Which are the best Emirates Skywards Credit Cards to earn Skywards miles?

Posted on November 29, 2022December 14, 2022 by admin

List of best Emirates Skywards Credit Cards to earn Skywards miles.

Emirates Airlines is one of the most popular airlines in the world and THE most popular airline in the UAE.

As residents we are very lucky to travel with Emirates Airlines and enjoy all the great benefits including the latest aircrafts, extensive travel routes, the best airport lounges, amazing on demand entertainment options, an entire terminal dedicated to just one airline and so on. In addition to these benefits Emirates airlines also offers one of the best airlines miles reward programs offered anywhere in the world – the Emirates Skywards miles program. As with most airline miles programs Emirates Skywards miles can be used to purchase tickets, to upgrade tickets already purchased as well as to make other retail purchases.

While one can earn miles by simply buying tickets for Emirates airlines flights another very popular way to earn Skywards miles is by using specific credit cards which offer Emirates Skywards miles as rewards against purchases made on the credit card. This is a very popular way to earn additional Skywards miles and almost all leading banks in the UAE offer Skywards credit cards which can be used for this purpose. But now comes the question – how do you decide which of these credit cards is the best option for you? This is an important consideration as a credit card is not something you keep applying for and change very often, so it’s important you try and get it right the first time. Don’t worry, we’re here to help you make that choice and this particular article is focused on which Emirates Skywards credit cards offer the maximum Skywards miles for purchases made on the card.

All these Emirates Skywards credit cards also offer other benefits in addition to earning Skywards miles and you can find all the details for each of these cards at www.soulwallet.com in addition to finding our take on the best Skywards credit cards for specific criterion including bonus miles, Skywards tier levels and so on which you can read here.

When it comes to figuring out which Emirates Skywards credit cards are the best for earning Skywards Miles it is important to keep the below in mind:

Which card is the “best for maximum Skywards miles” depends on what type of transactions the card is used for. This is because different credit cards offer different amounts of Skywards miles for different type of purchases. And this can vary not just from bank to bank but within the different Emirates Skywards cards offered by the same bank as well. Hence, while one credit card may earn 1 Skyward mile for every AED spent at supermarkets another may only earn 0.25 Skyward miles for every AED spent at supermarkets. This is why identifying the best credit card to maximise Skywards miles depends on how much YOU as an individual spend on different types of purchases.
Some Emirates Skywards credit cards do not offer ANY rewards for certain types of spends made on the credit card. This could be relevant depending on the typical spends made in that specific category.
Almost all Skywards credit cards offered by banks in the UAE offer more Skywards Miles for spends made at Emirates Airlines (and Flydubai) and more for purchases made internationally (i.e. in a foreign currency). If you make significant purchases at these airlines each year this could have a considerable impact on the amount of Skywards miles earned.
Only some Emirates Skywards credit cards offer card holders the option to earn Skywards “Tier” miles on spends made on the credit card. Tier miles are different from regular Skywards miles and go towards earning the specific “tier” of membership within the Emirates Skywards program – Silver, Gold and Platinum. These tier miles are different from regular miles which can be used to make flight ticket or retail purchases and be used to upgrade flight tickets.
Many of the Emirates Skywards credit cards also offer some “welcome” or joining bonus Skywards miles which in some cases can be a very attractive offer to consider. Almost always these offers will be based on certain criterion being met including payment of the joining or annual membership fee and meeting certain spend levels on the card within specific time frames. For e.g. Dubai Islamic bank current has an offer on their Emirates Skywards Infinite credit card where 120,000 Skywards miless will be awarded to the card holder if an amount of AED 120,000 is spent on the card by April 30^th
In some instances, certain categories of payments such as utilities (DEWA) or telecom (Du or Etisalat) which are made via the bank’s online channels either do not earn or earn lower Skywards miles.
The final decision on Emirates Skywards miles awarded for each category of spends is always with the bank issuing the credit card and it is always advisable to clarify these before applying for the credit card.

The below tables have details of the Emirates Skywards miles one can earn based on the specific transaction types for every Skywards credit card offered in the UAE.

PREMIUM EMIRATES SKYWARDS CREDIT CARDS (minimum required salary > AED 15,000)	ADIB Emirates Skywards World Elite Credit Card	Citibank Emirates Ultima Credit Card	Citibank Emirates Ultimate Credit Card	Dubai Islamic Emirates Skywards Infinite Credit Card	Emirates Islamic Skywards Black Credit Card	Emirates Islamic Skywards Infinite Credit Card	Emirates NBD Skywards Infinite Credit Card	RAKBANK Emirates Skywards World Elite Mastercard Credit Card
EXPENSE CATEGORY	Emirates Skywards Miles Awarded For Every 1 USD (or AED Equivalent i.e. ~per AED 3.68 of spend)
Emirates & (flydubai) spends	3	2.5		2	3.5	2	2	Spends Based Tiers
Foreign currency (non AED) spends	2	1.5	1.25	1.5	2*	1.50*	1.5	Spends Based Tiers
Local (AED) currency spends	1.5	1	1	1	1.5	1	1	Spends Based Tiers
Specific Spends Categories:
Grocery / Supermarket	0.25	0.5	0.5	0.3	0.15	0.15	0.25	0.50**
Government Services	0.25	0	0	0.3	0.15	0.15	0.1	0.50**
Utilities	0.25	0	0	0.3	0.15	0.15	0.1	-
Education	0.25	1	1	0.3	0.15	0.15	0.1	0.50**
Fuel / Petrol Station	0.25	1	1	0.3	0.15	0.15	0.1	0.50**
Real Estate Related	0.25	0.5	0.5	0.3	0.15	0.15	0.1	0.50**
Public Transportation	0.25	1	1	1	1.5	1	0.1	0.50**
Charities / Religious Organizations	0.25	1	1	1	1.5	1	1	0.50**
Insurance / Car Dealership	1.5	1	1	0.3	0.15	0.15	0.25	0.50**
Telecommunication	1.5	0	0	0.3	0.15	0.15	0.1	0.50**
Quick Service Restaurant	1.5	1	1	1	0.15	0.15	0.25	-
Duty Free	1.5	1	1	1	1.5	1	2	-
Online Food Delivery, Car Booking Apps	1.5	1	1	1	1.5	1	2	-
Health & Beauty / Club Membership	1.5	1	1	1	1.5	1	1	0.50**
Cinema	1.5	1	1	1	1.5	1	1	0.50**

* European Economic Area transactions will only earn 0.375 Skywards miles per USD of spend.
** these categories earn only 50% of the Skywards Miles If the total spend in these categories is LESS THAN 50% of the total spend on the card.

EMIRATES SKYWARDS CREDIT CARDS (minimum required salary AED 15,000 or below)	ADIB Emirates Skywards World Card	Citibank Emirates World	Dubai Islamic Emirates Skywards Signature Credit Card	Dubai Islamic Emirates Skywards Platinum Credit Card	Emirates Islamic Skywards Signature Credit Card	Emirates Islamic Skywards NBD Credit Card
EXPENSE CATEGORY	Emirates Skywards Miles for every 1 USD (or AED equivalent ~ AED 3.68 of spend)
Emirates & (flydubai) spends	2.5	0.75	1.5	1	1.5	1.5
Foreign currency spends	1.5	1	1	0.75	1.1*	1*
Local currency spends	1	0.75	0.75	0.5	0.75	0.75
Specific Spends Categories:
Grocery / Supermarket	0.25	0.5	0.2	0.15	0.375	0.1875
Government Services	0.25	0	0.2	0.15	0.1125	0.075
Utilities	0.25	0	0.2	0.15	0.1125	0.075
Education	0.25	0.75	0.2	0.15	0.1125	0.075
Fuel / Petrol Station	0.25	0.75	0.2	0.15	0.1875	0.075
Real Estate	0.25	0.5	0.2	0.15	0.1875	0.075
Public Transportation	0.25	0.75	0.75	.50	0.75	0.075
Charities / Religious Organizations	0.25	0.75	0.75	.50	0.75	0.75
Insurance / Car Dealership	1	0.75	0.2	0.15	0.1125	0.1875
Telecommunication	1	0	0.2	0.15	0.19	0.075
Quick Service Restaurant	1	0.75	0.75	.50	0.19	0.1875
Duty Free	1	0.75	0.75	.50	0.75	1.5
Online Food Delivery, Car Booking Apps	1	0.75	0.75	.50	0.75	1.5
Health & Beauty / Club Membership	1	0.75	0.75	.50	0.75	0.75
Cinema	1	0.75	0.75	.50	0.75	0.75

Islamic Finance & Banking

Posted on March 30, 2022 by admin

What is Islamic Finance?

Islamic finance simply put is a method of conducting financial transactions, banking, and managing money with moral principles that respect Islamic law or Sharia. Islamic finance includes activities like saving, investing, and borrowing money either for business or personal transactions that are permissible under Sharia and that comply with Islamic Laws. The concept of Islamic finance also refers to the type of investments that are permissible under Sharia.

Sharia or Islamic Law constitutes a broad set of rules that guide an individual on leading an ethical life. These rules and guidelines are derived from the Qur’an and the sayings and practices of the Prophet Muhammad. The word Sharia in Arabic means “the way,” thus showing an individual the ideal way to live. In the context of Islamic finance, the rules and guidelines place an emphasises on justice and partnership. Hence, you may hear Islamic financial services often described as “Islamic finance” or “Shari’ah-compliant”.

Principle of Islamic Banking

The Islamic law or Sharia recognises money only as a medium of exchange which has no value in itself. Therefore, as per Sharia law money cannot generate more money. The Islamic law prohibits the income earned through the medium of interest generated. This interest can be defined as interest generated through lending money, or interest earned by money simply sitting in an account.

Islamic finance is principally based on trading with emphasises on justice and partnership. The use of money for the purposes of making money is explicitly forbidden.

The main principles of Islamic finance are:

Wealth must be generated from lawful trade and asset-based investment
Each transaction must be related to a real underlying economic transaction.
Investment should have a social as well as an ethical benefit to wider society beyond pure return
Profit/Loss and Risks should be shared
All harmful activities (haram) should be avoided

Therefore, banks can make a profit from the buying and selling of Shari’ah-compliant goods and services. When a customer deposits money according to Islamic law, the bank needs to select a Shari’ah-compliant investment for the purpose of that deposit. The profits and risks that come with the investment are shared equally with the bank. The practices of Islamic banking have some clear ethical advantages over more traditional banking systems, which can be seen as unprincipled.

Things Prohibited in Islamic Finance

In order to comply with the Shari’ah, certain activities are prohibited in Islamic finance.

