UAE Banks To Suspend Credit, Debit Cards Of Users Who Don't Update Emirates ID

Banks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have urged customers to update their Emirates ID details or, as per instructions issued last year by the country’s bank regulator, users’ credit and debit cards will be suspended and access to online banking facilities will be restricted.

The UAE Central Bank issued a circular in November 2018 instructing all banks in the emirates to update their customers’ Emirates ID details before February 28, 2019. Customers who do not comply risk having their bank cards and banking facilities suspended.

“Emirates NBD has been proactively encouraging customers to update their ID documentation well in advance of the recent UAE Central Bank mandate,” Suvo Sarkar, head of retail banking and wealth management at Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest bank, said in a media statement.

“Customers who did not update their details within the given timeframe faced suspension of their debit or credit card, following which the card cannot be used for any transaction, such as ATM cash withdrawals, retail purchases or e-commerce transactions. As per the Central Bank regulation, the suspension remains in force until the customer updates their details with us,” he added.

Emirates said its media campaign to encourage customers to update their details had been successful and “only a very small percentage of customer accounts have been suspended”.

CBI also issued a statement on its official website “asking customers to share a copy of their Emirates ID (front and back) with the Bank, through SMS via their registered mobile or by email or contacting their Relationship Manager if they have one”.

The statement added that if customers do not update their identification details “restrictions will be placed on any debit / credit cards provided and Internet/mobile banking services until this information is provided”.