Haven’t used your account for over 12 months?
If you have a current or savings account and have not used it for more than 12 months, your account will be classified as inactive. If you have not used your account and have had no contact with the bank for more than 3 years, your account will be classified as dormant. This holds true for all accounts under your name.
Once your account is classified as inactive, you’ll still be able to make debit and credit transactions, but there may be delays with clearance of cheques and transferring funds. Once your account becomes dormant, you can’t do any transactions via online or mobile banking or via ATMs.
Activating an inactive account
You can activate an inactive account simply by transferring or withdrawing money from it via any of the following means:
Once the transaction is done, your account will be activated within 24 hours.
Activating a dormant account
If you’re a resident with an Individual Account:
- Visit a branch with your Emirates ID or passport with UAE residence visa
If you’re a resident with a Joint Account:
- All the joint account holders must visit a branch with their Emirates ID or passport with UAE residence visa
If it’s a Minor Account:
- The guardian needs to visit a branch with their own passport or Emirates ID
If it’s a Company Account:
- An authorised company representative must visit a branch with their Emirates ID or passport for identification; UAE Trade license and letter signed by authorised signatories requesting activation of the account.
If you’re a non-resident holding an Individual or Joint Account:
Visit a branch in the UAE or abroad with the following documents:
- Utility bill or any other document as proof of address
- Customer due diligence form
- FATCA/CRS self-declaration by account holders
- Self-attested passport copies of account holders
You’ll find all the forms you need on our Form Center.
The status of individual and joint accounts will change to active within 24 hours and company accounts will take 2 to 3 working days.
Additional documents may be required at the bank’s discretion.
Reclaiming funds after dormant account closure
If you have no contact with the bank for 2 years after your accounts become dormant, all your accounts will be subject to review and closure and unclaimed money will be transferred to the UAE Central Bank.
To reclaim your money, follow the applicable guidelines below:
If you’re a resident with an Individual Account:
- Visit a branch with your Emirates ID or passport with UAE residence visa for identification
If you’re a resident with a Joint Account:
- All account holders must visit a branch with their Emirates ID or passport with UAE residence visa for identification
If it’s a Minor Account:
- The guardian needs to visit a branch with their own passport or Emirates ID for identification
If it’s a Company Account:
An authorised company representative will have to visit a branch with the following documents:
For an active company:
- Trade License
- Memorandum of Association
- Shareholder Resolution
- Power of Attorney
For an inactive company:
- De-Registration Certificate
- Memorandum of Association
- Shareholder Resolution
Non-resident holding an Individual or Joint Account:
Visit a branch in the UAE or abroad with the following documents:
- A letter from the concerned government authority confirming the passport and address details of the account holder(s) along with an attestation from the UAE Embassy in your country
- Self-attested passport copies of all account holder(s)
- Instructions for the transfer of your funds
Please note, additional documents may be required at the bank’s discretion.
For help with any of this, please visit one of our branches and we’ll be happy to help you out.
Here are our branch locations in the UAE and internationally.