The UAE Central Bank ordered all banks to halt planned hikes to the minimum balance requirement for personal accounts on Tuesday, pending a formal evaluation of the policy’s effects on customers, reports Gulf News.
In a circular received by Emarat Al Youm, the Central Bank directly addressed recent reports claiming that some large banks were planning to raise the minimum necessary deposit from Dh3,000 to Dh5,000 beginning June 1.
At least one major institution has already executed the move, which would have charged non-compliant customers up to Dh105 per month, reported Gulf News.
“With reference to what has been circulated in the media and social platforms about some banks’ intention to raise the minimum balance to Dh5,000, the Central Bank has decided to study the impact of this increase on customers,” the circular read. “Accordingly, banks are instructed to suspend the increase and refrain from applying it until further notice.”
There were reports that several major banks had planned to implement the new Dh5,000 threshold starting June 1, in line with updates to Central Bank regulations.
Account holders expressed concern about the financial burden on low-income households and small businesses following the revelation of the possible hike, which sparked intense public outrage.
Under the now-paused policy, customers who did not maintain a Dh5,000 balance in their current accounts would have been charged a monthly fee of Dh25, unless they met certain exemption conditions. These included transferring a monthly salary of at least Dh15,000, keeping an aggregate account balance of Dh20,000 or more, and having an active credit card, overdraft, or loan with the bank.
Customers with monthly salaries less than Dh5,000 and no qualifying banking products would have been automatically charged the cost, with some banks apparently proposing to raise the penalty to Dh 100 or more, depending on the account type.