Glossary
UAE debt terms, and what each one means
The words that come up when you deal with debt in the UAE, each one defined in a sentence or two.
- AECB (Al Etihad Credit Bureau)
- The Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB) is the UAE's official credit bureau. It collects your loan, credit-card, and bill repayment history from banks and lenders, then produces a credit report and score that lenders check before giving you credit. Read the guide →
- Al Etihad Credit Bureau report
- An Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB) credit report is the official record of your credit behaviour in the UAE. It lists your active loans and cards, your payment history, and any defaults, and it is what banks check before approving credit. Read the guide →
- Travel ban (for debt)
- A UAE travel ban for debt is a court-ordered restriction that can stop you leaving the country until a debt is settled or an arrangement is made. It is usually linked to a filed case, such as a bounced cheque or an unpaid loan, rather than to the debt itself. Read the guide →
- Execution Court
- The Execution Court enforces judgments and executory instruments rather than deciding who is right. In a debt case it is the stage where a capped share of a salary can be attached, accounts or assets frozen, and — for debts of AED 10,000 or more — a travel ban granted. Read the guide →
- Security cheque
- A security cheque is an undated cheque a UAE bank holds against a loan or a card. Since 2 January 2022, a cheque that bounces because the account is empty is a civil matter: the bank can take it straight to the Execution Court as an executory instrument. It is criminal only in cases of genuine fraud, such as a closed account, a forged cheque, or an illegal stop-payment order. Read the guide →
- Salary assignment
- A salary assignment is an arrangement where your employer sends part or all of your salary directly to a bank to repay a loan. In the UAE it is commonly attached to personal loans and can be enforced if you default. Read the guide →
- Salary garnishment
- Garnishment is a court order that sends part of your salary to a creditor. For an ordinary debt the Civil Procedure Law caps it at a quarter of your salary, with a higher share allowed for alimony. It is separate from the salary-assignment clause in your loan agreement. Read the guide →
- DBR (debt burden ratio)
- Your debt burden ratio is the share of your monthly income that goes to debt repayments. UAE banks measure it before they lend, and Central Bank rules cap total repayments at a commonly cited 50 percent of monthly income for salaried customers. A high DBR is the usual reason an application is refused. Read the guide →
- Minimum payment
- The minimum payment is the smallest amount that keeps a credit card account current, typically around 5 percent of the balance. It covers the month's interest and very little of the balance, which is why paying only the minimum can take years to clear a card. Read the guide →
- Financial remediation department
- A financial remediation (or hardship) department is the team at a UAE bank that handles customers who cannot meet their repayments. They can offer deferments, restructured instalments, or settlement plans instead of legal action. Read the guide →
- Deferment (payment holiday)
- A deferment is an agreement with your bank to pause or reduce payments for a set period. Because it is agreed in advance, it should not be recorded as a missed payment — ask the bank to confirm in writing how the arrangement will be reported to the AECB. Read the guide →
- Restructuring (rescheduling)
- Restructuring rewrites the loan itself: usually a longer term and a lower monthly instalment, sometimes a different rate. It is the answer when the instalment is no longer affordable and postponing a payment would only move the problem. Read the guide →
- Debt settlement
- Debt settlement is negotiating with a lender to clear a debt for less than the full balance, or on restructured terms. In the UAE it is usually arranged through the bank's remediation department, ideally in writing. Read the guide →
- Charge-off
- A charge-off is the bank's accounting step of moving an unpaid balance off its books as a loss, usually somewhere after 90 to 180 days. It does not cancel the debt: the balance is still owed, still on your credit file, and often passed to a collections agency. Read the guide →
- BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later)
- Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) lets you split a purchase into instalments, often interest-free. In the UAE, providers such as Tabby, Tamara, Postpay, and Spotii report missed payments and can pass overdue accounts to collections. Read the guide →
- Sanadak (banking ombudsman)
- Sanadak is the UAE's independent ombudsman unit for complaints about banks and insurers, established under the Central Bank. You complain to your bank first; if it does not resolve the complaint, you can escalate it to Sanadak free of charge. Read the guide →
- ILOE (unemployment insurance)
- Involuntary Loss of Employment insurance is the UAE's mandatory unemployment scheme. If you lose your job through no fault of your own, it pays a share of your basic salary — 60 percent, within the scheme's monthly caps — for up to three months per claim while you look for work. Read the guide →
- Absconding report
- An absconding report is filed by an employer when someone leaves a job without notice. It is an employment matter, not a debt one — but it is often confused with leaving the UAE while you still owe money, which is civil and does not by itself create a criminal case. Read the guide →