BANKING · REQUIREMENTS
What banks actually ask for
Work through these as checklists. A file that is complete on the day it is submitted clears in a fraction of the time of one that is assembled through email requests over six weeks.
CORPORATE CHECKLIST
Seven groups, all expected up front.
Company documents
Trade licence, memorandum and articles, certificate of incorporation, share certificates, and the establishment or immigration card.
People
Passport copies, visa pages and Emirates IDs for every shareholder, director and authorised signatory, plus proof of residential address.
Ultimate beneficial ownership
A full UBO declaration through every layer of the structure, with supporting registry extracts where a corporate shareholder exists.
Business profile
Description of the activity, expected annual turnover, main counterparties and countries, and the expected transaction pattern.
Substance evidence
Tenancy contract or flexi-desk agreement, utility or telecom bills, website, and evidence of staff where applicable.
Source of wealth and funds
Where the shareholders' money came from and where the company's opening funds will come from, evidenced rather than asserted.
Contracts
Signed agreements, purchase orders or invoices, even a small number. Named counterparties resolve more compliance questions than anything else in the file.
PERSONAL CHECKLIST
Shorter, but the same logic.
Identity and status
Passport, residence visa page and Emirates ID for residents. Passport and a second identity document for non-residents.
Address
Ejari or tenancy contract and a recent utility bill, or an equivalent from your home country for a non-resident account.
Income
Salary certificate or employment contract for employees, or trade licence and company bank statements for business owners.
Banking history
Three to six months of statements from your existing bank, home country or UAE.
Source of funds
For larger opening balances, documentary evidence of where the money originated.
Last updated 13 August 2026 Next review Q4 2026
THE TWO THAT DECIDE IT
Substance and source of funds.
Substance means the bank can see the business exists: a real address, real expenditure, real activity, and a licence that matches what you say you do.
Source of funds means the bank can trace the money without asking you a second time. Every unexplained transfer in the last six months will be asked about, so explain them before they are.
What counts as source of funds evidence?
Audited accounts, salary certificates, sale agreements, dividend vouchers, tax returns or a clean bank statement history. What does not count is an explanation without a document behind it.
Do documents from abroad need attestation?
Usually yes. Corporate documents commonly need apostille or consular legalisation plus legal translation into Arabic or English, depending on the bank and the issuing country.
How much of a business plan do banks want?
Less than people expect, and more evidence than people bring. Named counterparties, signed contracts and a plausible turnover figure do more than twenty pages of narrative.
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