Send money to United Arab Emirates
See today's live rates — and exactly what your recipient receives, after every fee.
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Today's best rates to United Arab Emirates
As of 26 July 2026, sending £1,000 to United Arab Emirates, your recipient gets the most with Revolut: 4,895.23 AED, the best of 5 providers compared.
| Provider | Rate | Fee | Recipient gets | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.8952 0.05% better | £0 | 4,895.23 AED | Within 2 days | Send | |
4.8919 0.02% worse | £0 | 4,891.90 AED | Within 2 days | Send | |
4.9033 0.22% better | £5.86 | 4,874.59 AED | Within 2 days | Send | |
4.7910 2.08% worse | £0 | 4,791.00 AED | 1–2 days | Send | |
4.7721 2.47% worse | £0 | 4,772.10 AED | Up to 4 days | Send |
The UK–UAE money corridor is one of the busiest anywhere, and it runs both ways: British expats working tax-free in Dubai and Abu Dhabi sending savings home, families supporting relatives, and buyers completing on Dubai property. Because the UAE levies no personal income tax, the sums moving are often large — which makes the exchange rate the thing that matters most. A UK high-street bank typically keeps 2–5% of the transfer in a marked-up rate, so on £10,000 you can lose £300–£500 before an obvious fee. The dirham is pegged to the US dollar, so it's stable against USD — but you're converting from pounds, and getting that GBP→AED conversion right is where the money is won or lost.
How to send money to the UAE from the UK
There are three practical ways to move money from the UK to a UAE bank account. Nearly all get the money there — the difference is how many dirhams arrive after the pounds are converted, which matters most on the larger sums typical of this corridor.
Bank transfer
The most familiar option — and consistently the most expensive. UK banks mark up the exchange rate by roughly 2–5%, and because the UAE is outside the EU's payment area, a bank SWIFT wire can also pass through intermediary banks that each take a cut. On £10,000 the rate markup alone is £300–£500.
Money-transfer provider
Specialists — Wise, Currencies Direct, XE, Moneycorp — exist to beat bank rates. Wise uses the mid-market rate with a small upfront fee (around £5.86 to send £1,000); brokers for larger sums run margins of just 0.2–1.5% and will negotiate. On a large transfer that's the difference of hundreds — sometimes thousands — of pounds.
App or prepaid card
Apps like Wise and Revolut are quick and competitive and can deliver in hours. For a pure transfer into a UAE bank account — rather than spending on a card while you're there — a dedicated provider usually beats a card, and watch weekend exchange markups on some app plans.
What you need to send money to the UAE
UAE bank details and IBANs
The UAE uses the IBAN — 23 characters, starting "AE". You'll need the recipient's full name and their IBAN, plus the bank's BIC/SWIFT code, which matters here because the UAE is outside SEPA and payments route by SWIFT. Check the IBAN character-by-character — a single wrong digit is one of the most common causes of a delayed or rejected transfer.
ID checks and verification
UK providers are legally required to verify who you are before processing a payment (Know Your Customer, under the Money Laundering Regulations). For a first transfer or a modest amount, expect to provide your name, address and date of birth, plus a photo ID and proof of address. Larger transfers — commonly above roughly £10,000, and certainly £50,000-plus — trigger a source-of-funds check (see Tax, below).
How long does it take to send money to the UAE?
Because the UAE uses the dirham and sits outside the EU, your provider converts your pounds and pays dirhams into the UAE account. How fast that happens depends far more on the provider than on the destination.
Delays are usually caused by one of: missing the provider's daily cut-off, first-time identity verification, weekends (note the UAE working week runs Monday–Friday, with some banks part-Saturday) or UK/UAE public holidays, or an incorrect IBAN or recipient name.
Fees and exchange rates for UK to the UAE
A flat fee is easy to compare — the exchange-rate margin usually isn't, which is why it matters more, especially on the larger sums typical of this corridor. Here's where the cost hides.
The exchange-rate margin
The real cost of most transfers. Banks: 2–5% above the mid-market rate. Specialists: typically 0.2–1.5%, and tighter still on large sums. On £10,000+ the gap runs into the hundreds or thousands.
Correspondent-bank fees
Because the UAE is outside the EU, a bank SWIFT wire can pass through intermediary banks, each deducting a cut en route — so the recipient gets less than expected. Specialists that pay dirhams locally usually avoid this entirely.
Card & weekend markups
Watch for ~3% foreign-transaction fees on standard UK debit/credit cards, and weekend or out-of-hours markups on some apps. Judge an offer by the dirhams that arrive, not the headline fee.
