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TW closing UAE accounts

#41
BlueMist said:
The transfer was in EUR. ENBD does have a presence in London, ADCB doesn't. The transfer went to Barclays bank. But apparently this same day feature is listed on ADCB website under money transfers:
"Instant and same day** transfers for major currencies such as USD, GBP, EUR, CAD and INR"

I don't want to say UAE banks are great, as they are definitely lacking many things, but I sent bank transfers few times the other way around from different EU banks to UAE and it was never credited on the same day in the UAE.
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Oh ok, you sent it via same-day service. It is not a standard type of transfer. They're using their partner banks directly for those transfers. All major banks in UAE have that kind of transfer option under different names: ENBD Direct Remit, Mashreq Quick Remit.

They work with their partner banks depending on your destination to make transfers faster but they come with restrictions. You can't send more than a low 5 figure and if you want to send money to another person/broker you can face compliance problems. I sent 8k GBP to my US broker via Quick Remit and the US broker automatically rejected the payment because in the SWIFT message I'm not the original sender and the transfer description was lost.
 
#42
rowena said:
Oh ok, you sent it via same-day service. It is not a standard type of transfer. They're using their partner banks directly for those transfers. All major banks in UAE have that kind of transfer option under different names: ENBD Direct Remit, Mashreq Quick Remit.

They work with their partner banks depending on your destination to make transfers faster but they come with restrictions. You can't send more than a low 5 figure and if you want to send money to another person/broker you can face compliance problems. I sent 8k GBP to my US broker via Quick Remit and the US broker automatically rejected the payment because in the SWIFT message I'm not the original sender and the transfer description was lost.
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Nothing like that. I sent it like a normal standard international SWIFT bank transfer. 6 figure EUR amount. Paid AED 105 OUR fees (to cover all charges of any intermediary banks along the way). ADCB doesn't have equivalent of the ENBD Direct Remit or Mashreq Quick Remit. Also ENBD Direct Remit to UK support only GBP transfers, it is not possible to use it for EUR transfer. Mashreq Quick Remit on the other hand is capped at €20k per transfer to Europe and it seems to be not possible to send EUR to UK either.
 
#43
BlueMist said:
Nothing like that. I sent it like a normal standard international SWIFT bank transfer. 6 figure EUR amount. Paid AED 105 OUR fees (to cover all charges of any intermediary banks along the way). ADCB doesn't have equivalent of the ENBD Direct Remit or Mashreq Quick Remit. Also ENBD Direct Remit to UK support only GBP transfers, it is not possible to use it for EUR transfer. Mashreq Quick Remit on the other hand is capped at €20k per transfer to Europe and it seems to be not possible to send EUR to UK either.
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Yes "Quick Remittance" options have different currencies/locations because as I mentioned before it is not a standard payment type. If you send via normal SWIFT transfer and credited in 15 min then you're probably working with partner bank of ADCB. Banks in the UAE do not have prioritized SWIFT completion times, they can provide maximum same speed as any other country.

In my experience UAE banks really bad especially customer service, slow processing times and lack of IT. I remember that FAB(biggest bank of UAE) sent me a physical token device(made of 2012) for authentication purposes and I asked them for SMS authentication and the guy told me no worry sir we're a very high-tech bank and a very good SMS authentication system and it will be ready soon. WTF? Banks even don't use SMS anymore. There is a more secure way called app authentication and they have no idea about it.

Another story is about ENBD(the biggest bank in Dubai) and probably most banks in the UAE. You can login to banking without SMS or any other 2FA security check. They require authentication for only adding beneficiaries. This means if you have the username/password of any customer you can buy stocks, make exchanges, close/open accounts and send money to available beneficiaries without SMS/Mobile authentication.

I have more stories about UAE banks but my advice is don't use them unless you have to. They banned TransferWise because they couldn't compete with them. This is the clearest evidence about banking in the UAE. They also banned WhatsApp to sell alternative extremely bad/expensive communication app.
 
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#44
rowena said:
In my experience UAE banks really bad especially customer service, slow processing times and lack of IT. I remember that FAB(biggest bank of UAE) sent me a physical token device(made of 2012) for authentication purposes and I asked them for SMS authentication and the guy told me no worry sir we're a very high-tech bank and a very good SMS authentication system and it will be ready soon. WTF? Banks even don't use SMS anymore. There is a more secure way called app authentication and they have no idea about it.
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I generally agree with your statement about UAE banks, I bank with the top 3 mentioned ENBD, FAB and ADCB and there is definitely one bank that stands out - ADCB, both on personal and corporate levels. On a corporate level they can give you access to their spot FX trading facility, so you can get close to mid market rates - margins obviously depends on the volume, but they do have such platform in place. Also on a personal level ADCB is great to deal with. Excellency personal account FX rates are the best on the market on the premium banking segment (FAB Elite doesn't even offer any better FX rates online compared to non Elite accounts). Their credit cards also stand out, Traveller card with 0% FX fees + 20% hotels & flights discount (the latter capped at AED 5000 but still good, I book business class AED 5000 cheaper). Hotels discounts are unlimited, so this card has saved me a LOT of money in expensive locations & hotels. The only issue is the hotel has to be available on hotels.com and it has to be possible to prepay for it. They were the only local bank which had offshore Jersey location with multi currency accounts with debit cards (EUR/USD/GBP) integrated under one login with instant and free transfers between onshore and offshore and served by the same relationship manager. I know they closed Jersey accounts but still, they did stand out with this solutions as a local bank.