The following activities are strictly prohibited in Islamic finance:

Charging and receiving interest (riba):

A lender charging a straight interest, irrespective of how the underlying assets fare disobeys the concept of risk sharing, partnership, and justice. Thus, representing money being used to make more money. Investment in companies that conduct borrowing excessively is also prohibited.

Investments in unethical businesses (haram):

Investing in businesses that deal with activities like alcohol, gambling, drugs, pork, pornography, or anything else that Shariah considers unlawful or undesirable is prohibited.

Investments in transactions that involve speculation, uncertainty, or extreme risk (gharar):

This type of investment is considered gambling, which is prohibited (haram). For example, investing or speculating on the futures and options markets is prohibited. Mutual insurance (which relates to uncertainty) is permitted if it is related to a reasonable and unavoidable business risk.

Uncertainty about the subject matter and terms of contracts:

Selling something that one does not own is prohibited. Investing in special financial techniques that is available for contracting to manufacture a product for a customer is considered as investing in a product which one doesn’t own, as the product hasn’t been made yet. A manufacturer can promise to manufacture the product under certain agreed specifications at a determined price and on a fixed date and in this case, the risk taken is by a bank that would commission the manufacturer and sell the goods on to a customer at a reasonable profit for undertaking this risk. Thus, the bank is exposed to considerable risk. Avoiding contractual risk in this way means that transactions have to be explicitly defined from the outset. Hence, complex derivative instruments and conventional short sales or sales on margin are prohibited under Islamic finance.

Things Permitted in Islamic Finance

As mentioned above, the receipt of interest is not prohibited in Islamic finance. Hence, when Islamic banks provide finance, they have to find other means to earn their profits. This can be done through the profit share relating to the assets in which the finance is invested or can be via the fee that is earned by the bank for the service provided. The essential feature of Islamic law is that when commercial loans are made, the lender must have a share in the risk. If this is not so, then any amount received over the principal of the loan will be regarded as interest.

The following activities are permissible financing instruments in Islamic finance:

Profit and Loss Sharing Contracts (Mudarabah):

The Islamic bank pools together investors’ money and accepts a share of the profits and losses, as agreed upon with the depositors beforehand. The bank invests in a group of mutual funds screened for Sharia compliance. These investments are then filtered to determine whether any sources of income to the business are prohibited. Companies that hold a lot of debt or are engaged in forbidden lines of business are excluded. In addition to actively managed mutual funds, passive funds also exist. They are based on such indexes as the Dow Jones Islamic Market Index and the FTSE Global Islamic Index.

Declining Balance Shared Equity

Commonly used to finance a home purchase, declining balance shared equity calls for the bank and the investor to purchase the home jointly. The bank will then gradually transfer its equity in the house to the individual homeowner, whose payments comprise the homeowner’s equity.

Lease to Own

This arrangement is akin to the declining balance shared equity. The financial institution or bank puts up most of the money for the house and agrees to sell the house to the eventual homeowner at the end of a pre-decided fixed term. A portion of every payment goes toward the lease and the balance goes towards the home’s purchase price.

Instalment Sale (Murabaha)

An instalment sale starts with an intermediary buying the home with a free and clear title to it, which is then sold to a prospective buyer on an agreed upon sale price. This price includes some amount of profit. This purchase can be made either outright (lump sum) or through a series of deferred (instalment) payments. This credit sale should not be confused with an interest-bearing loan as it is an acceptable form of finance.

Leasing (Ijarah)

Leasing or Ijarah involves selling the right to use an object for a specific time. The condition followed must be that the lessor should own the leased object for the duration of the lease. A variation on the lease, ‘ijarah wa ‘iqtina, provides for a lease to be written where the lessor agrees to sell the leased object at the lease’s end at a predetermined residual value. This promise binds only the lessor and the lessee is not obligated to purchase the item.

Islamic Forwards (Salam and Istisna):

These are used for certain types of business and are not that common. The price for the item is paid in advance and the item is delivered at a definite point in the future. The help of an Islamic legal advisor is usually required as there is a host of conditions to be met to render such contracts valid.

Some permissible Basic Investment Vehicles are:

Equities

Sharia law allows investment in company shares (common stock) as long as those companies do not engage in any forbidden activities (haram). Investment in companies can be in form of shares or by direct investment (private equity).

Fixed-Income

Retirees who want their investments to comply with the principles of Islamic finance face a dilemma in that fixed-income investments include riba, which is forbidden. Hence, specific types of investment in real estate provide steady retirement income while not running afoul of Sharia law. These investments can be direct or securitized, such as a diversified real estate fund.

Basic Insurance Vehicles

As traditional insurance is not permitted as a means of risk management in Islamic law, a possible Sharia-compliant alternative is cooperative (mutual) insurance. Investors contribute to a pool of funds, which are invested in a Sharia-compliant manner. Funds are withdrawn from the pool to satisfy claims, and unclaimed profits are distributed amongst the policyholders.

Who makes the rules for Islamic Finance?

Islamic finance offers products and services that comply with Islamic law (Sharia) and often the question that comes up is of who decides what is and is not sharia-compliant? Also, what mechanisms are existing to enforce those judgments?

There are several options a bank can utilise to keep check of these rules

Sharia Supervisory Boards:

Generally, each Islamic finance institution has a sharia supervisory board (SSB). This board is composed of at least three jurists. These jurists although are paid by the bank, act as independent consultants and are involved in both consultative and regulatory aspects. They verify operations, answer the staff’s questions, advise on charity contributions (zakat), and certify products.
The Sharia Supervisory Boards decide what is allowed (halal) or forbidden (haram) based on the two main sources of Islamic law; the Quran and the Sunnah; or what Prophet Muhammad reportedly said and did during his lifetime. Board decisions are taken by a majority vote and are binding on the bank.
These SSB members are religious scholars who specialise in Islamic jurisprudence. It is not necessary for them to be Muslims only. In countries like the UK, there are also non-Muslims experts who have studied and specialised in this matter extensively.
Over the past decade, Islamic finance has rapidly expanded across the world and finding qualified people to sit on SSBs has become challenging. In the world of Islamic finance, reputation is important and sharia non-compliance can be extremely fatal to a bank.

Sharia-Compliance Consultancy: A Juicy Business

With the increasing popularity of Islamic finance, a number of private firms have emerged over the past few years offering sharia compliance services or consultancies. Their clients are not only Islamic banks but also conventional lenders and companies who wish to develop products or acquire certifications that will allow them to tap into the Islamic market.
These consulting firms employ a group of Islamic scholars who function like an externalised sharia board, providing guidance and issuing Islamic rulings (fatwas) in exchange for a fee.

International Standards and Central Banks

At the international level, two supervisory bodies are created for Islamic finance. They are the Bahrain-based Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) and the Malaysian Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB).
These bodies collaborate with institutions such as the IMF or the World Bank to promote sharia compliance globally. The AAOIFI sets basic standards for the Islamic finance industry while the IFSB issues recommendations based on risk assessment.
In Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, AAOIFI standards are mandatory but, in most countries, their standards and recommendations are not binding. If a bank doesn’t comply, there are no sanctions. It is up to each independent country government to enforce certain rules through their central banks who impose those rules on sharia boards.
In all countries except for Sudan and Iran Islamic finance exists alongside conventional banking. For Islamic banks, this means navigating a dual regulatory framework. This means the country follows the country’s laws and regulations as well as sharia compliance.

Growth of Islamic Finance

The concept of Islamic finance can be traced back to about 1,400 years ago when the concept came into existence along with the foundation of Islam. However, the establishment of formal Islamic finance related to the banking sector came into being only in the 20^th century. In recent history, it can be traced to as recent as the 1970s, when Islamic banks in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were launched. The concept has since grown with Bahrain and Malaysia emerging as centres of excellence in the 1990s.

Shari’ah-compliant financing (SCF) or Islamic finance is recognised as one of the fastest-growing segments in the global financial system. Since 2009, the estimated compound annual growth rate has been 17%, proving the significance of Islamic finance in the global economy. The Islamic finance sector has had a significant expansion since, with a growth rate of at least 15%-25% per year. As of 2015, the industry’s global assets had reached up to $1.6 trillion in value. In today’s date and time, it is estimated that worldwide Islamic financial institutions oversee assets valued at over $2.5 trillion with hundreds of specialised institutions located in more than 80 countries, which are managed under the rules of Sharia.

Understanding the importance Islamic finance plays in the global economy, the popularity of Islamic finance is reaching systemic significance in a number of countries in Asia. Islamic finance has achieved at least a 15% market share in the domestic banking sector in countries like Brunei, Bangladesh, and Malaysia. The expansion of Islamic finance can also be seen in developing member countries (DMCs) within Central West Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Here Islamic finance has been expanding to new jurisdictions and maintaining momentum where it already has a strong established presence. The DMCs have begun implementing legislative and regulatory initiatives to establish themselves as Islamic financial hubs.

Islamic finance is gaining popularity not only in countries having predominantly Muslim populations but also in European and African countries. Luxembourg, Hong Kong, China, the United Kingdom, and South Africa have debuted sovereign Sukuks (Islamic trust certificates, similar to conventional bonds), with all issuances being at least twice oversubscribed, demonstrating strong demand for Islamic finance globally. According to a State of Global Islamic Economy report in 2019, the total sharia-compliant assets are expected to grow to at least $3.5 trillion by the year 2024. Islamic finance is proving to be an increasingly relevant sector as can be derived from the increasing market share of Islamic finance in the domestic banking sectors around the world.

The Bottom Line

Islamic finance is a century-old practise that is gaining recognition throughout the world. Islamic banks are by far the biggest players in the Islamic finance industry, accounting for almost $1.75 trillion or 70% of the total assets. In 2019, Islamic finance represented about 1% of global financial assets with an 11.4 % growth rate. Islamic finance is expanding quicker than conventional finance, however with COVID 19 that growth is expected to slow down but remain positive. In some geographies like the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) or Sub-Saharan Africa, Islamic banks are now competing directly with the Western banks to attract more Muslim clients and given the increasing development of Muslim nations, this field is expected to undergo even more rapid evolution. Islamic finance will continue to address these challenges of resolving Islamic investment policy and modern portfolio theory.

How Digital Banking Systems Enhance Customer Experience?

Posted on March 24, 2022March 24, 2022 by admin

Technology is ever changing and continues to revolutionise the world in which we live. In less than a decade, the lives of every single person worldwide have changed from being digital second to digital first. As technology is developing towards providing a comfortable lifestyle, people’s preferences are changing with respect to living in this easily accessible digital world. The world has seen significant improvements and advancements digitally in the last few years alone. These advancements would only continue to grow and inspire people to adapt to the changes in their lifestyles. Gadgets like laptops, smartphones, tablets, and computers have become an integral part of almost everyone’s daily life. Internet and online preferences have seen a significant rise, adding to the comfortable lifestyle of an individual.

