Minimum salary for a credit card in the UAE

The UAE Central Bank sets a minimum annual income of AED 60,000 for a credit card, which works out to AED 5,000 a month. If you earn less, a bank can issue a card only against a pledged deposit of at least AED 60,000. On top of this floor, each bank sets its own salary threshold for each card and checks your existing debts and credit report.

Key takeaways

• The Central Bank income floor for a credit card is AED 60,000 a year, which is AED 5,000 a month.
• Below the floor, a card is possible only against a pledged deposit of at least AED 60,000.
• Card repayments count towards the 50% debt burden ratio together with all your other instalments.
• Each bank sets its own minimum salary for each card, which can be higher than the floor; check it on the bank's own page.

For other card topics, such as closing a card, see our credit card guides.

The Central Bank income floor

The floor is set by the Central Bank’s Regulation No. 29/2011 on loans and other services for individual customers. Article 5 tells banks and finance companies to provide credit cards to people whose annual income equals or exceeds AED 60,000. The Central Bank’s clarification under the article says the aim is to make sure cards go to creditworthy people, and that banks may fix card limits within the policy set out in the regulation.

Minimum annual income for a credit card

AED 60,000 a year

Credit cards may be issued to people with an annual income of AED 60,000 or more; others can get a card only against a pledged deposit of at least AED 60,000.

The rule applies to banks and finance companies that issue credit cards to individuals, conventional and Islamic alike. Article 13 of the same regulation applies it to Shari’ah-compliant services, so it also covers Islamic credit cards.

What AED 60,000 a year means per month

AED 60,000 a year is AED 5,000 a month (AED 60,000 ÷ 12). The article says the income must equal or exceed AED 60,000, so an income of exactly AED 5,000 a month meets it. The regulation speaks of annual income without listing which pay items count, so ask the bank how it treats allowances, commission or income from outside your job.

The incomes are illustrations. Meeting the floor makes you eligible under the Central Bank rule; it does not mean a bank will approve you for a particular card.

The deposit route below the floor

If your income is below AED 60,000 a year, the clarification to Article 5 requires a pledged deposit of at least AED 60,000 with the bank before it can issue you a card. A pledged deposit is your own money, held by the bank as security for what you owe.

The same clarification lets the bank give such a customer another credit facility besides the card, but only if the card limit and that facility together stay within half of the deposit.

Card and other credit against a deposit

50% of the deposit

A person below the AED 60,000 income floor who gets a credit card against a pledged deposit may also be given another credit facility, provided the card limit and that facility together do not exceed 50% of the pledged deposit.

With the minimum deposit of AED 60,000 and another facility on top of the card, the card limit and that facility could total no more than AED 30,000 (AED 60,000 × 50% = AED 30,000). The clarification also says banks may encourage people who are not eligible for a credit card to use debit cards instead.

Why banks ask for more than the minimum

Banks can ask for more because AED 60,000 is the Central Bank minimum for a card without a deposit, not a promise of approval. The Central Bank’s Consumer Protection Standards require a lender, before it provides credit, to verify your employment income and other regular income, check your creditworthiness with the credit bureau and assess the amount you need. Each bank then applies its own credit policy on top of the floor.

Bank thresholds by card tier

Banks usually publish a minimum salary for each of their cards. Cards with more benefits, such as premium travel cards, usually ask for a higher income than basic cards. These thresholds are bank policy, not Central Bank rules, and they change, so check the figure on the bank’s own card page or in its Key Facts Statement on the day you apply.

Your employer and salary transfer

A bank may also set conditions linked to who your employer is or where your salary is paid, such as asking you to transfer your salary to it. These are bank conditions, not Central Bank rules: the Central Bank rule sets a level of income, not who you work for or where your salary is paid. Before you apply, ask the bank whether the card needs a salary transfer and whether your employer changes its threshold or the documents it asks for. Cards without a salary transfer are a separate topic with their own trade-offs: see credit cards without salary transfer.

Your AECB score and report

Banks check your record with the Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB) before they approve a card. The bureau says it plays no role in reviewing or approving applications: it supplies the report, and each bank makes its own decision under its own policy.

Under the bureau’s Credit Score 3i, people with an established history get a Mature Score from 300 to 850, while people with limited history, including those new to the country, get a New-to-Credit Score from 300 to 650. The bureau says the two come from different models and should not be compared on the number alone. The Central Bank rules we read set no minimum score for a card, so each bank reads the score and the report its own way. Before you apply, see what a good AECB score is and check your AECB report.

How your other debts limit a card

All your monthly repayments to banks and finance companies, the card included, must stay within 50% of your gross salary and other regular income. This is the debt burden ratio. A card limit is allowed as an extra facility, but its repayments share the same cap as your car loan, personal loan or home loan.

Maximum debt burden ratio

50%

Monthly deductions for all loans and facilities from banks and finance companies together, including car loans, home loans, overdrafts and credit cards, must not exceed 50% of the borrower's gross salary and any regular income from a defined and specific source, at any time.

Credit cards and the debt burden ratio

Within 50% DBR

A credit card limit is allowed as an additional facility, but card repayments must stay within the 50% debt burden ratio together with all other instalments.

