As a foreigner, you might not be familiar with the term – manager check, but you will hear about it a lot in Dubai,  especially when it comes to real estate transactions.

So what is a managers’ check and why is it needed?

A manager’s cheque is a cheque certified and signed by the bank manager or the head of a bank branch.  The amount stated on the check will be frozen in the account. Managers’ check guarantees the actual availability of funds in the account and makes the transaction safe and secure for the buyer.  A personal cheque can be issued by the owner of the checkbook without confirming the actual balance and can be bounced. To issue a manager a cheque, the account owner is required to deposit the necessary amount on his account. Bank will confirm the deposit, freeze the amount on the client’s account and issue a manager cheque to the recipient. The recipient of the cheque provides the cheque to his bank, and the amount will be credited to his account.

If the buyer or the seller do not have bank accounts in the UAE there is a practice of making managers checks   with the help of the 3rd party (law firm)

Advantages of the manager check:

• Security – the funds are guranteed in the account
• Speed up the process – no need to wait for the funds to hit the account, it’s enough to present the check to the bank
• Easy compliance – no need to prove the origin of the funds
• Bounced check is a criminal offence, manager check allows to avoid the risk
• The cheque is issued to a specific recipient
• Freezing the funds in the account prevents from revocing the check
• If the check is lost it leads to complicated process. It’s impossible just to cancel the check because of the loss.

Issuing the check usually takes around 1 hr, you can receive it the same day when requested. Manager check payment mode is a very safe and convinient way to pay for properties, cars, boats and other valuable items.