The Central Bank stated that it had conducted a questionnaire, which revealed that the time taken to open a bank account for small and medium-sized companies may reach one month.
In its annual report, Al-Markazi indicated that it conducted a questionnaire “Get to know your customer - the process of opening an account in banks.” The survey results revealed that clients, who are owners of micro, small and medium enterprises, face financing challenges, so the time taken to open an account may reach a month. .
The Central added that, based on these results, it intends to enhance customer protection in this regard, while ensuring that there are due diligence requirements to maintain the stability of the country's financial system.
It is noteworthy that the “Central” announced, within its support plan to contain the consequences of the spread of the Corona virus, that it would oblige all banks to open accounts for SME customers, within a maximum period of two days, provided that the required documents are available, and that the risks are acceptable in In light of obligations to confront money laundering and to combat terrorist financing.
With data collected by «Emirates Today» from a number of banks, that the period may reach six months and not to one month, if the customer does not provide the required documents, while the account may be opened to a customer on the same day, if his documents are clearly available and he does not have to Any notes, from the Compliance department that monitors adherence to AML / CFT teachings.
In addition, the Central Bank affirmed in its report that domestic payments and remittances witnessed encouraging growth for the tenth consecutive year, including payment transactions between banks and consumers. In 2019, the total number of transactions and related amounts in the money transfer system in the UAE increased by 9%, from 43.67 million transactions to 47.49 million transactions, and by 10% from 10 billion dirhams to 11 billion dirhams, respectively compared to 2018.
The Central Bank added: “As for the newly implemented immediate payment system, the banks adopted it smoothly after its successful launch in January 2019, where the volume of transactions amounted to 2.2 million deals, valued at 5.8 billion dirhams. In addition, direct debit claims increased by 17.2%, from 13.4 million to 15.7 million, and the wage protection system for registered employers and employees saw a 5% increase.
Paper checks continued to decline, declining by 4.2%, from 28.1 million checks to 26.9 million checks, due to the increasing acceptance of electronic payments.
Micro, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs face financing challenges.