Sri Lankan workers in the UAE send home a meaningful share of their earnings every month, and the rupee's recent volatility has made picking the right provider matter more than it used to. The mechanics are simple enough — the part worth your attention is the rate, since a gap of a few rupees per dirham adds up fast over a year of transfers.
Your options for sending money to Sri Lanka
- Exchange houses: LuLu Exchange and Al Ansari have wide UAE branch networks and send to Sri Lankan bank accounts; ask for the fee and the amount received before you pay.
- Digital apps — Remitly and similar services — handle the transfer from your phone, usually showing the rate and fee clearly before you confirm.
- Your UAE bank can send to Sri Lanka too, and several publish their Sri Lanka fees and limits (see the table below).
You may also see Lanka Remit mentioned. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka launched it in 2022 as a national remittance mobile app, developed by LankaClear, to give Sri Lankans working abroad direct access to existing remittance channels. Check that the app and your provider support your transfer before relying on it.
Transfers are overseen by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. If you're also moving money between your own UAE bank accounts, rather than sending abroad, our guide to transferring between UAE banks covers that separately.
Fees on this route vary by provider and amount, and as with most corridors the exchange-rate margin usually matters more than the fee. A wire through correspondent banks can take longer than an instant bank route; check the estimate before you confirm.
Sending to a Sri Lankan bank account
Several UAE banks publish their Sri Lanka terms. These are their own figures, not a ranking, and a zero transfer fee does not include the exchange-rate margin:
| Route | Published transfer fee | Published limit or timing |
|---|---|---|
| FAB instant transfer | Zero transfer fees | Up to LKR 4,250,000 per transaction “within 60 minutes”; eZ Cash wallet up to LKR 25,000 “within 60 seconds” |
| Emirates NBD DirectRemit | Zero | LKR 999,999 per transfer |
| Mashreq Quick Remit | AED 26.25 flat, including VAT | LKR 4,000,000 per transaction |
| RAKBANK RAKMoneyTransfer | AED 15.75, 21 or 31.50 depending on the amount | Not published |
Give the provider the account holder’s full name exactly as on the account, plus the bank, branch and account number its form asks for.
Inside Sri Lanka, banks move money over LankaPay CEFTS, which the Central Bank of Sri Lanka describes as real-time, and SLIPS, which settles the same business day for instructions sent before each bank’s cut-off. In January 2022 the central bank also said that Sri Lankans working abroad may hold remittances sent through licensed banks in foreign currency, and are not required to convert them to rupees.
Compare current options on our AED to LKR page.