UAE Bank Fee Caps: What the Central Bank Lets Your Bank Charge

For anyone who has been charged AED 250 for a liability letter or 3 percent to settle a loan early: the complete Central Bank schedule of maximum fees a UAE bank or finance company may charge a retail customer, the rule that bans any fee outside that schedule, and what to do when a charge exceeds the cap.

The Central Bank of the UAE caps 43 separate retail banking fees, and a bank may not impose any commission, fee, charge, or fine outside that schedule without the Central Bank’s written approval. Early settlement of a personal loan is capped at 1 percent of the outstanding balance or AED 10,000, whichever is less. A home loan carries the same cap. An account closure fee cannot exceed AED 100, a liability letter AED 60, a credit card late payment fee AED 230, and a home loan late payment fee AED 700. Using another bank’s ATM is capped at AED 2, and your own bank’s ATM must be free.

This guide reproduces the full fee cap table from Appendix 2 of the Central Bank’s Regulation No. 29/2011 Regarding Bank Loans and Other Services Offered to Individual Customers, explains the four rules that sit above it, covers the interest calculation requirements that govern how a flat rate must be advertised, and sets out the escalation route when a bank charges more than the cap allows. If your complaint is that a fee changed without warning rather than that it is too high, the separate notice rules are covered in our guide to when a UAE bank can change your fees, rate, or terms.

The Rule That Matters Most: No Fee Outside the Table

Article 11(2) of Regulation 29/2011 is the provision that gives the schedule its force. Fees, commissions, deductions, and charges on loans, overdraft balances, unpaid credit card balances, and retail banking services must be in accordance with the limits prescribed in the table, and “banks and finance companies may not impose any commissions, fees, charges or fines other than those mentioned in the said table without Central Bank’s written approval.”

That is a closed list, not a ceiling on an open one. A fee that does not appear in the schedule at all is not permitted merely because it is small, and a fee that appears in the schedule cannot exceed its cap. The Central Bank reviews the table annually under Article 11(4), and the current Appendix 2 amendment adds four further conditions that constrain how banks use it.

• The caps are maximums, not defaults. The amendment states that banks must have product approval processes examining the basis and appropriateness of each fee, and must charge lower fees than the cap where actual costs are lower. The Central Bank supervises specifically to ensure institutions “do not automatically default to using maximum caps where actual costs may be lower.”
• New or increased fees need advance approval. Banks must notify and seek Central Bank approval in advance for any new fee, or any change larger than 5 percent to an existing fee not capped by the amendment. Those notifications can only be submitted during the first five business days of April and October each year.
• The caps exclude VAT. All fees in the amendment are stated exclusive of UAE VAT, so a capped AED 100 fee can appear as AED 105 on your statement without breaching the cap.
• The fee list must be public. Institutions must give the Central Bank a full list of the fees they charge, and up-to-date fees must be publicly available and easily accessible to consumers, online and in branches.

Can a UAE Bank Charge Any Fee It Wants?

No. Under Article 11(2) of Regulation 29/2011, a bank or finance company may not impose any commission, fee, charge, or fine other than those listed in the Central Bank’s fee schedule without the Central Bank’s written approval. Fees in the schedule are capped maximums, and banks must charge less where their actual costs are lower.

The Complete Fee Cap Schedule

The following table reproduces Appendix 2 of Regulation 29/2011 as amended, which sets the maximum limits for fees and commissions charged on retail customer services. All figures are in dirhams and exclusive of VAT.

The Fees Most Often Overcharged

Four lines in that table account for most of the disputes worth having.

Early settlement. The cap is 1 percent of the outstanding balance or AED 10,000, whichever is less, and it applies to consumer loans, home loans, and partial settlements alike. On a mortgage with AED 1.5 million outstanding, 1 percent would be AED 15,000, so the AED 10,000 ceiling controls and the maximum lawful charge is AED 10,000, not AED 15,000. Car loans are the exception in the schedule: the entry reads 1 percent of outstanding with no dirham ceiling attached.

Liability and clearance letters. These are the documents you need to move a loan, sell a mortgaged property, or close out a facility, and they are capped between AED 50 and AED 150 depending on the product. A three-figure charge above those numbers for a routine letter is outside the schedule.

Late payment. Credit card late payment is capped at AED 230, home loan late payment at AED 700, car loan late payment at AED 500, and delayed payment penal interest charges on a consumer loan at AED 200. These are per-occurrence maximums under the schedule, not monthly percentages.

