Coronavirus in UAE: COVID 19 Bank Relief Measures:
Further to Central Bank of the UAE, CBUAE’s, announcement on Dh100 billion comprehensive targeted economic support scheme for customers affected by COVID-19, banks across emirates come forward with comprehensive relief measures to ease up the financial stress faced by their customers. The support schemes introduced by banks adhere to fiscal and monetary support programs declared by the UAE government and central bank to reduce impact of coronavirus outbreak in the economy.
What does this mean for you and what can you expect from banks?
In order to support the customers during COVID 19 pandemic challenging times, broadly banks come up with array of following schemes*
*Terms and conditions apply, subject to consideration and approval by the respective bank.
For your ready reference, we have consolidated all major UAE banks COVID 19 relief measures and given below for both individuals & self employed customers. If you need any further clarity on the same pls click here and submit your details to get a call back from us. Alternatively you can login to www.bankbychoice.com to get complete insights about banking products and services.
Emirates NBD
Emirates Islamic
Dubai Islamic Bank
Commercial Bank of Dubai
Mashreq Bank
First Abu Dhabi Bank
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
Sharjah Islamic Bank
Dubai Bank’s relief measures: Emirates NBD, Dubai Islamic Bank,Emirates Islamic, Mashreq and Commercial Bank of Dubai
Individual customers:
Retail loan customers placed on unpaid leave can ask their bank for a repayment holiday of up to three months with zero interest and fees.
Customers with personal loans, car loans or mortgages can apply for a one-month repayment holiday with zero fees.
First-time home buyers can benefit from a 5 per cent increase in the loan-to-value ratio (up to 80 per cent for expatriates and up to 85 per cent for UAE nationals) and a full waiver of processing fees.
Charges on debit card cash withdrawals on the ATMs of other banks across the UAE will be refunded.
Credit card customers can benefit from interest-free instalment plans for all school fee payments as well as grocery purchases with no processing fees for up to six months.
Customers who need to cancel travel bookings made with their credit and debit cards will receive a refund of the foreign currency transaction fees charged by the bank.
Cash advance charges for customers using credit cards for cash withdrawals will be cut in half.
Business customers:
Small business customers holding merchant loans, equipment loans or business vehicle loans can apply for a repayment holiday of three months with zero interest and fees.
Abu Dhabi Bank’s relief measures: First Abu Dhabi Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
Individual customers:
There are five initiatives specifically for those “impacted by Covid-19” and five “for all”.
For those affected:
A three-month payment holiday applies to existing loans and credit cards with no additional bank charges.
Foreclosures on mortgages will be halted for defaulted customers until June 30.
Freezing bank accounts will be stopped for customers that are made redundant or have their salaries reduced, until September 30.
Foreign currency transactions made after January 1, associated with cancelled travel plans, will be refunded.
Utility bills can now be paid in no-fee instalment plans.
For all:
A three-month payment holiday applies to new loans and credit cards with a 50 per cent reduction in charges.
Interest charges on new loans will be reduced.
Bank charges for the early settlement of existing loans will be cut in half.
As with Dubai banks, the down-payment required for first-time buyers will be reduced by 5 per cent.
Interest-free instalment plans for school fee payments are available.
Business customers:
There are seven initiatives for business customers, including four for those affected by the pandemic and three for all.
For those affected:
A deferment of loan payments for up to three months applies to existing borrowing.
The bank merchant’s service fees will be cut in half for eligible SME customers with annual credit card transactions of less than Dh5m.
Bank fees and charges will be reduced by up to 50 per cent for “Zero Balance” accounts.
As directed by the central bank, the minimum balance for all SME accounts has been reduced to Dh10,000 per month.
For all:
A three-month payment holiday applies to new borrowing, with a 50 per cent reduction in charges.
Interest charges on new borrowing will be reduced.
Bank charges for early settlement of existing loans will be cut in half.
Sharjah Islamic Bank relief measures:
Individual customers:
Similar measures apply. Any retail customer who has been made redundant or failed to receive their salary due to the current economic conditions can request to defer instalments for three months at no charge. Payments on real estate loans can be deferred for one month.
To reduce or eliminate the need to visit branches, the bank increased the daily withdrawal limit from ATMs to Dh15,000 for individual clients and Dh25,000 for priority banking clients.
Business customers:
The bank reduced the minimum account balance to Dh10,000. It “invites corporate clients to contact their relationship managers to discuss the available options” to help them mitigate the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on their business, the bank said.
