
- If another bank has blocked the account because of suspicious activity
- A source of funds that cannot be confirmed
- The minimum balance or, in the case of business accounts, a minimum account turnover is not met
- If you are on a list of restricted persons
All banks in the UAE are regulated by the UAE Central Bank. In order to meet international standards and requirements, the Central Bank has placed a KYC (Know Your Customer) policy. And, as a regular practice, UAE banks will ask you certain questions on your account transactions before as well as after opening your personal or business account.
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