Which fees can your bank charge on your credit card?

Your bank can charge only the fees on its published schedule, and some of them are capped by the Central Bank. The schedule must be on display in every branch and on the bank’s website.¹

Which card fees does the Central Bank cap?

The caps are in the Annexure to the Consumer Protection Standards.¹ Banks print fees including 5% VAT. HSBC’s tariff shows the late fee as AED 230, or AED 241.50 including VAT, and a liability letter as AED 50, or AED 52.50.² Your original monthly statement is free.¹

What does each bank charge?

Figures are from each bank’s schedule or key facts statement.^34567289

The over-limit fee is not on the Central Bank’s capped list. The standards require your bank to tell you that a transaction taking you over your limit may be rejected and may carry fees.¹

What does an annual fee cost, and can it be waived?

Annual fees run from free for life to several thousand dirhams. Emirates NBD lists cards from free to AED 8,000, HSBC from no fee to AED 2,625 and Commercial Bank of Dubai, on the cards it sells, from free to AED 787.50.⁶²⁴

Some banks waive the fee if you spend enough. RAKBANK’s World card is free in the first year and free after that if you spent AED 100,000 in the previous year, otherwise AED 997.50.⁹ Commercial Bank of Dubai reverses the annual fee on some cards once you reach the card’s annual spend target.⁴ Standard Chartered waives its Journey card fee if you spend AED 10,000 in the first 60 days.¹⁰

If the card renews automatically each year, the bank must write to you at least 30 days before renewal and tell you how to cancel.¹ Emirates NBD says an annual fee is not reversed once the card is activated, used or cancelled, and ADCB says it makes no refund of annual fees when a card is cancelled.⁶³

Can your bank add a new fee?

Not without notice. Banks must give you at least 60 calendar days’ notice of any change to fees, with a plain summary and the revised terms.¹ A transfer between your own accounts at the same bank, including a payment to your credit card, cannot carry a transaction fee.¹

Compare your statement with your bank’s schedule. If you were charged above a cap, complain to your bank.

The small print

• The caps are items 29 to 33 in the Annexure, “Maximum Limits for Fees and Commissions Charged on Retail Customer Service”. The late fee is shown as “Max 230”.¹
• Schedule display is clause 2.1.1.18, free statements 2.1.1.43, automatic renewal notice 2.1.1.17, 60-day notice 2.1.1.47, over-limit disclosure 2.1.3.18, and no fee on transfers between your own accounts 5.1.1.25.¹
• Emirates Islamic calls its late charge a “commitment to donate”. The bank pays it to a charity approved by its Shariah committee after deducting actual expenses.⁵