I had a fraudulent transaction on my cc lately and they have credited the amount 48 hours from receiving my complaint form, where all other banks normally ask you to wait 3 months until the investigation is completed. They gave me 100k credit card limit without any questions asked or security cheques required - as an Excellency customer from "day 1" I started banking with them. Try that with FAB, even after being Elite for many years, they will ask for tons of documents and security cheques to be signed. They (ADCB) do rely on SMS OTP, however all new beneficiaries require confirmation. So ADCB will call you within 24-48 hours (usually it is just few hours) to confirm the beneficiary, without that you cannot transfer money out. It is a bit of an inconvenience, as I don't know any other UAE bank doing that but on the other hand, it gives me a great peace of mind.

We don't know the true story behind TW problems. If that would be the case, they would not be granted ADGM's license. I mean the government knew what TW is about. Also TW is not really a great option for users having AED, as their deposits were automatically converted to USD + TW fees for sending payments are high in my opinion. The only good thing about TW was EU IBAN for freezone company free of charge. I would never use TW on a personal level to exchange FX, as it works out for me much cheaper elsewhere.
 
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#45
BlueMist said:
We don't know the true story behind TW problems. If that would be the case, they would not be granted ADGM's license.
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Isn't the story obvious? TransferWise working anywhere in the world except UAE. They blocked WhatsApp even Facetime because of the pressure of the telecom lobby and they're selling bad WhatsApp alternatives for $10 per month. The same thing happened for TransferWise now because of the banking lobby. You need to pay more and waste your time with bad local banks. Revelout also postponed the UAE market operations.

BlueMist said:
If that would be the case, they would not be granted ADGM's license. I mean the government knew what TW is about.
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They didn't expect that. TransferWise allocated a huge market share in the UAE's money remittance market because of the excellent service/pricing compared with local banks. They blocked their AED accounts first(it was ADCB account) and just 4 months later the Central Bank of UAE released new a new regulation to block TransferWise completely.

https://www.thenationalnews.com/bus...l-shake-up-the-uae-remittance-market-1.927558
BlueMist said:
Also TW is not really a great option for users having AED, as their deposits were automatically converted to USD + TW fees for sending payments are high in my opinion.
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This is not correct. You can able to hold AED currency directly or send it as AED. AED deposits were also available but the banking lobby blocked it.

BlueMist said:
The only good thing about TW was EU IBAN for freezone company free of charge.
Click to expand...
You can open 8 more accounts in different countries including a USA USD account, UK GBP Account.

BlueMist said:
I would never use TW on a personal level to exchange FX, as it works out for me much cheaper elsewhere.
Click to expand...
TransferWise is one of the cheapest FX services except for AED conversions because of the Central Bank of UAE regulations.


I like lots of things about Dubai and the vision of the UAE but banking and telecom definitely not one of them.
 
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#46
rowena said:
Isn't the story obvious? TransferWise working anywhere in the world except UAE. They blocked WhatsApp even Facetime because of the pressure of the telecom lobby and they're selling bad WhatsApp alternatives for $10 per month. The same thing happened for TransferWise now because of the banking lobby. You need to pay more and waste your time with bad local banks. Revelout also postponed the UAE market operations.


They didn't expect that. TransferWise allocated a huge market share in the UAE's money remittance market because of the excellent service/pricing compared with local banks. They blocked their AED accounts first(it was ADCB account) and just 4 months later the Central Bank of UAE released new a new regulation to block TransferWise completely.

https://www.thenationalnews.com/bus...l-shake-up-the-uae-remittance-market-1.927558

This is not correct. You can able to hold AED currency directly or send it as AED. AED deposits were also available but the banking lobby blocked it.


You can open 8 more accounts in different countries including a USA USD account, UK GBP Account.


TransferWise is one of the cheapest FX services except for AED conversions because of the Central Bank of UAE regulations.


I like lots of things about Dubai and the vision of the UAE but banking and telecom definitely not one of them.
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Yes i agree specially for customer service of the UAE banks, i used to have with Some Uae personal bank account in uae.

Now i’m trying alternative for TW Like nowmoney, currenxie and airwallex but i need a solution for utility bill
 
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#48
rowena said:
@Osleak
Airwallex is good. You can also check with Worldfirst, Payoneer, Paydo, Openpayd.
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Worldfirst locked me 7 days after approval with 30k inside and they took 40days to refund my money, have you good provider to get invoice for utility bills without go to uae since now i cannot go there? Du and etisalat to buy sim card with plan need local address to ge delivery and ask for recipient to show id and passport
 
#49
Osleak said:
Worldfirst locked me 7 days after approval with 30k inside and they took 40days to refund my money, have you good provider to get invoice for utility bills without go to uae since now i cannot go there? Du and etisalat to buy sim card with plan need local address to ge delivery and ask for recipient to show id and passport
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UAE is open for tourists/residents, you can come and order a SIM card to your hotel room. The utility bill is harder. You can check dubizzle ads to rent something very cheap and apply to DEWA(utility bill) online but you need to spend min $2K in total(rent+dewa activation) and it will take time.

