Opening a bank account in Saudi Arabia

Is it difficult for expats to open a bank account in Saudi Arabia?
It's really not difficult but depends on the bank. IF you have a sponsor letter then it's easy

Which documents are required to open a bank account in Saudi Arabia?
Sponsor letter or company Letter

How long does it take to open it?
One day or 1hr depends on the bank
Is there any restriction for expats regarding the services (loans for instance)?

Nope, but you should have salary certificate, other bank statement and approval from your company.
Which bank would you recommend?

Saudi Francis bank is good and they want more customers for approaching bank loan.



Thanks
wilson:)

Hi wilson!

Thanks for your help

Armand

welcome Armand

Al jazeera bank doesn't require anything but your iqama and passport copy.

very easy to have an account in it.

but there is a difficulty when it comes to credit card
some might not allow you if you don't have a kafala from a company ( those who are students are not allowed but their fathers can make them a linked credit card to their account)
some banks allow credit cards but limit their usage ( like al ahli bank doesnt allow you to buy from certain sites )

It is not hard to open bank account in Saudi Arabia. It it's a payroll bank account all you need to have is your IQAMA and a letter from your employer if it's personal at least you have IQAMA. SAMBA bank is quite good. You may want to try vising their website www.samba.com.sa

onthetrain7 wrote:

It is not hard to open bank account in Saudi Arabia. It it's a payroll bank account all you need to have is your IQAMA and a letter from your employer if it's personal at least you have IQAMA. SAMBA bank is quite good. You may want to try vising their website www.samba.com.sa

but doesnt support student visa or any non employed visa 
i tried it , and they refused to give me a credit card

bank al ahli

I dont think it is difficult to open up an account here... I recently opened my account with Al Rajhi bank and all they asked for was my IQAMA and it took 10 min in all for my account to be active and for to have my ATM card... I dont know about other banks but if u plan to open up ur account with Rajhi please do mention it to them that u require online banking and phone banking service so that they make activate it otherwise u will have to visit the branch again in order to get the services activated...

And I'm not here on a working IQAMA, so i guess it should be easy otherwise as well

my name is touseef riaz i am from pakistan now i am in saudi arabia i want to open my samba account so i need your help thanks

touseef riaz wrote:

my name is touseef riaz i am from pakistan now i am in saudi arabia i want to open my samba account so i need your help thanks

Things changed now, you have to get "Iqama" to be able to open bank account.
in fact all your information from financial expenses to traveling to phone calls are all connected to your "iqama"

Exactly Extrem..

I recommend SABB Bank, the best bank i would say.
either savings, ATM or credit card, name it services is good especially online.

Just to share

Hello

Please note that this is an old thread but thanks for your contribution.

Regards

Karen.

Bank Albilad is easy way to open bank a/c in Saudi Arabia not much restriction easy open bank a/c

Best way and easy way open in Riyadh  a/c bank albilad first make enjaz card then u can open

Open Bank Account, Get Free Credit Card and Discount on Lease

In KSA, you can earn profit on your savings by selecting an appropriate bank, take loan, and get instant visa cards, free life insurance and optimum rates on car leasing just with a little market research. Here, in this article, they have tried to compare different Banks in Saudi Arabia with reference to all above mentioned required factors which can cut some money from your expense.

life-in-saudiarabia.blogspot.com/2014/02/opening-bank-account-in-saudi-arabia_18.html

Thinks

I use Ncb. There are no fees tottansfer  mioney to the us. You need to obtain your iqama before opening n account. A letter from your employer will help. It took me about 2 weeks to get an account.  The  iqama slowed up the process.

Can you still open an account with company letter and salary certificate?

Hi Julien

It is very easy to open an account. Only you need your iqama and a letter from Sponsor includes your salary. Generally speaking most of large and meduim Saudi Banks have very good Online Systems so you can do everything online. However, i would suggest for you to avoid NCB and Alrajhi as they are the biggest, They always are crowded. Alinma Bank is very good and if you become Platinum member all services will be free. Probably it is better to have 2 bank account. if you need a good travel card, then you should open an account in Saudi Investment bank. They have amazing Travel Card which give you US Dollar exactly with Zero Commission 1$=3.75 SR and give your 10 other currencies for very competitive prices. In terms of loans, any bank will give you loan after opening an account and receiving 1 to 3 months salaries.




Cheers,

Can any one open account if he is on family visa (mahram),it's written in that iqama NOT ALLOWED TO WORK...
Pease give your feedback...