How to Check My Credit Score in the UAE?

Every UAE resident who, for any purpose, borrows funds from lending institutions automatically becomes subject to the Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB). If you want to make sure that applying for credit in the future is easy for you, finding out your credit score in the UAE is a good first step. In this article, we will cover such essential aspects as what a credit bureau is in the UAE, how to check your credit score, and how to improve your AECB score.

What is the Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB)?

Functioning since 2014, the Al Etihad Credit Bureau is a federal government organization that stores credit data about every individual. This includes loans, mortgages, credit card activities, payments for a phone, and many other financial operations of a particular person. 

After analyzing all the data, the AECB credit bureau creates a credit score — a number between 300 and 900. Your performance on the AECB decreases as your score goes down and improves as your score goes up. The UAE credit score will update depending on your financial activity. 

What is an AECB credit report?

A credit report by the AECB collects data from various financial establishments like banks, utility companies, and other organizations. When you ask for a credit report, you will get the following information:

• The number of credit cards you use
• The loans you arranged for and their amounts
• Your credit card activity (payment history for the last five years)
• Missed due date for payments
• Exceeded credit card limit
• Bounced cheques
• Number of debit cards and activity on them

To receive an Etihad Bureau report, you must visit the nearest customer service department and request an AECB credit report. As for the documentation part, here is what you must bring if you are applying for your credit report: your Emirates ID and a copy of your passport.

If you file for another person, the list of legal papers will be longer: you will have to get an applicant’s copy of Emirates ID and passport, your Emirates ID, an authorization letter in which the applicants have verified their signature in the bank, and a filled consent form that can be downloaded from the Etihad credit bureau website.

Understanding AECB credit score

AECB credit score is a unique three-digit number for residents of the UAE. As mentioned, this number ranges from 300 to 900 and greatly influences the chances of approving a loan or mortgage. If the score is too low, banks will not likely consider an individual that is creditworthy. 

Before finding out your actual credit score in the UAE, you will probably be wondering: “How is my credit score calculated, and what factors are taken into account?” First, the Emirates credit bureau collects credit data from different financial institutions: banks, finance houses, credit and debit card companies, telecom providers, and other credit facilities. Based on the data gathered from these multiple services, AECB follows the algorithm and comes up with the credit score in the UAE.

Your credit score is influenced most by your credit utilization and payment behaviors. Your UAE credit bureau score will update if you stick to a due date and have no missed payments.

If you want to know: “How to check my credit score in UAE?”, you can go to the AECB website or app. When making an AECB credit score check on the website, follow these steps:

1. Register on https://aecb.gov.ae/
2. Go to the page “Get Your Credit Score and Report”
3. Find the section “Credit Score” and click on the “Buy Now” option
4. Proceed with the fee of around AED 84 and wait for your credit score to generate

On the AECB app:

1. Download the application from App Store or Google Play
2. Log in with your Emirates ID
3. Find the option “Get Your First Credit Card Store” and choose it
4. Get an AECB credit score by paying its fee

When you get your credit score, you will have a question about whether your number is good enough to get approval for a loan. The minimum score you should obtain is 580, and the good one starts at 750.

If you want to clear your AECB credit score, you must submit a data correction request on the website. You will be contacted within ten working days. And if you don’t receive a call, you should visit your bank and inform them you applied for clearing your credit score. 

What are the benefits of a good AECB credit score, and how to improve it?

Having a good AECB credit report will improve your overall financial situation and put you in a position where you can expect better financial commitments. With a higher score, you will be able to obtain:

• Better conditions for loan payments. A higher score means you didn’t exceed your credit card limit, didn’t miss phone bill payments, and have excellent overall payment behavior. Thus, your credit worthiness is great, and you can expect low-interest rates. It is difficult to disagree that paying less for lending institutions is a relief.
• Quick and straightforward approval for loan or credit applications. Lenders determine credit score matter as one of the most important factors that influence a loan approval. Excellent credit history and high credit score will leave no questions about your credit worthiness.
• Better job possibilities. Checking the credit scores of applicants is a part of the employment process. A poor credit history will put into consideration the candidates’ responsibility and ability to stick to the rules.

If you are excited about the opportunities high credit reports can guarantee you, you should work on improving them. Here is what we recommend:

1. Submit payment for credit facilities on time. Simple yet of utmost importance is to pay credit card payments to the UAE lending institutions before the due date. You should mark in your calendar all the deadlines and stick to them rigorously.
2. Use your credit card limit wisely. The general recommendation for credit card use is to never go over 30% of a credit card limit. Thus, finance companies will see you are using funds reasonably.
3. Minimize the amount of your credit cards. Even though owning several credit cards is not prohibited, credit reports depend on that number.  
4. Check your credit report regularly. There is no better practice to find out what you can improve than to look at your credit score online and determine its flaws. You might not even be aware of what factors pull you down.
5. Don’t take many loans. A tendency to take multiple loans over a short period of time will negatively impact your credit report. It is quite difficult to keep pace with all the deadlines and, thus, easy to jump into missed payments.

Clearly, bringing more discipline into your debt records and credit utilization can lead you to financial credibility.

Conclusion

Keeping track of credit scores is vital for every UAE resident. This three-digit code can open many opportunities as well as limit your actions with finance companies. A lower credit score results in issues when obtaining another loan. Thus, checking your credit reports on the AECB website or offline can help you focus on improving your score and credit worthiness.

James Galloway

Managing Director

James has joined Dacha in 2011 with years of real estate experience in the UK an… More

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