An Islamic current account in the UAE is a qard, a loan from you to the bank that it guarantees and pays no profit on, so what separates one from another is the minimum balance, the breach fee, the salary floor and the waivers. The Central Bank's Regulations 29/2011 cap the minimum at AED 3,000 and the monthly fee at AED 25 (AED 26.25 with VAT), and seven banks charge exactly that: Dubai Islamic Bank, ADIB, Emirates Islamic, Sharjah Islamic, Ajman Bank, Al Hilal and FAB Islamic. Ruya charges no minimum and no fee, SIB Digital and ADIB's Smart Account drop the minimum with conditions, and a salary transfer removes the fee at most of the rest. The bank accounts hub covers savings too; this guide is about the account your salary lands in.
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What an Islamic current account is, in one sentence each
Ruya's terms call its current account a Qard Hasan in which you deposit cash with the bank; FAB Islamic's terms say its Islamic current account is offered on the basis of Qard Hasn and shall not bear any profit, with the bank guaranteeing the funds; Ajman Bank's page says the account is structured on the concept of Qard; and Emirates Islamic's FAQ answers the profit question with a single word, no. The money is yours on demand, the bank may use it, and nothing is owed to you beyond the balance. That is why the fee schedule is the whole comparison.
The practical consequence is that holding a large balance in a current account earns nothing anywhere. The banks know this, which is why DIB and Ajman sell 2-in-1 accounts that add a cheque book to a Mudaraba savings balance, and why the sensible set-up for most households is a current account kept near its minimum and a savings or investment account for everything else. The gates on those savings accounts are their own subject; see the fine print that kills your profit.
The Central Bank rules that set the ceiling
Appendix 2 of Regulations 29/2011, issued on 23 February 2011, lists maximum fees for personal accounts: account opening without fees, a minimum balance of AED 3,000, a breach of minimum balance fee of AED 25 a month, no relationship fee, no fee for non-receipt of salary, utility bill payment free online and at ATMs and AED 10 at the counter, standing instruction set-up of AED 50, and a statement outside the agreed cycle at AED 25. Article 9 adds that a bank must close an account without penalty if it has been open for more than a year, and in all cases must close it and issue a certificate within seven days of the request. Article 13 extends the regulation to Shariah-compliant services.
The Consumer Protection Standards layered on top from 2021 require a bank that offers a low-cost savings or current account to tell you it exists and disclose its key features (standard 2.1.2.2), and to disclose whether an account needs an initial deposit or minimum balance and warn you of the consequences, including any fee (standard 2.1.2.3). Every bank below now publishes a Key Facts Statement that does this. VAT at 5% was added to bank fees from 1 January 2018, which is why the AED 25 cap appears as AED 26.25 at most banks and as AED 25 plus VAT at ADIB and Ajman.
Eight banks compared on the numbers that matter
| Bank and account | Minimum balance | Fall-below fee | Main waivers | Minimum salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIB Al Islami Current | AED 3,000 average | AED 26.25 a month | Average at or above AED 3,000 | None stated |
| ADIB Current | AED 3,000 | AED 25 plus VAT | Salary transfer packages, active finance, pensioners, minors | AED 5,000 |
| Emirates Islamic Current | AED 3,000 average | AED 26.25 a month | Salary transfer, minors, active finance | AED 5,000 |
| Sharjah Islamic Current | AED 3,000 (AED 2,000 in USD, GBP, EUR) | AED 26.25 | Use SIB Digital instead | Not stated |
| Ajman Bank Current | AED 3,000 average | AED 25 excl. VAT, once a month | Salary transfer to the account | AED 5,000 |
| Al Hilal Current | AED 3,000 relationship balance | AED 26.25 | Salary transfer of AED 3,000, active card or finance | Not stated |
| FAB Islamic Current | AED 3,000 | In Islamic fee guide (conventional guide: AED 26.25) | Elite tier has no minimum | Not stated |
| Ruya Current | None | None | Not needed | None |
Three readings of the table. First, the AED 3,000 figure is not a coincidence but the regulatory ceiling, and the banks have converged on it. Second, the difference between banks is the waiver list, not the fee. Third, the salary floor at ADIB, Emirates Islamic and Ajman means the account is closed to anyone earning less than AED 5,000, while DIB states no salary floor for the account itself (its personal finance starts at AED 3,000) and Ruya states none at all.
