El Nilein Bank Business Account in the UAE

How this bank fits a business

What an El Nilein business account costs

The bank's own sources give three different figures for a business account, and we show all of them rather than pick one:

• Website: business current account with an AED 3,000 minimum balance, debit card, free statement and cheque book.
• Corporate key facts statement (2025): no initial deposit; AED 100 + VAT a month if the average balance falls below AED 5,000.
• Tariff (corporate banking / SME): AED 10,000 minimum, AED 170 a month if below, an AED 150 monthly maintenance fee and an AED 200 yearly opening fee. Its effective date reads 1/11/2026, which may mean 1 November or 1 January.
• Other tariff items: international transfers by SWIFT AED 60, outward remittances under AED 50,000 AED 100; first debit card and first cheque book free. Tariff amounts are before 5% VAT.

A non-resident company call account is shown on the website with an AED 3,000 minimum, while its key facts statement says no minimum is required.

Who can open it

Business accounts need a trade licence issued in the UAE, and non-resident customers must be present in the UAE to open an account. Whether free zone or offshore companies are accepted is not published.

How opening works

At the Abu Dhabi branch: the relationship manager sees the original documents, and foreign documents must be attested by the UAE embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. No online opening or opening time is published.

About the bank

El Nilein Bank's sole UAE branch has operated in Abu Dhabi since 1977 (Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Building, Al Danah, Zone 1). The Central Bank of the UAE register lists it as a foreign Islamic retail bank in Abu Dhabi. Its parent in Khartoum, founded in 1963, is 99% owned by the Central Bank of Sudan. OFAC removed the bank from its sanctions list on 12 October 2017. The bank publishes no SWIFT code on its own pages. Contact: +971 2 626 9995, service@nileinuae.com.

Since 13 September 2026 a Central Bank of the UAE regulation for SME customers requires banks to complete account opening within three business days for applicants assessed as low risk, counted from the full set of documents, and caps other delays at two weeks; banks may not charge a closing fee once an account has been open for six months.

Sources, checked 3 October 2026: El Nilein Bank UAE schedule of fees; El Nilein Bank UAE; El Nilein Bank UAE contact; OFAC recent actions, 12 October 2017; CBUAE register, August 2026; CBUAE SME customer protection regulation (C 2/2026).