ADCB international transfer: charges, timing and limits

How to send money abroad with ADCB

ADCB gives you three ways to send money abroad:

• Internet banking or the mobile app: a standard international (SWIFT) transfer, AED 21 under the September 2026 schedule, with free transfers each month on some accounts.
• Direct Transfer: check whether it is offered for your beneficiary in ADCB’s app, along with the fee and arrival estimate.
• A branch: you fill in ADCB’s funds transfer form, which sets out who pays the charges (OUR, Shared or Beneficiary). For most accounts the branch fee is higher than the digital one.

Before you start:

1. Get the recipient’s name exactly as their bank holds it, their IBAN or account number, and their bank’s SWIFT/BIC code. Our guides explain what an IBAN is and what a SWIFT code is.
2. Add the payee in ADCB’s app or internet banking first. ADCB says a customer service representative may call you to confirm the payee registration.
3. Check whether the destination is on ADCB’s Direct Transfer list (below). If it isn’t, or you’re sending to India, you’ll use India Online or a standard SWIFT transfer, which have different terms.
4. For a standard transfer, decide who pays the other banks’ charges: OUR, SHA or BEN.
5. Before you confirm, check ADCB’s fee, the exchange rate and the amount ADCB says your recipient will get. Ask about possible other-bank deductions, then keep the transfer reference.

ADCB international transfer charges (schedule effective 1 September 2026)

ADCB’s Schedule of Fees for personal banking lists international transfers under SWIFT/Telex, “All Other Transfers”. The fee depends on your account and the channel, and ADCB states that “All fees are inclusive of 5% VAT, where applicable.”

The free allowances don’t cover Direct Transfer: both footnotes exclude “transactions processed via ‘Direct Transfer’ mode”.

The same schedule lists these related charges:

• Cancelling or amending a transfer at a branch: AED 31.50.
• A SWIFT copy: AED 15.75.
• OUR option: an extra AED 105 for transfers abroad (next section).

OUR, SHA and BEN: who pays the other banks’ charges

ADCB’s funds transfer form defines the three charge options:

For OUR, the schedule adds AED 105 as “additional charges for ‘OUR’ Option transfers” on transfers abroad (it is free for AED transfers within the UAE), and explains that “the correspondent bank will not deduct their charges from the amount remitted but will claim the same from ADCB.”

With SHA or BEN, expect the recipient to get less than you sent. ADCB’s schedule says “Correspondent Bank, Intermediary Bank and Beneficiary bank deductions are estimated in the range of USD 0 – 50 and may vary based on the amount transferred.”

Charges can also reach you after the transfer has gone. ADCB says commissions, fees or other charges passed on to it by the correspondent bank (for SHA transfers only), an intermediary bank or the beneficiary bank “may be debited from your account with ADCB upon receipt of the claim.” ADCB’s processing fee is therefore not necessarily the whole cost.

ADCB Direct Transfer: countries, timing and fee

Direct Transfer is ADCB’s real-time remittance service in the ADCB Mobile Banking App. ADCB lists these corridors, each paid in local currency:

Countries (currency): Bangladesh (BDT), Egypt (EGP), Georgia (GEL), Ghana (GHS), Indonesia (IDR), Kenya (KES), Malaysia (MYR), Nepal (NPR), Pakistan (PKR), the Philippines (PHP), Rwanda (RWF), Senegal (XOF), Sri Lanka (LKR), Tanzania (TZS), Thailand (THB), Togo (XOF) and Uganda (UGX). India is not on the list.

• Delivery: ADCB says “Funds are credited instantly to the recipient’s account in their home country” and “Credit will reflect to beneficiary’s bank account real time.”
• First transfer to a beneficiary: ADCB says: “All first-time international fund transfers to either a new or existing beneficiary will take between 30 minutes and 2 hours to complete, due to the necessary screening process.” That includes someone already saved as a beneficiary.
• How: in the app, register the beneficiary with their bank account details, then choose ‘Direct Transfer’ as the mode of transfer.
• Fee: ADCB’s September 2026 schedule and its Direct Transfer page don’t state a Direct Transfer fee, so check the fee in the app before you confirm.
• Free-transfer allowance: Direct Transfer transactions are excluded from the free monthly transfers in the fee table.

To compare the amount received with other options, see our AED to PKR, AED to PHP, AED to BDT, AED to EGP, AED to NPR, AED to LKR and AED to IDR pages.

Sending to India from ADCB: India Online

ADCB’s money transfer page lists India Online, described as “Hassle free and instant INR transfers”, with “Instant credit to Axis, Kotak Mahindra, ICICI and HDFC accounts” and “Money credited to 190 other banks and branches within 5 minutes”.

Sending to State Bank of India (SBI)? Ask ADCB whether the recipient’s account is eligible for India Online, and what fee and limit apply. A standard SWIFT transfer to India falls under the schedule’s “All Other Transfers” fees above. India Online isn’t named in that schedule, so ask for its quote rather than assuming the SWIFT fee or an SBI-specific concession.

ADCB’s named instant-credit banks above do not include SBI. Confirm the arrival estimate for your recipient rather than assuming the same timing applies to every Indian account.

To compare what a rupee transfer delivers, see our AED to INR page.

How long does an ADCB international transfer take?

• Standard international transfer: ADCB’s funds transfer form says a “Transfer may take 1-5 business days depending on the currency and destination.”
• Cut-off: ADCB’s money transfer page says remittances made after 3 PM UAE time, Monday to Thursday, get the next day’s value.
• Direct Transfer: ADCB says first-time international transfers to a new or existing beneficiary take 30 minutes to 2 hours because of screening. Confirm the expected crediting time for your recipient; completing the screening does not guarantee final credit.
• India Online: instant credit to Axis, Kotak Mahindra, ICICI and HDFC accounts, and within 5 minutes to 190 other banks and branches, according to ADCB’s listing.