The rule does not say how much of a card limit a lender must count as a monthly payment; that is each bank’s policy. The credit bureau uses a separate measure, the Income Utilisation Ratio (IUR), which appears in your credit report. It counts a fixed share of every active card limit, whether or not you use the card.

How the bureau counts card limits

5% of card limits

The bureau's Income Utilisation Ratio counts 5% of the credit limit of every active credit card as a monthly payment, alongside loan instalments and last month's telecom and utility dues, against your last reported income.

The bureau says a lower IUR means more room to borrow.

Worked example

Salary AED 12,000 a month, car loan AED 2,500 a month

The salary, the car loan instalment, the card limit and the bills are illustrations. We assume the bureau holds AED 12,000 as the last reported income.

1. Cap on all repayments: AED 12,000 × 50% = AED 6,000 a month.
2. Already committed to the car loan: AED 2,500 a month.
3. Room left for a card and any other credit: AED 6,000 - AED 2,500 = AED 3,500 a month.
4. The bureau’s view of an AED 20,000 card limit: AED 20,000 × 5% = AED 1,000 a month.
5. IUR with the card and AED 500 of last month’s phone and utility bills: (AED 2,500 + AED 1,000 + AED 500) ÷ AED 12,000 = 0.333, or 33.3%.
6. If a bank also counted the card at 5% of the limit, the card would take AED 1,000 of the AED 3,500 room, leaving AED 2,500. A bank that counts a larger share would leave less.

This borrower has AED 3,500 a month of room under the 50% cap; how much of it the card uses depends on the bank’s own policy.

Options on a lower salary

Below the floor, the Central Bank rule leaves one route to a credit card: a pledged deposit. Building a credit record helps a later application but does not replace the income rule, and buy now, pay later is a different product.

A card against a fixed deposit

A bank that offers this route asks you to place at least AED 60,000 with it as a pledged deposit, held as security while you have the card. Points to weigh before you agree:

• The money is tied up for as long as the card is open and the bank holds the pledge.
• The card works like any other card, with interest on unpaid balances and the bank’s fees.
• The limit is the bank’s decision within the rule, and any extra credit counts towards the 50% of the deposit.
• Ask how and when the deposit is released after you clear the balance and close the card. Our guide on how to cancel a credit card covers the clearance letter.

Cards backed by a deposit, and who they suit, are a topic of their own.

Building a credit record first

If you are new to the UAE or have little credit history, you may get a New-to-Credit Score at first; the bureau says that once enough history builds up, you can be assessed under the Mature Score. Your credit report also shows your payment history with telecom operators and water and electricity providers, so paying those bills on time adds to your record.

The bureau lists how consistently you pay on time, how much of your limits you use and recent applications for new credit among the factors behind the score.

Buy now, pay later is a different product

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) splits one purchase into instalments. It is not a credit card and not a way around the card income floor. Under the bureau’s current score model, BNPL reporting does not affect your credit score, but BNPL contracts appear on your credit report and lenders who review it may take them into account. See how buy now, pay later works for the rules behind it.

Documents banks usually ask for

Expect to prove who you are, that you live in the UAE and what you earn. Lenders must verify your personal information and income before they provide credit, but each bank sets its own document list, so check it on the bank’s page or with the bank before you apply. Commonly requested documents include:

• your Emirates ID
• your passport with a valid residence visa, if you are an expatriate
• proof of income, such as a salary certificate, recent payslips, bank statements or your labour contract
• if you are self-employed, ask the bank which proof of business income it accepts

If your application is rejected

Ask the bank for the reason, then check the two things that most often decide the answer: your credit report and your debt burden ratio. Fix what you can before you apply again.

• Ask for the assessment. The Consumer Protection Standards say that where a bank must assess whether a credit product suits you or is affordable, it must give you a summary copy of that assessment free of charge.
• Check your report. Check your AECB report for late payments, returned cheques or accounts you do not recognise, and ask for a correction if something is wrong.
• Check your ratio. If your existing instalments leave little room under the 50% cap, a bank can decline a card even when your salary is above its threshold.
• Check the card’s threshold. If your income meets the Central Bank floor but not the bank’s figure for that card, a card with a lower threshold may fit.
• Space out applications. The bureau lists recent applications for new credit among the factors behind your score, so it helps to understand one refusal before you make another application.

What a card costs once you have it

A card charges no interest on purchases if you pay the full statement balance by the due date. The Consumer Protection Standards bar interest in that case, excluding cash advances. If you pay only part, interest runs on the outstanding balance from the due date until you pay it.

Maximum late payment fee

AED 230

The late payment fee on a credit card is capped at AED 230.

Fee caps in the Central Bank’s table are stated before VAT. A few other rules protect you once the card is open:

• Key Facts Statement first. The bank must give you a Key Facts Statement before it provides the card, and the rules say it should be the first document in the sales process. You sign to confirm you received it before you sign the contract. Banks must also display their fee schedule in branches and on their website.
• No automatic limit increases. A bank may offer a higher limit, but it must run a new credit bureau check and get your express consent first. It may lower a limit or close a card for business reasons, with notice and the reason.
• Minimum payment warning. Card statements must show how long it would take to clear the balance by paying only the minimum, and warn that minimum-only payments cost more and take longer.

Interest rates, annual fees and cash advance costs are a topic of their own: see credit card interest and fees. When you no longer need a card, see how to cancel a credit card and get a clearance letter.