How to open a corporate bank account in the UAE: steps, documents and common delays

Who can open a corporate bank account in the UAE

Any company that a bank can identify, understand and risk-rate can apply for a corporate account in the UAE. The Central Bank of the UAE's guidance on legal persons and arrangements, in force since 7 June 2021, tells banks to manage the risk of company customers through checks and not to turn them away as a class. A legal person is a company or other entity with its own legal identity, separate from its owners.

What decides the outcome is the file: who owns the company, what it does and where its money comes from. This guide sits alongside more UAE business banking guides in Insights.

Mainland and free zone companies

Mainland and free zone companies face the same checks, but their documents come from different registrars. The guidance, written in 2021, counted 39 corporate registrars across the Emirates and the free zones. It points banks to the National Economic Register, which shows a licensed entity's licence number, address, activities and a manager's name, so check your entry before you apply.

Since 16 November 2023, Cabinet Decision No. 109 of 2023 has required companies licensed in the UAE, including those in commercial free zones, to keep a record of their beneficial owners and to update it within 15 days of learning of a change. Financial free zones are exempt. A bank may ask for a copy of what you filed with your registrar.

Foreign-owned and non-resident companies

A foreign-owned or non-resident company can apply, and each bank decides case by case whether to accept it. The Central Bank's guidance on customer due diligence, in force since 7 November 2025, says a company with no presence and no legal representative in the UAE is verified through other documents, such as certified incorporation papers, proof of its principal place of business or notarised identification of the individuals who control it. Zand Bank's public pages do not say whether it accepts companies registered outside the UAE.

Sole proprietorships

A sole proprietorship applies like any other business, with a shorter ownership check because one person owns it. The bank still verifies the licence, the owner's identity and the source of funds. At Zand Bank a sole proprietorship can operate its account with a single user.

Documents banks ask for

Banks ask for documents that prove four things: that the company exists, who manages it, who owns it and who may act for it. The table follows section 4.1 of the Central Bank guidance on legal persons and the 2025 guidance on customer due diligence. Customer due diligence (CDD) is the set of checks by which a bank identifies a customer, verifies that identity from independent sources and learns what the account is for.

The account opening process step by step

Opening a corporate account takes five steps: choose the bank, submit the file, pass due diligence, set up users and fund the account. The company acts in four of them and the bank in one, due diligence.

1. Choose the bank and account type

   The first step is to pick a licensed bank and an account type that fits how the company pays and gets paid. The Central Bank's monthly CB Register lists each licensed bank with its licence type and head office; the August 2026 edition lists Zand Bank P.J.S.C. in its Banks section. Then compare what each bank publishes: currencies, minimum balance and online banking roles. A demand deposit account is a current account whose balance is available for payments at any time.

2. Submit the application and documents

   The application is the bank's forms plus the documents in the table above, sent as one consistent file. Names, addresses, activities and ownership percentages should read the same in every document. The Central Bank's guidance allows digital identification alongside physical documents, provided remote checks are at least as strict as face-to-face ones, so a bank may take the file online.

3. Due diligence, beneficial ownership and sanctions screening

   The bank now verifies the file against independent sources. It confirms the company's identity, traces ownership up to the individuals who hold 25% or more and verifies each of them. A beneficial owner is the individual who ultimately owns or controls a company, directly or through other companies. The bank also records the purpose of the account and the source of funds, screens owners, senior managers and signatories against sanctions lists and assigns a risk rating. A higher rating brings enhanced due diligence: more documents and questions, sometimes a visit to the premises.

4. Set up users and approval rules

   Before the first payment the company decides who may enter, check, approve and release transactions. Corporate online banking usually separates the person who prepares a payment from the person who approves it, a control known as maker-checker. The people named must match the board resolution or power of attorney in the file. The glossary has authority matrix and maker-checker definitions.

