Emirated NBD Supported Crypto Exchanges in UAE

A lot of independent traders and individuals, like you and me, who move to Dubai in order to continue trading and investing in crypto markets find it confusing to find the proper ways of buying and selling cryptocurrencies. Emirates NBD is one of the top banks in the UAE, and a lot of our users keep looking for ways to buy crypto using Emirates NBD bank accounts.

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In this guide, I will share many details that will help you with crypto trading in the UAE and might assist you in discovering crypto-friendly banks and structures in the UAE. I will also be sharing some workarounds on how you can buy and sell crypto using your Emirates NBD bank account.

Note: CoinSutra is a community run platform, and if you wish to add your experience or input, please reply via comment below or drop us an email via contact form.

Before I share some solutions and do read comments for suggestions from other users. Lets look at the challanges and why is it happening.

The hard truth about Emirates NBD bank and Crypto exchanges (As per Reddit)

Well often when you wish to open a personal Emirates NBD account for crypto trading income, the sales representative will open the account but eventually compliance department will close the account. This is speciallt true when your income volume increases and it could no longer be treated as personal income.

Here is a story of a Inividual trader:

Another redditor replied by saying

The best way to solve such situation is by

Opening a business under crypto trading license
Open a business bank account
Pay yourself salary and dividend

Now this do sounds like the best way to run a legit personal crypto trading and investing business in UAE, but many are freelancer and looing for some easy to use solutions.

Here are a few solutions that you can look into, and if you have other ideas, feel free to suggest in the comment section below.

Sarwa account: Free crypto trading

For small accounts who are looking for limited set of cryptocurrencies to invest and trade, Sarwa is a good option. They have been around for many years and they are primarily a US equity investing platform. You can invest, trade in US equity, ETF, Bonds. They also have a section where they allow trading in cryptocurrencies.

Pros of Sarwa for crypto investing:

Easy to use platform with fund can be added in AED via any bank account including Emirates NBD
No fees on buying/selling of crypo – Zero trading fees

Cons of Sarwa for crypto investing:

Withdrawals of Crypto is not allowed

Open Sarwa account

Wio bank crypto trading:

Wio bank is digital bank and regulated by Central Bank of the UAE and our shareholders are Abu Dhabi Development Company ADQ, Alpha Dhabi Holding, e&, and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB).

Wio bank offers multiple feature such as :

USD and AED account
Saving account – Earn interest on AED and USD
Invest in US market and UAE Market
Invest in Cryptocurrency market

Wio bank has made a name for itself in digital banking in UAE, and offers crypto services via a 3rd party platform called Fuze, and investing or trading can be done on Wio bank account.

The problem with the Wio Bank crypto trading platform is that they charge really high fees for buying and selling. At the time of writing, they charge 2% of the value of transactions, which is one of the highest rates. Another con of the Wio platform is that you cannot withdraw cryptocurrencies, meaning you cannot use features like staking or earning interest on your assets.

Pros of Wio Bank crypto investing:

Fast and easy-to-use mobile app
Open an account in 10-15 minutes (digital account)
Purchase crypto in AED
Place recurring buy orders (great for auto-investment or SIP)

Cons of Wio Bank virtual asset trading:

High fees (2%)
No option to withdraw the funds

Open account on Wio bank

However for anyone looking for some easy and fastest way to invest legally in cryptocurrencies, then both Sarwa and Wio bank seems like a great option.

Note: It doesnot matter which ever platform you use, Rain.com, Sarwa, Wio bank or any other. Bank compliance can always ask questions and it is a standard process and you should simply reply to them with what it is. For example, investing in equity market or personal investment and so on. However, if you are are professional trader or investor and your transaction values are high, it is better to open a registered crypto trading company. This may cost a little in terms of accounting but you will have zero to no headache, and you can use platforms like Binance, Bybit which offers corporate account.

Over to you: How to Buy Crypto using Emirates NBD Bank

Now it’s your turn to let us know about the different exchanges and platforms supported by Emirates NBD Bank. How are you liquidating your crypto income, and which structure is working best for you? Share your comments below, and let’s add more value to the community.