The UAE has 62 banks licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE. Most of them will happily open an account for you. Far fewer are the right fit for your salary, your residency status or the way you actually move money.
Klip.ae reviews the banks operating in the UAE and says plainly who each one suits and who should look elsewhere. We are an independent publication, not a bank and not a broker. Read how we work on our editorial policy and ratings methodology page.
Start here
If you are not sure where to begin, the complete list of banks in the UAE breaks down all 62 licensed banks by type: national, foreign, Islamic and conventional. It is the best starting point for narrowing the field.
The largest UAE banks
These are the banks most residents encounter first, usually through a salary transfer. They have the widest branch and ATM coverage and the broadest product range.
- Emirates NBD
- First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB)
- Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB)
- Mashreq Bank
- Commercial Bank of Dubai
Islamic banks
Sharia-compliant banking structured around profit-sharing and asset-backed products rather than interest.
Digital-only banks
Banks with no branch counters, built for customers who would rather never visit one.
International banks in the UAE
Global names operating as licensed branches. Smaller physical footprint, stronger cross-border and wealth services.
- HSBC Bank Middle East
- Standard Chartered Bank
- Citibank N.A.
- BNP Paribas
- Credit Agricole CIB
- Bank of China
Banks for remittances and expat communities
Banks with established South Asian customer bases and dedicated remittance corridors.
Regional and GCC banks
- Doha Bank
- Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK)
- Saudi National Bank (SNB)
- Arab Bank
- Bank Melli Iran
- Bank Saderat Iran
- International Development Bank (IDB)
Other UAE banks
The regulator
Every bank on this site is licensed and supervised by one authority. The Central Bank of the UAE sets capital requirements, consumer protection standards and anti-money-laundering rules across the whole sector, and it is where you escalate a complaint your bank has not resolved.
How we review banks
We build every profile from primary sources: the bank’s own product pages and published schedule of fees, the Central Bank of the UAE register, and published credit rating announcements. We do not take payment from banks for coverage or for a rating.
More on our method, our independence rules and how to request a correction is on the editorial policy page. What this site is and is not is set out in about Klip.ae and our disclaimer.
Found something out of date? Tell us at contact@klip.ae and we will check it against the bank’s current published information.