Two banks need a caveat. FAB Islamic's accounts FAQ says a minimum balance of AED 3,000 or equivalent must be maintained for its Islamic current and savings accounts and links an Islamic fees PDF we could not open; its conventional service and price guide charges AED 26.25 for a breach, and it would be unusual for the Islamic guide to differ, but confirm it. RAKislamic's current account page gives no minimum balance or fee, and Mashreq Al Islami's pages do not print one either; both are quote-only on this point and should be asked for the Key Facts Statement.
The accounts with no minimum balance
Ruya is the cleanest case. Its current account page and its terms both say no minimum deposit is required to open and no minimum balance must be maintained, there is no salary requirement, the debit card and cheque book are free, and the account opens in the app with UAE PASS. Its April 2026 fee schedule lists the monthly plan as free but reserves a maximum of AED 40 a month unless you transfer a salary of AED 20,000 or hold an average balance of AED 10,000; the standard column says free and we have seen no notice of the maximum being applied, but it is in the document. Closing within six months costs AED 105.
SIB Digital is a combined current and savings account opened through the Sharjah Islamic Bank app with no minimum balance to maintain and no salary transfer, though you need AED 5,000 to earn profit. The August 2026 retail tariff adds a condition the December 2025 tariff did not have: a fee of AED 26.25 if the balance is under AED 1,000 and you have neither one transaction a month, nor a fixed deposit, covered card or finance, nor a regular salary transfer. ADIB's Smart Account is a Mudaraba savings account with no minimum balance and profit from AED 1, limited to one AED account, which makes it a workable everyday account for a single customer. Al Hilal Bank keeps the AED 3,000 relationship balance but waives the fee for a salary transfer of just AED 3,000 or any active card or finance, and its relationship balance can be held across Wakala, term, current and savings accounts together.
For anyone paid below AED 5,000, or paid in cash, or between jobs, these four are the realistic list, and our guide to Islamic banking without a salary transfer ranks them in more detail.
What a salary transfer actually buys
At Emirates Islamic the minimum balance requirement is waived entirely when your salary is transferred, and the Key Facts Statement extends the waiver to minors, customers with an active finance and customers meeting the salary package criteria; its Advantage package wants AED 100,000 on balance or a salary of AED 15,000, Priority AED 500,000 or AED 50,000. At ADIB a Ghina Salary account escapes the fee once it has received a salary of at least AED 5,000 in the past three months. At Al Hilal the trigger is a salary of AED 3,000. At Ajman the Key Facts Statement lists salary transfer as the alternative to the AED 3,000 average. DIB's waivers for the current account are balance-based, though a DIB finance repaid from a savings account waives that account's fee.
Measured in money, the waiver is worth AED 315 a year, which is the fee you would otherwise pay in twelve months below the minimum. That is a modest sum against the hold a salary transfer gives the bank over you, and we set out the trade in what a salary transfer is actually worth. If your only reason to transfer is the fee, consider whether a zero-minimum account solves the problem more cheaply.
The other fees on the current account page
- Closing within six months: AED 26.25 at DIB, AED 100 at ADIB and Ajman, AED 105 at Emirates Islamic, Ruya and FAB; free after one year everywhere under Article 9.
- Cheque books after the first free book: AED 26.25 per 25 leaves at DIB, AED 25 at ADIB (AED 20 in the app), AED 1 per leaf at Ajman; first book free at every bank in the table.
- Teller transactions: six free a month then AED 10.50 at DIB and Emirates Islamic (15 free on EI Advantage), unlimited and free at ADIB.
- Withdrawals at another bank's ATM in the UAE: AED 2 at DIB and Ajman, AED 6 within the GCC; balance enquiries AED 1.
- Returned cheques drawn on your account: AED 105 at DIB and Al Hilal, AED 100 at ADIB and Ajman; stop payment AED 50 at ADIB, AED 52.50 at Al Hilal.
- Letters: liability or clearance letters AED 50 at ADIB, AED 63 at Emirates Islamic and Ruya, AED 52.50 for a balance letter at Ruya and DIB.
None of these will decide the choice, but the closure fee is worth knowing if you intend to open an account to test it. DIB's AED 26.25 is the cheapest exit; a six-month trial at Emirates Islamic or Ruya costs AED 105 if you leave early.
