# Free Zone WPS - Bank Account issue!



## Mystopheles (Jun 23, 2014)

I scanned through the threads, couldn't find relevant information, hence posting:

So I made a run to various banks for opening an account today, no luck. Read through the various degrees of frustration encountered by others on the forum. Ditto here. This bloke at Mashreq bank couldn't stop yawning while talking to me and had no clue what he was saying - totally distracted.

Anyway, I have a Manager's visa in a Free Zone company. Now I read that free zone companies are exempt from WPS (Wages Protection System).

Every bank insisted that only if my salary is being paid through WPS, will I be able to get a zero minimum balance account, otherwise all the accounts will be north of AED 3,000 min balance and will not classify as salary accounts.

Anyone else encountered this? Any way to work around it? Or do I just have to live with the minimum balance requirement?

Also, no one is willing to give me a credit card!

Back home - they were lining up to give me platinum ones with humongous credit limits - here they flatly refuse! 

Help? Please?


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## ExpatnKids (May 2, 2014)

Since you are looking to open a new account, it means that you are new to the UAE. You cannot expect to get a credit card right off the bat. You have to develop some sort of a credit history first. You will need to setup a bank account, have your salary come in for a few months, before creditors can get an idea of your income and spending power. It is only then that they will be in a position to offer you a credit card.

As for bank accounts, shouldnt your employer tell you which bank to open an account in? Usually, direct salary deposit is done in the same bank as the one in which your company holds an account, as that is easier and quicker. And yes, current accounts have a minimum balance limit in most banks, though you may occasionally come across some deal from a bank offering no minimum balance.


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