CBD offers by default a local AED account. For the first 6 months you can receive funds in AED currency from outside the UAE into your CBD account in order to fund and operate the accounts. However, the remitting bank should have an AED correspondent banking relationship. Yet, you will not be able to send money outside the UAE. After 6 months it will be subject to approval from CBD side to lift the restriction, so you are able to send and receive internationally or to give you a foreign currency account – depends on approval and eligibility.
List of documents for Local AED Account: Please share all the documents listed below via email with me to check if any further documents are required from your side. Once an appointment has been made, please bring to the meeting all original documents (TL, MOA, ULA, passport incl. UAE visa and EID) along with a copy and the company stamp.
- Trade License
- Memorandum of Association with all historical amendments
- Board of Resolution (BR) if more than one shareholder à please fill out and sign attached BR. It needs to be printed on the company letterhead and signed on both pages. You can either sign together in front of the CBD representative, then no attestation is needed or if just the manager / signatory comes to the appointment with CBD it would need to be attested from our Legal Department (400 AED and your CEM will be able to help you with this)
- Passport with Visa copy and Emirates ID of all partners. In case of non-resident Partners : Passport, Bank Statement (home country), Tax registration paper( home country) and Proof of Address (home country)
- Personal Profile / CV of all partners
- Company Profile (and webpage if available)
- Proof of OFFICE address: Tenancy Contract of office.
- Proof of PRIVATE address in the UAE: Tenancy Contract or Title Deed or Ejari and last Dewa bill à 3 options to proof:
1. Tenancy contract, Title Deed or Ejari and the last Dewa bill from the controlling person
2. Tenancy contract, Title Deed or Ejari and the last Dewa bill of a friend or family member your client currently lives at. In this case their documents need to be submitted and both parties sign attached form
3. None of the above applies: A short-/midterm agreement with a hotel or an apartment (3 months or longer would be ideal). Note, no communication will be sent from the bank to the address.
- Bank Statement is applicable for all shareholders: 6 months bank statement from a business account if the company already exists for over 12 months and/or 6 months bank statement from a personal account for newly established companies (UAE statement or home country). All statements need to be in English (Legally translated copies in case statement is in foreign language).
- Company Stamp (can be acquired in our premises within 1 day (120 AED per stamp)
| Packages | Minimum Balance/
Average Monthly Balance | Monthly Account fee | Non-Maintenance Charges (a month) |
| Starter | Zero | 250 AED | Zero |
| Premium | 350,000 | Zero | 250 AED |
WIO is a digital financial platform and offers an international AED account incl. account and swift number. Sending and receiving international transfers are possible and it is definitely a plus the account can be opened very quickly (on average 3 to 5 days). You will receive a
debit card and a cheque book and are able to use all ATM’s from
First Abu Dhabi bank as well as Lulu Exchange outlets in the UAE. Please note, you need to come and pick up the WIO debit card and cheque book 45 days after account opening, otherwise the account will be shut down again.They do have a full banking license here in the UAE and the account costs 99AED a month. Noteworthy to mention is the fact they want to roll out the option of EUR, USD, GBP accounts by end of the year. You can only start the process once the signatory has his / her EID and you must have a local UAE mobile number. Please make sure your MOA is signed and stamped by FZ when you upload the document, otherwise the application may be rejected or delayed. WIO only accepts one signatory as of now. Further note, initial funds can be transferred from Russia to the UAE, but later on transfers should be avoided as they are heavily restricted due to the current political situation.
To open the account please use below link or unique QR code attached. Please click the link / scan the QR code using a mobile device as it will enable Wio Business App to be downloaded to the respective iOS or Android device and then proceed with the application.
USD Account is already live.
Please note this is initial set of documents
- MOA, TL, ULA, COF
- Personal documents (Passport, UAE Visa, EID)
- Business Profile
- CV like LinkedIn Profile or Company Website
NBF offers an international AED account. This means you will be able to send and receive payments from outside the UAE, yet all transfers will be converted e.g. into AED when hitting your account. For businesses with a flexi desk set up NBF offers by default an international AED account, but no other foreign currency accounts for the first 6 months. Upon 6 months you can apply/enquire and they will take each case at a time.
For businesses with a private office a foreign currency account is possible from the beginning, please check with NBF directly. You can only start the process once the signatory has his / her EID and you have a local UAE mobile number.
Charges: AED 10k is the monthly average balance to be maintained in the account. 150 AED plus VAT will be charged if the average balance maintained is below that. However, there is also a fixed charge of AED 150 plus VAT as the account maintenance fee even though the required balance is maintained.
To open an account, you must visit the NBF Connect platform
Best Bank for SME support in UAE - NBF Connect:
https://www.nbfconnect.ae/NBFSMEConnect/ . You will be asked 5 initial questions which will determine if you are able to open an account, are declined right away or if you need to contact NBF for further questions. In case they consider you as eligible you can start the online application right away and provide all needed documents. NBF will contact you and invite you to sign the application or ask for further documents. Once the account has been opened, please make sure to be able to receive cheque book and debit card within 14 days after NBF sent it out to you, otherwise the account will be shut down again.
Mashreqneobiz offers an international AED and foreign currency accounts (USD, EUR, GBP), which can be requested during the online application process as well as after the account opening, simply by adding it in your online account. Even though you may not have your UAE Visa or EID yet you will be able to start the online application, by simply clicking the field and submit it within the next 90 days. Please be prepared you need to proof either your physical office address or in case you have a flexi-desk office then you need to provide proof of your private address / hotel stay of at least 180 days from the application date. Being a single Shareholder, you probably will have the option of “Face ID”. This means no signature is needed. Once compliance was able to check all submitted documents and can confirm it is complete you only have to come to the UAE once in order to pick up the cheque book and debit card within 30 days after account opening. Please note, a local UAE number is required to open the account and roaming must be on for the OTP to reach.
Charges / Accounts: Light with ZERO balance for 200 AED monthly and Prime with 50k minimum balance and no monthly charges (200AED plus VAT if you fall under 50k).
To open an account, you must visit Mashreq NeoBiz platform
Mashreq NeoBiz (mashreqbank.com)
Please note this is initial set of documents based on portal:
1) Trade licenses all pages
2) MOA + Amendment if any
3)Passport ,Visa + emirates Id copy for all partners
4) Lease agreement of office or personal address proof
6) 3-month bank statements ( Company or Personal )
7) Top 3 customers and Top 3 suppliers if any
8) CV or Resume or LinkedIn Profile
DUBAI DEVELOPMENT BANK https://www.edb.gov.ae/en
They can open an account online in less than 48h.
Paywiser, a Slovenian EMI – any info?