Current account or 2-in-1: which to hold
DIB's Al Islami 2-in-1 pairs a ten-leaf cheque book with a Mudaraba balance; the same AED 26.25 fee applies below AED 3,000 average and its declared rate for the second quarter of 2026 was 0.15% a year. Ajman's 2-in-1 is Mudaraba with AED 5,000 needed to join the pool. The arithmetic is unflattering: on AED 10,000 kept all year, 0.15% is AED 15. The reason to hold one is convenience, not return. Hold a plain current account if you need a full cheque book and a salary landing point, and move anything above the minimum into a product that publishes a real rate.
If you want a single comparison of every structure on offer, from current to Wakala, our compare tool lists them side by side with the declared rate for each.
Verdict: which account for which reader
If you earn AED 5,000 or more and will transfer your salary, the fee question disappears at Emirates Islamic, Al Hilal, ADIB's Ghina Salary account and Ajman, and your choice should turn on the savings rate, the app and the branch network instead. If you earn less than AED 5,000, Ruya is the only full Islamic bank in this comparison with no salary floor, no minimum and no fee, with SIB Digital and ADIB's Smart Account close behind. If you keep more than AED 3,000 idle anyway, every account in the table is free to run and DIB's AED 26.25 closure fee makes it the cheapest to try.
Whatever you choose, keep the account near its minimum and put the rest somewhere that declares a rate, because a qard pays nothing by design. Ask any quote-only bank, including RAKislamic and Mashreq Al Islami, for the Key Facts Statement before opening; the Central Bank requires them to publish the minimum balance and the fee, and a bank that cannot show you both in writing has told you something. Facts checked against centralbank.ae, dib.ae, adib.ae, emiratesislamic.ae, sib.ae, ajmanbank.ae, alhilalbank.ae, bankfab.com, ruyabank.ae on 20 September 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum balance for an Islamic current account in the UAE?
AED 3,000 at DIB, ADIB, Emirates Islamic, Sharjah Islamic, Ajman Bank, Al Hilal and FAB Islamic, which is the ceiling set by the Central Bank's Regulations 29/2011. Ruya requires no minimum balance, SIB Digital and ADIB's Smart Account require none with conditions, and several banks waive the requirement when your salary is transferred to the account.
Why is the fall-below fee AED 26.25 at most banks?
The Central Bank capped the monthly fee for breaching the minimum balance at AED 25 in 2011, and VAT at 5% has applied to bank fees since 1 January 2018, which brings it to AED 26.25. DIB, Emirates Islamic, Sharjah Islamic and Al Hilal print AED 26.25; ADIB and Ajman print AED 25 and add VAT separately. No bank may charge more.
Which Islamic bank in the UAE has a current account with no minimum balance?
Ruya's current account has no minimum deposit, no minimum balance, no salary requirement and no fee, and opens in the app with UAE PASS. SIB Digital has no minimum balance to maintain, though the August 2026 tariff adds an AED 26.25 fee for inactive accounts under AED 1,000. ADIB's Smart Account has no minimum and pays profit from AED 1.
Does an Islamic current account pay profit?
No. It is structured as a qard, a guaranteed loan from you to the bank, and FAB Islamic's terms, Ruya's terms and Emirates Islamic's FAQ all state that it bears no profit. Profit comes from Mudaraba or Wakala savings and investment accounts, which carry their own balance gates, typically AED 5,000 at Emirates Islamic, ADIB and Ajman and AED 1,000 at DIB.
Can a bank charge me to close my current account?
Only early. Article 9 of Regulations 29/2011 says a bank must close an account without penalty if it has been open for more than a year, and must complete the closure and issue a certificate within seven days. Inside six months the published fees are AED 26.25 at DIB, AED 100 at ADIB and Ajman, and AED 105 at Emirates Islamic, Ruya and FAB.
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What is the minimum salary to open an Islamic current account?
ADIB, Emirates Islamic and Ajman Bank all require a declared or transferred salary of AED 5,000. DIB states no salary floor for the Al Islami Current Account, Ruya states none at all, and Al Hilal waives its fee from a salary transfer of AED 3,000. Below AED 5,000, Ruya, SIB Digital and ADIB's Smart Account are the practical options.
