Credit score in the UAE

Your UAE credit score comes from the Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB), which collects your loan, card and payment records from banks, finance companies and other providers. Lenders can check your report and score when you apply for credit. A score on its own costs AED 10.50, and the full credit report, which includes the score, costs AED 84 including VAT.

How credit scoring works in the UAE

The bureau collects credit information directly from information providers under Federal Law No. 6 of 2010 on Credit Information, so you do not need to register or submit anything. You can buy your report and score through the bureau’s app, or through the DubaiNow and TAMM government apps with UAE PASS. Our guide to reading your AECB credit report explains each section.

Under the bureau’s current model, Credit Score 3i, people with an established credit history get a Mature Score from 300 to 850, and people with limited history, including newcomers to the UAE, get a New-to-Credit Score from 300 to 650. The two come from different models, so do not compare them on the number alone.

Individual credit score range

300 to 850

Under Credit Score 3i, customers with an established credit history get a Mature Score ranging from 300 to 850.

What affects your score

The bureau lists six factors:

• how much of your credit limits you use
• your recent use of loans and cards
• recent applications for new credit
• how consistently you pay on time
• any history of late or overdue payments
• your record of honoured and returned cheques

Defaults, missed payments and bounced cheques stay on your report for up to 5 years, even after you settle the amount. The habits that match each factor are in how to improve your AECB credit score. Buy now, pay later contracts appear on the report but do not count in the score under the current model: see BNPL and your credit report. Businesses have separate company credit reports.

Your rights over your credit data

If something on your report is wrong, the bureau’s data correction service is free for any report bought in the last 30 days. It passes your request to the lender or provider that reported the data, and the report should be updated within 10 working days. A lender licensed by the Central Bank must also correct errors it reported within 7 complete business days of becoming aware of them.

Lenders also look at how much of your income already goes to repayments. The debt burden ratio calculator shows yours.