How to Make and Escalate a Bank Complaint in the UAE

This page explains the current process as published by the Central Bank of the UAE and by Sanadak. It is general information for people and businesses who have already contacted their bank and want to know the formal next step. It is not legal advice, it is not a statement of how any institution or authority will decide a particular matter, and it does not promise that a complaint will succeed.

Who handles a complaint against a UAE bank

The Central Bank of the UAE does not itself adjudicate individual customer disputes with banks. Its founding law requires licensed institutions to process customer complaints and to state the reasons in writing where a complaint or claim is rejected, and provides that a customer may then take an unresolved dispute to an independent ombudsman unit. That unit is Sanadak, established in 2023 with its own legal personality under a Central Bank regulation.

The practical consequence is that a complaint sent directly to the Central Bank before the institution has had its opportunity to respond does not shorten the process. The first formal step is always the institution's own complaint channel. See Article 148 of the Central Bank law and Article 5 of the Consumer Protection Standards on complaint management.

Before you complain

Most banking complaints are decided on the quality of the record rather than the force of the language. Assemble the following before writing.

• A dated chronology: when the problem began, what was said or done, and by whom.
• Account numbers, transaction references, value dates, amounts and currencies.
• Copies of every written communication received from the institution.
• A list of the documents already supplied, with the date each was sent.
• The complaint reference number, once issued.
• A single clear statement of the outcome you are requesting.

Facts should be set out as they are. Nothing on this page suggests presenting, omitting or restructuring information other than accurately; an inconsistency between two of your own accounts of the same events is far more damaging than an inconvenient fact.

How to make a formal complaint to a UAE bank

1. 01

   Use the institution's own complaint channel, in writing

   Every CBUAE-licensed institution must operate a complaint process that is accessible and free of charge. Use the written channel published by the institution rather than a branch conversation or a phone call.

2. 02

   State the facts, not the frustration

   Dates, account and transaction references, amounts and currencies, what was asked of you and what you supplied, and what happened at each stage.

3. 03

   Say clearly what outcome you are asking for

   An explanation, a correction, a fee refund, a decision in writing, or a response to a question already asked. A complaint without a requested outcome is hard to resolve.

4. 04

   Obtain and keep the acknowledgement and reference number

   The reference number identifies the complaint in every later exchange, including any escalation.

5. 05

   Allow the applicable response period before escalating

   Escalating before the institution has had its opportunity to respond is the most common reason an external complaint is returned.

How long should the bank take?

The answer depends on the customer category, and the two should not be conflated.

SME customers. The SME Customer Protection Regulation, C 2/2026, in force since 13 September 2026, requires a financial institution to acknowledge a complaint in writing within 2 business days and to provide a unique reference number for tracking, and to issue a final written response within 30 business days or within another limit prescribed by the Central Bank. The complaint process must be accessible and free of fees. The wording is set out in Article 6 — Complaint Management and Resolution. Our summary of the SME regulation covers the wider scope of those rules.

Individual consumers. Those specific day counts belong to the SME regulation and should not be assumed to apply to individual retail customers. The Consumer Protection Regulation and its Standards require licensed institutions to operate a fair, accessible and free complaint process, and to establish and track service performance standards including the time taken to acknowledge, respond to and resolve complaints, with the Central Bank reserving the right to prescribe those standards. An individual should therefore check the timeline published by their own institution rather than relying on the SME figures above.

When can a complaint be escalated?

Sanadak is the independent ombudsman unit for the UAE financial and insurance sector, covering CBUAE-licensed financial institutions and insurance companies, and open to both consumers and SMEs. Complaints are submitted through the Sanadak complaint portal or its app, with supporting documentation. Its committees are chaired by judges, and their decisions bind the institution; there is a separate, fee-based appeal route if a party wishes to challenge a decision.

Escalation requires that the complaint was first raised formally with the institution and that the applicable waiting period has passed. On this point the published material is not perfectly consistent: the Ombudsman Unit Regulation refers to allowing at least 30 complete business days for the institution to provide a final written response, while Sanadak's own eligibility page refers to a shorter calendar-day wait. Because the position may be updated, the current requirement should be confirmed on Sanadak's complaint eligibility page before filing, and the conservative course is to wait for the longer period or for the institution's final written response, whichever comes first.

A complaint may be rejected where, among other grounds:

• the matter is already before, or being dealt with by, a court of law
• the complaint was never formally raised with the institution
• the required response period was not allowed to pass
• the complaint has already been settled between the parties
• the complaint is identical in nature to another complaint already made
• the complaint materially relates to the institution's risk management, internal pricing policy, or anti-money laundering policies and practices
• the matter falls outside the Central Bank's regulatory mandate
• the matter is outside the time limits set in the Ombudsman Unit Regulation

These grounds come from the Ombudsman Unit Regulation, N 1659/2023 and Sanadak's published eligibility criteria. Eligibility is determined by Sanadak itself, not by the institution and not by any private party.

When a bank complaint may not solve the underlying problem

This is the distinction that matters most, because the complaint route is well suited to one category of problem and largely unsuited to another.

An ordinary conduct or service issue — an unexplained fee, a change made without the expected notice, an unanswered application, a process handled poorly — is exactly what the complaint route exists for.

A matter driven by anti-money laundering procedure, sanctions screening, a source of funds or source of wealth review, a court or enforcement order, or a criminal investigation is different in kind. Matters materially relating to an institution's risk management or anti-money laundering policies and practices are expressly outside the ombudsman's remit, and a matter already before a court stays with the court. A complaint cannot compel disclosure of information an institution is legally restricted from giving, and it cannot override an order made by a court or an authority.

It is equally worth saying that a request for information is not in itself an accusation. Institutions ask for documentation as part of ordinary customer due diligence. Where disclosure is limited, that is frequently the lawful position rather than evidence of a decision made against you. Our UAE banking compliance guide sets out how such requests are usually framed.

Consumer and SME complaints compared

Summary prepared for explanation only. The official Rulebook text and Sanadak's published criteria govern.

If the issue is a held transfer, a frozen account or a document request

A complaint is about how the institution handled you. The underlying problem often needs a different starting point:

• A payment that has not arrived — see a UAE bank transfer held or delayed.
• Access to the account itself affected — see a frozen or restricted UAE bank account.
• The bank has asked for documentation — see a source of funds or source of wealth request.

Official sources

Readers should rely on the primary sources rather than on summaries, including this one: the Central Bank of the UAE, Article 148 on protection of customers of licensed financial institutions, Article 5 of the Consumer Protection Standards, the Ombudsman Unit Regulation N 1659/2023, the SME Customer Protection Regulation C 2/2026 and its Article 6, and Sanadak together with its complaint eligibility criteria.