Data
What a UAE business account actually costs per year
Annual fee is only half the price — a minimum-balance requirement locks capital you can't spend. Both are cost: here is each account's yearly fee and parked capital, side by side.
Cost per account
| Account | Annual fee | Locked capital (min. balance) | Approval time | Free-zone friendly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 RAKBANK RAKstarter | 0 | none | ~3 days | yes |
 Mbank Business Account | 0 | none | not published | yes |
 Yuze Business Account | 0 | not published | not published | yes |
 Mashreq NeoBiz Prime | 0 | AED 50,000 | 3–5 days | yes |
 ruya Business Current | AED 948 | none | not published | yes |
 Alaan Business Account | AED 948 | none | 2–3 days | yes |
 Wio Business Essential | AED 1,188 | none | 2–3 days | yes |
| Mashreq NeoBiz Lite | AED 2,400 | none | 3–5 days | yes |
 Emirates NBD Business Connect | AED 2,988 | none | not published | yes |
 FAB Business Basic | AED 3,000 | AED 10,000 | not published | yes |
 Zand Corporate | AED 6,000 | AED 250,000 | not published | yes |
 CBD Business Account | not published | not published | not published | yes |
How to read this
- Annual fee = monthly fee × 12 (or the stated annual fee where no monthly is published). It is the visible price.
- Locked capital is the invisible price. An account with AED 0 fee and AED 50,000 minimum balance is not free — that money is parked and unproductive. We show it separately rather than guessing an opportunity-cost rate.
- "Not published" is not zero. Where a bank does not publish a fee, assume a cost until confirmed in writing — see the hidden-fees tracker.
- Fall-below fees are not modelled. If your balance dips under the minimum, most banks charge a monthly penalty — check the provider's schedule for that trigger.
For current product details see the business accounts catalogue; aggregate stats live in the banking fees dataset. Methodology
Fees are the published tiers at last review; bespoke corporate pricing can differ. Missing values are shown as "not published", never estimated. Reuse welcome with a link.