Why Worldfirst locked the account? What was the reason?
 
#50
rowena said:
UAE is open for tourists/residents, you can come and order a SIM card to your hotel room. The utility bill is harder. You can check dubizzle ads to rent something very cheap and apply to DEWA(utility bill) online but you need to spend min $2K in total(rent+dewa activation) and it will take time.

Why Worldfirst locked the account? What was the reason?
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Like revolut no explanation.... maybe because uk company and non uk director/owner
 
#51
rowena said:
UAE is open for tourists/residents, you can come and order a SIM card to your hotel room. The utility bill is harder. You can check dubizzle ads to rent something very cheap and apply to DEWA(utility bill) online but you need to spend min $2K in total(rent+dewa activation) and it will take time.

Why Worldfirst locked the account? What was the reason?
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I’ve virgin mobile invoice i think that’s enough for emi as proof or residence
 
#52
#53
#54
#55
@Osleak
No, if you find a flat then you can sign a rent agreement via email and start a DEWA connection online. Check for dubizzle, there are lots of cheap flats but be careful and try to work with reputable agents.
 
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#56
Alternatively there is also Moneycorp and Moneycorpbank, they accept UAE companies. However you need to have some FX needs otherwise they won’t open a pass through accounts only. Moneycorp business won’t give your company a unique IBAN, so all transfers have to be addressed to Moneycorp with the unique reference number. No problem with accepting 3rd party payments as long as they can contain this unique reference number. Moneycorpbank on the other hand will provide you a normal banking operational IBAN, however they don’t have access to SEPA. No maintenance charges, however each transfer out cost GBP 15 at Moneycorpbank.
 
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#57
BlueMist said:
Alternatively there is also Moneycorp and Moneycorpbank, they accept UAE companies. However you need to have some FX needs otherwise they won’t open a pass through accounts only. Moneycorp business won’t give your company a unique IBAN, so all transfers have to be addressed to Moneycorp with the unique reference number. No problem with accepting 3rd party payments as long as they can contain this unique reference number. Moneycorpbank on the other hand will provide you a normal banking operational IBAN, however they don’t have access to SEPA. No maintenance charges, however each transfer out cost GBP 15 at Moneycorpbank.
Click to expand...
BlueMist said:
Alternatively there is also Moneycorp and Moneycorpbank, they accept UAE companies. However you need to have some FX needs otherwise they won’t open a pass through accounts only. Moneycorp business won’t give your company a unique IBAN, so all transfers have to be addressed to Moneycorp with the unique reference number. No problem with accepting 3rd party payments as long as they can contain this unique reference number. Moneycorpbank on the other hand will provide you a normal banking operational IBAN, however they don’t have access to SEPA. No maintenance charges, however each transfer out cost GBP 15 at Moneycorpbank.
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Good, they accept mobile phone plan invoice as proof of address?
 
#58
Osleak said:
Good, they accept mobile phone plan invoice as proof of address?
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Requirements for Moneycorp business are:

  1. Provide full 3 months transactional business bank statement in PDF format. Please include the banks logo and company name.
  2. Complete our application form - Moneycorp - Application Form
  3. Provide several invoices to demonstrate your FX requirement.
  4. Please provide the Name, Date of Birth and Residential Address of any persons owning 25% or more in the business.
Not sure about requirements for Moneycorpbank yet.
 
#59
BlueMist said:
Requirements for Moneycorp business are:

  1. Provide full 3 months transactional business bank statement in PDF format. Please include the banks logo and company name.
  2. Complete our application form - Moneycorp - Application Form
  3. Provide several invoices to demonstrate your FX requirement.
  4. Please provide the Name, Date of Birth and Residential Address of any persons owning 25% or more in the business.
Not sure about requirements for Moneycorpbank yet.
Click to expand...
I don’t still have bank so no transactions made with the company yet
 
#60
Hey @rowena
can you recommend any EMIs for app developers that are registered as an offshore company in UAE.

I'm currently using RAK offshore with TW.
Apple pays me in EUR to EU IBAN (TW)
And Google pays me in GBP in UK sorting/account code (TW)
I'm a resident in Croatia EU, SEPA capable bank would be best.

So an EMI that accepts UAE offshore businesses, and that gives you local UK and EU bank accounts.

I'm currently in the process of opening up Paysera (for Apple, since its EU only IBAN), and Airwallex (for Google, because of the UK details).
Paysera just gave me the "public register question", which doesn't really exist for UAE offshore. Waiting to see what they say on Monday about that. Maybe they won't mind since its a super clean business.
Airwallex has been ignoring me for a week now, haven't really gotten anywhere with them.

Any other EMI suggestions?
 
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