The Continuous evolving landscape, cutting-edge competition, along with rising customer expectations have become a general thumb rule to adapt to in almost every industry. The banking sector is no exception and is one of the first industries to adapt to digital advancements. The banking and financial sector being the backbone of any economy is understandably on the frontline for digitalisation and advancement. This is also why many insurances, banking services, and financial institutions and providers have to keep up with the new trends to tend to their customers promptly.

SoulWallet helps you compare and find the best credit card across various banks, that are suited for your needs for you to have an easy and hassle-free experience. The well-researched, solidly structured, unbiased content along with unique tools at SoulWallet help you make well informed financial decisions for your personal and business transactions. In the process, SoulWallet helps you identify the options that will let you save money and enjoy the best perks.

Digitalisation in Banking

With the digitalisation of the banking sector, more and more people prefer to manage their financial activities from making payments, transactions like transferring of funds, checking their bank account statements to applying for loans and credit cards by simply logging into their digital banking portals and conducting these activities from the comfort of their homes or from on the move without having to visit the bank. Digital banking is a system that helps banks and financial institutions to digitalise their banking services and make them convenient to use for the customers as per their convenience. Digital banking services can include activities like money deposits, withdrawals, management of the customer’s bank account, application for financial products, like credit or debit cards, management of loans and other transactions.

Digitalising the banking sector has also helped grow their customer base and transactions can be carried out easily from any area of the world. In order to incorporate this, various digital platforms have established easier links between people from different remote corners, connecting them to the banking and financial institutions and providing them with the service they need. That is why the preference for digital banking for both customers and bankers is thriving.

In many cases, physical restrictions and complications lead to a sharp surge in a demand for an online platform for financial activities and digital banking services. A study by Mastercard revealed that 62% of the respondents in Europe expressed a keen desire and interest in moving from the physical banking aspect to banking using digital platforms in the year 2020. With the complications arising due to the pandemic, over half of the world’s population prefers using online facilities and banking apps more than ever and have expressed a more positive interest in digital banking overall. Customers have switched banks for banks that offer banking features that provide safe, quick, and convenient access to their finances online. Fast, simple, and effortless digital experiences have now become the default mode for consumers throughout their lives, and it’s becoming increasingly important for banking too, particularly as all the big techs have upped their involvement in their respective sectors.

Digital banking authorizes its customer’s personalization at the scale that drives between 5 and 15% revenue growth for the corporations in the financial service sectors. Banks functioning digitally have also witnessed a reduction in costs and streamlined processes. This end-to-end integration has also helped provide an engaging customer experience in financial services that allow business transformation with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Customer Experience in Banking

In the year 1999, when the world was steadily digitalising, Dell’s then Chief Information Officer Jerry Gregoire proclaimed, “the customer experience is the next competitive battleground.” The two decades since have shown this to be a very accurate prediction in all sectors of business.

All the efforts a bank puts in making each and every one of their individual clients feel important while interacting and transacting with the bank is referred to as the customer experience (CX). The cumulation of all the interactions that a customer perceives along the entire journey is also a part of the customer experience. Customer experience is the most important aspect in the banking and financial sector. Every strategic approach taken by the banks is to meet the demands of their customer and to satisfy their customer needs. In this day and age, it is crucial for banks and financial institutions to digitally transform themselves to deliver a consistent banking experience online for their customers.

A study by the digital banking report has concluded that improving the customer experience in banking should be the first goal for all banking institutions and financial service providers. The banks that invest in the customer experience trends have a higher rate of recommendation, greater wallet share and are more likely to up and sell or cross-sell products and services to existing customers.

In the financial service industry, customer experience carries equal weightage, if not more. Addressing customer suggestions and preferences is much more impactful in the long term and forms a loyal customer base. Banks and financial institutions that adopt new trends and strategies to revamp the banking and financial service experiences are steady in the market and have a loyal and expanding customer base. Banks and financial institutions that have used digitalisation and technology to create seamless, convenient, and intuitive customer experiences have dominated their markets.

What are the Customer Expectations from Digital Banking Experience?

Customers expect their banks should focus on creating an experience culture that would nurture all their needs, build trust, and offer personalised experience as per their convenience.

The key customer expectations when it comes to digitised banking experience are:

Easy accessibility – Banks and financial institutions need to provide quick and easy to use digital platforms that are accessible across multiple devices, mainly smartphones and computers. Various features and banking transactions should be carried out easily on these platforms without any wait time. The high quality banking experience along with easily connecting with the bank directly is a must.

Real time assistance – Often customers need real time assistance and prefer instant support. This not only builds confidence in the customers but also encourages loyalty and recurring customers. Using live assistance tools like co-browsing and video chats, banks can provide real time support and help to their customers. Chatbots also help scale their support and customer interactions.

Personalised services – Customers almost always prefer personalised services and relevance as per their needs. They would look for products and services that match their needs and provides subsidies that would be beneficial to their needs and usage. Banks can identify the key business drivers and deliver personalised support that would help shape the customer experience in banking.

Data security – Many customers are sceptical about their financial and important personal information being misused or taken advantage of. Data security is the most crucial point for any banking and financial sector. Customers need to feel safe sharing their finance and personal information with the bank. A healthy relationship between banks and customers is only created with a secure network and when a bank can guarantee security to the data of their customers.

Multifunctionality – Customers prefer banks that offer them options and solutions to any of their problems immediately. The banks need to keep pace with the latest developments of the market and technology and offer services across different channels simultaneously.

Design – Many traditional banking institutions often do not concentrate on their interfaces and fail to attract new clients. A customer today will prefer banks to have an exceptional UI along with easy to use website or mobile apps. Investing in improving digital channels attracts more customers.

Three ways Banks can conquer Customer Experience in Digital Banking

Banks hold enjoy strong customer relationships and trust since their establishment. Even with the services and products becoming available digitally, most of the customers trust their banks and banks that offer superior and personalised services. To further thrive in this digital era, banks need to harness the available advanced banking technology. This will allow the banks to match with the seamless and intuitive customer experiences offered by other big tech and their competitors.

To conquer customer experience in digital banking, banks need to focus on three key areas:

Transform the business models and mindset to a customer first approach – The customer first mindset requires banks and financial institutions to think about customer needs relentlessly and make things easy and accessible for the customers.

Leverage advanced banking technology – All banks require advanced digital banking solutions that help them manage their customers worldwide. Using technologies like application programming interfaces (APIs), cloud, and artificial intelligence allows banks to analyse and manage their vast amounts of data and large customer base.

Maintain and extend your trust advantage – Trust being the most important factor, offers a valuable advantage to build close and personal relationships with customers. Combing technology with customer experiences, banks can enhance customer experience and develop stronger trust with their clients.

Tips to Improve Digital Transformation

For banks to succeed in digital transformation and to avoid outdated assumptions while creating exceptional services that focus on their customers, banks should follow the following customer experience tips:

Serve more instead of selling
Make emotional connections with customers instead of overloading them with lots of information
Provide actionable solutions to customers instead of just focusing on features
Create an integrated flow for the customers instead of disintegrated experiences
Become disruptive instead of being protective

Ways to Improve Digital Customer Experience in Banking

The adoption of digital enablement technologies by banks that are able to function together smoothly is required to orchestrate a connected and enhance customer experience.

The following strategies are options for banks to achieve this state:

Proactive engagement for improved financial management – Financial institutions have various means and innovative methods to collect data, analyse and channel strategies to diversify the means of engaging customers and building better and stronger relationships in real time. By educating customers, notifying customers without delays, and conducting surveys help banks in conducting proactive customer engagement.

Offering live assistance – Mapping a consumer banking journey is an excellent way to gain a detailed understanding of the customer’s experience. This can help banks discover common customer complaints, gain insights into improving the consumer journey, help in identifying the touchpoints customers have with the bank and understand their expectations better. This also helps in improving customer resolution time, reducing sale cycle and number of touchpoints for the customer.

Using chatbots as Financial Concierge – Artificial intelligence has played a significant role in technological development. Using AI chatbots is a common practice for customer interactions. This helps in providing faster and more accurate solutions to customers in real time and help in connecting with the right department and bank personnel without much response delay. The chatbots also provide customer information to the banks to help them identify the customer and the problem quicker and thus provide accurate solutions.

Prioritise a seamless omnichannel customer experience – Modern customers prefer to connect with the bank across various different channels according to their convenience. Banks need to provide the same time of services across all channels, both online and offline.

Understand the customer journey – Creating an unrivalled customer experience is an aspiration of all banks and this can be achieved by following the end to end customer journey. Customer needs, actions, barriers, and motivation can be considered at every stage of the customer journey and any shortcomings can be dealt with immediately without wasting time.

Make use of big data and analytics – Understanding customers is the foundation for sustainable competitive advantage in the digital banking and financial sector. With the help of analytics and data, banks can gain valuable insights to segment customers, evaluate opportunities, and predict models to strengthen engagements and increase the customer experience of digitalised banking services.

Using a personalised customer experience approach – Personalisation is imperative, and every customer demands it. These elements help banks to put customers first, leverage this customer data and deliver multi channel customer experience, thus improving the customer experience overall worldwide

Transparency, Security, Trust as customer experience tools – Forbes says that customers want to feel valued, appreciated, and confident, and customers who feel this, will advocate the brand. Using these tools builds deep trust and cultivates loyalty in customers who in turn recommend the bank or financial institution to others, thus providing more value to the banks.

Trends Reshaping Customer Experience in Banking for 2022

Enhancing Products & Services with Mobile App Data – In this age and time many mobile banking applications aren’t so much as nice to have rather than on a need to have basis. Banks without this capability are at a severe disadvantage, as customers have come to expect convenient and easy to use a mobile app as a basic necessity. These apps and software enable the banks and financial institutions to analyse the data collected and the machine learning algorithms can help the banks to extract valuable information in return from this customer data, which can then be leveraged to develop new products, optimise the existing processes, better empower customers, and improve the overall customer experience.

The Branch of the Future – Customers do not prefer to visit the physical branches as frequently as they once did and pecks like complimentary coffee and free Wi-Fi aren’t enough to draw modern customers to their physical branches. Physical branches see themselves competing with their own online platforms for customer attention. With the need to reimagine the physical branches to a branch of the future many banks are taking steps in modernising their physical branches to offer more technological services. For example, some branches display mobile, and tablets loaded with their banking apps on display, while some banks have capitalised on the value of one on one, face to face interactions with customers to help them utilise their money better and offer consultative services for the same.

