What the bank decides on
Wio’s published tests are short. The company must be UAE-based with a valid trade licence, or the applicant must hold a freelance permit; the person who operates the account must hold a valid Emirates ID and residence visa; and the company must show a physical address. The Standard Terms add the rule that every bank applies and few applicants read: if you do not provide all of the information the bank asks for, it “might decline your application”. In our experience the information is rarely refused; it is supplied late, in pieces, or in a form that does not match the licence.
So the test we apply before anything is submitted is clarity: does the file, read cold by someone who has never heard of the client, say what the company does, who pays it, whom it pays, how much, from where, and who runs it from the UAE? When the answer is yes, the bank’s stated three working days are realistic. When it is no, the bank writes back, and every exchange adds days.
The file, item by item
| Document | What the bank looks for | Where it goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Trade licence | Valid, with activities that describe what the company will actually do | Activities chosen for convenience that do not match the business described; a licence close to expiry (the bank charges AED 210 a month once a licence is two months expired) |
| Memorandum and articles | Shareholders and their percentages, consistent with the licence | A shareholder on the licence who is missing from the memorandum, or the reverse, after an amendment |
| Board resolution or power of attorney | Who may operate the account, and whether singly or jointly | Joint signatories where a single one was intended; debit and virtual cards are issued only to a signatory who can operate the account singly |
| Proof of address | A title deed, tenancy or Ejari, utility bill or bank statement from the last three months, at the licence address | A flexi-desk licence with no lease in the company’s name; an address that differs from the licence |
| Emirates ID and visa of the signatory | Both valid and issued; the bank does not accept an ID still in process | Applying before the ID is in hand; a visa not yet stamped |
| Partners and corporate shareholders | Passports and, for residents, Emirates IDs; for a corporate shareholder, its licence or certificate of incorporation, memorandum and ownership chart | An ownership chart that stops at a holding company; a corporate shareholder with no documents |
| The business description | One page that answers the five questions below | A sentence copied from the licence, or a business plan written for an investor rather than for a bank |
The five questions we answer before the bank asks them
Where a client has already been trading, invoices, contracts and statements from the previous bank answer most of these questions better than any description, and we include them.
From licence to live account: the timetable
What the bank publishes on fees
Wio’s Schedule of Fees of September 2026 is the only document we quote; the figures include VAT.
| Essential | Grow | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | AED 99 | AED 249 |
| Account opening, minimum balance, closure | Free, none, free | Free, none, free |
| Users | 2 free, then AED 26.25 each a month | 10 free, then AED 26.25 each a month |
| Local transfers out | 10 free a month, then AED 1.05 | Free |
| International transfer, bank fee (correspondent charges apply) | AED 52.50 | AED 26.25 |
| Accounts in USD, EUR, GBP and other currencies | Free | Free |
| Cards | One physical card free; virtual cards free, up to 100 active | Same |
| Salary files (WPS) | One free a month, then AED 31.50 | Three free a month, then AED 31.50 |
| Interest on Saving Spaces | None | Paid; fixed Saving Spaces up to 3.75 per cent a year |
| Cash | Free at FAB ATMs; AED 10.50 per deposit at Lulu Exchange | Same |
Which plan a client chooses depends on the number of users and transfers; most new companies start on Essential and move to Grow when payroll and international payments justify it. The plan can be changed without a fee.
After the account opens
- Fund it and use it: the account is the company’s evidence of activity for every later bank, auditor and tax filing.
- Open the currency accounts you need; USD, EUR and GBP accounts have their own IBANs, and the bank’s correspondent for all three is Citibank.
- Register the Wage Protection System file before the first salary; the bank processes WPS files from the app.
- Connect the accounting system; Xero, Zoho, Wafeq and Fiskl are supported.
- Keep the licence current and tell the bank about changes: a new shareholder, a new activity, a new address. The bank’s terms require it, and an expired licence is charged after two months.
- Consider the Wio Business credit card once the company has a track record. Eligibility is at the bank’s discretion; the published requirements include six months of VAT statements where applicable and turnover of AED 375,000, with limits of up to AED 250,000 unsecured or up to 80 per cent of a deposit, 0 per cent interest for up to 60 days and no annual fee.