Is it safe to send money to the UAE?
Any UK company handling money transfers must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, and must keep customer money in accounts fully segregated from its own ("safeguarding"). Some smaller firms are only registered as Small Payment Institutions, which aren't required to safeguard your money the same way — so a 30-second check on the FCA Register before you send an unfamiliar firm anything is time well spent, especially on a large transfer. (If you're completing on Dubai property, note that foreigners can buy in designated freehold areas; because a completion date is usually weeks or months off, a forward contract to fix the GBP→AED rate is worth asking about — see below.)
Completion / "new bank details" fraud
Rule: criminals hack or spoof emails from a developer, agent or bank and send bogus "our bank details have changed" instructions before a large payment. Always confirm the account by phone on a number you already had — never one from the email.
Investment & "guaranteed return" offers
Rule: be wary of any unsolicited offer pressuring you to move money quickly, especially property or crypto "opportunities". Legitimate firms don't rush you. Check the firm on the FCA Register first.
"Better rate" cold-call / clone firm
Rule: a firm that calls out of the blue with an unbeatable rate may be a clone of a real one. Check it on the FCA Register and call back on the number listed there, not the one you were given.
Check the firm is regulated
Rule: FCA-authorised firms must keep your money separate from their own, so it's protected if the firm fails. Look the firm up on register.fca.org.uk before you commit.
Report fraud: Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or at actionfraud.police.uk (in Scotland, Police Scotland on 101).
Tax on money sent to the UAE
Moving your own money
Sending your own, already-taxed money from the UK to the UAE is not a UK taxable event — there's no tax simply for transferring it, and no requirement to report a personal transfer to HMRC. The UAE has no personal income tax, but that doesn't change your UK position: if you're UK tax-resident, your worldwide income can still be taxable here. Larger transfers commonly prompt a source-of-funds request, so keep the paperwork showing where the money came from.
Watch-out: gifts and residency
If it's a gift, it can affect UK Inheritance Tax on your estate if you die within seven years. Whether you count as UK-resident or non-resident for tax — which depends on where you actually live and work, not just where your money is — is a separate question from the transfer, and worth proper advice if you've moved to the UAE.
How do most people send money to the UAE?
For most expats, families and buyers, the cheapest route is a specialist currency company that converts your pounds to dirhams and pays straight into a UAE account — not a UK high-street bank whose SWIFT wire adds a 2–5% rate markup and risks correspondent-bank deductions. For a one-off move, a spot deal is fine; for a property completion or other known future payment, a forward contract to lock the rate is what sets the specialists apart. Whichever you choose, judge it by the dirhams that actually arrive, and confirm the receiving account by phone before you send.
Frequently asked questions about sending money to the UAE
A specialist money-transfer provider that converts pounds to dirhams at or near the mid-market rate, rather than a UK high-street bank charging a 2–5% rate markup on a SWIFT wire. Compare the actual dirhams that arrive for your exact amount in the table above — on larger transfers a broker's tighter margin matters most.
Yes. The UAE uses the IBAN — 23 characters, starting "AE" — and you'll also need the bank's BIC/SWIFT code, since the UAE is outside SEPA and payments route by SWIFT. Always check the IBAN against details your recipient sent in writing; a single wrong digit can bounce or delay the transfer.
With a specialist provider, often the same day and sometimes within hours. A standard bank transfer takes 1–3 business days, and a full SWIFT wire routing through intermediary banks can take up to 5. First transfers can take a little longer while your identity is verified.
Yes. Foreign buyers can purchase in Dubai's designated freehold areas, and payments are made by international transfer to the developer or seller. Because completion is usually weeks or months away, many buyers use a forward contract to lock today's GBP→AED rate so a currency swing doesn't add to the cost, and keep source-of-funds documentation ready.
Not for sending your own money — that's not a taxable event in the UK. The UAE has no personal income tax, but if you're UK tax-resident your worldwide income can still be taxable here. Gifting money can have UK Inheritance Tax implications if you die within seven years.
The dirham is pegged to the US dollar, so it's stable against USD — but you're converting from pounds, and GBP/USD (and so GBP/AED) does move. That's why locking a rate with a forward contract can be worth it for a large, dated payment like a property completion.
Our sources & how we keep this current
Last updated: July 2026. The live rates above refresh automatically, and we review the rest of this guide every month — updating it whenever the rules on payments, tax or regulation change.
Sending to United Arab Emirates from another country?
Our live comparison can't always quote transfers that start outside the UK yet. These verified provider shortlists cover popular routes into United Arab Emirates: