FAB (First Abu Dhabi Bank) sends money abroad through FAB Mobile and its branches by two routes: instant transfers to India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, the UK and the Eurozone, and SWIFT transfers to other countries. FAB lists zero transfer fees on instant bank-account transfers to India, Pakistan, the Philippines and Sri Lanka, AED 100 per instant transfer to the UK or Eurozone, and, in its April 2026 price guide, up to AED 52.50 for foreign currency transfers through mobile and online banking.
FAB’s transfer page sets a daily transfer limit of AED 100,000 and a monthly limit of AED 450,000. Its timings are estimates, not promises: FAB says international transfers are subject to statutory risk checks and can take longer than indicated, and that SWIFT transfers may incur correspondent banking fees.
How to send money abroad with FAB
FAB says its digital transfers can be set up on FAB Mobile, and its price guide also lists mobile and online banking as a channel for foreign currency transfers. You can still send a telegraphic transfer from a branch, at a higher fee. FAB’s Service & Price Guide (updated April 2026, amounts including VAT) lists:
| Transfer through a branch | FAB fee |
|---|---|
| Dirham (AED) transfer | AED 5.25 |
| Euro, US dollar or Australian dollar | AED 105 |
| Any other currency | AED 84 |
Whichever channel you use, the groundwork is the same:
- Check the route. If the destination is on FAB’s instant list below, note that route’s per-transaction cap and fee; other destinations go by SWIFT.
- Add the beneficiary with their name exactly as their bank holds it, an account in the destination currency, and the bank details the recipient gives you: IBAN or account number, plus their bank’s SWIFT/BIC code for a SWIFT transfer.
- Before confirming, check the fee and exchange rate FAB applies to this transfer, and the amount that will reach the recipient.
- Keep the transaction reference until the recipient confirms the money has arrived.
FAB instant transfer corridors: caps, timing and fees
FAB says instant transfers are currently available to India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, the UK and the EU, and that its international remittances are powered by SWIFT and Mastercard. Each route has its own cap and conditions:
| Route | Per-transaction cap | FAB’s timing wording | FAB transfer fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| India (bank account) | INR 1,500,000 | Within 60 minutes; RBI IMPS and NEFT timings and limits apply | Zero transfer fees |
| Pakistan (bank account) | PKR 1,500,000 | Within 60 minutes | Zero transfer fees |
| Pakistan (JazzCash wallet) | PKR 400,000 | Within 60 seconds | Not stated on FAB’s page |
| Philippines (bank account) | PHP 500,000 | Within 60 minutes; credited only during the beneficiary bank’s working hours | Zero transfer fees |
| Philippines (GCash wallet) | PHP 50,000 | Within 60 seconds | Not stated on FAB’s page |
| Sri Lanka (bank account) | LKR 4,250,000 | Within 60 minutes | Zero transfer fees |
| Sri Lanka (eZ Cash wallet) | LKR 25,000 | Within 60 seconds | Not stated on FAB’s page |
| UK | GBP 18,000 | Within 60 minutes if the beneficiary bank is in UK Faster Payments | AED 100 per transaction, no other correspondent bank charges |
| Eurozone (23 countries) | EUR 21,000 | Within 60 minutes if the beneficiary bank is in SEPA Instant Credit Transfer | AED 100 per transaction, no other correspondent bank charges |
- Person-to-person only. FAB says all instant remittances are for person-to-person transfers and that “any transfers to corporate entity may be rejected.”
- Participating banks in the UK and Eurozone. The recipient’s bank must take part in UK Faster Payments or the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer Scheme for the money to arrive instantly.
- Account currency. The beneficiary account must be in the destination currency; for India, FAB states the account “must be in INR currency”.
- Pakistan. FAB asks you to make sure the beneficiary name matches the name in their bank records “to avoid any rejection and/or delays”, and caps transfers to a single recipient at PKR 1,500,000 a month.
To compare the amount a recipient would get through FAB with other options, see our AED to INR, AED to PKR, AED to PHP and AED to LKR pages.
FAB international transfer charges: what’s free and what isn’t
FAB’s “zero transfer fees” covers four routes only. Everything else carries a FAB fee, and SWIFT transfers can also pick up other banks’ charges:
- Zero FAB transfer fee: instant transfers to bank accounts in India, Pakistan, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.
- AED 100 per transaction: instant transfers to the UK and Eurozone, which FAB says carry no other correspondent bank charges.
- Wallet transfers (JazzCash, GCash, eZ Cash): FAB’s page does not state a fee for these; check FAB Mobile before you confirm.
- SWIFT transfers to other countries: a FAB fee by currency (below), with correspondent bank fees possible on top.
- Branch telegraphic transfers: AED 84, or AED 105 for euros, US dollars and Australian dollars.
For SWIFT, FAB publishes two documents that present the fee differently. The dated one comes first:
- Service & Price Guide, updated April 2026: “Foreign currency transfers through mobile and online banking” cost up to AED 52.50, VAT included.