5. Fund the account and make the first payment

   The account is ready for use once it is funded and the first beneficiary is approved. Send the opening transfer from the source you declared, because the bank compares real activity with the profile it built during due diligence for as long as the account is open. At Zand Bank a new beneficiary takes "up to 24 hours, depending on the workflow" to add, so add regular payees before the first payment date.

What decides how long opening takes and why applications are delayed

The file decides how long opening takes. Neither the Central Bank guidance cited here nor Zand Bank's public pages give a figure, so this guide gives none. Four things lengthen the process.

• Layered ownership. The bank must follow every chain of holding companies until it reaches individuals, and each layer adds documents.
• Missing or inconsistent documents. An expired licence or a share split that differs between two papers stops the file. Where a discrepancy cannot be resolved, the guidance tells the bank to reject or restrict the account.
• Higher-risk activity. Enhanced due diligence is mandatory when the company or its beneficial owners are based in a high-risk country, and the guidance suggests it for cash-heavy sectors and other financial businesses.
• Unclear source of funds. The bank records the source of funds and of wealth for every customer, and a vague answer leads to more questions.

A refusal means the bank could not complete its checks or judged the risk to be outside what it accepts. The guidance is direct on the first case: a bank that cannot carry out due diligence must not open the account. Each bank applies its own risk assessment, so ask what was missing, repair the file and apply again or elsewhere. If you think the application was handled unfairly, the Zand Bank complaints procedure and escalation steps give the time limits and the external route.

Minimum balance, fees and currencies to compare

Compare four published items before you apply: the minimum balance, the charge for falling below it, transfer fees and the currencies on offer. Each bank's schedule of charges is the document to read.

Zand Bank publishes its charges as a one-page Fees and Charges schedule and not as a web page. As printed in the schedule read on 12 October 2026, account opening is free, the minimum monthly average balance is AED 250k and the fee when the average is lower is AED 500 plus VAT. The schedule is set out on the page for Zand Bank fees and minimum balance information.

On currencies, separate the currencies an account can be held in from the currencies payments can be sent in. Zand Bank's help pages say a company can open accounts in various currencies if it meets the eligibility criteria, without listing them. Its transaction banking page, as captured on 6 October 2026, described payments in 15 currencies, a payments figure and not a count of account currencies. Term deposits run for up to 1 year in AED, USD and EUR, and no rates are published.

Digital bank or branch-based bank for a company account

Neither model suits every company: a digital bank removes branch visits, and a branch-based bank offers counters and face-to-face help. The legal checks are the same, because the same Central Bank rules apply to both.

Zand Bank, a digital bank for UAE companies, describes itself as all-digital, so it belongs in the first column. The line between the models is thinner than it was: Emirates Islamic, for example, publishes a guide to opening personal accounts entirely online, though it addresses individuals and not companies.

What is specific to opening an account at Zand Bank

At Zand Bank the company itself sets up its users and approval rules in Zand Digital Corporate Banking, the bank's online banking service. Zand Bank PJSC is licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE and addresses corporate, institutional, fintech and wealth clients; see who regulates and owns Zand Bank. The walkthrough below is built from the bank's own corporate banking answers, read on 12 October 2026.

Users, makers and authorisers

A sole proprietorship can run its account with one user; every other company needs at least two to open one. The maker, or inputter, enters the account opening details and assigns the users. The authoriser approves the opening and assigns the authorisers who will operate the account. There are six user types:

• Viewer: sees accounts and reports.
• Inputter: initiates transactions.
• Checker: verifies transactions before authorisation.
• Authoriser: the only role that authorises online transactions.
• Releaser: releases authorised transactions.
• Administrator: manages users and their rights.

A deleted user cannot be reactivated, so the administrator adds a new one. The FAQ page has more answers on users, approvals and transfers.

The authority matrix

The authority matrix is the list of business rules under which each corporate user works, and every new transfer follows the approval path it sets. Draft the matrix before you apply: decide who inputs, who authorises and who releases, and make sure it agrees with the signing powers in your board resolution.

