Dubai Forums Dubai Expat Forums Dubai Expat Help Forum

Hi,

Mainly aimed at the UK folks. Who do you bank with? In the UK I'm with Barclays.

The banks in the UAE are all a bit rubbish to be honest. Don't be fooled by the fact they have an international name, they're in a league of their own.

I have accounts with HSBC and Dubai Bank.

Aviod them as much as you can. All banks are pretty much useless and run by muppets here. Its a choice between the lesser evil ones.

I thought I was replying to Who Do You Bunk With? Sorry Bruce, my mistake.

Any experiences with Islamic banks?

My personal experience has been pretty much the same as above - its a question of who is the tallest dwarf. I personally prefer ADCB, HSBC and Noor (albeit the last is limited in branches). In the UK and HK when I lived there I used HSBC and found them excellent but over here they are a completely different animal.

Islamic banks are just the same, nothing Islamic about them other than the name and some rebadge interest as profit as a feel good measure. Just as bad as any other bank here.

DD is right - islamic banks for sharia reasons can't charge interest and therefore call it "profit" but its essentially the same apart from the fact that it allows them to charge the customer more due to the uncertain nature of the "profit" rate. Mortgages by islamic lenders are often touted as being "interest free" but in reality the amount that you need to pay back is just increased and when you work out the effective rate of interest its far higher in most cases than a standard mortgage. Silly really but if you want to live by islamic law I guess you need to pay more to do so even though that needn't be the case.

JoeTGF wrote:DD is right - islamic banks for sharia reasons can't charge interest and therefore call it "profit" but its essentially the same apart from the fact that it allows them to charge the customer more due to the uncertain nature of the "profit" rate. Mortgages by islamic lenders are often touted as being "interest free" but in reality the amount that you need to pay back is just increased and when you work out the effective rate of interest its far higher in most cases than a standard mortgage. Silly really but if you want to live by islamic law I guess you need to pay more to do so even though that needn't be the case.

Joe, do you mind if I point out one small thing? This is DDS you are agreeing with here. DD is someone a world away from DDS and should not be confused. People are very protective of their identities here at DF. But you carry on, you sound as if you know what you are talking about.

Ha - OK - meant desertdudeshj and shortened it....incorrectly to DDS.
Apols

Which has a bigger UAE - read; AD and Dubai - presence, Barclays or HSBC?

Question regarding banking - didnt want to start a new thread on this , Hulkman , Hope you dont make much of me hijacking YOUR thread.

I want to ask about the credit card issue, is it impossible to get a credit card there? What are their criteria for issuing a regular credit card ? Do's and Dont's of getting a credit card ? Is it absolutely essential to have that , Can someone get by with just a debit card instead ?

Getting along with the debit card is just fine, infact I would suggest to you strongly to go that way. As a means of electronic payment debit cards/ATM cards here are just as good infact better as you only spend the money you have.

It is not impossible to get a credit card, but a lot tougher nowadays. Main criteria is your company should be listed with the bank atleast a salary above 6 I think nowadays its 10k. You 3 to 6 month bank statments.

But most banks will not give you loan or CC nowadays unless you been working in the same company for a year, but this is not a rule set in stone. Depends on your companys dealing with the bank etc etc.

In general DO NOT TAKE CC or PERSONAL loans and NEVER EVER give a blank security cheque. If you must fill it up for the amount that you are borrowing and date it. If they don't play, tell them buzz off.

There have been cases where a person cleared his loan got a clearance letter left then came back after a few years and then worked again for a few years and then suddenly is wanted by the police as his didn't take his security cheque back and bank went crazy trying to recollect from every one by cashing in all cheques in their possesion !

^^ Thank you again DesertMan

brucebanner wrote:Which has a bigger UAE - read; AD and Dubai - presence, Barclays or HSBC?

HSBC by miles. Will you at least thank me in the foreword?

Im vying for co-authorship

Do you guys want to start a wiki on this site? I think it would be a brilliant idea. The dubai faq is good, but It's possible to do something better. It'll also make it easier for someone wanting to make a book just to copy and paste it - the information would be well structured, unlike here where it's scattered all over the place . No I'm kidding, but serious about the wiki.

You do realise this site is not a guide for people wanting to come Dubai nor is that its main aim. There is a section for stuff like that and I think it is sufficient. If anybody got A question it gets answered or a if someone opens a flood gate members still try to help.
You are the exception and not the norm. Usually people are happy with just one or two. besides there are tons of other sites catering to this sort of stuff anyway.

DF is a forum foremost and mostly for people living or who have lived in Dubai to have some fun and unwind

Bruce - so its not a book its a wiki? Is that what all the questions were about?