Who decides whether your company gets a UAE bank account?
The bank decides, after running the checks the law requires. If it cannot complete them, it must not open the account.
The current law is Federal Decree by Law No. 10 of 2025 on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation Financing, in force from 14 October 2025. Its Article 41 repeals Federal Decree by Law No. 20 of 2018. The Central Bank's customer due diligence guidance took effect on 7 November 2025.
What are UAE banks required to check?
Banks are required to identify and verify the customer, its beneficial owners and the purpose of the relationship, and to keep monitoring the account afterwards.
| Check | What the guidance says |
|---|---|
| The company | Name, legal form and memorandum of association, and the head office or principal place of business |
| Evidence | A certificate of incorporation with an official seal, an official extract from a government corporate registry, or a government issued corporate ID |
| Beneficial owners | Every individual who holds, alone or jointly, a controlling ownership interest of 25% or more. Ownership is traced up the chain until the individuals are identified |
| Purpose | The purpose and intended nature of the business relationship |
| Sanctions screening | Customers, beneficial owners, persons acting for the customer and senior managers such as directors and signatories, before onboarding |
| Non resident customers | The bank may ask for notary certified, apostilled or embassy certified copies |
Good to knowWhere the risk warrants it, a bank may identify owners below 25%, for example at 10% or lower.
When will a bank refuse to open an account?
A bank must refuse when it cannot complete due diligence. The Central Bank guidance states that it shall not open the account and shall file a suspicious transaction report with the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit.
The guidance gives examples of customers a bank may refuse. It also lists a red flag on source of funds: a newly formed company with little or no business history that funds an account with significant funds.
- A customer who refuses to provide documents.
- A customer whose beneficial owner cannot be identified.
- A company with bearer shares or nominee shareholders.
- A shell bank.
Good to knowHigher risk customers are subject to enhanced due diligence, which can include a face to face meeting or a visit to the customer's place of business.
How long does it take to open a corporate bank account in the UAE?
There is no official timeline. No official approval rate or minimum balance exists either, so this article gives none.
What the Central Bank guidance does set is the order of events. Beneficial owners should generally be identified and verified before the business relationship is established, and sanctions screening takes place before onboarding.
The guidance lists a face to face meeting and a visit to the customer's place of business among the verification methods for higher risk customers. Ask the bank what it requires before you apply.
How can a founder prepare?
Prepare the documents the guidance tells the bank to verify, before you apply. A complete file does not decide the outcome. The guidance lists a customer who refuses to provide documents among those a bank may refuse.
- Company documents: a certificate of incorporation or an official registry extract, the memorandum of association and the address of the principal place of business.
- An ownership chart that traces every layer up to the individuals who hold 25% or more.
- For a non resident customer, notary certified, apostilled or embassy certified copies if the bank asks for them. For non resident companies with complex structures, the guidance expects the first layer of ownership documents to be notary certified.
- A plain description of what the business does and why it needs the account.
- Evidence of where the opening funds come from, above all for a new company with no trading history.
Good to knowWhere a Links package lists bank account opening, we prepare the application. The decision remains the bank's.
Will the account be reported to your home tax authority?
UAE financial institutions report account information annually to the Ministry of Finance under FATCA and the Common Reporting Standard, which went live in the UAE on 1 January 2017. Under the Common Reporting Standard, the information is exchanged with partner jurisdictions.
For US account holders, reporting runs through the FATCA intergovernmental agreement signed on 17 June 2015.
Is the UAE still on the FATF grey list?
The Financial Action Task Force removed the United Arab Emirates from its list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring on 23 February 2024.
On 10 June 2025 the European Commission announced the removal of the UAE from the EU list of high risk third countries, subject to scrutiny by the European Parliament and the Council.