Opening a UAE business bank account: what seven UAE banks require and charge

The short answer

UAE banks open business accounts for companies with a UAE trade licence, and in practice they want at least one signatory who lives in the UAE with an Emirates ID. The real cost is often the minimum balance, not the monthly fee: fall below it and you pay up to AED 1,500 a month. Without UAE residency, look at providers outside the UAE that accept UAE companies.

What we looked at

Finzil has profiles of seven UAE banks with business accounts: Wio Bank, Mashreq NeoBiz, Ruya, Zand Bank, RAKBANK, Emirates NBD and Commercial Bank of Dubai. Each profile is built from the bank's own price lists, eligibility pages and account terms, checked in October 2026. Where a bank doesn't publish something, we say so rather than guess.

Who UAE banks will open an account for

All seven are built for companies licensed in the UAE. Four of them say so as a firm rule: Mashreq NeoBiz, RAKBANK, Emirates NBD and Commercial Bank of Dubai only accept companies registered in the UAE. Zand asks for a valid UAE trade licence. Wio and Ruya describe their accounts as being for UAE businesses and don't publish a rule for anyone else.

Where the owners live matters more than at most European providers:

• Mashreq NeoBiz and Emirates NBD both state that at least one signatory must live in the UAE.
• RAKBANK needs your Emirates ID validated in person.
• The other four don't publish a residency rule. UAE banks generally ask for the Emirates ID of the people who run the account, and an Emirates ID comes with UAE residence.

So the usual sequence for a founder abroad is: form the company, get a UAE residence visa through it, receive the Emirates ID, then apply to the bank. None of the seven banks publishes a route for opening the account before the visa.

What it costs: the minimum balance is the real price

The seven banks use two pricing models, and some offer both. Either you pay a flat monthly fee, or you pay nothing as long as you keep a minimum average balance and are charged when you fall below it.

Two things the table hides:

• Odd-looking numbers are VAT. UAE bank fees carry 5% VAT, so a fee of AED 50 shows as AED 52.50 and AED 350 as AED 367.50. Emirates NBD states that its fees are subject to VAT.
• A "free" account can be the most expensive one. A company that keeps AED 40,000 on average pays nothing at Zand, AED 210 a month at RAKBANK and AED 525 a month at Commercial Bank of Dubai. Over a year that is AED 0, AED 2,520 or AED 6,300 for the same balance.

If your balance is small or unpredictable, a flat fee such as Ruya's AED 79 or Wio's AED 99 is easier to plan around. If you will keep a large balance, a minimum-balance package can cost nothing.

Sending money abroad

International payments are where the seven differ most:

• Zand Bank charges no fee of its own on outgoing SWIFT payments. Correspondent banks still take their charges, and paying all of them costs at least AED 78.75.
• Commercial Bank of Dubai gives two free digital transfers a month on its Premium account, then charges AED 31.50. The same transfer at a branch costs AED 262.50.
• Wio Bank charges AED 52.50 per SWIFT payment on Essential and AED 26.25 on Grow.
• Mashreq NeoBiz charges AED 25 to AED 50, depending on the plan.
• RAKBANK charges AED 78.75 for SWIFT payments in other currencies.
• Ruya doesn't offer international transfers from the account. Payments abroad go through Lulu International Exchange for AED 10.50 to AED 21.

None of the six banks that hold foreign currencies publishes the exchange margin it adds when you convert AED. Ask for it before you open the account if you will be converting regularly.

One change already announced: from 20 November 2026, Wio Bank will charge AED 1.05 or AED 0.75 for each local transfer to another bank, depending on the plan.

The documents UAE banks usually ask for

Expect to provide:

• The trade licence and the company's memorandum of association.
• Share certificates or the register of shareholders.
• Passports, UAE residence visas and Emirates IDs for the shareholders and signatories.
• Proof of address for each of them.
• A description of the business: what you sell, to whom, in which countries, and expected monthly volumes.
• Evidence of activity, such as contracts, invoices or a live website.
• For mainland companies, the office lease.

Gaps between these documents slow things down more than anything else. If your licence says "general trading" and your website sells software, explain it in the business description before the bank asks.

If nobody in the company lives in the UAE

Then a UAE bank is hard, and you have two options.

Get residency first. Owning a free zone or mainland company usually makes you eligible for a UAE residence visa through it, and many owners take one precisely so they can open a UAE bank account. If you plan to run the company for years, this is usually worth doing.

Use a provider outside the UAE that accepts UAE companies. 19 providers outside the UAE publish country lists that include UAE-registered companies, among them Payset, Altery, Sokin, Emerald24, Bilderlings, Dukascopy Bank and Bankera. Payset, Emerald24, Dukascopy Bank and Bankera also state that they accept owners who live abroad. 3S Money offers local IBANs in the UAE alongside the UK and Europe and accepts non-resident owners. You won't get a UAE bank's local services, such as WPS salary payments, but you will get an account in the company's name that works.

Many companies end up with both: a European or UK provider for international payments, and a UAE bank account once someone has residency.

Check which providers accept your UAE company.

Questions people ask

Can a non-resident open a UAE business bank account?

Rarely without UAE residency. UAE banks open business accounts for companies with a UAE trade licence, and two of the seven on Finzil, Mashreq NeoBiz and Emirates NBD, state that at least one signatory must live in the UAE. The usual route is a residence visa through the company, then the Emirates ID, then the bank application.

What is the minimum balance for a UAE business bank account?

It depends on the bank and the package. Zand Bank waives its fee above an average balance of AED 20,000, RAKBANK above AED 100,000 and Commercial Bank of Dubai above AED 350,000. Ruya and Wio Bank charge a flat monthly fee with no minimum balance.

How much does a UAE business bank account cost per month?

Flat-fee accounts start at AED 79 a month at Ruya and AED 99 at Wio Bank and Mashreq NeoBiz. Minimum-balance accounts cost nothing above the threshold and AED 200 to AED 1,500 a month below it, depending on the bank and package.

Which UAE bank accounts can a free zone company open?

All seven UAE banks on Finzil serve companies with a valid UAE trade licence. Commercial Bank of Dubai lists free-zone companies among the entity types it accepts. Check each bank's rules for your free zone and activity before applying.

Figures from the banks' own published price lists and eligibility pages, checked in October 2026. Fees include 5% VAT where the bank publishes them that way. General information, not financial advice.