Possibility to activate it via the smart app

Banks close “unused” bank accounts for 6 months

  • Banks do not prefer closing the account as a first option, but rather communicate with the customer and request that his data be updated.

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  • Awatef Al Harmoudi: “The majority of banks prefer to close the unused account, to avoid being hacked and badly exploited by those with weak souls.”

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Banks operating in the state have started closing accounts that their owners do not use for a period of six consecutive months, after a great controversy over “forgotten” accounts, on which banks continue to impose minimum balance fees without the knowledge of their owners.

Bank dealers told "Emirates Today" that they found their accounts closed when trying to access it through the smart application, and access to it through the mobile application was revoked for not using the account during the past six months.

They indicated that the banks, in the same message on the application, made it possible to reactivate the account using the identity card, provided that all terms and conditions related to opening the account were agreed upon.

complaints

"Emirates Today" had previously published an investigation into customer complaints about the accumulation of thousands of dirhams as a result of forgetting old bank accounts, while banks continue to impose a fee of 25 dirhams per month without informing the customer, until after the customer has reached a large amount.

For her part, the banking expert, Awatef Al-Harmoudi, said that “the issue of closing the bank account after six months is subject to several considerations and differs from one bank to another, but most banks prefer to close the account on which there is no movement, and at the same time it costs them large sums annually, in addition to It is a show of penetration and bad exploitation by those with weak souls.”

account closed

She added, “Having 1,000 unused accounts, for example, on any bank’s system, costs the bank millions of dirhams annually, and usually banks do not prefer closing the account as a first option, but rather communicate with the customer and ask to update his data or remind him of the account, but in the event the customer does not respond and in the absence of any Taking advantage of the account in marketing or selling various banking products, the banks take the initiative to close it, however, allowing it to be activated in simple steps if the customer desires to do so.”

Dormant accounts

Al-Harmoudi continued, "This procedure differs from dealing with (dormant) accounts, as there is a clear regulation and decision by the Central Bank for the latter, and it takes certain stages for a specific number of years, especially if it contains sums of money. As for unused accounts for 6 months and not It contains out-of-date customer data and balances, and does not respond to the bank’s calls or messages. The latter prefers to close it in order to save expenses, and not to leave it vulnerable to misuse.”

And she indicated that “the existence of a minimum balance fee estimated at 25 dirhams, if the available balance in the account drops below 3000 dirhams, does not replace the bank with the presence of an update of the customer’s data or knowing whether it is still present inside the country or not, in addition to the cost that the bank bears to protect and preserve the account from No penetrations.

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