I like to think that I’m usually on top of my financial affairs – paying bills on time, consistently saving and investing and sticking to my budget (OK, so most of the time).
But I realised last month that I hadn’t checked my UAE credit score since 2021. I have no excuse, except to say that it was something I simply forgot to do.
Experts recommend that you check your credit score at least once a year as part of your annual financial health check-up – and to spot any issues that could turn into long-term problems.
That could be anything from a bank making an error when it comes to paying off your credit card every month – which would drag down your credit score – to discovering a nightmare scenario that you have been the victim of identity theft and fraudsters have borrowed money in your name.
In the UAE, Al Etihad Credit Bureau is the keeper of our financial history, such as bill payments, loan applications and repayments, credit cards, bounced cheques and our monthly salary transfers.
It also includes an expense-to-salary ratio, the total amount you owe on loans and credit cards and what might be overdue, as well as any outstanding amounts owed on your telecom and utility bills.
“The credit score is a three-digit number that predicts the likelihood of an individual or company to miss payments in the next 12 months,” AECB says on its website.
The AECB’s credit scores range from 300 to 900 – the higher the number, the better your score.
A bad credit score (300 to 619) means you might have defaulted, for instance, on a credit card payment, or missed paying a bill – and you are unlikely to get a loan or credit card approved any time soon.
A fair credit score is from 620 to 679 and a good score ranges from 680 to 730, while 731 or above is excellent.
A high credit score means that a person is a low credit risk, making it easier for them to apply for loans, mortgages and credit cards – and even get faster approvals.
If it’s been a while since you checked your credit score, it’s something you should do now – and make a habit of doing every year. And yes, I’m including myself in this advice.
It’s a fairly simple exercise. Here’s how I did it:
Step 1
You have a choice to start the process on either AECB’s website or through its app, which is available on Apple’s App Store and Google Play.
I chose to do it through the website as I wanted to track my progress for this column.
On the homepage, you can either click on the “For Individuals” or “For Companies” tab. I clicked on individual, which takes you to the login page. If it is your first time, you will have to register.
I used my Emirates ID to log in and was then prompted by the UAE Pass app on my mobile phone to confirm my date of birth and passport number, to “help us find your records more quickly”, it said.
After two attempts, my screen had gone dark and nothing appeared to be happening. “Is my credit score that bad?” I thought.
Ah, no. It’s because I can’t remember my password (not surprising after three years), which I have to reset.
Step 2
Once you are in, you have to agree to AECB’s terms and conditions and privacy policy before going further. Click “Yes”.
Step 3
You are then taken to your dashboard and have two options: the first is to order your credit report, plus your score. This is available in English or Arabic and costs Dh84 ($22.80), including 5 per cent VAT.
The other option is to order just your credit score, also in English and Arabic, for only Dh10.50 (including 5 per cent VAT).
Al Etihad Credit Bureau's database helps banks to assess a potential borrower’s credit risk. Silvia Razgova / The National
I chose the report and my score as I wanted to check for any issues that might have to be challenged. If you need to challenge your report, there is a data correction request form on AECB’s website, which also covers bounced cheques.
Also on the dashboard, you will find previous reports you have ordered, which can be downloaded. That is a handy feature if you want to compare them.
Step 4
Once I made my choice, the system requested more details, saying: “For a seamless experience, please verify your personal details (including your passport information) to ensure Etihad Bureau is able to generate your credit report with score/credit score with higher accuracy.”
I put in the information – passport number, nationality, mobile phone number and email address – pressed save and … nothing.
I ended up clicking on cancel despite saving the information numerous times. I then discover that I’ve been logged out due to inactivity. Sigh, back to the drawing board it is, then.
I don’t recall having this issue when I last checked my credit score in 2021, but then remember I did it on an old iPhone through the app. Suffice to say, it was a much smoother experience.
Step 5
I log back in and finally get to the payment page and input my card number – note, I always click on “Do not save this card for future use”, for added protection.
A small victory in terms of my patience; my payment is successful, and I click on the “Back to Dashboard” tab.
Here, you will find that your report is ready and can be downloaded.
And the verdict? I won’t go into too much detail for privacy reasons, but I’m happy to say I’m in the good credit score group.
I have no debts, haven’t missed any bill payments or bounced a cheque – not always a sure thing when banks can (and have) reject a rent cheque over the smallest of details. I’m also pleased to see that my expense-to-salary ratio is very low.
I plan to continue my debt-free life over the next year, so there probably won’t be much of a change to my credit score in 2025 – but I will be adding it to my financial maintenance list for my annual check-up.
Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others
Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”
Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
