Which banks in the Gulf and MENA offer Web3 business accounts?

A Web3 business account means the bank will onboard a company whose business is crypto: an exchange, a market maker, a stablecoin issuer, a fund. Zand Bank is the Dubai default for licensed VASPs, Singapore Gulf Bank in Bahrain adds accounts for stablecoin issuers, OTC desks, payment firms and prime brokers with remote onboarding by app, and AMINA Bank's ADGM branch takes Web3 startups, miners and exchanges with a zero-fee startup package. Standard Chartered scores partial because its DIFC desk offers custody and spot trading to institutions rather than a current account for a Web3 company. The four UAE retail apps fail: Liv has no business accounts at all, RAKBank's Digital Assets Service for UAE entities is a closed-loop trading tool, ruya's business account is a plain SME product, and third-party guides say Wio Business turns away firms that look like exchanges or custodians.

The banks that pass

BankScoreTypeHealthP2PVerdict
AMINA Bank15/16Crypto-nativeSolidnoneYes, but only for professional clients and companies. Individuals need CHF 500,000 in assets plus finance experience, or CHF 2 million.
Singapore Gulf Bank10/16Crypto-nativeUnknownnoneYes. Built for crypto firms, with a USD personal account that plugs straight into Binance Bahrain.
Standard Chartered8/16TraditionalWatchnoneYes for institutions, through spot trading, custody and stablecoins. Retail customers get little beyond the Mox app in Hong Kong.
Zand Bank8/16Business bankingSolidnoneYes for licensed businesses and institutions, no for individuals.
RAKBank8/16TraditionalSolidnoneYes. Crypto trading is built into the app, but it is a closed loop run by Bitpanda, and exchange transfer rules are not published.

Click a column to sort. Health is our tag. P2P is community-reported and separate from the score.

Bank by bank

AMINA Bank 15 of 16 · Web3 business accounts: yes
Allowed: Business accounts for Web3 startups, miners, exchanges, market makers and funds, including a zero-fee startup package
Singapore Gulf Bank 10 of 16 · Web3 business accounts: yes
Allowed: Business accounts for exchanges, stablecoin issuers, market makers, OTC desks, payment firms and prime brokers
Watch out: Stablecoin mint and redeem is for corporate and high net worth clients only, with a USD 100,000 minimum per transaction
Standard Chartered 8 of 16 · Web3 business accounts: partial
Allowed: Deliverable Bitcoin and Ether spot trading for institutional clients through the UK branch (since July 2025) and Standard Chartered DIFC in the UAE (since September 2026)
Watch out: No retail crypto trading, custody or staking at Standard Chartered itself in any market; every direct product is for institutions
Zand Bank 8 of 16 · Web3 business accounts: yes
Allowed: Business accounts for VASPs, crypto exchanges, market makers, banks and corporates, stated on Zand's own custody FAQ
Watch out: Custody is limited by VARA to institutional and qualified investors
RAKBank 8 of 16 · Web3 business accounts: partial
Allowed: UAE entities, including ADGM and DIFC companies, may use the Digital Assets Service under the bank's terms

Questions people ask

Where does a Bahrain or Dubai crypto exchange open a bank account?

Zand Bank in Dubai, whose own custody FAQ lists VASPs, exchanges, market makers and banks as clients, and Singapore Gulf Bank in Bahrain, built for exchanges, stablecoin issuers, market makers and OTC desks and onboarding fully by app. Zand is UAE-only under one CBUAE licence and one VARA licence. Singapore Gulf Bank does not publish its list of accepted countries, so eligibility depends on where the company and its owners sit.

Does Standard Chartered DIFC give a Web3 startup a business account?

Not as such. The DIFC desk offers deliverable Bitcoin and Ether spot trading and DFSA-licensed custody to institutional clients, which is why it scores partial rather than full. A startup that wants a current account with crypto rails should look at AMINA Bank's zero-fee startup package in ADGM, 15 of 16, or Singapore Gulf Bank's business account, 12 of 16.

Up to the full list

Crypto-friendly banks in the Gulf and MENA (8)

Same region, other tests

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Web3 business accounts elsewhere

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