In the UAE, you can open a current account, savings account or a deposit account. Current accounts usually offer zero interest, unlike savings and deposit accounts, where you can earn some interest or profit.
Yes, minimum balance is required for most of the savings account
No, savings account is only for individual customers
Currencies available while opening a savings account differs from bank to bank. General currency options include AED, USD, EUR, GBP
Yes, non-residents can open a savings account in addition to valid passport and bank statement of your residence
No, cheque books are not issued on savings account.
Most banks in the UAE allow you to apply for an account online. You fill out your basic details such as name, email id, address, passport number, Emirates ID number, employer name online. You can then visit the branch and submit a copy of your original documents.
For salary transfers, your employer will require your bank account number, bank name and branch details and IBAN number.
In case of a death of an expat, all individual and joint bank accounts related to them are frozen. This can happen within one hour of the fatality and applies to accounts and deposits in local as well international banks.
Your account would be considered overdrawn when you have insufficient money to fund banking charges, monthly loan repayments, standing orders, direct debits or a checks already issued.
When there is no activity in your account for a very long time, the bank deems the account a dormant one. The timeline for such inactivity to be deemed dormant varies from bank to bank, but is usually one year. Typically you will get a notice from the bank to perform some transaction.