- SWIFT Transfer Charges sheet, undated: an “Online/Mobile” fee for each currency sent, charged in AED and summarised below.
| FAB fee (AED) | Currencies sent |
|---|---|
| 20 | BHD, KWD, OMR, SAR |
| 25 | INR, JOD, PHP, PKR |
| 30 | DKK, GBP, JPY, MAD, NOK, SEK |
| 40 | CHF |
| 45 | CAD, EGP, EUR, KRW, LKR, PLN, THB, USD |
| 50 | AUD, HKD, ILS, NZD, SGD, ZAR |
Because the sheet carries no date and is not laid out like the April 2026 guide, treat its figures as indicative: the fee FAB Mobile shows before you confirm is the one that applies. If you’re sending INR, PKR, PHP or LKR, check whether the app offers the instant route before you choose SWIFT. For euros or pounds, weigh the SWIFT fee, possible correspondent deductions and the longer timing against the AED 100 instant fee, which FAB says has no other correspondent bank charges.
A zero or low fee doesn’t settle the cost on its own. The exchange rate used for the conversion, and on SWIFT routes any correspondent deductions, decide what the recipient receives, so compare that amount rather than the fee line.
“Pay in full” and correspondent bank deductions
On SWIFT transfers, other banks in the chain can take a share. FAB says SWIFT transactions to the countries named on its transfer page and to “Other Countries” may incur a correspondent banking fee, and that “additional fees may be levied by the correspondent bank/financial institution or entity providing financial services to the beneficiary of remittances.”
A “pay in full” instruction puts these charges on you, for an extra amount on top of the normal FAB fee. FAB’s two documents differ on that amount:
- Service & Price Guide (April 2026): AED 105 for foreign currency remittances and AED 1.05 for dirham remittances.
- SWIFT Transfer Charges sheet (undated): AED 100 for every currency.
Go by the dated guide and the amount shown in FAB Mobile. FAB’s UAE personal pages don’t define the OUR, SHA and BEN charge codes other banks use, so if the recipient must receive an exact amount, ask FAB what a “pay in full” instruction covers on your route before relying on it.
FAB daily and monthly transfer limits
FAB publishes these limits on its transfer and remittance page:
| Limit | Amount | FAB’s wording or condition |
|---|---|---|
| Daily | AED 100,000 | “Daily transfer limit is AED 100,000” |
| Monthly | AED 450,000 | “Transfers above this limit within 30 days will not be processed” |
| Pakistan, one recipient | PKR 1,500,000 a month | “Monthly transfer limit to a single recipient” |
| Per transaction (instant routes) | Varies by route | See the instant corridor table above |
For India, FAB adds that RBI IMPS and NEFT timings and limits apply, so the Indian payment system can set its own ceiling. Planning a large SWIFT payment? Check the limit for your account in FAB Mobile first.
How long does a FAB international transfer take?
- Instant bank-account routes: FAB’s wording is “within 60 minutes”, subject to the conditions in the table: a participating bank in the UK or Eurozone, RBI IMPS and NEFT timings for India, and the beneficiary bank’s working hours for the Philippines.
- Wallets: “within 60 seconds” for JazzCash, GCash and eZ Cash, within each wallet’s cap.
- SWIFT to other countries: “generally within 1-2 working days”, following SWIFT cut-off timings. FAB does not publish the cut-off time.
FAB adds that international fund transfers “are subject to statutory risk checks and it is possible for a transfer to take longer than indicated.” Treat every timing here as an estimate. UAE working days run Monday to Friday (the weekend has been Saturday and Sunday since January 2022), so a SWIFT transfer sent late in the week can run into the next one.
FAB local UAE transfers, and how long FAB to ADCB takes
For a dirham transfer to an account at another UAE bank, FAB’s transfer page gives two rules:
- Transfers of up to AED 25,000 “will be processed instantly.”
- Requests submitted before 4 p.m. on a working day are processed the same day; requests after 4 p.m., or on a bank holiday, are processed the next working day.
FAB’s April 2026 price guide lists AED 1.05 for AED transfers within the UAE, with a footnote that the fee was revised to AED 0.49 effective 15 January 2024.
FAB to ADCB, or any other UAE bank: these rules cover when FAB processes your transfer. When the money shows in the ADCB account also depends on ADCB, and FAB does not publish an arrival time at another bank. For a larger amount, or a request close to 4 p.m., plan around the working-day rule.
FAB also offers Aani, which lets you send to other Aani users with a mobile number, email address or QR code instead of an IBAN and account details. FAB describes payments “within seconds” but does not state an Aani fee or limit on its Aani page. Our UAE bank-to-bank transfer guide explains when to use Aani or a standard IBAN transfer.
Checklist before you send with FAB
- Is the destination on FAB’s instant list, and is the amount within that route’s per-transaction cap?
- Is the recipient a person? Instant transfers to companies may be rejected.
- Does the beneficiary name match their bank records, and is the account in the destination currency (INR for India)?
- For the UK or Eurozone, is the recipient’s bank in Faster Payments or SEPA Instant?
- Does this transfer keep you within AED 100,000 for the day and AED 450,000 over 30 days (and PKR 1,500,000 a month to one recipient in Pakistan)?
- For SWIFT, do you have the recipient bank’s SWIFT/BIC and the IBAN or account number? See what a SWIFT code is and what an IBAN is.
- Have you checked the FAB fee, any “pay in full” charge and the exchange rate in FAB Mobile, and compared the amount the recipient gets?
- Have you saved the transaction reference?
Receiving money into a FAB account from abroad instead? The sender needs FAB’s SWIFT/BIC code, listed on our FAB SWIFT code page. For the wider picture, see our guide to sending money abroad from the UAE and the ADCB international transfer guide.