Advising Services – As customers look for ways to grow their money in a safe and secure manner, usually find themselves in a whirlpool of information on the internet and random financial advice, which may or may not be practical for them or may be too broad to be of any real use. Banks can use this opportunity to improve their financial services and pair their customers with in-house financial advisors who can provide tailored advice as per their customers’ needs. This will not only help build trust and better relationships between the banks and the customer but will also offer a competitive advantage. With the help of customer relationship management (CRM) technology, banks can collect and analyse data and build detailed customer profiles which in turn, the in-house advisors can use to gain overall knowledge of their customers thus being able to offer personalised services.

Artificial Intelligence – A customer these days would prefer to reduce human interaction and would prefer to have automated services. This is also apt with the situation where the customer is put on hold while calling the bank’s customer service helpline to report an issue. With the volume of incoming calls steadily increasing and having a limited number of bank representatives on hand to field them, banks have to find innovative ways to tackle this situation without losing the trust of their customers. With the help of artificial intelligence, banks stand to save a substantial amount of resources and help customers more accurately while also improving customer experience in banking. Using artificial intelligence in an innovative manner, banks can also provide virtual assistants to provide money management tips and tricks to customers.

Automated Onboarding – For most banking customers, a quality customer experience hinges on their first impression with bank interaction. This first impression takes place during customer onboarding in the bank. Traditionally, a lot of paperwork and documents were required along with multiple visits to the banks. Digitalisation and making onboarding an electronic process has made it easier for customers as well as for banks. Customers can do it as per their convenience and from the comfort of their homes, whereas banks can use the automated process to compile the data with ease and accuracy, further enhancing the overall customer experience.

Support for Digitalization & Remote Service – In the last year alone, the importance and need for digital channels and remote services have been highlighted quite a bit. Making this transaction digital has been proven to be difficult for many banking customers, more specifically customers from older generations and customers who do not have access to digital platforms. In the coming years, banks need to double their efforts to smooth this transition for their customers. Providing additional support in terms of educating customers, to providing step by step tutorials and interactive videos would help increase customer knowledge and thus improve the overall customer experience. The more comfortable and confident a customer would feel while interacting on the digital platforms and remote services, the better their overall financial services customer experience will be.

“Humanizing” Digital – Even though artificial intelligence and digital platforms are leading banking customer experience; trust is always built on human interaction. To make this a comfortable union, a growing number of banks are offering a mix of artificial intelligence and live support for customer services, generating efficiency gains while still providing customers with the kind of personal touch they need. As technology advances, artificial intelligence and chatbots can be made more personal and be given personalities to have a more customised conversation with the customer and be able to leverage sentiments to detect emotions and respond appropriately.

Hyper-personalisation – Personalisation has been topping the customer experience list for years and the advancements made are tailored around that. The next frontier of personalisation is hyper-personalisation. When compared to standard personalisation that uses data analytics to deliver targeted marketing and sales messaging to different customer segments, hyper-personalisation is using a combination of predictive analytics like artificial intelligence and machine learning to monitor individual customers’ real time usage data and provide services and suggestions accordingly. Armed with this technology, banks can queue more targeted and one on one marketing campaigns and offers.

Proactive Engagement – One of the best things about advanced analytics is that it provides financial institutions with a level of insight into their customers that once seemed impossible. Today, banks can monitor customers’ financial health and proactively offer assistance with financial management or suggest opportunities to grow their wealth. Depending on customers’ preferences, this service can be offered over digital platforms or in person. Watching out for their customers’ interest to demonstrate the value added enhances the overall financial services customer experience.

Doing the Right Thing – The past two years have been challenging and has placed a significant financial strain on individuals as well as businesses. Banks can help their customers by being transparent about their process, data management and being honest about their policies and practices. Sustainability, honest and transparent business models go a long way in ensuring trust between a customer and the financial institution. Offering financial advising services to help their customers regain their footing shows concern and helps build a long term relationship between banks and their customers. Ultimately, doing the right thing by the customer is about demonstrating to customers that you intend to put their best interests first.

Tips for banks on Improving the Customer Experience

Assemble a dedicated customer experience team solely for that purpose
Establish strong feedback loops to gain valuable insight
Take an iterative aspect to optimization
Keep the customer at the centre of the business
Be honest and promise only what they can deliver
Enhance the mobility of products & services
Be a financial advisor throughout the customer’s journey
Mirror customer experience of branch to internet banking
Leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) to automate routine tasks to save time and optimise value

Popularity of Digital Banking in the UAE

The United Arab Emirates has always been keeping a steady pace with global developments, especially in the era of digitalisation of banking. From the year 1960, with the introduction of ATMs and later internet banking and mobile banking, banks and financial institutions in the UAE have always been in the now. Today, banks propose digital only solutions; and lately, non-bank entrants are also joining this digital banking fray.

The banks and financial institutions in the UAE began to realise the challenges and opportunities of the financial technology revolution that had begun sweeping across all the industries in the second half of the previous decade. This prompted a number of banks and financial institutions to launch digital banking initiatives. These initiatives ranged from separate digital only banking platforms to strengthening of existing mobile banking platforms, rationalising branch based services, and refocusing staff on value-added services rather than repetitive and less-profitable branch operations.

Top Digital Banks in the UAE

Currently, UAE is home to more than a dozen digital banks with the numbers expanding rapidly. From personal banking to banking optimised for businesses and youth, there are a number of options currently available in the UAE.

Emirates NBD LIV
Mashreq Neo
Yap
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB)
Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB)
First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB)

Banks and Financial Institutions Driving Customer Engagement for Banking in the UAE

Here are some of the customer engagement strategies used by the big players in the UAE’s banking and finance sector

RAKBANK

Is relentlessly focusing on user education reflections in the surge in adoption and usage
RAKBANK is one of the largest and most prominent banks in the UAE. They have prioritized user education in their strategy. The Bank is focused on informing and educating customers about contactless and digital wallet payments via various digital channels such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Garmin Pay, Fitbit Pay, and SwatchPAY. RAKBANK communicated about the safety and convenience offered by the digital payment options to nudge a habit formation among customers.

Commercial Bank of Dubai

Is prioritising financial inclusion and is optimising customer onboarding process
The customer’s shopping preferences are changing from physical stores to predominantly online channels, thus changing the mode of payment and banking in general. Digitization of services has accelerated in the last two years by the pandemic and thus resulted in a phenomenal uptick in digital adoption. Commercial Bank of Dubai has introduced end-to-end seamless onboarding, to make the process easier and faster for customers. Consumers can now open an account from the comfort of their homes in under two minutes and less than ten clicks using their Emirates ID.

Mashreq Bank:

Is unlocking meaningful engagement with customers by deep diving and extensively studying customer behaviour and personalization

Banks and fintech have had a tremendous opportunity to deepen their relationships with their customers in the last two years. These relationships need not be limited to transactions but can span multiple other use cases like school fee payment, food order, and other services the Bank can facilitate. Banks need to make the customer’s life easy across all digital touchpoints and provide relevant and personalized experiences for various age groups and segments. Mashreq Bank analyses customer behaviour understands it and makes proactive decisions to personalize communication using AI-enabled optimization.

Banks by understanding the different areas of customer experiences can come up with an extensive customer engagement strategy to reduce the gaps between customers and the bank. The significance of the digital banking experience can be attributed to the various benefits offered like reduced operational costs, retaining customers, and the ability to stay ahead of competitors by using the latest technologies. The customer experience in the banking ecosphere holds massive untapped potential for growth, from meeting the day-to-day needs of consumers and focusing on preparing for disruptive future technologies.

Buy Now, Pay Later” here to stay | Credit Card schemes - Soulwallet

See it, like it, want it? – “Buy Now, Pay Later” here to stay.

Posted on December 6, 2021December 14, 2021 by admin

What is “Buy now, pay later”?

If you have been hearing the term “BNPL” quite often in the recent days and have been wondering what it is it all about, this article is for you.

Why pay upfront when you have an option to spread the purchase over a few instalments, and without interest? Sounds like an absolute no-brainer, isn’t it?

“Buy Now and Pay Later” is a type of “Point-of-Sale” financing, which is growing in popularity exponentially, especially among millennials. BNPL is a form of unsecured lending in small ticket sizes that allows consumers to make purchases and pay for them later through a few interest-free instalments. Borrowers can utilize these short-term credit schemes on purchases both online and offline even without any credit checks. A first-time buyer will have to complete KYC formalities on the provider’s platform. BNPL providers use analytics to get insights on buyers’ purchase behaviour and determine their credit worthiness. Typically, this option targets millennials offering them easy access to credit for small-ticket purchases.

Why is there so much of buzz around BPNL in recent times?

BNPL has been consistently gaining traction and is radically changing payment behaviour in e-commerce sales over the last few years globally. Consumers are quite excited with this service which is evident from its rapid adoption. They clearly envisage BNPL as a convenient and easy solution. It is no wonder that we hear investments and acquisitions happening in this space every day. Below are a few BNPL investments which made news recently.

India based “Simpl” raises $40 million
Switzerland based “ZoodPay” raises #38 million in their latest round
Australia’s “Openpay” raises $271.4 million
Mexico based “Alpazo” raises $27 million
UAE based Taby raises $50 million in its series B round

While BNPL companies are surging on with valuations even higher than 50+ revenue multiples, many are yet to be profitable in global markets. This once again drives the point that BNPL companies are after customer acquisition, simple as that!

Interestingly, there are global payment solution providers such as PayPal and Square who have integrated this offering as part of their existing solutions. Stand-alone BNPL players will require to up their game in wooing customers with rewards and freebees in the future…just like traditional credit cards.

While there are several views around the pros and cons of BNPL, one thing we are sure of is that these fintech solutions are certainly going to eat into the spend and revenues of traditional banks credit products. Point of Sale financing is growing at a much faster rate than any other unsecured lending products (source Federal Reserve, TransUnion, Mckinsey Finance consumer pools).

How do BNPL services make money?

BNPL companies incur costs in the form of interchange, network fees, issuer processing fees and credit losses. These elements squeeze their margins constantly. It is pivotal for these organizations to explore revenue opportunities in the form of affiliate marketing etc.,

BNPL services make money from both retailers and consumers. Retailers pay BPNL a percentage of 2 to 8% of the purchasing amount if the customer uses the BNPL facility. While the retailers can realize a 20 to 30% increase in conversions and average ticket size.

Consumers pay BNPL through late fees which range from AED 10 and are capped around 25% of the purchase order on the higher side in most cases.

How does “Buy now, pay later” work?

Buy now, pay later arrangements are point-of-sale instalment loans that allow consumers to make purchases and pay for them at a future date. One needs to sign up with a BNPL facility provider who will make the payment to the merchant while the purchase is being made.