Account closure. Closing a personal account is capped at AED 100. That figure is worth knowing when you are leaving the country, alongside the rest of the exit sequence set out in our guide to closing a UAE bank account before you leave.

Loan Buyouts: The Transfer Rule in Article 20

Article 20(b) of Regulation 29/2011 gives borrowers an express right to move a loan between institutions. Any borrower may transfer their loan or financing from any bank or finance company operating in the UAE against payment of an early payment fee not exceeding 1 percent of the outstanding balance, or AED 10,000, whichever is less.

The receiving institution may accept the transfer on two conditions. For loans granted after the Regulation came into force, its requirements must be fully complied with, in particular those on loan amount, repayment period, and monthly deduction. For loans granted before it, the profit or interest rate must be reduced, and the repayment period or the loan balance must not be increased by granting the borrower an additional loan or financing on top.

That second condition is the one borrowers rarely hear. A buyout of an older facility is not permitted to become a stealth top-up that extends the term or grows the balance. Separately, Article 6 restricts top-ups generally: a top-up loan should not be granted unless the original loan was repaid without default for a period of not less than one year. The wider economics of moving a mortgage are covered in our guide to mortgage refinancing, buyouts, and equity release in the UAE.

How Interest Must Be Calculated and Advertised

Article 6 of the Regulation governs the arithmetic behind the fees, and it contains one rule that is directly enforceable by any consumer reading an advertisement.

Interest must be determined on the basis of the reducing balance of the loan on an annual basis, using a 365-day year. Deducting a ratio of the loan in advance as the payable interest amount is prohibited. Banks must arrive at the interest amount, deduct it from the agreed monthly installment, and use the net amount to reduce the loan balance for the following month’s calculation. The effective interest rate on a per annum basis must be disclosed to the customer, displayed on the board, used in the calculation, and specified in the loan documentation.

Then the provision that matters when you are comparing offers: “Any bank advertising or propagating ‘Flat’ interest rate must invariably state the equivalent effective rate side by side.” A flat rate of 3.99 percent quoted without an effective rate next to it does not meet that requirement. The gap between the two is not small, because a flat rate charges interest on the original principal for the whole term while the effective rate reflects the balance you actually owe. Comparing headline rates across lenders is covered in our guide to personal loans in the UAE and how they are priced.

Does a UAE Bank Have to Show the Effective Interest Rate?

Yes. Article 6 of Regulation 29/2011 requires the effective per annum rate to be disclosed to the customer, displayed on the board, used in the calculation, and written into the loan documentation. Any bank advertising a flat rate must state the equivalent effective rate alongside it.

What Happens When a Bank Exceeds a Cap

Article 14 of the Regulation routes suspected violations to the Legal Development Unit of the Central Bank, which decides whether a violation has occurred. Where it is established, the fine applies to each violation and is charged on a daily basis to the violating bank until it is rectified. That is a supervisory penalty rather than a refund to you, so recovering the money runs on a separate track.

The practical sequence is:

1. Ask for the fee schedule. The Appendix 2 amendment requires banks to make their up-to-date fees publicly available and easily accessible online and in branches. Request the specific line item covering the charge.
2. Complain to the bank in writing. Cite the product, the fee name as it appears in Appendix 2, and the cap. Keep the reference number.
3. Escalate to the ombudsman. If the bank’s answer does not resolve it, the complaint goes to Sanadak, the independent Ombudsman Unit established by the Central Bank, which handles complaints against licensed financial institutions and insurance companies free of charge for consumers and SMEs.

Where the charge was a straightforward error rather than a policy position, the bank’s obligations are stricter and faster, and those rules are set out in our guide to what happens when a UAE bank charges you in error.

What the Schedule Does Not Cover

Two honest limitations are worth stating, because the schedule is narrower than its reputation.

First, Article 16 of the Regulation provides that its provisions do not apply to merchant and investment banks, and the schedule is directed at retail customer services. It is a consumer instrument, not a general price control on banking.

Second, many charges consumers experience most often are simply not in the table. Monthly account maintenance fees, minimum balance penalties, foreign exchange margins on card spending, and international transfer charges to most destinations do not appear as capped lines. Foreign exchange fees are dealt with separately in Appendix 3, which requires them to be displayed in Arabic and English on a board next to the foreign exchange counter rather than setting a maximum. Where a fee is not capped, the constraint is the ex-ante approval requirement for new or materially increased fees, plus the notice rules for changing terms, not a ceiling. Minimum balance requirements in particular vary widely by institution and are covered in our guide to minimum balance requirements at UAE banks.

