In short
- A business account opens 2 to 4 weeks after a complete application, 3 to 8 weeks after the license filing.
- A bank identifies every person who owns 25% or more of the company.
- Four entry accounts ask for no minimum balance. Emirates NBD asks for AED 50,000 on average.
- Digital banks open an account in days: Wio says 3 working days, Mashreq NEOBiz promises 1 day.
In this guide
Who can open a business bank account in the UAE
A UAE bank opens a business account for a company that already exists: the trade license in the UAE is issued and the memorandum of association is signed. Mainland and free-zone companies apply in the same way, and all the owners can be foreigners. What changes from one applicant to the next is the number of banks that fit and the documents they read.
| Who applies | What changes |
|---|---|
| A UAE company whose owner holds a UAE residence visa | The widest choice of banks, digital banks among them |
| A UAE company whose owner lives abroad | Fewer banks, more documents from the owner's home country and one visit to the UAE |
| An offshore company | More documents on ownership and a longer review |
| A company registered outside the UAE | A few banks, with corporate documents notarised and attested |
Whichever route you take in free zone vs mainland, the company has its account 2 to 4 weeks after a complete application. Which bank suits which company, with the minimum balances and the monthly fees, is on business bank account in the UAE.
The order that works: license, visa, tax number, bank
The account is the last step of a company setup and usually the longest. Each earlier step hands the bank a document it asks for.
| Step | What the bank takes from it | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Trade license | The license, the memorandum and the activity the company may bill for | 1 to 5 working days in a free zone, 1 to 2 weeks on the mainland |
| Establishment card and residence visa | The owner's visa and Emirates ID | 1 to 3 weeks after the license |
| Corporate tax registration | The tax registration number | Up to 20 business days at the tax authority |
| Bank application | The complete file and one meeting or call | 2 to 4 weeks |
On the free-zone route a working account arrives 3 to 8 weeks after we file for the license. We prepare the bank file while the visa is in process and register the company for corporate tax in the same step. The visa is described on investor visa in Dubai and the UAE, and the tax number on corporate tax registration in the UAE.
Documents required to open a company bank account in the UAE
UAE anti-money-laundering rules require every bank to identify the company, each person who owns 25% or more of it and the managers who run it. A complete file holds:
| Document | What the bank reads in it |
|---|---|
| Trade license or certificate of incorporation | The legal form and the licensed activity |
| Memorandum and articles of association | The owners, their shares and the managers |
| Board resolution | The decision to open the account and the names of the signatories |
| Passports, with the Emirates ID and visa where held | The identity of each owner, director and signatory |
| Proof of address | A recent utility bill or tenancy contract for each of them, and the address of the company |
| Contracts, invoices or a business plan | What the company sells and to whom |
| Financial or bank statements for 6 to 12 months | Where the money comes from |
| Tax registration number | The registration with the Federal Tax Authority |
If a company is among the shareholders, the bank asks for its corporate documents, notarised and attested, and follows the ownership up to the individuals behind it. Documents issued outside the UAE are attested by a UAE embassy or consulate as well, so start that before the license is issued.
How to open a business bank account in Dubai, step by step
- Choose two banks that fit the company: its activity, its currencies and the balance it will keep.
- Write a one-page profile: what the company sells, who pays it, whom it pays, in which currencies and countries.
- Collect the documents and have the foreign ones attested.
- Apply online or at a branch. The bank assigns a relationship manager.
- Meet the bank: in person at a large local bank, on a video call or in the app at a digital bank.
- Answer the compliance team's questions on the owners, the activity and the source of funds.
- Receive the account number, online banking and the cards.
Two banks are enough. Compliance teams treat a file that arrives at many banks at once as a warning sign.
Can you open a business bank account online?
Yes, at a digital bank, once the company holds its license and the owner a residence visa. The government portal says that some UAE banks verify identity through their app. Wio Business is set up on a phone, and the bank says a company is up and running in 3 working days. Mashreq promises to open a NEOBiz account in 1 day.
A large local bank meets the signatory in person. A founder who lives abroad plans one trip. The medical test and the fingerprints for the Emirates ID are taken in the UAE on the same visit, and the bank meeting fits into it.
We do this for you Business bank account in the UAE 2 to 4 weeks from a complete application
Minimum balance, monthly fees and a free account
The price of an account is its monthly fee or the balance the bank asks you to keep. Four entry accounts ask for no minimum balance: RAKBANK RAKstarter, Wio Business, Mashreq NEOBiz and ADCB SmartStart. RAKstarter has no ledger fee either, and Wio and Mashreq charge AED 99 a month. Emirates NBD asks for an average balance of AED 50,000 in its entry package. When the balance falls below a required minimum, the bank adds a monthly fee.
Wio also runs an offer for companies licensed by Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism: six months of business banking free, with no minimum balance, for the first 500 businesses that apply.
Accounts are held in dirhams and, at most of these banks, in dollars, euros and pounds as well. Every UAE account has an IBAN, required for electronic payments since 2012.
What the bank checks and how to prepare the file
The compliance team reads the file as one story and looks for places where two documents disagree. Each check has an answer you can prepare in advance.
| What the bank compares | What to put in the file |
|---|---|
| The licensed activity and the invoices the company will issue | Contracts or invoices for the activity named on the license |
| The payments it should expect | A one-page profile: customers, suppliers, countries, currencies and the turnover in a month |
| The source of the first deposit | Statements and documents from the owner's home country that show where the money comes from |
| The ownership, up to each person with 25% or more | An ownership chart and the attested documents of every company in the chain |
| Presence in the UAE | The residence visa, the Emirates ID, an address and, for some banks, an office |
| The tax standing | The tax registration number, and returns that agree with the books |
From the answers the bank builds a profile of the payments it expects and later compares the account with it. For a company it rates as higher risk, the Central Bank's guidance lets it ask for the invoices behind transfers, payroll records and proof of a valid license, or visit the premises.
The zone and the office count too. Banks know the Dubai zones IFZA and Meydan well and put fewer questions to a company with a physical office, as in DMCC. A company from a low-cost zone outside Dubai plans for extra weeks. The zones are compared in which free zone to choose in the UAE.
What slows an application, and the fix for each cause
| What the bank finds | The fix before you apply |
|---|---|
| The license lists other activities than the ones the company describes | Amend the license, then apply |
| The description of who pays whom is vague | Name the first customers and suppliers and attach the contracts |
| The evidence of the source of funds is thin | Add statements for 6 to 12 months and the documents behind the money |
| The bank serves another kind of company | Choose by profile: a digital bank for services, a large local bank for trade |
| A remote application with no visa and no visit | Take the residence visa first, or plan one trip to the UAE |
If a bank turns the file down, repair the cause before the next application: compliance teams recognise a file they have seen at another bank.
After the account opens
The bank keeps reviewing the account. It updates the company's file from time to time and compares the payments with the profile from the opening. Run the payments you described, send the bank the renewed license every year and tell it when the business changes.
Keep the books current and file the tax returns on time: banks look at whether the VAT returns and the corporate tax return agree. The rates and the dates are in corporate tax in the UAE.
We choose the bank for your company, prepare the file and answer the bank's questions with you: opening a business bank account in Dubai.