Make a purchase at a participating retailer store (online or offline) and choose “Buy Now Pay Later” at checkout.
The store seeks approval from the BNBP provider within seconds
Consumers typically make an upfront payment toward the purchase, then pay the remainder off in a predetermined number of instalments.
Remaining amounts are paid off in interest- free instalments
Payments can be made via bank transfers, credit cards, debit cards or checks automatically.

Does BNPL affect your credit score?

Most of the BNPL solutions approve a transaction based on a “soft” check or a bureau score-based check. This may not impact your credit score.

What are the eligibility criteria for BNPL schemes in the UAE?

UAE resident with a valid Emirates ID
At least 18 years of age
Hold a valid UAE mobile number and email id
Must have a payment option either a debit or a credit card

BNPL players in the UAE

Name	Taby	Spotti	Postpay	Tamara
Solution	BNPL partnered with Telr payment gateway as well	BNPL	BNPL	BNPL
Eligibility	UAE Resident 18 years and above Valid Emirates ID Valid Phone number Valid Credit or Debit Card	UAE Resident 18 years and above Valid Emirates ID Valid Phone number Valid Credit or Debit Card	UAE Resident 18 years and above Valid Emirates ID Valid Phone number Valid Credit or Debit Card	UAE Resident 18 years and above Valid Emirates ID Valid Phone number Valid Credit or Debit Card
Instalments	4	4	3	3
Upfront	25% of none if payment in 14 days	25%	25%	1/3rd of purchase value
Late fees	AED 15 on day one after payment due date and AED 30 after 2 weeks of payment due date	AED 20 with a maximum of two late fees per order.	AED25 the first time AED30 if not settled within 10 days after the Due Date.	25 AED on the first day of delay, then it will increase every 15 days by the same amount.
Late Fees Cap	AED 105	25% of total order or AED 40 whichever is lower	25% of total order	AED 150 or 25% of order value or whichever is lower
Payments	Visa or Master	All major debit and credit cards.	Mastercard and Visa debit and credit cards.	Visa, Mastercard, or even ApplePay and Amex
Reward	Shoppers create an account on tabby's website or app to earn up to 20% cashback, after making purchases at tabby's partner retailers. Shoppers may then choose to withdraw the cash they have earned or settle upcoming payments on tabby	NA	NA	NA

Conclusion:

BNPL has disrupted the payments industry and has created an impact on credit card companies. Retailers cannot shy away from this new reality and if they do, they will be missing the opportunity BNPL brings in. Retailers must also be aware that customers who are accustomed to BNPL services will look out for retailers with similar service offerings.

While credit cards do carry a much stronger value proposition in the form of loyalty rewards, product features and global acceptance, BNPL services will evolve in the future with such functionalities and create better stickiness with customers.

In conclusion, BNPL is certainly an appealing proposition for consumers. However, one must exercise caution and must not go overboard.

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The editorial team at Soulwallet is committed to accurate and relevant content intended to assist our readers while making personal finance decisions. We are glad to get feedback on the article and make necessary corrections if required. You can email the editorial team at support@soulwallet.com. Our editorial advice, recommendations and product assessments are not influenced by business partners.

What are the Eligibility Criteria for Personal Loan in the UAE for Expats?

Posted on November 9, 2021November 9, 2021 by admin

Nestled in the southeast corner of the Arabian Peninsula, the UAE is an ever-growing country. Since the 1960s, the Emirates have experienced significant economic growth and have quickly become one of the richest nations in the world. The UAE is a melting pot of cultures, with around 85% of the entire population consisting of expatriates. Many come to the UAE seeking new opportunities and growth. Thus, the UAE has a large and vibrant community of expats and with many professional opportunities available to expatriates, it is one of the best destinations to live and grow in.

Understanding your money management options as an expat living in the UAE can be tricky and confusing. It is important to know which options are right for you to open and operate your bank account and ensuring your family’s home and belongings. With the rise in the cost of living in the UAE, it may sometimes become difficult to save funds for a rainy day, which can further lead to a financial crisis during emergencies. You can opt for a personal loan from banks for financial aid. However, to get a Personal loan in the UAE for expats, you have to be eligible as per the requirements of the banks. The eligibility criteria usually differ from bank to bank and are based on the applicant’s profile.

Banks in UAE offer two types of personal loans to expats:

Personal Loan Without Salary Transfer: Personal loan in UAE without salary transfer provides the loan applicant to apply for a personal loan without having to transfer their salary into a particular bank account. Citibank, FAB or some banks offering loans without salary transfer.

Personal Loan With Salary Transfer: Personal loan in UAE with salary transfer rewards the loan applicant to maintain an account with the bank by transferring their salary into it every month. ENBD, Mashreq, FAB and Citibank are some popular salary transfer loans in the market.

The loan with salary transfers offers an attractive interest rate as compared to the ones without a salary transfer. In general, a personal loan without a salary transfer is opted by those who either do not have their company listed by the banks for a salary transfer loan or for those who are looking for a second loan.

The eligibility requirements for a Personal Loan in the UAE for expats are:

Minimum Income: Banks in UAE have different requirements for the minimum monthly income of expats for personal loans. While the minimum requirement is AED 5000 fixed salary per month, most of the banks have their entry level criteria ranging from AED 7000 per month. The higher the income the better are the options.
Employment Status & Listed Company: This applies to salaried individuals. While some banks give approval with company listings, some banks in UAE require expats to be employed in their listed companies. Listed companies are those which have been categorized or scrutinized by the banks as companies eligible for such a Salary transfer loan for its staff. The listing is basically done on the company credibility such as years in business, number of employees, setup, and other factors.
Salary Transfer: Some banks in UAE require salary transfers for personal loan approval.
Age: The maximum age of applicants is 60 and the minimum age is 21 for applying for a personal loan in UAE for expats.
Proof of Residency: Almost every bank offers loans for expats, but it is difficult to find a bank that can offer personal loans for non-resident expat. Expats can apply for personal loans that can provide residency proof by providing a passport with a valid visa and documents supporting proof of residency.
Credit history: Customers applying for personal loans in UAE should have a good credit score with a good credit history. A good credit report shows that the applicant is eligible to repay the loan. Applicants with high credit score can get preferential interest rates from banks. Minimum Credit Score (Al Etihad Credit Bureau Score) starts from 651. The better the score the lower the interest rate in general.
Employment and Income Proof: This can be shown by presenting a salary slip and documents supporting your employment status. Certain banks also require the applicant to have a specified experience in their job to qualify, in such a case the joining letter would also have to be submitted to the bank
Bank statements: Depending on the banks, the applicant would have to submit their bank statements ranging between the last three to six months.
Loans for Self-employed Customers: Some of the banks such as RAKbank, ADCB and DIB provide loans to self-employed customers. The criteria usually are the years in business, nature of the business and the Average Annual Turnover.

Along with the eligibility criteria, applicants also need to present official documents to the banks for getting a personal loan.

For Identification of the Expats:

Copy and Original Emirates Identity Card
Resident Visa proof
Address proof (for example utility bill)
Security Cheque (Undated)

For salaried expats:

Salary transfer letter or salary certificate
Bank statement of the previous 3 months

For Self-employed Expats:

Power of attorney
Memorandum of Association
Trade license
Bank statement of the previous 6 months

The interest rate for personal finance varies for expats and differs across different banks. They are based on two options.

Reducing the rate of interest: The reducing rate of interest starts at a certain percentage but declines every year.
The flat rate: The flat rate of interest is decided at the beginning by the bank and is consistent and cannot be reduced on a yearly basis.

Some of the best consumer loan providers in the UAE for expats are:

List of Banks	Maximum Finance Amount	Minimum Monthly Salary Required
Emirates Islamic Personal Finance	Up to 2 million AED	AED 5000
Ajman Bank Goods Murabaha	Up to 1 million AED	AED 6500
ADIB Personal Finance	Up to 1 million AED	AED 8000
CBD Personal Loan	Up to 750,000 AED	AED 8000
Emirates NBD Personal Loan Without Salary Transfer	Up to 500,000 AED	AED 10,000
Mashreq Personal Loan for Expats	Up to 1 million AED	AED 7000 (for applicants from the approved list) AED 10,000 (for applicants of the unapproved companies)
RAKBANK Personal Loan for Expats	NA	AED 5000

Tips for Getting Your Application for a Personal Loan Approved:

In order to ensure that the application does not get rejected, applicants should keep certain tips in mind

Ensure that the applicant meets the eligibility criteria that has been stated by the bank. If the applicant fails to meet any of the eligibility criteria, the request will be denied.
Ensure that the applicant has a good credit score to let the banks know the risk associated with providing the applicant the loan.
Ensure that the applicant would be able to payback the loan factoring your monthly salary and expenditures.
Most banks in the UAE give upto 4 years for repayment.
Sending out multiple applicants would damage the chances of getting a personal loan.

The process to apply for a loan has become simple and easy to help and encourage expats in gaining a personal loan in the UAE. However, applying for a personal loan does not confirm the loan approval. Expats will have to qualify certain eligibility criteria to be approved and financed.

The well-researched, solidly structured, unbiased content along with unique tools at SoulWallet helps you make well informed financial decisions for your personal and business transactions. In the process, SoulWallet helps you identify the options that will let you save money and enjoy the best perks.

SoulWallet grants their users services that would help them make the most of a wide range of personal finance solutions, from credit card reward cards in the UAE, to personal loans, to Islamic credit cards, to air miles credit card application and a lot more.

The Biggest Advantages of Using an EMI Calculator before Applying For Your Personal Loans in UAE

Posted on November 9, 2021November 9, 2021 by admin

Personal loan is a type of unsecured loan that helps you meet your current financial needs. While availing for a personal loan you don’t require collateral or a need to pledge any security, and personal loans are also generally quickly disbursed. Personal loans can serve as a solution for managing a number of your needs, such as, expenses for higher education, medical emergency, holidays, wedding celebrations, to expand one’s business, and other needs.

Over the years due to instant financial availability and easy accessibility, personal loans have become tremendously popular amongst professionals as well as for personal finance. However, just like any other loan, you must repay it accordance to the agreed terms with the bank from where the loan was borrowed from. Some of the most important factors that you need to consider before availing a personal loan are the interest rates, repayment capacity, and the tenure of the loan.

Calculating personal loan EMI manually or making do with speculations could be inefficient or more often that result in an incorrect value. Hence it is preferable to opt for the personal loan EMI calculator to consider your suitability to take out a personal loan before applying for one.

What is a Personal Loan EMI Calculator?

Whenever you take up a personal loan, you have to pay back to the bank the principal amount along with the interest amount that is calculated every month. EMI stands for Equated Monthly Instalment. A personal loan EMI Calculator is a tool that helps you to evaluate and calculate the amount that has to be paid every month for your personal loan.

