UAE Central Bank Suspends Increase in Minimum Balance Charges for Personal Accounts

The UAE Central Bank has asked all banks to pause their plans to increase the minimum balance required for personal bank accounts. This decision was made to carefully review how the new rule might affect customers, especially those who may struggle with higher balance demands, according to reports from Gulf News.

What Happened?

Recently, some reports suggested that major banks in the UAE were planning to raise the minimum amount customers need to keep in their accounts from Dh3,000 to Dh5,000 starting June 1. This increase would mean that customers who keep less than Dh5,000 in their accounts could face monthly fees, which some banks said could be up to Dh105 per month.

In fact, at least one big bank had already started applying this new rule, charging customers who did not meet the new minimum balance.

Central Bank’s Response

The UAE Central Bank sent a formal notice to all banks. It clearly stated that, due to the concerns raised in the media and on social platforms, the banks should stop raising the minimum balance until the Central Bank completes a full review of how this change might impact people.

The notice said, “Banks must pause the increase and not apply it until the Central Bank finishes studying its effects.”

Why Was There Concern?

Many people, especially low-income families and small business owners, were worried that this new minimum balance rule would make banking more expensive for them. The idea of having to keep a higher balance or pay monthly fees caused a lot of public concern and frustration.

Details of the Paused Policy

If the new policy had gone into effect, customers with less than Dh5,000 in their accounts would have been charged a monthly fee of Dh25. However, some banks were considering charging even higher fees, up to Dh100 or more, depending on the type of account.

There were exceptions for customers who met certain conditions, such as:

• Receiving a monthly salary of Dh15,000 or more
• Maintaining a total balance of Dh20,000 or above across accounts
• Having an active credit card, overdraft, or loan with the bank

For customers earning less than Dh5,000 per month and who did not qualify for these exceptions, the fees would have applied automatically.