- Open the second account, in a different banking group, with the same file.
Questions we are asked
The owner lives abroad and has no visa yet. Can the account be opened?
Not until the person who will operate the account holds a valid UAE residence visa and Emirates ID; that is the bank’s published rule. Either the owner obtains the visa through the company, which is part of our incorporation work, or a UAE-resident manager is appointed as signatory under a board resolution.
Does an offshore company qualify?
RAK ICC and JAFZA Offshore companies hold a certificate of incorporation, not a UAE trade licence, and have no physical office in the bank’s sense. Wio does not publish an offshore product, and we do not submit them; those companies bank elsewhere, and we arrange it.
How long does it take?
Wio states three working days from a complete application. Our own count starts earlier, at the licence, because the visa and the Emirates ID set the date on which the application can go in.
What does Polaris charge for the account?
Nothing, at any stage and whatever the outcome. Our fees cover the incorporation, the visas, the registered office and the advisory work; assistance with the Wio account is included.
What if the bank declines?
The bank may refuse without giving a reason; its terms say so. Where it does, we ask through our channel whether anything can be remedied, and if not we take the same file to the next bank on our list. The file is not wasted.
Can Polaris see or operate our account?
No. We are not the bank’s agent and we have no access to clients’ accounts. Our channel to the bank is for the status of applications we have prepared, nothing else.
- The bank’s published tests are a valid UAE trade licence or freelance permit, a resident signatory with Emirates ID and visa, and a physical address; the unpublished test is whether the file explains the business clearly.
- Seven documents and one page of answers: what the company does, who pays and is paid, how much and how often, where the first money comes from, and who runs it from the UAE.
- The application goes in the day the signatory’s Emirates ID is issued; Wio states three working days, and we follow directly with the bank’s onboarding team from day four.
- Essential costs AED 99 a month and Grow AED 249, with no minimum balance, the first month free and a single published Schedule of Fees.
- After approval: currency accounts, WPS, the accounting link, a licence kept current, a credit card once there is a track record, and a second bank with the same file.
Polaris Perspective
Every client we form a company for gets this process, and gets it at no charge. The reason is simple: a company without an account is a licence in a drawer, and the fastest route to an account is a file that leaves the bank nothing to ask. If you are starting a company or a freelance permit, or have one whose bank application has stalled, the file is where we begin, alongside our free-zone formation, residence visa and compliance work.
Note — Polaris Corporate Services FZ-LLC is an independent, licensed corporate service provider. It is not an agent or representative of Wio Bank PJSC, it does not decide applications and it charges no fee for assisting with a Wio Business account. Products, eligibility and pricing are as published by the bank in its Key Facts Statement, Standard Terms and Schedule of Fees, and account opening is at the bank’s discretion.
Sources for this article
- Wio Business help centre: who can open an account, documents required, Emirates ID and visa, transfer times, correspondent banks — Wio Bank PJSC
- Wio Business Standard Terms and Conditions, September 2022: information requirements, UAE residence, the bank’s discretion — Wio Bank PJSC
- Wio Business Key Facts Statement for accounts, version 7, August 2025: currencies, cards, limits, first month free, billing — Wio Bank PJSC
- Easy onboarding: application steps and the three-working-day timetable — Wio Bank PJSC
- Wio Business Schedule of Fees, September 2026 — Wio Bank PJSC
- Wio Business pricing: Essential and Grow plans — Wio Bank PJSC
- Pay and get paid: transfers, multi-currency accounts, bulk payments — Wio Bank PJSC
- Wio Business Credit Card Key Facts Statement, version 4, August 2025 — Wio Bank PJSC
- Wio Business General Terms for Credit Facilities, February 2025 — Wio Bank PJSC
- Wio Business direct integration with Xero (18 August 2025) — Wio Bank PJSC
- Wio Bank partners with FAB to facilitate cash and cheque deposits (2 January 2023) — First Abu Dhabi Bank
- Invoicing in Wio Business: digital invoices, reminders and payment links — Wio Bank PJSC
- Wio for web: business banking from the browser — Wio Bank PJSC