Banking · Retail bank
Liv.: Emirates NBD's digital bank for UAE residents
Digital banking brand of Emirates NBD, reserved for adult residents of the UAE holding an Emirates ID card and a passport. The account is held by Emirates NBD itself; there is no public deposit guarantee scheme in the UAE.
Please note
Characteristics
- Family
- Retail bank
- Regulator
- Central Bank of the UAE
- Regulator country
- United Arab Emirates (Dubai)
- Deposit guarantee
- No
- Remote opening
- Yes
- Currencies
- AED
- Services
- Current account · Payment card · International transfers · Savings
- Accepted residencies
- United Arab Emirates (Dubai)
- Refused residencies
- Not provided
- Home country
- United Arab Emirates (Dubai)
Main account reserved for adult residents of the UAE holding a valid Emirates ID card issued by the Emirati identity authority and a passport. Only one main account per Emirates ID card. The conditions for keeping the account after leaving the UAE are not specified.
Entities and regulatory status
| Entity | Jurisdiction | Status | Regulator | Protection of funds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emirates NBD Bank (P.J.S.C.)holds the accountLiv. is a brand of Emirates NBD and not a separate entity; Central Bank register not consulted. | United Arab Emirates (Dubai) | Banks with their own licence | Central Bank of the UAEregister · liv.me |
Who can open or keep an account
| Country of residence | Case | Status | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates (Dubai) | Opening | Accepted | Adult residents with Emirates ID and passport.liv.me |
| Any residence (general rule) | Opening | Refused | Non-residents: the main account is presented as reserved for residents.liv.me |
| United Arab Emirates (Dubai) | Keeping after a move | Unknown | Not documented. |
A country missing from this table is neither accepted nor refused: the information is not published.
Published figures
- Account feeNot provided
- Brokerage feeNot provided
- Deposit guarantee ceilingNot provided
- Entry ticketNot provided
Which entity, what status
According to its terms, "Liv is a brand owned by Emirates NBD (P.J.S.C)". There is no separate banking entity: the account is held by Emirates NBD, a bank licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE. We therefore classify the brand among licensed banks, the contracting entity being Emirates NBD itself.
The Emirates NBD entry in the Central Bank of the UAE register has not been consulted.
Who can open an account
The Liv main account is reserved for residents of the UAE aged over figure being updated, with the capacity to contract under Emirati law, holding a valid Emirates ID card and a passport. A single Emirates ID card can support only one main account.
A resident expatriate with an Emirates ID card falls within this framework; a non-resident does not.
What happens to the account when the holder leaves the UAE is not documented on the page consulted.
Account, card and currencies
Liv offers a main account in dirhams with a debit card, savings pockets and a separate multi-currency account. The terms provide that a minimum balance may be required, as Liv decides; fees are set out in the fee schedule (Price Plan).
The fee schedule, any minimum balance and the currencies of the multi-currency account have not been consulted.
Protection of funds
As with other Emirati banks, we found no source establishing the existence of a public deposit guarantee scheme in the UAE; the press noted this in 2008. Deposits with Liv are deposits with Emirates NBD and depend on the soundness of that bank.
Current state of Emirati deposit guarantee law not verified against an official text.
In the absence of a public guarantee, a depositor's protection rests on the supervision of the Central Bank of the UAE and on the soundness of the bank itself. For substantial assets, spreading them across several institutions, or using a bank covered by a guarantee in another country, reduces concentration risk.
Points to check
- The Emirates ID card: without it, no main account.
- Any minimum balance and the fee schedule currently in force.
- The fact that Liv and a standard Emirates NBD account belong to the same bank: there is no risk diversification between the two.
- Reporting obligations linked to your tax residence: a French tax resident must declare every year accounts opened, held, used or closed outside France, including those with online banks and payment wallets; other countries impose comparable obligations.
- The tax residence self-certification requested at account opening: depending on the automatic exchange of information commitments of the bank's country, the account's balances and income may be reported to the tax authority of your country of residence.