ADCB’s money transfer page also says the bank “does not guarantee same day credit due to the time difference and processes related turnaround times of correspondent, intermediary and beneficiary banks.” It adds that repeat transfers made on a Friday get Friday’s value date, while first-time remittances made after 3 PM UAE time from Friday to Sunday get Monday’s value.

ADCB transfer limits and exchange rate: check in the app

Limits. ADCB doesn’t publish international transfer limits on its money transfer page, its Direct Transfer page or its schedule of fees. Before a large payment, check the limit for your account in the app or internet banking, or ask ADCB: per transfer, per day, and the currency the limit is set in.

Exchange rate. GulfSend does not publish ADCB’s live rate. Check ADCB’s rate, the total debit and the amount it says your recipient will get; ask whether other-bank deductions can change the amount finally credited.

The fee and the exchange rate are separate parts of the cost. A transfer with a low fee can still deliver less if the rate is weaker, so compare the amount received, not the fee alone.

ADCB local UAE transfers, and how long ADCB to Emirates NBD takes

ADCB’s schedule lists AED 0.50 for an AED transfer within the UAE, and the OUR surcharge is free for these transfers. On timing, ADCB’s customer guidance says transfers below AED 50,000 are normally processed instantly, and transactions above AED 50,000 are processed within 1 business day in general.

ADCB to Emirates NBD, or any other UAE bank: those are ADCB’s processing times. When the money appears in the Emirates NBD account also depends on Emirates NBD, and ADCB does not publish an arrival time at another bank. For a payment above AED 50,000, allow for ADCB’s processing to take up to a business day.

Our UAE bank-to-bank transfer guide covers IBAN transfers, Aani and what to check for local payments.

A failed transfer still shows a fee: what to ask ADCB

A fee debit doesn’t tell you whether the recipient was paid. ADCB’s funds transfer form (December 2025) is direct about who bears the cost when details are wrong: “Incorrect/Inaccurate/Incomplete details would result in delays and/or transaction returns/rejections with additional charges and exchange rate losses which shall be borne by the customer.”

It also warns that “Recalls/Cancellations may not be possible and ADCB will attempt to execute the recall/cancellation requests on a best effort basis.” The schedule charges AED 31.50 to cancel or amend at a branch, and charges claimed later by correspondent or beneficiary banks can be debited from your account. At a branch, the form also asks you to waive the statutory cooling-off period, after which you “will not be able to change” the instruction.

1. Save the transfer reference, status message, date and statement entries for the principal and fee.
2. Ask ADCB whether the instruction is pending, rejected, cancelled or returned, and request a breakdown of the processing fee, any other-bank charge and any currency-conversion difference.
3. Ask which tariff or contract clause applies, what amount is refundable and the expected refund date. Request a written case reference before deciding whether to send again.

Before sending again, ask whether the first payment was rejected, returned or is still pending, so you don’t pay twice.

Using ProCash for a business payment

ProCash is ADCB’s online banking platform for business accounts. Use your business account’s tariff, not the personal-banking fee table above. ADCB’s ProCash user guides (January 2024 and February 2023 editions) describe this flow:

1. Add the beneficiary: Payments → Beneficiary (under Masters) → Initiate. Beneficiaries have their own pending, authorised and rejected lists, so a new one may need approval before you can pay it. You can also add one while making a payment, as “Generic” (visible to all your ProCash users) or “User Wise” (only you).
2. Start the payment: Payments → Single Payment Request → Initiate. Enter the payment details (payment method, debit account, currency, amount, reference and remittance code), then select the beneficiary or add a new one.
3. Review and submit: ProCash confirms the request with a batch number. Keep it: you’ll need it to find the payment later, or to cancel it before it reaches the bank.
4. Approval: authorisers find it under Single Payment Request → Pending List and approve it with an OTP, or reject it with a reason. You can also send a reminder to authorisers who haven’t approved yet.
5. Rejected payments: they appear under Rejected List, where you can resubmit or accept the rejection. To cancel a payment before it reaches the bank, use Payments → Reject Transaction → Initiate and enter the batch number. ADCB’s guide says this works only while the payment is pending, partly or fully authorised, or processing, and not yet sent to the bank; a rejection started by one user may need another user to approve it.

Some companies add a second check, “Sent to Bank”, where a user with that access releases or rejects a payment even after it has been approved. ADCB notes that ProCash is “regularly updated”, so screens may differ slightly from its guides.

Who can create, approve and release payments, and the limits for each role, depend on how your company’s ProCash access is set up. Check them with your ADCB relationship manager before a large payment.

Checklist before you send with ADCB

• Is the destination on the Direct Transfer list? If so, check the fee in the app and allow 30 minutes to 2 hours for a first transfer.
• Sending to India? Check whether India Online is offered in your app, and what fee and limit it shows.
• For a standard transfer, which account are you sending from, and do you have free transfers left this month?
• Have you chosen OUR, SHA or BEN deliberately? OUR adds AED 105; with SHA or BEN, other banks can deduct an estimated USD 0–50.
• If timing matters, are you sending before 3 PM UAE time, Monday to Thursday?
• Do you have the recipient’s exact name, IBAN or account number, and their bank’s SWIFT/BIC?
• Have you checked the limit, the exchange rate and the amount your recipient should get, allowing for possible deductions?
• Have you saved the transfer reference? Amending or cancelling at a branch costs AED 31.50.

Receiving money into an ADCB account from abroad? The sender needs ADCB’s SWIFT/BIC code, listed on our ADCB SWIFT code page. For the wider picture, see our guide to sending money abroad from the UAE and the FAB international transfer guide.