Getting a UAE trade licence is the easy part. Getting a corporate bank account is where a lot of companies quietly stall - and in most cases, the problem started long before the banking application was submitted. The decisions you make at setup, on structure, activities, office type and ownership, determine how a bank sees your company before you've sent a single document.

Getting your UAE company bank account open sounds straightforward. Until you're three weeks in, chasing a relationship manager who hasn't called back and your trade licence is sitting idle. Banking is where a lot of UAE business setups quietly stall. Not because founders did anything wrong, but because nobody told them what banks actually want to see.