Opening a business bank account

A company and a bank account are separate things. Setting up a company does not give you an account.

Approval is the bank's decision

Each bank applies its own risk assessment, and the Central Bank's guidance is built on that risk-based approach. A bank that cannot complete its customer checks must not open the account. A free zone, an agent or ritegate cannot promise one, and we never will.

What banks ask for

The Central Bank's guidance for licensed financial institutions says that, for a company, a bank should verify it using original documents or information from a reliable and independent source. The list includes:

• the company's name, legal form and memorandum of association;
• its head office address or principal place of business (for a foreign company, the name and address of its legal representative in the UAE, with proof);
• its articles of incorporation or similar documents, attested by the competent UAE authority, where appropriate;
• its key countries of operation outside the UAE;
• the names of its key controllers and senior managers, and of everyone authorised to give instructions on the account;
• its ownership and structure, down to the individual owners;
• the purpose and nature of the relationship with the bank, and the nature of the business.

The bank is also expected to verify the identity of those individuals, and to understand a customer's source of income or wealth and expected activity. Depending on its own risk assessment, a bank may ask for more, for example by visiting a corporate customer.

Why it takes time

The guidance expects banks to check the company and the people behind it, and to look more closely at higher-risk cases. It gives examples:

• A bank that does not recognise a document issued by a foreign authority can ask for a notarised or apostilled copy, or one certified by an embassy official.
• For a non-resident company with a complex ownership structure, the ownership documents of the first layer should be notarised, and the other layers need complete incorporation documents, including the owners' details.
• A complex ownership structure with no business justification is a red flag the bank should investigate.
• Where discrepancies or red flags cannot be resolved, the account should be rejected or restricted.

What helps

• Clear answers about what the company does and who it will deal with.
• Documents that match each other: names, addresses and dates.
• Patience: the timeline is the bank's, not the provider's.

What this guide does not say

It does not describe the UAE as a way around bank checks. Banks are expected to check every customer, and a UAE company is no exception.