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Savings accounts

2222

Posts

EW EXPERT

Latest post on 14 January 2011 - 08:05

I have a Substandard Chartered savemore account and just been informed that they have halved the interest rate from 4 to 2%.

Does anyone have a local savings account that has no minimum balance and that has a better rate than the now 2% nonsense of substandard chartered?

TIA

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79

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 17 January 2011 - 12:58

We haven an "either/or" account. So that should be different?! Hope so. Because in our homecountry we have also such an account and we both can act together or everyone on his own. Difficult subject All money held in banks in the UAE is subject to Shariah law. This means that despite the fact the account is either/or if something were to happen to your husband the bank has to freeze your bank accounts and the Shariah court can decide how the assets in the account are distributed. This will not neccessarily mean the money will go to you and is more likely to go to a son/father/brother first. Plus you will have no access at all to the accounts during this process-which can take years. Yes there are ways round it but I know of 3 expat couples sadly who have had experience with this and every case is different but thats the general gist. Obviously the banks dont publicise this or no one would keep money here but expats need to be aware. If you hold your money outside of the UAE you will always have access to it. Look at offshore islands such as Jersey, Singapore or London (not an offshore island I know but you can have offshore banking through it) and check banks like Citi, HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds and Standard Chartered. Some have a minimum balance requirement of $100k or currency equivalent and most specialise in wealth management so investments etc. You would get good rates on cash offshore at the moment as the rates are so low across the board

Servants Quarte...

384

Posts

EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 17 January 2011 - 12:25

If you have a large enough amount in there that the 2% makes a difference to you, I wouldn't be saving it in the UAE anyway, get it into an offshore account, or even an account in your home country. We have no savings here it's all in another country, we have enough to get by here ( in a fabulous way, of course !) ;) Don't really thing that's a fair comment as NONE of the local banks have gone bust but US, European and UK banks have all collapsed.... am quite happy to leave my money in the UAE. You are wrong. I lost a lot of money when BCCI went bust. Only very large creditors got their money back.

60

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 17 January 2011 - 12:20

But where you find good information or tipps for where to save the money? Try to find a financial planner who specialises in expats and has excellent knowledge of your home country - this is important to make sure that everything is as it should be if and when you decide to move back in terms of tax, pensions etc. But be careful because there are companies here who are all about achieving sales targets and commission and not what is actually good for their clients - get a recommendation so that you are dealing with someone you can trust.

50

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 17 January 2011 - 12:08

But where you find good information or tipps for where to save the money? I have the feeling, nobody wants to say anything. I asked my banker at home but no real good information. A friend now living and working in switzerland said, it is because of the taxes. I have asked our tax adviser at home but I thought he is not really a specialist when it comes to expatriates... But an offshore account - I am not sure about that because lots of european banks have lots of problems and it seems not really safe...

39

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 17 January 2011 - 12:00

We haven an "either/or" account. So that should be different?! Hope so. Because in our homecountry we have also such an account and we both can act together or everyone on his own. Difficult subject I have that too but I have been told that unless I could beat the Police Notice to the bank......I might be doomed. I have not met anyone with actual experience....so, it's really hard to say whether it's true or not. Based on our lawyer's advice, we just choose to keep a very limited amount here.

50

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 17 January 2011 - 11:56

We haven an "either/or" account. So that should be different?! Hope so. Because in our homecountry we have also such an account and we both can act together or everyone on his own. Difficult subject

53

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 17 January 2011 - 11:51

To be fair...not all or even most US banks have collapsed. Happy to keep our savings in the US and wouldn't change that.

39

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 17 January 2011 - 11:50

Sorry I am here only for a few months... so I like to know, for which reasons they can freeze accounts? We are thinking about where to save our money. As we have left our homecountry permanently, it is very critical to still save there, because of the high taxes. They have special taxes (expatriation taxation) even when you are not registered there anymore. So here saving seems to be not a good idea --- so where? that's the question... The main reason why DH and I won't save our money here is because we are wary of the shariah law. Should anything happen to DH, our joint account would be frozen immediately (apparently within an hour of police notice). If your DH does not have a Will or if your DH is muslim, the money in the joint account would be distributed according to faraid law.

39

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 17 January 2011 - 11:46

I have a [b'>Substandard Chartered [/b'>savemore account and just been informed that they have halved the interest rate from 4 to 2%. Does anyone have a local savings account that has no minimum balance and that has a better rate than the now 2% nonsense of substandard chartered? TIA They are driving me nuts with their substandard service.

50

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 17 January 2011 - 11:36

Sorry I am here only for a few months... so I like to know, for which reasons they can freeze accounts? We are thinking about where to save our money. As we have left our homecountry permanently, it is very critical to still save there, because of the high taxes. They have special taxes (expatriation taxation) even when you are not registered there anymore. So here saving seems to be not a good idea --- so where? that's the question...

200

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 14 January 2011 - 08:35

Mad moose my comments are made on the fact that I for one would not like to have my accounts frozen ( as they do here regularly ) and feel there was no way out, it's for security reasons more than the actuall return you get cash. Imagine if all you had were stuck in some bank here ? That was really my point! As they say never carry your eggs in one basket ! ;)

30

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 14 January 2011 - 08:24

I'm curious why would you not save here when interst rates are higher and not tax to pay-I might be missing out on some key fact, so would love to know why you think this. I save with HSBC which has 4%, but going to check to see if they have dropped too

200

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 14 January 2011 - 08:24

That's your choice, but I wouldn't risk it as they can freeze your account at any time for the stupidest of reasons! I for one wouldn't sleep well knowing my life savings are at the hands of banks here. And it is a fair comment, nobody who has any decent amount of money puts it in one bank anyway. We have some in Switzerland and I am totally confident it's safe there, very rarely do people ' lose ' savings from a basic savings account, it's usually people who have unwisely invested in various banking schemes I think you'll find. Good luck anyway

2222

Posts

EW EXPERT

Latest post on 14 January 2011 - 08:14

If you have a large enough amount in there that the 2% makes a difference to you, I wouldn't be saving it in the UAE anyway, get it into an offshore account, or even an account in your home country. We have no savings here it's all in another country, we have enough to get by here ( in a fabulous way, of course !) ;) Don't really thing that's a fair comment as NONE of the local banks have gone bust but US, European and UK banks have all collapsed.... am quite happy to leave my money in the UAE.

200

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 14 January 2011 - 08:10

If you have a large enough amount in there that the 2% makes a difference to you, I wouldn't be saving it in the UAE anyway, get it into an offshore account, or even an account in your home country. We have no savings here it's all in another country, we have enough to get by here ( in a fabulous way, of course !) ;)

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