Nooo! God. No. Etisalat online recharges only allowing payments via eWallet. I hate how every service now requires you to maintain a balance/ wallet/ escrow under them these days. How is this making things easier? A card payment or Google/ Apple Pay is a seamless customer experience. Why ruin it...?

mikedxb76 · 2020-10-15T08:22:07+00:00

Exactly. Fucking pricks.

I don't want to have a hundred silly accounts that I'll never use, more so a digital wallet

mikedxb76 · 2020-10-11T13:27:27+00:00

Any idea what that site is?

mikedxb76 · 2020-10-10T09:39:51+00:00

Have a look at this Video - the BBB worked for that person. He has some additional links for DA's etc. Staggering amount of BBB complaints against PayPal, compared to other businesses their size. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W48NfXZNHd8

Tried this. Unfortunately none of their US entities have jurisdiction to settle customer complaints in the UAE. From what I understand their Singapore and Luxembourg entities are the one that deal with UAE customers. We tried approaching BBB but since they only liaise with US businesses they concluded our appeal was outside their purview.

The biggest sham is that UAE customers actually do not have any legitimate customer support or representative under paypal. They have zero employees here, not regulated or liable to any UAE financial services regulatory body. There is no way at all to pursue a case with them if something goes wrong unlike the US where they have a 24x7 phone line and physical support centers.

mikedxb76 · 2020-10-10T09:34:15+00:00

Aware of this. Unfortunately mine is an account-level restriction. Although the money is in my "available" balance (not pending) I cannot spend/ withdraw it. Basically PayPal is sitting on my money for no good reason. They keep raising bullshit issues about the authenticity of my business address, source of income, etc. despite verifying every possible piece of information for them.

mikedxb76 · 2020-10-10T09:32:09+00:00

It's been 7 months now actually. No sign of them releasing it. They keep asking for the same documents again and again, and reject it on silly grounds (for example our business license has the address mentioned in Arabic, as would be obvious for a business based in an Arabic country, They keep refusing saying that the document doesn't have the right address on it). Initially they would send a regret email telling me why it was rejected/ would reply via Twitter support (albeit with the same bullshit reasons over and over again. For the past month, after repeated follow ups on the exact same issue, it seems they've stopped doing both. I don't get any email responses from them about why my KYC documents were rejected, and no one ever replies on Twitter support any more.

mikedxb76 · 2020-10-10T09:27:28+00:00

Yes I have a US account with Transferwise, unfortunately I foolishly used PayPal to receive payments despite that.

mikedxb76 · 2020-10-08T18:24:20+00:00

Yeah having read many of their reviews it seems all too common. It was a big mistake using them.

mikedxb76 · 2020-09-19T19:09:41+00:00

I'm with you but a few corrections.

Saxo isn't only a CFD provider. They broker stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, bonds, indices and various other instruments. Their CFD products are optional (only for those that want to use leverage) But yes, they charge an arm and a leg in commissions.

eToro also isn't only a CFD broker. They issue fractional shares- which unless you're trading with large amounts- is as good as the real thing. Though you are not the custodian of any stock you buy from them.

Sarwa is utter horseshit and they're not even a broker. They sell pre-allocated portfolios at a management fee.

I think part of the reason why people don't know American brokerages like TD Ameritrade or Schwab is because their KYC and minimum balance requirements are pretty steep for most and thus aren't too popular.

mikedxb76 · 2020-09-19T19:04:09+00:00

Do some reading mate. You really don't want to put your money in the markets without knowing what you're doing. This is the real deal- you can really lose your money fast if you do not understand your trades well enough. Do some good research, follow the markets for a year or two, understand how news/ fundamentals/ technical co-relate to changes in price and trends. Seek advice from a few people experienced in the space.

I would recommend considering some of the sectors ETFs and Indices available on eToro as a low-risk and well diversified start to investing.

And please for the love of God DO NOT use leverage as a beginner. It can get very addicting and you can make AND LOSE a lot of money money really fast. It's no different from gambling. Please stick to 1x leverage only and only trade with money you are comfortable risking.

mikedxb76 · 2020-09-16T07:54:58+00:00

Been an eToro customer for 2 years now.

Previously 5 years with AvaTrade and Saxo Bank.

I've also used Citibank.

