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Personal UAE bank accounts? Which one is the easiest to open?

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blancmon229

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Aug 15, 2023
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If someone is a resident of UAE and has an Emirates ID, how easy is it to open a personal bank account through the bank apps vs in person?

Do any have no mimimum deposit?

Which bank, ENBD, ADCB etc... ?

How do they mail you your debit card if you don't have a UAE address because you don't reside there?
 
You can have a residence permit‌ for a country and not live there. I don't see the problem.
 
Residence permits mean nothing. Banks don't really‍ care about those. Don't think your chances of opening a personal bank account in UAE⁠ are very high since you're a non-resident... Unless you deposit seven figures, in which case⁤ you can get better services elsewhere.

You can try Wio or Zand, though.
 
You can easily open a⁤ UAE bank acct (ENBD or ADCB ) through their app if you have a emirates⁣ ID and salary contract, I'm just not sure about the physical address. What about staying⁢ there for a couple days and using an airbnb or hotel address until you get︀ the debit card? Or using a flexi desk? or forwarding service?
 
One might wonder about your⁤ smoking preferences as well. If you have a residence permit (i.e. Emirates id) it is⁣ vastly easier to open a personal bank account in the UAE than without one, even⁢ if you dont actually physically reside in the UAE, and dont get your income from︀ the UAE, and dont deposit any money.
I managed to open 3 personal bank accounts︁ in the UAE in the first few weeks after getting my Emirates id, and staying︂ at short term accommodations and with no local income. Only deposited the minimum to get︃ a credit card at one of them. Had no problems, no rejections. For one I︄ admit I used a contact who gave a "warm" intro, but would probably have worked︅ without that.

And they send the cards with courier/delivery service to any local address you︆ give them.
 
Only the wackiest of tobaccies.

I might be biased. Have seen several people with Emirati IDs‌ but no genuine residence running around getting rejected by every bank, except Wio and/or Zand.‍ Maybe it is possible, though. Each situation being unique and all that.
 
Yeah, could depend on what type of visa one has, and other⁤ factors. I was advised for one bank that with remote worker visa, one should go⁣ to the Dubai mall branch as they are familiar with this visa, and that other⁢ branches would reject you.
The size of the foreign income, and what country it comes︀ from, and if you are an employee or have your own business probably matters too.︁ Guessing a large income as an employee of a well known western company helps.
 
I think Zand doesn't allow⁤ registering with personal accounts, only corporate. wio is still good for personal though.
 
What proof of︂ address did they ask for if any?
And how do you top up the minimum︃ balance, meaning do you deposit cash upon opening, or just later on they allow you︄ to wire in the minimum?
 
You're right, that appears to be the‍ case. Zand can be disregarded in this case, then.
 
No proof⁠ of address, but I had to write down a UAE address on the form. They⁤ allowed to deposit cash later for the credit card, or wire in later.
 
Mashreq Neo - will take you 5 minutes, all you need is their app installed‌ on the phone, Emirates ID, no address proof (you can put your hotel address and‍ the courier will deliver your welcome kit in 2 days containing a visa card and⁠ a check book).
 
I found it very easy to open an account⁣ with WIO using their app. It took like 5 minutes. There's a question about your⁢ sector of employment and a salary range. They didn't ask for any proof of employment.︀ I don't remember them asking for a proof of address either but I can be︁ wrong (I'm a resident of Dubai). Once the account approved, you receive a virtual card︂ which I added to my iphone wallet and started using it for payments. Then I︃ asked for a physical card which was mailed to my address in Dubai.
WIO Bank︄ do not have their own branches. The only way to provision your account is through︅ transfers from other banks.
I think it's worth trying. The app will ask you to︆ scan you Emirates ID first then go through the questions. If they ask for something︇ you don't have then you can just cancel the process.
I don't think you're required︈ to have and address in Dubai altogether. When I first came to Dubai a couple︉ of years ago, I opened an account with CBD. I didn't have an address at︊ the time, so the agent used the address of the hotel where I was staying.︋ The CBD debit card was mailed to me and I received it at the hotel.︌ Here in Dubai, courier companies always call you and ask you where to find you︍ to give you your courier.
 
I tried literally last week with Emirates NBD, I'm with emirates ID but they asked‌ for 6 months of transaction history of my country of residence bank, printed, stamped, tranlated‍ and legallized. PDF version printed there won't do the trick since they want it to⁠ be stamped by the bank. So you have to fly back to your home country⁤ to print that s**t then spend thousands for translation and legalization. What complete non-sense.

That wasn't the case with ADCB but i was introduced there. Also they don't deliver anymore⁣ to hotel addresses, it has to be residential address.

Those neo banks recommended above WIO⁢ and the other, are they good for 7 figures?
 
Mashreq Neo is fine.
After you account balance is over‍ $500k they might offer you to switch to Mashreq Gold account.
 
ADCB is the easiest. Go to their Ubank location in city walk, get your account⁠ opened in 20min and receive debit card + checks at the same time. No proof⁤ of address needed, not even salary certficate. Although you need to write ur salary for⁣ a current account .
 
so just emirates id and passport⁤ right?
that was they asked me, but the welcome pack (card etc) was delivered like⁣ a week later though.
I went for the exelency acc though
 
Yeah emirates id and passport only. U receive the welcome pack right away. The kiosk⁠ prints ur debit or credit card immediately. No need for courrier service.
 
I went 3x to the ENBD branch. With 100 pages of documents they request on paper.︁ They didn’t want to accept bank statements from “digital” banks.

Also their app didn’t want︂ to onboard me and even shadowbanned me.

Very bad experience for a HNWI.

Wio is︃ pretty solid. (After they existed for some time)

Mashreq is alright.

Liv is .... (don't︄ even bother)
 
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