Central Bank of the UAE — Consumer Protection Standards (issued with the Consumer Protection Regulation, Circular 8/2020),
chapter by chapter

Standard 2.1.12.1.1 General Provisions - All Products

LFIs must disclose product information in accessible formats, provide Key Facts Statements, and respect consumer notice and cooling-off rights throughout the product lifecycle.

Standard 2.1.22.1.2 Deposit Products

Licensed financial institutions offering deposit products must disclose terms, provide monthly statements, send dormancy reminders, and notify consumers before account closure.

Standard 2.1.32.1.3 Credit/Financing Products

LFIs must disclose comprehensive credit product details, disburse funds promptly, provide regular statements, and notify consumers of changes and missed payments.

Standard 2.1.42.1.4 Structured/Investment Products

LFIs offering structured investment products must disclose detailed product information, including risks and fee structures, and provide quarterly investment statements.

Standard 2.1.52.1.5 Remittances, Transfers and Foreign Exchange

Financial institutions offering remittance services must display transaction fees and rates upfront, disclose estimated transfer timings, and provide detailed receipts for each transaction.

Standard 2.2.1-2.2.22.2.1-2.2.2 Transparency and Comparative Information

LFIs must provide clear advice and timely information, disclose conflicts of interest, and present reasonable product comparisons before any sale.

Standard 2.3.12.3.1 General Provisions for Responsible Advertising

LFIs must ensure advertising is accurate in Arabic and English, identifies as promotional, and complies with specific disclosure rules.

Standard 2.3.22.3.2 Advertisement of Deposit Products

Advertisements for deposit products must clearly disclose interest rate terms, minimum qualifying amounts, and any other relevant conditions.

Standard 2.3.32.3.3 Advertisement of Credit Products

Advertisements for credit products must display total interest and fees, warnings about property loss, early settlement penalties, and refinancing risks.

Standard 2.3.42.3.4 Advertisement of Structured Products

LFIs must limit structured product advertising to suitable segments, disclose details of issuers, and include risk warnings in advertisements.

Standard 2.3.52.3.5 Advertisement of Remittances, Transfers and Foreign Exchange

Remittance and foreign exchange advertisements must include warnings on fees and risks, clearly specifying promotional conditions and applicability.

Standard 3.1.23.1.2 General Provisions

LFIs must implement consumer protection principles in governance, complete annual attestations of compliance, and ensure effective Board oversight of conduct and compliance risks.

Standard 3.2.13.2.1 Governance Framework - Roles and Responsibilities

The Board must establish a governance framework for consumer protection, approving policies and ensuring compliance monitoring and internal audits.

Standard 3.3.1-3.3.33.3 Regulatory Reporting

Financial institutions must submit annual fee schedules and service offerings to the Central Bank by January 31 and comply with information requests within set timelines.

Standard 4.1.14.1.1 Responsible Market Conduct

LFIs must conduct business with integrity, ensure staff fitness, monitor market behavior, and report findings to Senior Management for consumer protection.

Standard 4.2.14.2.1 Promoting Competition

LFIs must promote competition by avoiding collusion, allowing fee-free account closure after six months, and facilitating product transfers within specified timeframes.

Standard 5.1.1 (Authorized Agents)5.1.1 Accountability for Authorized Agents

LFIs must review Authorized Agents with a fit-and-proper policy and remain accountable for their compliance with Applicable Laws.

Standard 5.1.1 (Fees/Cooling-off/Mobility)5.1.1 Fees, Cooling-off and Consumer Mobility

LFIs must adhere to Central Bank fee caps, inform consumers of cooling-off periods, and process account closure requests within specified timelines.

Standard 5.1.1 (General/Sales/Marketing)-retRecord Retention — Profiling/suitability assessment records

Licensed Financial Institutions (LFIs) must retain profiling and suitability assessment records for five years from the assessment date.

Standard 5.1.1 (Interruptions/Errors/Unauthorized Transactions)5.1.1 Service Interruptions, Errors and Unauthorized Transactions

Licensed Financial Institutions must notify consumers about service interruptions and unauthorized transactions, ensuring reporting channels and reimbursement within stipulated deadlines.

