Corporate bank account opening
A corporate account application prepared the way banks actually assess it — so yours is not the file that goes quiet.
Who this is for
- Newly licensed companies opening their first UAE account
- Shareholders based outside the UAE who cannot sit in a branch every week
- Companies already refused once and unsure what went wrong
- Businesses with a trading model a bank will want explained properly
- Firms that need a second account with a different bank
Not the right fit if: you want a guaranteed approval — nobody can promise that, and anyone who does is selling you something else.
What we handle
- A review of your licence, structure and activity before any bank is approached
- Your business explained in writing, in the form banks ask for
- Shareholder and source-of-funds documents checked for the gaps banks query
- Introduction to bankers who work with your kind of business
- Appointment booking and, where the bank permits it, attendance with you
- Follow-up while the file sits with the bank's compliance team
- A plain explanation if a bank declines, and what to change before the next one
How it works
- 01 We read your file first Licence, structure, shareholders and what the business actually does. Most refusals are avoidable here.
- 02 We shortlist banks Not every bank wants every business. We match you to the ones that work with your activity.
- 03 We prepare the application Your business written up the way a compliance officer reads it, documents in order.
- 04 We introduce and attend The meeting booked, and where the bank permits it, we are there with you.
- 05 We chase it to a decision Compliance review is where files go silent. We keep asking until there is an answer either way.
What it costs
Our fee covers preparing the file, the introduction and the follow-through. It is not a payment to the bank and it does not buy a decision. The bank sets its own account charges and minimum balance, publishes them itself and revises them when it chooses — we give you the current figures for the banks on your shortlist in writing before you apply, not after.
- Whether the shareholders are individuals or another company
- Whether any shareholder sits outside the UAE, and in which country
- How your activity is treated by bank compliance teams
- Whether this is a first application or a re-application after a refusal
- How many banks you want approached
Indicative. Authority fees are set by the authority and revised without notice. Last reviewed 19 September 2026.
Documents you will need
The exact list depends on your activity and the authority. We send you a written checklist for your own case before anything is filed.
- Trade licence and establishment card
- Memorandum of association or equivalent constitutional document
- Passport, visa page and Emirates ID for each shareholder and signatory
- Proof of residential address for each shareholder
- A description of the business, its customers and its suppliers
- Existing bank statements, where the business is already trading
Questions
No, and we will not pretend otherwise. The bank decides, on its own compliance criteria, and no consultant overrides that. What we can do is make sure your file answers the questions a compliance officer will ask, and that you are applying to a bank that works with businesses like yours.
That depends on the bank. Some require the signatories in person; others accept a remote process for part of it. We tell you which banks on your shortlist require what before you book any travel.
In our experience it is rarely the business itself. It is an activity the bank cannot place, an ownership chain it cannot see through, a description too vague to assess, or no clear evidence of where the money comes from. All four are fixable before you apply.
No. Banks have different appetites, so a refusal by one is not a refusal by all. But applying again with the same file usually produces the same answer, so we go through what was asked and what was missing first.
Each bank publishes its own and they change. We give you the current figures for the specific banks on your shortlist in writing, from the bank, rather than quote a number from memory.
Indicative. Nothing here is legal, tax or immigration advice. Last reviewed 19 September 2026.