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Question Revolut of Dubai?

sriracha

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Aug 25, 2022
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What is the "Revolut of Dubai"?

Seriously...I need a Dubai bank that is at least moderately modern, where I can sign up online, transfer to and from without exorbitant fees, mostly for parking my money. Added bonuses would be free transfers, low monthly fees and CHF/SGD accounts. I don't need anything fancy (transfers to/from crypto exchanges, business account etc). It should not be west-owned, it should be rather east-owned (Dubai itself, China, Russia, India etc).

If there is none such...the same thing in Singapore?
 
Singapore:
OBS
SC SG (Priority Private, min. SGD 1.5M, low fees, requires personal visit. If you're in UAE you can open via their branch and them move money back and forth without hassle and fees). Multi-currency no issues and you get debit and credit cards. The FX fees are pretty good. To exchange large amount of money you could just use IBKR.

BNP Paribas in LU is also a feasible option, not sure about holding SGD.

Some east-owned banks are riskier, not mentioning the possible account freeze.

How much money we're talking about? Makes a difference to chose which bank.
 
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From technical point of view providing dedicated EU IBAN's for AED,USD,EUR,GBP and a lot more currencies under your Companies Name there is definitely at least 1 possibility out there.

However if you refer to Revolut Fee structure only - there is absolutely nothing which just make sense as it's much higher risk working with international companies compared to EU only.
 
Singapore:
OBS
SC SG (Priority Private, min. SGD 1.5M, low fees, requires personal visit. If you're in UAE you can open via their branch and them move money back and forth without hassle and fees). Multi-currency no issues and you get debit and credit cards. The FX fees are pretty good. To exchange large amount of money you could just use IBKR.

BNP Paribas in LU is also a feasible option, not sure about holding SGD.

Some east-owned banks are riskier, not mentioning the possible account freeze.

How much money we're talking about? Makes a difference to chose which bank.
What is OBS?

< 100k eur
 
Sorry, I mean DBS. Largest bank of Singapore.

With less than 100k there is no need to go to Singapore. You could park 100k in fixed term deposit with option to retrieve it as you like.

What's your plan with less than 100k to move around to east-owned banks? Russia - no way.
Diversify geopolitical risk. The sh*theads in Brussels could decide to do CBDCs or otherwise haircut bank accounts, or make people justify balances above a certain threshold. If it sounds unlikely, think what you would have said, before covid, had some by told you that they would do multiple lockdowns, compulsory mass testing, air travel restrictions etc.

Is there really nothing in Dubai? Why not Russia?
 
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>Why not Russia?
Just visit this 'country' for a week and you will understand why not, this is something like iran or north korea, where you can be murdered without any investigation. And of course when it will be designated as a terrorist country (this will be in nearest time) nobody will want to make deals with it. Also, swift, visa, mc are not working there. And any good airline does not fly there. Any f*cking mac donalds not working there. Just forget about this idea man.
 
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It's OT a little bit; but just a little bit.
>Why not Russia?
Just visit this 'country' for a week and you will understand why not,
You know literally nothing about Russia after spending a week there. (Especially if you do not speak Russian really fluently.)
this is something like iran or north korea,
I do not think it is comparable. Putin's regime is really ugly but different. (I admit that I was in none of these countries personally in the last years.)
where you can be murdered without any investigation.
Yes, you can. And it can happen in many other countries as well.
And of course when it will be designated as a terrorist country (this will be in nearest time) nobody will want to make deals with it.
Please note that just about <50 countries imposed sanctions against Russia. Another ~150 countries does not care much.
Also, swift, visa, mc are not working there.
Roughly – yes (SWIFT is partially working). And many business partners of Russians are OK with it.
And any good airline does not fly there.
You mean, any western?
Any f*cking mac donalds not working there.
:) It's rather positive, isn't it? :) (Putting aside that a Russian replica of MCD is running.)
 
If you have Emirates ID you can open a personal bank account in about any bank in UAE within minutes. Many of them possible to open online with your phone.

I think I can help with opening a bank account even for Russian nationals without Emirates ID but it will require a lot of paperwork (KYC, source of funds and a deposit of about $250k).
 
If you have Emirates ID you can open a personal bank account in about any bank in UAE within minutes. Many of them possible to open online with your phone.

I think I can help with opening a bank account even for Russian nationals without Emirates ID but it will require a lot of paperwork (KYC, source of funds and a deposit of about $250k).
I have been having troubles opening banks in UAE. Any tips?
 
Personal: just download MashreqNeo app, scan Emirates ID and you'll have an account within minutes and debit card and check book will be delivered to you within 2 days. No need to visit bank/branch at all.

Business: not that simple and depends on numerous factors.
 

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