Standard 5.1.1 (Sales/Marketing Prohibitions)5.1.1 Sales, Marketing and Solicitation Prohibitions

LFIs must avoid misleading marketing practices and require consumer consent for promotions while respecting opt-in/opt-out preferences.

Standard 5.1.1 (Service Interruptions/Errors/Unauthorized Transactions)-retRecord Retention — Unauthorized transaction monitoring records

Unauthorized transaction monitoring records must be retained for one year from the transaction date for compliance purposes.

Standard 5.1.1 (Training/Remuneration)5.1.1 Training, Competency and Remuneration

Licensed financial institutions must ensure staff competency in risk policies, verify training, retain consumer profiling records, and conduct annual performance reviews.

Standard 5.1.25.1.2 Deposit Products - Accounts, Blockage and Digital Instruments

LFIs must open accounts in two days, provide refusal notices, and notify customers about account closures while adhering to risk-based KYC policies.

Standard 5.1.3-5.1.45.1.3-5.1.4 Credit and Structured Products Business Conduct

LFIs must allow consumers to transfer loans from other banks without undue delay and obtain Central Bank approval before marketing structured products.

Standard 5.1.55.1.5 Remittances, Transfers and Foreign Exchange Business Conduct

LFIs may only levy fixed fees for fund transfers, must inform consumers about fees beforehand, and provide receipts for transactions.

Standard 5.2.25.2.2 Fair Treatment of Consumers

The Board must create a fair treatment control framework, provide training, and monitor performance related to consumer treatment.

Standard 5.2.35.2.3 Conflict of Institution's Interest with Consumers

Licensed financial institutions must have a written Conflict of Interest policy, disclose unavoidable conflicts to consumers, and monitor agent commissions and staff rewards.

Standard 5.2.45.2.4 Fair Treatment of Financially Distressed Consumers

Licensed financial institutions must provide qualified credit counselling to distressed consumers and document all revised repayment arrangements within specified timeframes.

Standard 5.2.5 (2)-retRecord Retention — Arrears communication and notice records

Financial institutions must retain records of arrears communication and notices for 5 years from the date of communication.

Standard 5.2.5 (Communication/Retention)5.2.5 Debt Collection Communication Standards

Licensed Financial Institutions must adhere to strict communication standards during debt collection, including limits on contact times and retention of communication records.

Standard 5.2.5 (General/Arrears Notices)5.2.5 Debt Collection Practice

Licensed financial institutions must document debt collection policies, communicate with consumers in arrears, and issue notices regarding arrears status and legal risks.

Standard 6.1.16.1.1 Data Protection Policies, Procedures and Systems

Licensed financial institutions must implement consumer data protection policies, inform consumers about data processing, and restrict data access to authorized staff.

Standard 6.1.26.1.2 Data Management and Protection Function

The Board must designate a senior Data Management function responsible for monitoring data integrity, verifying compliance, and reporting breaches to Senior Management and the Board.

Standard 6.1.36.1.3 Expressed Consent by Consumers

LFIs must obtain expressed consent for personal data use and share intended data usage transparently while honoring withdrawal of consent within 30 days.

Standard 6.1.3-retRecord Retention — Expressed consent records for Data use/sharing

Expressed consent records for data use or sharing must be retained for five years after the termination of the relationship.

Standard 6.1.4-6.1.56.1.4-6.1.5 Sharing with Authorized Agents and Credit Information Agencies

LFIs must ensure Authorized Agents meet data security standards, manage personal data access, and correct errors reported by Credit Information Agencies within seven business days.

Standard 6.1.6-6.1.76.1.6-6.1.7 Retention of Consumer Records and Central Bank Notification

LFIs must retain consumer records for at least 5 years, destroy unnecessary data afterwards, and notify the Central Bank of material data breaches.