It is advisable to check the amount with an EMI calculator before applying for a personal loan as you would be aware of the monthly amount that you need to repay during your tenure. This in turn would help you determining how a personal loan might affect your monthly expenses and lifestyle and help you understand and manage your monthly financial goals.

Calculating the EMI for your personal loan is an incredibly simple process. See how much you can save by choosing right Personal Loan with the help of SoulWallet’s Personal Loan EMI Calculator.

How Does the Personal Loan EMI Calculator Work?

EMI calculator is a simple and very easy to use tool that does the calculations for you to calculate your loan. The personal loan EMI is based on some parameters such as the amount borrowed and the interest rate that is applicable based on your loan tenure. The first thing you enter is the principal amount that you wish to take out through your personal loan. Next, you put in the duration of your loan, which is the period of time you’d be allowed to repay your personal loan. And finally, the calculator needs to take into account the interest rate being charged, which is a percentage of the principal amount you have to repay.

After you put in all the required information, the personal loan EMI calculator would calculate and provide you with the EMI amount. The tool is available anytime and without any costs for you to choose a loan best suitable for you.

Factors affecting Your EMI Amount

Some of the factors that can affect your EMI amount are:

Loan amount – The higher amount of loan you borrow the high would be the monthly instalment. In this, the interest rate and tenure remain constant.
Interest rate – If your interest rate is high then you need to pay a high amount of monthly instalment.
Tenure – If the tenure is for long period the monthly instalment would be low, but this would lead to a high amount of interest rate as compared to a shorter tenure of the loan.

Benefits of a Personal Loan EMI Calculator

It is advisable that you use a personal loan EMI calculator before you apply for a personal loan.

Some of the key benefits that one would experience with this calculator are:

Fit in the EMI with necessary changes in the monthly budget: When you calculate the personal loan EMI, you know the fixed amount that you would have to pay every month till the end of the loan tenure. This would help you decide and budget your monthly expenditure throughout the loan tenure with ease.

Make decisions by changing the factors affecting the EMI: The loan amount, along with the monthly interest rate, and tenure play a very significant role in determining your EMI. The EMI is directly proportional to the loan amount and interest rate and is inversely proportional to the tenure of the loan. Hence, if you choose a longer tenure, then the monthly instalments would be small. The EMI calculator would help you differentiate different loan amounts with their tenures and interest rates. Thus, making it easy and convenient for you to decide the amount of loan that would suite your lifestyle and finances.

Ensure a healthy credit rating: When you have calculated the EMI before taking up the personal loan, you are completely prepared to manage your finances for repaying the loan in the given time. Which would result in you not missing out on the EMIs, and thus avoid a poor credit rating for you.

Saves time and provide accurate results: It takes a lot of time, efforts, and complicated calculations to calculate EMI’s manually. All these calculations are performed within seconds with the personal loan EMI calculator, thus saving you lot of time. Also, the chances of errors when the calculations are done manually are eradicated and you would be getting accurate results.

Easy to use and access: The Personal loan EMI calculator is available online on SoulWallet and it is pretty easy to use. All you need to do is enter the principal amount of the loan, interest rate, and the tenure of the loan to get the value of monthly instalments that you would have to pay. This makes it very easy for the users to calculate the monthly instalment from any place and at any time.

There are plenty of advantages of using an EMI Calculator before applying for your Personal Loans in UAE. The use of an EMI calculator helps your eligibility to avail a personal loan and repayment capabilities and ensures your financial wellbeing. SoulWallet helps you See how much you can save by choosing right Personal Loan with the help of Personal Loan EMI Calculator for you to have an easy and hassle-free experience.

The well-researched, solidly structured, unbiased content along with unique tools at SoulWallet help you make well informed financial decisions for your personal and business transactions. In the process, SoulWallet helps you identify the options that will let you save money and enjoy the best perks.

redit Cards for Small Business in 2021 - Soulwallet

Credit Cards for Small Business in 2021

Posted on November 9, 2021November 9, 2021 by admin

Small business owners have to manage a lot of responsibility especially in the first few years of operation. Owners of small business operations have to closely monitor their finances and manage their cash flow as finances are a huge consideration. Hence, a steady cash flow of money is essential, and people depend on credit cards to fund or finance their business.

For a business owner to use their own personal credit card for the purpose of business transactions can carry increased risk for the owner. Due to this, the dependency of business owners on small business credit cards to finance a small-scale business has increased through the years. Opening a small business credit card is a great way to streamline day-to-day business expenses as well as purchasing the essential goods and services required for the business without delaying critical payments to the vendors while enjoying some of the added perks, such as rewards and purchase protection offered.

How can a Credit Card be used for Small Businesses?

For a business owner, it is not advisable to start his business using a personal credit card as for the initial few years, debt keeps accumulating and it gets difficult for one person to pay back the bills amounting in full. Also mixing personal and business credit purchases makes it difficult to organize the business expenses while doing taxes, Hence a business credit card is more appropriate for setting up a small business.

Business credit cards come with a higher credit limit as compared to private credit cards which will help the business owner in purchasing goods and services required to start and run the business. Since these costs are usually high and continuous, a business credit card is more feasible. Since the business credit cards are offered by banks, it helps the business owner in managing all the business expenses. Having a business credit card also helps in keeping track of the purchases and the quarterly and annual statements provided by your credit card company, help you break down your expenses into categories and that can be very helpful for creating budgets and tracking expenses.

Benefits of having a Small Business Credit Card:

A small business credit card can be a great tool when used strategically and with restraint. Some of the advantages of having a small business credit card are:

Increase the cash flow of your business
Helps you build your credit history and credit score.
Access a large credit limit
Business credit cards offer short-term spending flexibility
Keep your business and personal expenses separate
Enjoy loyalty points, rewards, cash-back and other perks
Stay organised with business expenses
Keep tabs on employee spending
Enabled with a chip which makes all transactions secure
Business cards are not subject to personal card limits
Easy application procedure

Check out our Best Small Business Credit Cards

ADIB Business Gold Covered Card – by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB)

ADIB offers the first Islamic Visa Card in the UAE to help business owners better manage their day-to-day business.

Features:

Minimum Salary – AED 8,000
Rate – 3.00%
Annual Fee – AED 400
Non-AED Transaction Fee – 3.10%
Cash Advance Fee – 3.00 % / Min 99

Reward Features:

Covered Card limit up to AED 150,000
Advanced Chip & Pin Technology
Free Road-Side Assistance
Free for the first year
4 Free Supplementary Cards
No fee for replacement of damaged cards when cardholder delivers damaged card to the branch
Includes the fee of ADIB as an agent of the Cardholder.
8% discount on hotel bookings made at Hotels.com
12% discount over 985,000 hotels & vacation rentals worldwide with Agoda

ADIB Business Platinum Covered Card – by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB)

ADIB offers the first Islamic Visa Card in the UAE that provides extra flexibility and secure alternative to cash payments.

Features:

Minimum Salary – AED 8,000
Annual Fee – AED 800
Rate – 3.00%
Cash Advance – 3% / Min 99
Non-AED Transaction Fee – 3.1%

Reward Features:

Covered Card limit up to AED 250,000
Golf offers
Cinema Tickets
Purchase Protection
Extended Warranty
Free Road-Side Assistance
Free for the first year
4 Free Supplementary Cards
No fee for replacement of damaged cards when cardholder delivers damaged card to the branch
Includes the fee of ADIB as an agent of the Cardholder
Discount of up to 30% off retail rates at over 450 destinations globally
8% discount on hotel bookings made at Hotels.com
12% discount over 985,000 hotels & vacation rentals worldwide with Agoda
Access to over 200 airport restaurant offers globally

Emirates Islamic Business Card – by Emirates Islamic Bank (EIB)

Emirates Islamic Business Credit Card offers a wide range of exclusive rewards and benefits to grow your business. It combines high levels of security, value, convenience, and flexibility, to ensure your business expenses are controlled and your card spends are rewarded.

Features:

Minimum Salary – AED 10,000
Annual Fee – AED 0
Rate – 3.25%
Cash Advance – 3% / Min 199
Non-AED Transaction Fee – 3.49%

Reward Features:

Free for life
Earn EI Smart-Miles on all your purchases
Multiple cards for partners & employees
Unlimited complimentary airport lounge access
Multiple cards for your partners and your employees
Better control on business expenses such as business travel, dining, utility bill payments
Wide range of redemption options – flights, hotels, and other retail transactions
Cash-On-Call facility through 24/7 phone banking service
Easy payment plans for better cash flow management
Balance transfer facility on existing business credit cards from other banks
Provides a comprehensive suite of privileges that help reduce business expenses on hotels, rentals, courier services, restaurants, gifts
Golf offers
Cinema Tickets
Up to 30% at restaurants across the UAE
8% discount on hotel bookings made at Hotels.com
12% discount over 985,000 hotels & vacation rentals worldwide with Agoda

RAKBANK Titanium Business Credit Card – by RAKBANK

The RAKBANK Titanium Business Credit Card is ideal for all your business transactions worldwide. You can use it to pay for purchase of goods such as new stock, raw materials, or equipment as well as for services rendered by your local or overseas suppliers.

Features:

Minimum Salary – AED 10,000
Annual Fee – AED 0
Rate – 3.45%
Cash Advance – 3.45% / 2%
Non-AEE Transaction Fee – 2.2%

Reward Features:

Exclusive card for business owners and no annual fee ever
High Cash advance Limits with 1% cashback on Cash Advance
Easy Credit Card Cheque (CCC) facility
No minimum spend criteria for earning cashback
Additional Business Credit Cards for your key employees
Enjoy 1% Cashback on all domestic and international retail, internet, cash transactions
Up to 50% discounts, Buy 1 Get 1 free offers and fantastic bargains
Exclusive office & business insurance offers
Complimentary Insurance Benefits like Purchase Protection and Travel Accident Insurance benefits
Unlimited airport lounge access at Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Cairo, Kuwait, and Jordan airports
Personal Accident Insurance up to USD 150,000
Enjoy great dinning offers from RAKfeast
Up to a 10% discount off the price of your booking for selected properties on Hotels.com
AVIS Car Rental Offers

United Arab Bank Business Credit Card – by United Arab Bank (UAB)

The UAB Business MasterCard caters to the self-employed segment in the UAE providing them with a host of privileges and benefits unmatched by any other Business Card.