Beneficiaries, notifications and statements

A one-time beneficiary can be added for a single transfer. Each new approval task is announced by SMS and email and listed under Tasks, where a user approves or rejects one task or several at once. Transaction history is online for the last six months; older entries are on statements, which the bank keeps from the day the account opened and provides as PDF files. The security page explains how accounts and data are protected.

Next step. Accounts, payments, virtual accounts and escrow are described on the page for the Zand Bank business bank account in the UAE. To ask about your own company, speak to the Relationship Centre on +971 600 502 328.

Accounts for fintech and digital asset businesses

Fintech and digital asset businesses should expect enhanced due diligence when they open a bank account. The Central Bank guidance names other financial businesses, such as payment processors, and customers that buy or exchange virtual assets among the cases where a bank may apply it. Expect to show the company's own licence or registration.

Zand Bank names fintech companies among the clients it addresses and holds VARA licence no. VL/2024/12/001 for Custody Services, for Institutional Investors and Qualified Investors only (VARA public register entry). That is the bank's scope, not a promise of acceptance. Related pages: digital asset custody for institutional and qualified investors, the CBUAE banking licence and VARA licence compared and how AED stablecoins work, from reserves to redemption.

Digital asset services: Virtual Assets may lose their value in full or in part, and are subject to extreme volatility. The investor can lose all the money or other value they invest, and does not benefit from any form of financial protection. Full virtual asset risk disclosure

Common mistakes that slow an application

Most avoidable delays come from a file that contradicts itself or leaves a question open. Several of the five mistakes below match the warning signs in Annex 1 of the Central Bank guidance, which prompt a bank to look further and are not proof of wrongdoing.

1. The licence activity does not match the business. If the licence says general trading and the application describes software services, the bank has to ask which is true.
2. Resolutions are unsigned or name the wrong people. The bank must confirm that whoever opens the account is authorised to act.
3. The ownership chain stops at a company. A beneficial owner is always an individual, so supply documents for every layer.
4. There is no evidence of real activity. A company that cannot be found online, or that has only a mailbox address, draws questions.
5. The source of funds is vague. "Shareholder funds" is not an answer until you show where the money came from.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Central Bank of the UAE, "Guidance for Licensed Financial Institutions Providing Services to Legal Persons and Arrangements", sections 3 and 4, CBUAE Rulebook, rulebook.centralbank.ae, section 4.1, accessed 12 October 2026.
2. The same guidance, Annex 1, "Red Flags for Concealment of Beneficial Ownership", rulebook.centralbank.ae, Annex 1, accessed 12 October 2026.
3. Central Bank of the UAE, "Guidance for Licensed Financial Institutions on Customer Due Diligence/Know Your Customer and Record-Keeping", CBUAE Rulebook, rulebook.centralbank.ae, customer due diligence guidance, accessed 12 October 2026.
4. UAE Cabinet, "Cabinet Decision No. (109) of 2023 on Regulating the Beneficial Owner Procedures", rulebook.centralbank.ae, Cabinet Decision 109 of 2023, accessed 12 October 2026.
5. Central Bank of the UAE, "CB Register as of August 2026" (PDF), centralbank.ae/media/hw0lreyi/cb-register-august-2026.pdf, accessed 12 October 2026.
6. Zand Bank, "Corporate Banking FAQs", zand.ae/en/help-centre/corporate-banking-faqs, accessed 12 October 2026.
7. Zand Bank, "Fees & Charges" schedule (PDF), zand.ae/files/Zand-Fees-&-Charges.pdf, accessed 12 October 2026.
8. Emirates Islamic, "Opening a Bank Account Online in the UAE: What to Expect", emiratesislamic.ae, guide to opening an account online, accessed 12 October 2026. Used to compare practice, not as a source of rules.

For information only. This article is not investment, legal or tax advice, and it is not an offer to open an account. Each bank sets its own requirements and decides each application on its own facts.