Minimum age
18 years
CitiBest Account
CitiBest is a US dollar current account with a cheque book. It pays 0.05% to 0.15% a year depending on your USD balance, with interest credited monthly.
At a glance
Key facts
Monthly Fee
AED 25/month below AED 3,000
Holding CurrencyUSD
Annual RateUp to 0.15% interest
CitiBest is a current account held in US dollars only. You use it like any current account: money goes in and out freely, it has a cheque book and it comes with a debit card. What sets it apart is that it also pays interest, which the Citi Current Account does not. In other words, it is a way to keep dollars in the UAE, ready to use, and earn a little on them. Citi opens it at a branch for UAE nationals and residents aged 18 or over.
Who can open it
Residency
UAE resident or national
Fees and balance
The fee test is written in dirhams even though the account is in dollars. Citi checks the account's average balance over the month against a minimum of AED 3,000. At or above that level the month is free. Below it, Citi charges AED 25 for the month. The test is made account by account, so a CitiBest Account and a dirham account are each measured separately. Citigold and Citigold Private Client customers are not charged.
Minimum balance
AED 3,000
Monthly fall-below fee
AED 25
How to avoid the monthly fee Meet any one of these conditions.
- Keep a balanceAverage monthly balance of AED 3,000 or more
- Other exemptionsNot charged to Citigold or Citigold Private Client customers
In plain words
- Fall-below fee
- A monthly charge for holding less than the balance the bank asks for. Here it is AED 25, charged in a month when your average balance for the month is under AED 3,000. The average is taken over every day of the month, so a few low days do not trigger the fee on their own. It is not charged in a month when you stay at or above that amount. More on this
Interest
Annual interest rate
| Your balance | Rate a year |
|---|---|
| From USD 0, up to USD 9,999 | 0.05% |
| From USD 10,000, up to USD 999,999 | 0.1% |
| From USD 1,000,000 | 0.15% |
| Your balance | Rate a year |
|---|---|
| From USD 0, up to USD 9,999 | 0.05% |
| From USD 10,000, up to USD 999,999 | 0.1% |
| From USD 1,000,000 | 0.15% |
PayoutMonthly
Calculated onEnd-of-day balance
In plain words
- Annual rate
- The rate is quoted for a full year. Money held for part of a year earns the matching part of it. More on this
- Balance bands
- The rate changes with how much you hold. Each band is a range of balance with its own rate. More on this
- Which balance counts
- The return is worked out each day on what is in the account at the end of that day, so money counts from the day it arrives until the day it leaves. More on this
What your money earns here
Held for
1 year
The amount and the rate stay the same for the whole period, and the interest is paid out, not added to the balance. Try other rates
USD 10
interest over 1 year
0.1%
a year on this balance
interest earned over time
Citi looks at your balance at the end of each day and places it in one of three bands. Because the calculation is daily, a day on which you close at USD 10,000 or more is worked out in the second band, and a day below it in the first. The interest builds up day by day and Citi adds the total to your account once a month. The bands are set in US dollars, so compare them with your dollar balance, not with its value in dirhams.
Benefits
US Dollar Balance
Hold your money in US dollars in a UAE account.
Cheque Book
CitiBest has a checking facility, as the Citi Current Account does.
Debit Card
Free to use at Citibank ATMs in the UAE and worldwide.
Cheque book available
Cheque book
How to open
Before you apply
1.Minimum balance: AED 3,000.
2.Debit card included.
Application steps
1.Decide how much you plan to hold. Under USD 200,000, you apply at a branch. Above it, you can apply for Citigold through a short online form.
2.Collect your documents. UAE and GCC nationals bring an Emirates ID and a passport copy or another listed proof, such as a UAE driving licence or a recent utility bill.
3.Other nationals with UAE residency bring an Emirates ID, a passport copy and a valid UAE visa or one of the listed alternatives.
4.Visit any Citi branch and submit the documents to a Citi representative.
5.Activate the debit card when it arrives and register for Citibank Online.
Good to know
Good option for
You want to hold US dollars in a UAE account with a cheque book and a debit card, and you would like the balance to earn something while it sits there.
Consider another account if
You are paid in dirhams and spend in dirhams, because this account is in USD only. Other Citibank accounts cover everyday AED banking.
If a cheque is returned
Citi may close a CitiBest Account when a cheque drawn on it comes back unpaid for lack of funds, as UAE law provides, and it reports the account to the UAE Central Bank. Keep enough dollars in the account to cover every cheque you issue.
Frequently asked questions
Get answers to common questions about the CitiBest Account