Features:

Minimum Salary – AED 6,000
Annual Fee – AED 0
Rate – 2.99%
Cash Advance – 3% / Min 200
Non-AED Transaction Fee – 3%

Reward Features:

Earn UAB rewards on all spends
1 points for every 1 USD spent domestically
2 points for every 1 USD spent internationally
Redeem points for flight tickets & hotels, car rentals, electronic and lifestyle products
Brand the credit card with your company name
Complimentary Airport Lounge Access at over 10 lounges across MENA
Exclusive benefits with Avis
Mastercard Priceless Cities Offers
Up to a 10% discount off the price of your booking for selected properties on Hotels.com
Discounts of up to 15% at prime luxury serviced apartments
Buy 1 Get 1 Free Offers on downloaded Mastercard with 900+ offers across 90+ destinations and 600+ merchants
Careem Chauffeur Offers with 20% off three rides every month

Business credit cards aren’t just for people with storefronts or offices, but also freelancers and people who have side hustles or for people who do gig work. Having a dedicated card for your money-making enterprise helps you keep business and personal finances separate and you can benefit from the many offer rewards and perks that are offered by various banks.

SoulWallet helps you compare and find the best credit card suited for your needs to have an easy and hassle-free experience. The well-researched, solidly structured, unbiased content along with unique tools at SoulWallet help you make well informed financial decisions for your personal and business transactions. In the process, SoulWallet helps you identify the options that will let you save money and enjoy the best perks.

Expo 2020 Dubai is all about opportunities and positivity. Find out why we say this!

Posted on October 4, 2021October 4, 2021 by admin

Celebrating human brilliance and accomplishments across various platforms, Expo 2020 Dubai is the largest event taking place in the UAE. Scheduled between 1^st October 2021 to 31^st March 2022, Expo 2020 Dubai is bringing in exciting new opportunities, innovation, technology, knowledge, and ideas unlocking the potential to shape the future. With 60+ daily shows, 200+ restaurants, and 200+ pavilions, Expo 2020 Dubai is a chance for people from all over the world to connect and experience an immersive cultural experience. Explore each of the 191 participating countries and meet people who are making our world brighter and setting a global stage for business worldwide to thrive together. Addressing global challenges, the subtheme of Opportunity, Mobility, and Sustainability open doors to help preserve the planet and create a better world. Expo 2020 is a chance for people from all over the world to connect and experience the best of science, inventions, art, and culture and to set into motion concepts and ideas to make a permanent impression on the world.

For the duration of the Expo, Dubai as the host of Expo 2020 will be a must-visit family destination, with thousands of events and amazing exploratory experiences happening. Get your tickets online and choose either from Season Pass, Multi-Day Pass, or 1-Day Ticket that adults ages 18 to 59 can purchase at the official site of Dubai Expo 2020 or from one of their authorised ticket resellers. Kids and youth under 18, tertiary and higher education students, seniors 60 years and above, and people of determination can get free tickets for the entire duration of Expo 2020 Dubai. Be a part the greatest global gathering and explore Dubai as you visit the World Expo 2020 to find excitement and adventures in this modern-day Oasis.

To get the best experience of Expo 2020 Dubai Emirates NBD introduces Expo 2020 Dubai account

As the Official Premier Partner of Expo 2020 Dubai, Emirates NBD is offering a special, tailor-made banking package for SMEs registered on the Expo 2020 Dubai Online Marketplace. The package will help meet the needs of these small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that would like to participate in the next World Expo and give them the boost they need to accelerate towards a brighter future.

Features and Benefits of Emirates NBD’s Expo 2020 Dubai account:

For the first 12 months, no minimum average monthly fees
After the first 12 months, one of the lowest minimum average balance requirements in UAE (AED 10,000)
Unlimited free cheque books
Preferential pricing for your banking transaction, foreign exchange, and telegraphic transfer (TT)
To cover all your banking needs, a dedicated team of Relationship Managers at your service
A team of experienced Trade Specialists and Wealth Advisors to cater to your trade and insurance-related banking requirements
Trade Finance support for short term financing requirements
Working capital support and commercial loans at attractive terms

The world’s biggest cultural gathering the Expo 2020 Dubai, calls for world-class payment solutions for their guests and enthusiasts. As a premier partner and the official banking partner of Expo 2020 Dubai, Emirates NBD Group has joined with Mastercard, which is the official payment technology partner of Expo 2020 Dubai and created two exclusive new card programmes. These limited-edition cards are designed to enhance the Expo 2020 Dubai experience for both the residents of UAE and the visitors that come to enjoy Expo 2020 Dubai from across the globe. Emirates presents Emirates Islamic Expo Mastercard Credit Card and the Emirates NBD Expo Mastercard Prepaid Card.

Emirates Islamic introduces Exclusive Expo Credit Card Limited edition.

As the Official Islamic Banking Partner of Expo 2020 Dubai, Emirates Islamic, part of the Emirates NBD Group, along with Mastercard and Expo 2020 Dubai have created an exclusive, limited edition, co-branded credit card that offers a wide range of specially designed benefits and privileges catering to the lifestyle and travel needs in the UAE for this iconic event.

Features and Benefits of Exclusive Expo Credit Card Limited edition:

No annual fee
50% cashback on first Expo 2020 Dubai ticket
10% cashback on fuel spends
Complimentary valet parking service at the Expo 2020 Dubai site
Complimentary golf sessions, exclusive dining offers, and access to more than 1,000 airport lounges worldwide
Access to exclusive travel, hotels and lifestyle privileges offered by Mastercard
Up to 5,500 bonus Upoints by Emaar
EI SmartMiles on all spends with multiple redemption options
Accelerated EI SmartMiles on Expo 2020 Dubai & Emaar Spends
Gain U By Emaar Gold Tier Status

Emirates NBD Expo Mastercard Prepaid Card

The Emirates NBD Expo Mastercard Prepaid Card is a digital-first offering that is issued via a dedicated mobile App called Joyn which is officially from Emirates NBD. This card is available to both UAE residents and international visitors for use while in the UAE. The card provides a hassle-free and fully digital payments experience.

Features and Benefits of Emirates NBD Expo Mastercard Prepaid Card:

Offers from Emirates NBD’s Bon Appétit, LiveWell and Good Times programmes
Offers from Mastercard’s Priceless Platform
Access to privileges, deals and discounts of up to 50% at more than 2,000 shopping, dining, wellness, and entertainment touchpoints.
Access to exclusive and personalised Expo-related offers.
Make online purchases as well as contactless in-store payments by adding their card to their preferred digital wallet (Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay).
Customers can also receive a linked physical card if needed.

SoulWallet helps you compare and find the best credit card suited for your needs to have an easy and hassle-free experience. SoulWallet grants their users services that would help them make the most of a wide range of personal finance solutions, from credit card reward cards in the UAE, to personal loans, to Islamic credit cards, to air miles credit card application and a lot more.

The well-researched, solidly structured, unbiased content along with unique tools at SoulWallet help you make well informed personal finance decisions. In the process, SoulWallet helps you identify the options that will let you save money and enjoy the best perks.

At Expo 2020 be a part of the action. Whether you are looking for business opportunities, unleashing your inner techie, channelling your creativity, diving into a world of flavours, or splurging to your hearts content.

A Comprehensive Guide to Personal Loan Interest Rates in 2021

Posted on August 24, 2021August 24, 2021 by admin

A personal loan is a loan that may be secured or unsecured and is offered with minimal documentation. You can use the funds from this loan for any financial need. Like any other loan, you must repay it as per the agreed terms with the bank in easy EMI (equated monthly installments).

Personal loans in UAE today are the preferred means of short-term credit. The bank offers personal loans based on two types of interest rates – flat rates and reducing rates. A flat rate of interest on a loan refers to when the interest and sum payable is calculated at the start of the repayment schedule and do not change until the loan has been paid off. Whereas in terms of reducing rate of interest on a loan the principal amount reduces after each installment. The interest percentage (which remains constant) is charged on the reduced amount, every month. Thus resulting in different installment amounts each month.

Types Of Personal Loans

Personal loan with salary transfer: This is most probably the first loan one can avail from the bank where the customer holds a salary account. These loans are low in interest rates compared to the other personal loans without a salary transfer. Banks offer competitive interest rates for their customers for such loans and generally require a minimum salary requirement of AED 5000 (which differs from bank to bank). If you wish to take the loan from another bank where you don’t have any account then you have to maintain an account with the bank and transfer the salary into it every month.

Personal loan without salary transfer: This is one of the popular loans that allow the loan seeker to apply for a personal loan without having to transfer their salary into a particular bank account. Interest rates are higher for such loans and the lending amount might be lower than a Salary Transfer loan.

Expat loans: Expatriates are those people who live in the UAE but aren’t residents of the UAE. To help them manage their financial needs easily, banks offer personal loans to ex-pats as well with attractive interest rates and repayment tenure up to 48 months.

Buyout loans: When you take a personal loan that can be used to pay all of your previously existing loans or a credit card debt it is known as a buyout loan. In this type of loan, the borrower has to pay a fixed monthly payment to the bank for a pre-defined period that is usually two years to five years to pay off your buyout loan. Both UAE nationals and ex-pats can apply for such loans.

Consolidation loan: Debt consolidation services allow for the consolidation of all your outstanding liabilities arising from various loans or outstanding dues on credit cards into one single consolidated liability. Such loans are advantageous because you are being able to manage all outstanding liabilities together in one consolidated form.

Consider the comparison table below on interest rates offered by banks in the UAE

