Opening an account in Dubai with HSBC

[wayneis]

Service level of banking in Dubai has a lot or room for improvement. Read this article here from 7 days newspaper on how HSBC gave the run around.

I used to bank with HSBC swapped over to Mashreq bank but not much better and only a couple of days ago it was reported a local employee with Emirates bank duped millions off customer's.

Big one to look out for here that banks will not be to keen to tell you about. Write a personal cheque and if you do not honor the cheque you will go to jail. No slap on the wrist straight to the slammer.

Wish to cancel a cheque? not so easy its a drawn out process that involves the Dubai Court.

Another one here in Dubai is that credit cards and debit cards are never checked against your signature. Do not lose your card. You could sign Donald Trump and you would still get paid.

Afraid Banks still have a long way to go

[Razneer]

So this is what I have found out:

£100 account opening charge:

This is correct depending on which International Banking Branch you try to open the account with. For example, the US branches are already charging an opening fee. Within the UK, such as the International Banking Branch in Manchester, also charge £100.00 and this will become the norm for most branches in the UK and other countries. Apparently this charge has been recently introduced.

However, I opened up my account via HSBC Jersey, and as yet they are NOT charging any account opening fee and have no plans in the immediate future.

Your best option is to ring the contact name and number I gave you at the beginning of the thread and ask them to help you open up the appropriate account.

Other information:

Since we are all non-UAE residents, we are not eligible to open current accounts until we receive our residency permits. However, I opened the Yasmeen account which is specifically for women only and this IS a current account. I picked the balance-based option which means I must ensure that the balance per month does not fall below 5000AED.

Rest assured though, the savings accounts that you can open, all offer ATM card, withdrawals; internet banking and bill-paying facilities. The only difference might be where you have to hold a minimum balance and also prossibly make frequent payments on a monthly basis. I suggest reading the T&C's for confirmation on these latter points.

Hope this information is of help to you all.

[laguna33p]

so razneer, what you are saying essentially is that go through the jersey branch. I think I will wait until I go to dubai which hopefully could be in the next few months, if nakheel get their act together!

[Razneer]

Laguna

Yep its better to open the account via jersey branch to avoid the opening account fee. I cant see any other way around it other than waiting until you get your residency permit.

[anil]

Has anyone used this bank..

Savings

It seems fairly simple to open and run a savings account with them.
Although no cheque book.

[gtmash]

I have a MeBank account. Suits my purposes. Not sure if they'll deal with overseas people since they look at your residence visa while applying. Checkbook is extra cost. And expect to lose money if you are changing pounds/dollars to dirhams in any form of payment.

[anil]

the FAQ section does say it is open to non-residents

Savings

[anil]

However, for MeBank, as a foreign national, you need to be present in Dubai to open an account !

Is this true for HSBC and other non-UAE banks?

[tbashir]

What banks accounts have non-Dubai residents managed to open.

I have tried to open an account when I have been visiting Dubai twice in HSBC but not succeeded due to problems getting hold of a group ID form from UK. (HSBC in the UK didn't know what this was so couldn't get hold of one!)

[colum1975]

i was in dubai last week and tried to open an account with ME (emirates bank) and they said that they no longer open accounts for non residents.

this was after they told me that i could do it online (which i had already tried)

i went next door to an internet cafe and tried again, but to no avail.
i went back to the branch and they told me "oh, that is no longer possible for non residents"

anyone else had any joy opening an account anywhere in dubai?