Easiest bank to open a corporate bank account for your company in UAE
After you have set up your company in UAE, it is time to open a business account for the company.
Whether the company is registered in Mainland as an LLC, Freezone as an FZE/FZCO/FZC or an offshore company, it is possible to open a corporate bank account for your business with all banks in the UAE.
Which bank accepts your business application will depend on the bank’s risk appetite, which are dependent on a number of factors such as:
- Business activity.
- Countries where suppliers and customers are located.
- Countries where payment is to be remitted to and from.
- Jurisdiction where your company is registered (Mainland, Freezone and Offshore).
- Minimum account balance to be maintained.
- If the minimum account balance requested by the bank cannot be met, an alternative solution is to purchase an investment product offered by the bank.
- Nationality of the owner.
- Physical office vs virtual flexi desk rental.
- Ownership structure of the company, whether it is owned by a person or another business.
- Whether the company owner or authorized signatory (usually the manager) has a home rented in UAE or not.
Banks vary in assessing the factors mentioned above, there are other factors to consider. However, these are the main points of interest for the banks.
Easiest bank to open a bank account for a freezone company in UAE
While most banks accept applications from all free zone registered companies applications, some banks will only accept certain freezones.
- Note: Banks accepting an application does not necessarily mean the bank will approve the bank account opening request.
Regardless of where your company is registered in the UAE, it is possible to apply any bank in UAE.
It is not necessary to apply at a specific bank in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain, or Fujairah – This is because banks operate on a national level and not emirate specific.
- For example, applying for a business bank account for your UAE company with Emirates NBD (ENBD) in Dubai, is the same as applying at another Emirates NBD bank branch in Abu Dhabi.
To open a bank account without any headache, it is best to work with a relationship manager from different banks, who are assigned to work with your application from the start and stays with your account throughout your company’s time with the bank.
Fastest bank to open a business bank account in UAE
The time it takes to open a business bank account varies depending on the previously mentioned factors.
With the help of the relationship manager, bank accounts can be opened faster compared to applying online.
Time range to open a corporate account in UAE, whether for Mainland, Freezone, or Offshore companies varies from one day to 30 days on average.
The below table is an estimated time it takes to open a bank account with the mentioned banks.
| Bank Name | Time To Open |
|---|---|
| ADCB – Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank | 10 Days |
| ADIB – Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank | 30 Days |
| Ajman Bank | 15 Days |
| Al Maryah Bank | 30 Days |
| Al Masraf | 30 Days |
| Arab Bank | 30 Days |
| Bank Melli | 7 Days |
| Bank of Sharjah | 30 Days |
| Bank Saderat | 30 Days |
| Banque Misr | 30 Days |
| Citi Bank | Does not open business accounts. |
| CBI – Commercial Bank International | 20 Days |
| CBD – Commercial Bank of Dubai | 15 Days |
| DIB – Dubai Islamic Bank | 30 Days |
| ENBD – Emirates National Bank of Dubai (Emirates NBD) | 15 Days |
| EDB – Emirates Department Bank | 20 Days |
| EI – Emirates Islamic Bank | 30 Days |
| FAB – First Abu Dhabi Bank | 15 Days |
| Habib Bank | 20 Days |
| HSBC | Does not open business accounts. |
| Invest Bank | 20 Days |
| Mashreq | 30 Days |
| NBF – National Bank of Fujairah | 20 Days |
| NBUAQ – National Bank of Umm Al Quwain | 30 Days |
| RAK – National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah | 30 Days |
| BOS – Bank of Sharjah | 30 Days |
| SIB – Sharjah Islamic Bank | 30 Days |
| SC – Standard Chartered | Does not open business accounts. |
| UAB – United Arab Bank | 30 Days |
| UBL – United Bank Limited | 30 Days |
| Wio | 10 Days |
| Zand | 60 Days |
Which bank in UAE is the best for business banking
While all the banks in UAE offers a bank account, the best bank for your company depends on your needs and requirements.
Certain businesses require high volume transactions and do not want to risk transactions being frozen or stuck..
- Such companies would want to have a dedicated relationship manager assigned to their bank account in order to overcome these challenges and not all banks offer relationship managers.
Different types of businesses may wish to have credit facilities, such as loans, trade tools such as SBLC (Stand by Letter of Credit), LC (Letter of Credit) , BG (Bank Guarantee), which are not offered by all banks.
Most banks offer multicurrency accounts. However, some banks only offers AED based accounts suitable for local transactions within UAE.
Branch access is another point of consideration as certain banks are smaller and do not have branches across the country or even within major city areas in each emirate.
Understanding the requirement of your company, as well as the banks’ on boarding criteria is the key to identifying, which is the best bank to open a bank account for your company in UAE.
Banks that have dedicated relationship manager in UAE
Companies looking to have a dedicated relationship account manager to assist with their operations needs to maintain a minimum account balance.
Starting from 100,000 AED is when account managers can be potentially assigned to an account, depending on the bank.
- The higher minimum balance that can be maintained, the more options will be available in terms of the number of banks that offers relationship managers.
Not all banks have dedicated relationship managers available, as some banks offer a self service approach, and any issues with the operations have to be dealt with the bank’s customer service.
Banks listed below have dedicated relationship managers available for opening and managing business accounts for UAE based companies, and those that are registered overseas, as these banks offer non resident bank accounts for companies internationally.
- ADCB – Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.
- ADIB – Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.
- Ajman Bank
- Al Masraf
- Arab Bank
- Bank of Sharjah
- Banque Misr
- CBI – Commercial Bank International
- CBD – Commercial Bank of Dubai
- DIB – Dubai Islamic Bank
- ENBD – Emirates National Bank of Dubai (Emirates NBD)
- EDB – Emirates Department Bank
- EI – Emirates Islamic Bank
- FAB – First Abu Dhabi Bank
- Habib Bank
- Invest Bank
- Mashreq
- NBF – National Bank of Fujairah
- NBUAQ – National Bank of Umm Al Quwain
- RAK – National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah
- BOS – Bank of Sharjah
- SIB – Sharjah Islamic Bank
- UAB – United Arab Bank
- UBL – United Bank Limited
- Wio
- Zand
How relationship managers can assist with your company’s banking journey
A relationship manager’s goal is to not only bring in deposits for the bank, but also to assist your company in the daily operations.
If your company expects any large or unusual deposits that are out of the norm of what your company generally receives, relationship managers can pre-approve the transfer and check it with the relevant compliance team within the bank, to ensure there will not be any issues once the transfer reaches your account.
Relationship managers can also push special requests through, where it would normally be not possible, such as obtaining a loan, if your company does not 100% qualify for it.
How BUH consulting can assist
Our team will work with you to understand your requirements, eligibility criteria and apply for your business bank account with the most relevant banks that meets your company’s business profile, and assign relationship managers from various banks in UAE that can onboard open and manage your company’s business account.
Contact information
For a tailored solution, contact us to discuss about your requirements.
Email: – sam@buh-consulting.com
Phone: +971585086656
Whatsapp: +971585086656
Telegram: BUHConsultingAE