Bank Name	Loan Name	Fixed Interest Rate	Reducing Interest Rate	Minimum Salary	Maximum Loan Amount
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank	Personal Finance	3.25%	5.90%	AED 10,000	AED 0
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank	Personal Loan	6.25%	11.33%	AED 10,000	AED 250,000
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank	Personal Loan For Expatriates	6.25%	11.33%	AED 10,000	AED 25,000
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank	Debt Settlement	3.58%	6.50%	AED 8,000	AED 1,000,000
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank	Education Finance	3.85%	6.99%	AED 8,000	AED 250,000
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank	Personal Finance	3.72%	6.75%	AED 8,000	AED 1,000,000
Al Hilal Bank	Personal Finance	3.25%	5.90%	AED 10,000	AED 0
Arab Bank	Personal Loan	3.30%	5.99%	AED 5,000	AED 550,000
Citibank	Personal Installment Loan	7.71%	14.00%	AED 8,000	AED 175,000
Citibank	Salary Transfer Loan	3.85%	8.00%	AED 8,000	AED 250,000
Commercial Bank Of Dubai	Personal Loan	3.03%	5.50%	AED 8,000	AED 750,000
Deem Finance	Personal Loan	11.01%	19.99%	AED 5,000	AED 0
Dubai Islamic Bank	Liabilities Settlement Finance	0%	0%	AED 5,000	AED 0
Dubai Islamic Bank	Personal Finance	6.06%	11.00%	AED 5,000	AED 2,000,000
Emirates Islamic	Personal Finance	2..17%	3.94%	AED 5,000	AED 1,000,000
Emirates NBD	End-Of-Service Benefit Backed Personal Loan	3.30%	5.99%	AED 5,000	AED 0
Emirates NBD	Loans For Nris	2.20%	3.99%	AED 5,000	AED 0
Emirates NBD	Salary Transfer Loan	2.63%	5.99%	AED 5,000	AED 1,000,000
Emirates NBD	Salary Transfer Loan For UAE Nationals	2.63%	5.99%	AED 5,000	AED 3,000,000
Emirates NBD	Loans For New To Country, New To Employment	2.63%	5.99%	AED 10,000	AED 400,000
Emirates NBD	Personal Cash Loan	4.96%	8.99%	AED 10,000	AED 500,000
Emirates NBD	UAE National Personal Loan With Additional Income	3.18%	5.24%	AED 10,000	AED 3,000,000
Emirates NBD	Personal Loans For Self-Employed Professionals	10.40%	18.90%	AED 20,000	AED 300,000
Emirates NBD	Personal Loans For Self-Employed Individuals	10.40%	18.90%	AED 25,000	AED 0
First Abu Dhabi Bank	Buyout Loans	4.08%	7.40%	AED 5,000	AED 5,000,000
First Abu Dhabi Bank	Landlord Loans	5.10%	9.25%	AED 5,000	AED 2,000,000
First Abu Dhabi Bank	Islamic Personal Finance	2.64%	4.99%	AED 7,000	AED 5,000,000
First Abu Dhabi Bank	Personal Loans For UAE Expats	4.99%	3.99%	AED 7,000	AED 5,000,000
HSBC	Personal Loans	4.13%	7.49%	AED 7,500	AED 750,000
Mashreq	Debt Consolidation Loans	0.00%	0.00%	AED 5,000	AED 0
Mashreq	Personal Loan For Expatriates	6.25%	11.50%	AED 5,000	AED 1,000,000
Mashreq	New To UAE, New To Employer Loan	4.07%	7.38%	AED 7,000	AED 150,000
Mashreq	Non Salary Transfer Personal Loan For Expatriates	14.10%	25.60%	AED 7,000	AED 150,000
Mashreq	Emirati Personal Loans For Pensioners	0.00%	0.00%	AED 10,000	AED 0
Mashreq	Personal Loans For Emiratis	0.00%	0.00%	AED 10,000	AED 3,000,000
Nbf	Personal Loans	3.25%	6.25%	AED 5,000	AED 0
Rakbank	Non Salary Transfer Loan	5.99%	10.86%	AED 5,000	AED 1,250,000
Rakbank	Business Finance	12.00%	21.00%	AED 50,000	AED 3,000,000
Sharjah Islamic Bank	Personal Finance	0.00%	0.00%	AED 5,000	AED 0
Standard Chartered	Saadiq Personal Finance	4.16%	7.55%	AED 15,000	AED 1,000,000
Standard Chartered	Debt Consolidation Plan Loan	3.89%	7.05%	AED 30,000	AED 1,000,000
Standard Chartered	Personal Loan	3.89%	7.05%	AED 30,000	AED 1,000,000
Union National Bank	Expatriates Loan	3.13%	5.68%	AED 5,000	AED 500,000
Union National Bank	Education Loan	4.96%	9.00%	AED 10,000	AED 0
Union National Bank	Non Salary Transfer Loan	7.72%	14.00%	AED 10,000	AED 0
Union National Bank	Rent Loan	4.96%	9.00%	AED 10,000	AED 0
Union National Bank	UAE Nationals Loan	2.48%	4.50%	AED 10,000	AED 500,000
United Arab Bank	Personal Loan For Expatriates	3.03%	5.49%	AED 7,500	AED 2,000,000
United Arab Bank	Personal Loans For UAE Nationals	3.03%	5.49%	AED 7,500	AED 2,500,000

The above interest rates are purely indicative. Interest rate is generally based on factors such as

Bureau Score
Income
Loan Amount
Employer

The Biggest Advantages of Using an EMI Calculator Before Applying For Your Personal Loans in UAE

Before finalizing any personal loan, you should always use the EMI calculator because it will assist you to evaluate, simulate and arrive at the maximum loan amount, interest rate and affordable easy monthly instalments will help you select the best suited personal loan as per your budget. Soulwallet personal loan EMI calculator is easy to use, simple to understand, and is quick to perform. All you need is to use the slider to adjust the loan amount, interest rate (reducing), and tenure. You will get the EMI, total repayment, total interest, and interest rate (flat) as per your input.

What are the Eligibility Criteria for Personal Loan in the UAE for Expats?

Posted on August 24, 2021August 26, 2021 by admin

Banks in UAE offer two types of personal loans to expats – personal loans without salary transfer and personal loans with salary transfer.

Personal Loan Without Salary Transfer: Personal loan in UAE without salary transfer provides the loan applicant to apply for a personal loan without having to transfer their salary into a particular bank account. Citibank, FAB or some banks offering loans without salary transfer.

Personal Loan With Salary Transfer: Personal loan in UAE with salary transfer rewards the loan applicant to maintain an account with the bank by transferring their salary into it every month. ENBD, Mashreq, FAB and Citibank are some popular salary transfer loans in the market.

One must always opt for loan with a salary transfer as these loans carry an attractive interest rate compared to the ones without a salary transfer. In general, a personal loan without a salary transfer is opted by those who either do not have their company listed by the banks for a salary transfer loan or for those who are looking for a second loan.

Eligibility Criteria for Personal Loan in UAE for Expats

Eligibility criteria differ from bank to bank based on the applicant’s profile. Here are some of the basic eligibility requirements for a personal loan in UAE for expats:

Minimum Income: Banks in UAE have different requirements for the minimum monthly income of expats for personal loans. While the minimum requirement is AED 5000 fixed salary per month, most of the banks have their entry level criteria ranging from AED 7000 per month. The higher the income the better are the options.

Employment Status & Listed Company: This applies to salaried individuals. While some banks give approval with company listings, some banks in UAE require expats to be employed in their listed companies. Listed companies are those which have been categorized or scrutinized by the banks as companies eligible for such a Salary transfer loan for its staff. The listing is basically done on the company credibility such as years in business, number of employees, setup and other factors.

Salary Transfer: Some banks in UAE require salary transfers for personal loan approval.

Age: The maximum age of applicants is 60 and the minimum age is 21 for applying for a personal loan in UAE.

Documents: The applicants are required to provide the following documents to apply for a personal loan:

For Identification of the Expats:

Copy and Original Emirates Identity Card
Resident Visa proof
Address proof (for example utility bill)
Security Cheque (Undated)

For salaried expats:

Salary transfer letter or salary certificate
Bank statement of the previous 3 months

For Self-employed Expats:

Power of attorney
Memorandum of Association
Trade license
Bank statement of the previous 6 months

Credit history – Customers applying for personal loans in UAE should have a good credit score with a good credit history. A good credit report shows that the applicant is eligible to repay the loan. Applicants with high credit score can get preferential interest rates from banks. Minimum Credit Score ( Al Etihad Credit Bureau Score) starts from 651. The better the score the lower the interest rate in general.

Proof of Residency – Almost every bank offers loans for expats but it is difficult to find a bank that can offer personal loans for non-resident expat. Expats can apply for personal loans that can provide residency proof by providing a passport with a valid visa.

Loans for Self-employed Customers: Some of the banks such as RAKbank, ADCB and DIB provide loans to self employed customers. The criteria usually is the years in business, Nature of business and Average Annual Turnover.

List of best Emirates Skywards Credit Cards to earn Skywards miles.

When it comes to figuring out which Emirates Skywards credit cards are the best for earning Skywards Miles it is important to keep the below in mind:

The below tables have details of the Emirates Skywards miles one can earn based on the specific transaction types for every Skywards credit card offered in the UAE.

* European Economic Area transactions will only earn 0.375 Skywards miles per USD of spend. ** these categories earn only 50% of the Skywards Miles If the total spend in these categories is LESS THAN 50% of the total spend on the card.

What is Islamic Finance?

Principle of Islamic Banking

Things Prohibited in Islamic Finance

Things Permitted in Islamic Finance

Some permissible Basic Investment Vehicles are:

Who makes the rules for Islamic Finance?

Growth of Islamic Finance

The Bottom Line

Digitalisation in Banking

Customer Experience in Banking

What are the Customer Expectations from Digital Banking Experience?

Three ways Banks can conquer Customer Experience in Digital Banking

Tips to Improve Digital Transformation

Trends Reshaping Customer Experience in Banking for 2022

Popularity of Digital Banking in the UAE

Banks and Financial Institutions Driving Customer Engagement for Banking in the UAE

What is “Buy now, pay later”?

Why is there so much of buzz around BPNL in recent times?

How do BNPL services make money?

How does “Buy now, pay later” work?

Does BNPL affect your credit score?

What are the eligibility criteria for BNPL schemes in the UAE?

BNPL players in the UAE

Conclusion:

Banks in UAE offer two types of personal loans to expats:

The eligibility requirements for a Personal Loan in the UAE for expats are:

Some of the best consumer loan providers in the UAE for expats are:

Tips for Getting Your Application for a Personal Loan Approved:

What is a Personal Loan EMI Calculator?

How Does the Personal Loan EMI Calculator Work?

Factors affecting Your EMI Amount

Benefits of a Personal Loan EMI Calculator

How can a Credit Card be used for Small Businesses?

Benefits of having a Small Business Credit Card:

Check out our Best Small Business Credit Cards

ADIB Business Gold Covered Card – by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB)

ADIB Business Platinum Covered Card – by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB)

Emirates Islamic Business Card – by Emirates Islamic Bank (EIB)

RAKBANK Titanium Business Credit Card – by RAKBANK

United Arab Bank Business Credit Card – by United Arab Bank (UAB)

To get the best experience of Expo 2020 Dubai Emirates NBD introduces Expo 2020 Dubai account

Features and Benefits of Emirates NBD’s Expo 2020 Dubai account:

Emirates Islamic introduces Exclusive Expo Credit Card Limited edition.

Features and Benefits of Exclusive Expo Credit Card Limited edition:

Emirates NBD Expo Mastercard Prepaid Card

Features and Benefits of Emirates NBD Expo Mastercard Prepaid Card:

Types Of Personal Loans

Consider the comparison table below on interest rates offered by banks in the UAE

The Biggest Advantages of Using an EMI Calculator Before Applying For Your Personal Loans in UAE

Eligibility Criteria for Personal Loan in UAE for Expats

* European Economic Area transactions will only earn 0.375 Skywards miles per USD of spend.
** these categories earn only 50% of the Skywards Miles If the total spend in these categories is LESS THAN 50% of the total spend on the card.