Verify the company exists as described
Before any credit decision, confirm the legal basics: the trade licence, the registered activity, the licence status and the registered address. A surprising share of credit losses start with a counterparty that was never quite what its website suggested.
Registry and commercial data covering the UAE and 135+ countries makes this a minutes-long check rather than a week of phone calls.
Pull a credit report, not just a reference
Trade references are chosen by the customer; a credit report is not. A proper commercial credit report brings together payment behaviour, financials where available, legal filings and adverse information, and condenses them into a score and a recommended credit limit you can defend internally.
For larger exposures, an investigated report — where an analyst verifies and expands the file — gives a deeper view of the counterparty's standing and structure.
Know who is behind the company
Ownership in the region can be layered. Resolving the ultimate beneficial owners matters both for credit judgement — group linkages often reveal where the real financial strength or weakness sits — and for AML compliance, where identifying the UBO is a regulatory requirement for many businesses.
Monitor after onboarding
A credit decision is a snapshot. Payment behaviour, licence status, ownership and adverse media all change, and the businesses that avoid bad debt are the ones that hear about the change first. Ongoing monitoring of your ledger turns credit control from periodic panic into an early-warning system.
ICG MECOS combines credit reports and monitoring with a licensed debt collection arm in Dubai — so if an account does deteriorate, recovery starts immediately rather than after a fresh search for an agency.
This article is general information from the ICG MECOS team, not legal advice. For guidance on your specific situation, speak to a qualified adviser or your regulator.