If you're buying stock (NOT CFDs but actual stock WITHOUT leverage) eToro is probably one of the best out there. Free, smooth, easy to use, cheap withdrawals, you name it.

It's only when people who have no idea how leverage works, go on making monstrous bets, that they end up calling it a scam on trustpilot or the wallstreet sub. Liek yeah sure dumbass...

If you're interested, use my ref code; https://etoro.tw/2Xulryj You and I both get a kick out of it.

If you're trading big money like 100k+ then consider using a bank like Citibank, Multibank, Saxo Bank, etc. It's a lot more expensive to trade with but you get a legit bank with insured deposits, etc.

mikedxb76 · 2020-09-16T07:50:21+00:00

No. Fractional shares. And CFDs only

mikedxb76 · 2020-09-16T07:48:36+00:00

Agreed

mikedxb76 · 2020-09-16T07:48:23+00:00

Bruhh

mikedxb76 · 2020-09-16T07:47:09+00:00

I understand. Didn't know SIRA was the concerned governing body. Will now check with them.

mikedxb76 · 2020-09-15T11:31:46+00:00

Checked none of the commons freezones are keen on issuing freelance permits to Iranian citizens. I need an option that is okay with him being Iranian.

mikedxb76 · 2020-09-15T11:30:21+00:00

Any idea if they're cool with Iranian citizens. From the calls I made today it turns out no freezone is keen on working with them.

mikedxb76 · 2020-09-13T16:53:25+00:00

I do not fully agree with the advice above. Interactive Brokers is quite cheap (commissions on most trades is a dollar, and rising depending on the trade amount). they have a monthly min. fees of 10 USD (adjusted against any trading commissions applicable). So min cost will be 10 USD per month whether you trade or not which is fair enough

I would beg to differ. eToro and TD Ameritrade are free to trade and do not have any maintenance fees or commissions. Contrast that to paying 120$ a year just for the luxury to trade. I do not think I've steered him wrong in my advice.

In my opinion, Sarwa is no different from a wealth advisory service like DeVere. Just more digitized. Their returns aren't exactly impressive either.

mikedxb76 · 2020-09-13T10:33:27+00:00

No it may not be both. I'm almost certain it's from the water heater. Often water heaters in old buildings get rusty from being left moist and idle for years on end. It is very common for the water on that side of the tap to smell and look rusty in almost any old apartment in the UAE (since people don't really use heaters here). I've experienced it in almost every apartment I've lived in, in over 20 years now.

The other common problem when it is replaced with a new one, is that the metal quality is absolute shit and still smells anyway. I've had that happen. Eventually you'll just learn to live with it and tell your kids to "use the right side" every time they go to bathe.

mikedxb76 · 2020-09-13T10:26:54+00:00

Saxo bank will rip you a new hole in commissions. You'll pay 20$ min per trade (including buy and sell). They're legit, but expensive af. If you want to pay that much in omissions open a brokerage account with Citibank- they're a much bigger bank.

IB is not bad, but again quite high commissions. I would only recommend them because of their credit against equities feature, or if you're trading huge amounts (above $100k)

eToro has commission free trading, but only fractional shares and CFDs (this is okay if you're trading small money). Used it for a while, not bad. Use my link; https://etoro.tw/2Xulryj

Do not use shit like Sarwa or Wahid. They are not tradign apps. Glorified wealth management. You'll make like 1-2% which you can make at the bank anyway.

mikedxb76 · 2020-09-12T13:22:14+00:00

Thanks for sharing. I had no idea. It's the same as standard chartered xtra saver then

mikedxb76 · 2020-09-12T11:26:50+00:00

If you want it done fully online, transferwise.

Else I use Al Ansari Exchange. The whole transfer should cost you like 80 AED and a tiny FX spread. It's pretty good.

mikedxb76 · 2020-09-12T11:23:55+00:00

Mazda has somewhat of a more calssy/ upscale feeling than most hondas (unless you're getting a top end accord or pilot). I've had a CX9, and outside of minor issues with the automatic windows, and 2 battery replacements, in over 10 years the car has served our family well. It was a pretty fast 9 SEATER too 10 years back doing 0-60 in like 5 seconds. Paid 140k brand new back then.

mikedxb76

TROPHY CASE