ADCB — Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank — can send money abroad straight from its app or a branch, and for some payments a bank wire is exactly the right tool. For the everyday job of sending money home, though, it often isn't the cheapest option, and the reason is rarely the fee you see on screen. Here's how an ADCB international transfer actually works, what it costs, and how to tell when a licensed exchange house or a transfer app would leave more money in the recipient's account.
Sending an international transfer from ADCB, step by step
Most people send from the ADCB mobile app rather than a branch — it's faster and the fee is usually lower. The flow is much the same either way:
- In the app, open Transfers → International transfer (or "Send money abroad") and add the recipient as an international beneficiary.
- Enter the recipient's full name and address, their account number or IBAN, and the receiving bank's SWIFT/BIC code — the code that routes the money to the right bank abroad.
- Pick the currency you want the recipient to receive, and choose whether you or they cover any correspondent-bank charge.
- Review the exchange rate and fee ADCB shows for that transfer, add a purpose if asked, and confirm. Keep the reference number until the money is confirmed received.
A branch transfer needs the same beneficiary details but typically costs more than the app, so use it only when you have to.
The details you need before you start
An international transfer bounces — or gets delayed while a bank chases you — if any of these is wrong, so gather them first:
- The recipient's full legal name and address, exactly as their bank holds it.
- Their account number or IBAN at the receiving bank.
- The receiving bank's SWIFT/BIC code (and, for some countries, a local routing code — IFSC for India, a sort code for the UK, and so on).
- A short purpose for the transfer — most banks now ask for one.
Receiving money *into* an ADCB account from abroad works the other way round: the sender needs ADCB's own SWIFT code, which is ADCBAEAA — our page shows exactly where they type it and how the UAE IBAN is built.
Fees, cut-off times and the UAE weekend
ADCB charges an outward-transfer fee that varies with how the payment is sent and where it's going, and correspondent banks in the middle can deduct their own charge on the way. Check the current fee in the app before you send — we don't publish a figure here because it changes.
Timing follows normal bank mechanics. A SWIFT transfer usually reaches the destination bank within one to three working days. Cut-off times matter: send late in the day and the bank starts processing the next working morning. And since the UAE moved to a Saturday–Sunday weekend in January 2022, a transfer sent Friday afternoon often won't leave until Monday — banks don't run international payments over the weekend.
But the fee is only half the cost. The other half — usually the bigger half — hides in the exchange rate:
That margin is why a bank can look reasonable on the fee and still deliver less than a rival. Judge any transfer on the amount that actually lands, not the fee headline.
ADCB vs an exchange house or a transfer app
A bank wire earns its keep in specific situations — and loses in others. Being honest about which is which is the whole point of this page.
- Use ADCB when you're sending a large sum, paying into your own account abroad, or wiring to a country or bank that exchange houses and apps don't serve. The audit trail and the direct bank-to-bank rail are worth it.
- Use an exchange house or app when you're sending a routine remittance to a big corridor — India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Egypt and the like. Exchange houses such as Al Ansari and LuLu, and apps like Wise, frequently beat a bank on the rate and often charge no fee at all.
The way to settle it for your transfer is to compare the actual amount received today. Our live comparison of licensed UAE providers ranks them by exactly that, and for the busiest routes there are dedicated pages like AED to INR and AED to PKR. If you're moving money between UAE banks rather than abroad, our guide to bank-to-bank transfers covers that instead. For the full picture, see the complete guide to international transfers from the UAE; moving a large amount? See transferring large sums from the UAE.