United Arab Bank, P.J.S.C. (UAB) was established in 1975 as a joint venture of investors from the UAE and the financial company Société Générale. In December 2007, after acquiring a 40% stake in Qatar’s largest private bank, the bank joined the Union of GCC banks.
UAB has opened 25 branches in the Emirates, which contributes to the development of business in the country. The Bank offers its clients individual financial services in both corporate and retail business, and is the leading bank for the growing commercial and industrial sector. At the same time, the United Arab Bank does not work with the Baltic banks.
OPEN AN ACCOUNT IN UNITEDARABBANK (UAB)
The minimum average monthly balance of accounts is 100 000 AED (27 500 USD). The same amount is the minimum balance.
UAE: Ajman, Ras al-Khaimah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai.
The main office of the bank is located in Sharjah.
Internet banking, mobile banking (available only for personal accounts).
To activate Internet banking, you need to transfer the initial deposit immediately after opening the account. Authorization and receipt of transaction confirmation codes is carried out via Digi Pass or by SMS to the mobile number of the local operator (for personal accounts, only by SMS). The bank does not deliver Digi Pass internationally.
Cost of connection and maintenance of Internet banking for personal accounts – free of charge.
Cost of connection and maintenance of Internet banking for corporate accounts (regardless of the selected corporate package):
- one-time connection fee – 350 AED (95 USD);
- monthly maintenance – 35 AED (9,5 USD).
Personal accounts:
- crediting funds to the account – free of charge.
Depending on the planned average monthly account balances and the number of transactions, the bank offers two tariff corporate packages for payments and cash services – Silver and Gold.
Silver corporate package (if the average monthly balance on all the company's current accounts not less than 100 000 AED (27 500 USD) or their equivalent):
- monthly fee for account maintenance – 175 AED (50 USD);
- international transaction cost – 50 AED (14 USD);
- SWIFT confirmation – free of charge.
Gold corporate package (if the average monthly balance on all the company's current accounts not less than 100 000 AED (27 500 USD) or their equivalent):
- monthly fee for account maintenance – 150 AED (40 USD);
- international transaction cost – 45 AED (13 USD);
- SWIFT confirmation – free of charge.
If the average monthly balance on the company's accounts is less than the specified size (according to the selected tariff package), the bank will charge a penalty «for not maintaining the average monthly balance on the account»:
- on the package Silver – 350 AED per month (95 USD);
- on the package Gold – 500 AED per month (140 USD).
The procedure of opening the account starts with the preliminary stage, which includes the process of gathering and submitting documents required for opening an account. Term of the preliminary stage will depend precisely on you.
The procedure of opening the account takes from 21 working days from the moment a full set of documents is submitted to the bank.
UAB follows the «know your client» principle and at any stage of the account opening procedure you may be requested to provide any additional information or documents concerning the procedure of opening the account that may take additional time, as well as refusing of account opening without reasons explanation.
English/Arabic speaking.
Visa debit cards.
The term of issue of the card is 3-4 working days from the moment of filing an application. An application for issuing a card can be submitted to the bank after opening an account, and all necessary forms can be signed at a personal meeting with a banker. Only the client can receive the card. The bank does not provide international delivery of cards.
All banking services.
Forms for signing are provided at the bank office in the UAE during a personal meeting of the shareholder (signee) with the personal bank manager.
Documents for the company:
- corporate documents of the company: Certificate of Incorporation/Trade License, МOA/AOA, Share certificate (if applicable). If the company exists for more than 1 year, a Certificate of Incumbency/Good Standing is required.
- detailed business plan in English. When carrying out trading activities, it is necessary to name the list of goods that the company plans to sell, for consulting services – to describe in what area and what services will be provided. It is also necessary to provide 3-5 potential suppliers and 3-5 potential clients, indicating their full name, address, website and country. Additionally, the bank may request copies of contracts and invoices with suppliers and clients.
- you must specify the amount of the estimated annual turnover and describe the nature of the main transfers (payers and currency), also roughly indicate the amount that the company plans to hold for the account.
Documents for the shareholder/founder (signee):
- copy of foreign passport and copy of the page with a stamp on the entrance to the UAE;
- CV in English (must contain information on professional activities. It is advisable to indicate work experience that will correspond to the activities of the UAE company);
- statement of personal/corporate account for the last 3 months. As a source of financing a new company, the bank may consider both the founder’s personal account and another company’s account, where the founder is the holder of shares (min 5%). For such a company, it is necessary to provide the statutory documents (registration certificate, shareholders certificate) and an account statement for the last 3 months. The personal account statement must also be for the last 3 months.
Each statement must be detailed for each incoming/outgoing payment. The bank wants to see details, senders and receivers of funds. All statements must be in English (with a seal stamped by a translation agency). In the process of reviewing the shareholder’s statement, the bank examines the company's counterparties. If the client works with such countries as Israel, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, South Sudan, the bank will refuse to open an account.
Documents for a shareholder/founder (signatory) must be:
- translated into English;
- sealed by a translation agency.
If the shareholder of a company is a legal entity registered in another jurisdiction:
- statutory documents for the company (registration certificate, Article of Association of the company, shareholders certificate, Certificate of Good Standing (if the company has been operating for more than 1 year)), certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice of the United Arab Emirates. These documents must also be certified by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country where the company is registered, as well as legalized at the UAE embassy in that country.
To open a personal account on the founder of the company, the following documents have to be provided:
- copy of the shareholder’s (founder’s) passport
- Emirates ID and a copy of the resident visa;
- CV in English;
- copy of company license.
One can apply for opening a personal account at the same time as submitting an application for the corporate account of the company.
To begin the procedure, it is necessary to provide a full package of documents for the company and documents related to the shareholder. Scans of all documents are sent to the bank for consideration and making a decision on the possibility of opening an account, after which the shareholder has to personally visit to the bank office in the UAE to sign an application for opening an account.
The application is being considered by the bank within 10-15 business days, during which compliance may request additional documents.
After a positive decision is made, an account has to activated, which usually takes 2-4 business days. At the same time, the bank sends the account details to the shareholder’s registered e-mail for making an initial payment to the account (min 100 000 AED (27 500 USD)). After receiving the down-payment to the account, the bank activates Internet banking and issues Digi Pass.
For further consultation concerning the terms of account opening in United Arab Bank (UAE) please contact our office. We will respond to any questions you may have and will help you open an account in Emirati United Arab Bank or any other bank out of 70 foreign banks you may choose from.