The schedule also applies to banks and finance companies licensed by the Central Bank. Institutions regulated inside DIFC or ADGM by the DFSA or FSRA operate under those authorities’ own conduct rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much can a UAE bank charge for early settlement of a loan?

For consumer loans and home loans, the cap is 1 percent of the outstanding balance or AED 10,000, whichever is less. The same cap applies to partial settlement and to final settlement from other sources or end-of-service benefits. Car loans are listed at 1 percent of outstanding without a dirham ceiling.

Can my bank charge a fee that is not in the Central Bank schedule?

Not without the Central Bank’s written approval. Article 11(2) of Regulation 29/2011 states that banks and finance companies may not impose any commissions, fees, charges, or fines other than those in the table without that approval. New fees or increases above 5 percent to uncapped fees must be notified for approval in advance, in the first five business days of April or October.

What is the maximum credit card late payment fee in the UAE?

AED 230 under the Central Bank fee schedule. Home loan late payment is capped at AED 700, car loan late payment penal charges at AED 500, and delayed payment penal interest charges on a consumer loan at AED 200. All figures are exclusive of VAT.

Do the fee caps include VAT?

No. The Appendix 2 amendment states that all fees set out in it are exclusive of UAE VAT charges. A capped AED 100 fee can therefore appear as AED 105 on a statement without breaching the cap, and that difference is not an overcharge.

How much can a bank charge to close my account in the UAE?

AED 100 for a personal account under the Central Bank fee schedule. Closing a term deposit before maturity is treated differently, listed as cost with a maximum of 2 percent. Both figures are exclusive of VAT.

Is my own bank allowed to charge me for using its ATM?

No. The schedule sets the cap for own-bank ATM fees at AED 0. Using another bank’s ATM is capped at AED 2. Replacing a lost or stolen ATM card, replacing a PIN, and issuing a supplementary ATM card are each capped at AED 25.

Does a bank have to tell me the effective interest rate, not just the flat rate?

Yes. Article 6 of Regulation 29/2011 requires the effective per annum rate to be disclosed to the customer, displayed on the board, used in the calculation, and specified in the loan documentation. Any bank advertising a flat rate must state the equivalent effective rate side by side with it.

Can a bank refuse to let me move my loan to another bank?

Article 20(b) gives any borrower the right to transfer their loan or financing from any bank or finance company operating in the UAE against an early payment fee not exceeding 1 percent of the outstanding balance or AED 10,000, whichever is less. The receiving institution must comply with the Regulation’s requirements, and for older loans must reduce the rate without extending the term or increasing the balance.

What do I do if my bank charges more than the cap?

Ask the bank for the published fee line covering the charge, then complain in writing citing the product, the fee name as it appears in Appendix 2, and the cap. If that is not resolved, escalate to Sanadak, the Central Bank’s independent Ombudsman Unit, which handles consumer and SME complaints against licensed financial institutions free of charge.

Are monthly account fees and minimum balance charges capped?

No. Monthly maintenance fees, minimum balance penalties, foreign exchange margins, and most international transfer charges are not listed as capped lines in the schedule. Where a fee is uncapped, the constraints are the advance approval requirement for new or materially increased fees and the separate notice rules for changing terms.

Official Sources

This article references information from the following UAE government authorities and legal sources:

• CBUAE Rulebook – Regulation No. 29/2011 Regarding Bank Loans and Other Services Offered to Individual Customers (Articles 6, 11, 14, 16, and 20)
• CBUAE Rulebook – Amendment of Appendix 2, Maximum Limits for Fees and Commissions Charged on Retail Customer Service
• CBUAE Rulebook – Clarifications and Guidelines Manual for Regulation No. 29/2011
• CBUAE Rulebook – Establishment of an Ombudsman Unit for the United Arab Emirates Regulation N 1659/2023
• CBUAE Rulebook – Consumer Protection Regulation
• UAE Government Portal – Finance and investment services

This guide is for informational purposes only and is not financial or legal advice. Information is current as of August 2026. The Central Bank reviews the fee schedule annually under Article 11(4) of Regulation 29/2011, so confirm the current caps in the CBUAE Rulebook before relying on a figure. All caps are exclusive of VAT and apply to banks and finance companies licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE; institutions regulated by the DFSA in DIFC or the FSRA in ADGM operate under separate conduct rules. Individual product terms may set lower fees than the caps shown.