Standard 6.1.6-6.1.7-retRecord Retention — Personal Data/documents/records; disciplinary action records for Data breaches

Personal Data and disciplinary action records for data breaches must be retained for five years after relationship termination or transaction completion.

Standard 6.2.16.2.1 Protection of Assets

Senior management must ensure robust internal controls to protect consumer assets and conduct regular risk assessments in financial institutions.

Standard 6.2.1-retRecord Retention — ATM/POS maintenance and anti-skimming verification records

ATM/POS maintenance records must be retained for one year after maintenance or verification.

Standard 6.2.2-6.2.36.2.2-6.2.3 Fraud Detection, Investigation and Reporting

Licensed Financial Institutions must implement fraud detection systems, notify consumers of procedures, report fraud events to the Central Bank, and maintain an investigation function.

Standard 7.1.17.1.1 General Provisions

LFIs must adopt responsible financing practices, verify consumer incomes, and adhere to Central Bank debt-burden-ratio limits to prevent consumer harm.

Standard 7.1.27.1.2 Training and Remuneration

LFIs must train staff on responsible financing and ensure remuneration does not encourage mis-selling or breach financing standards.

Standard 7.1.37.1.3 Consumer Assessment for Suitability

Licensed Financial Institutions (LFIs) must assess the suitability of products against Consumers’ needs before recommending, with enhanced assessments for vulnerable Consumers.

Standard 7.1.47.1.4 Consumer Assessment for Affordability

Licensed financial institutions must assess consumer affordability before financing, based on verified income and obligations, and must decline or restructure unaffordable financing.

Standard 7.1.57.1.5 Terms of Financing

LFIs must disclose transparent and fair financing terms to consumers prior to signing, avoiding overly onerous conditions or excessive penalties.

Standard 8.1.18.1.1 Complaints Management Function

Licensed Financial Institutions (LFIs) must establish an independent Complaints Management function with Board-approved policies and clear escalation channels to handle complaints fairly.

Standard 8.1.2-8.1.38.1.2-8.1.3 Complaint Management Process

LFIs must offer accessible complaint submission, promptly acknowledge complaints, and resolve them within specified timelines, informing consumers of progress.

Standard 8.1.48.1.4 Resources and Training

Licensed financial institutions must allocate resources for complaints management and regularly train staff on handling complaints effectively.

Standard 8.1.58.1.5 General Provisions for Complaint Resolution

LFIs must not charge for complaints, avoid retaliation, maintain root-cause analysis, and ensure fair complaint outcomes across similar cases.

Standard 8.2.1-8.2.28.2.1-8.2.2 Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting

Licensed financial institutions must monitor, analyze, and report customer complaint data to senior management and the Central Bank regularly.

Standard 8.2.38.2.3 Retention

LFIs must keep complaint records and investigation files for a minimum of five years after resolution.

Standard 8.2.3-retRecord Retention — Complaint records (including investigation files and correspondence)

Complaint records and related investigation files must be retained for five years from the complaint resolution date.

Standard 9.1.19.1.1 General Provisions

Licensed Financial Institutions (LFIs) must develop consumer education initiatives on financial literacy and report outcomes to the Central Bank.

Standard 10.1.1-10.1.210.1.1-10.1.2 General Provisions and Vulnerable Groups

Licensed financial institutions are required to offer accessible services to underserved groups and remove barriers for account access.

Standard 10.2.110.2.1 Gender and Racial Equality

LFIs must ensure non-discriminatory access to financial services and monitor for discriminatory practices based on gender, race, nationality, or other protected characteristics.

Standard 11.1.111.1.1 General Provisions

Islamic Licensed Financial Institutions must ensure consumer-facing products comply with Shari'ah principles and disclose the Shari'ah basis clearly to consumers.

Standard 11.1.211.1.2 Early Settlement Fee

Islamic finance institutions must ensure early-settlement fees comply with Shari'ah principles and disclose terms to consumers before contract signing.

Annexure Fee Schedule

Consumer fees and commissions must not exceed prescribed caps, and financial institutions must regularly update their pricing schedules to ensure compliance.