I have been banking in the past with HSBC, RAKBANK and ENBD. The later was by far the best. I have read a lot of good things on this forum about ADCB. Although ENBD has been good to me, I feel that nowadays there are too many customers at their branches and it can be hard to get parking and waiting can be longer. Would ADCB be a better alternative, and do they offer debit cards that can be used for international internet purchases? I am not interested in credit cards or loans.

Picking between banks here is largely like choosing whether you’d like to be punched in the face or kicked in the nuts.

Whether you’re interested in CC or loans won’t stop them trying to sell you both on a weekly basis, and I imagine, unless you’re keeping a high balance in your account, having no ‘debt’ with the bank will make you a low value customer and bring with it a similar level of customer service.

i have always had adcb they are one of the best of the local banks, would also recommend nbad too others stay clear!

ADCB's debit card doesn't work online, you have to have one of their credit cards for that. I found ADCB fine--ok, bit of a recent issue when I left the country, but I would have expected that from any of the UAE banks. They're portal is relatively easy to use; transfers to UK seemed slow (at least a week), but I don't know which part of the chain was weak (I was transferring to Barclays, so who knows). If I was starting afresh I'd probably pick ADCB again.

we have used them for money transfers to uk never taken a week, a day or two at most, to rbs account.

and leaving the country you will always have issues etc with any bank here.

I use NBAD, I have been with them for 10 years, I have never had an issue with them..I have a CC with them, their customer service is great..I would definitely recommend them.

I used to bank with ENBD and switched to ADCB last year. I have found ADCB to be much better in terms of customer service/relationship management, getting things right first time (address changes, etc.), transparency of rates and fees, and usefulness of perks (obviously this depends on what accounts you have and what perks you value). I haven't missed anything about ENBD since since closing my accounts there.

In terms of waiting times and parking, from what I've seen it varies more by branch location and time of day than across different banks. For example, any bank in Bur Dubai on a Thursday afternoon is likely to be busier than any bank in the Greens on a Monday morning. Therefore, you may be best to check which bank has branches most convenient for you, and also check if those branches have automated cheque/cash paying-in machines which can save a lot of queueing time.

In terms of avoiding going to a branch in the first place (my preferred tactic), ADCB and ENBD online and telephone banking seem to have similar range of functionality. However, banking with ADCB has been a lower effort experience; I used to have spend a lot more time on the phone with ENBD to get stuff done and get errors fixed. ADCB has also been willing to send someone to meet me at work (e.g. to complete all the paperwork to open new accounts); I didn't get that at ENBD. It's not a service I use, but it may be more relevant to your needs.

In terms of international internet purchases, it is my understanding that the restrictions on debit cards are related to wider security policies (with Visa, Mastercard and the central bank) rather than the banks' independent decisions. Therefore, you will probably find that you need a credit card for international internet purchases - ENBD issues a specific credit card for online purchasing and ADCB normal credit cards work online.

Thanks Tosis, I will give ADCB a go...

Seriously? When I banked with NBAD I loathed having to contact their customer services as literally every time I did, the process was painful, protracted and invariably resulted in several further calls to actually get anything done.

After having a look at one of the ADCB branches, I wasn't impressed...I am now banking with ENBD as before....

Probably too late to give advice on this, but am with Alhilal Bank, they have a very good service whether through its the online account (which has a customer service chat option) , sms banking, telephone banking and mobile application. In Abu Dhabi they have a branch open till 9 pm except on fridays, and peak time is end of the month with a queue of 2 or 3 people. I've been with them for at least 4 years, since they have been established. I highly recommend them.

Since you dont like CC may i suggest visiting one of the Exchange houses like Al Ansari, they have cards you can top up with the amount of cash you want for online use.

When it comes to ADCB Excellency, I recommend the lovely Shana.......

[no offence to Mrs Norm though........... ]

The Al Ansari option is good...I will check it out...

I've got an ADCB account but because of debit card not being ok for internet, I am about to take out emirates Credit card.

Gives 50k miles and permanent silver emirates status

I've been with ENBD for nearly ten years now, never had any real issues. Quite happy with the service, from talking to colleagues with other banks all of them can be hit and miss.