How to transfer money between banks in the UAE

What you need before you send

For a normal local transfer, have these ready:

• The recipient’s full name, exactly as it appears on their bank account.
• Their UAE IBAN. The Central Bank of the UAE fixes it at 23 characters, starting with AE, and says customers must use an IBAN to make and receive domestic and international electronic payments. Ask the recipient to copy it from their banking app or statement rather than read it out. Our IBAN guide shows the format with an example.
• Enough available balance, and an amount within your bank’s transfer limit.

For Aani, you may not need the IBAN. Al Etihad Payments, which operates Aani, says it allows transfers “using just a recipient’s mobile number, email address or QR code”. FAB describes it as a way to send money to other Aani users, so the recipient must also be set up for Aani through their own bank or payment provider. Check that in both apps before relying on it.

Step by step: a bank to bank transfer online

Menu names differ from bank to bank, but the sequence in an app or online banking is broadly the same:

1. Sign in and choose the local (domestic) transfer option, or the Aani option if you are paying by mobile number, email address or QR code.
2. Add the recipient as a beneficiary with their full name and UAE IBAN, pasted rather than typed. For Aani, enter the mobile number or email address, or scan the QR code, and check any recipient name the app displays.
3. Enter the amount. Read the fee and any limit or processing-time message the app shows before you go on.
4. Review the name, IBAN and amount, then confirm with your bank’s approval step.
5. Save the reference number and a screenshot or receipt until the recipient confirms the money has arrived.

Aani, IBAN transfer, IPI and UAEFTS: what each one is

These four names come up whenever people compare local transfers, but they are not four buttons in one app. Aani and IPI are instant payment services offered through banks, a normal IBAN transfer follows your own bank’s processing rules, and UAEFTS is the Central Bank’s settlement system that banks use behind the scenes.

Banks’ Aani limits can be lower than the platform maximum. Two examples: Emirates Islamic says its limit “is currently set up to AED 10,000 for mobile transfers and AED 50,000 for IBAN transfers”, per transaction, per account, per day; CBI says each Aani transaction is limited to AED 10,000, with AED 50,000 per day for all outward transfers. These are examples, not the rule at every bank; your own app shows your limit.

Banks label these options differently, so check what your app shows when you pick the transfer type: an Aani or instant option with its limit, or a standard local transfer with a processing time. If that isn’t clear and the payment is large or urgent, ask your bank before sending.

How long does a transfer between UAE banks take?

There is no single answer for every bank, because the time depends on the method and on the sending bank’s rules.

• Instant options. Al Etihad Payments says Aani payments are processed instantly, 24x7. For IPI, Habib Bank AG Zurich says the beneficiary receives the money within 180 seconds of your account being debited. Within their limits, these suit an instant funds transfer at night or at the weekend.
• Normal transfers. A normal local funds transfer follows your bank’s own thresholds and cut-off times, which decide whether it goes the same day or the next working day.

Each rule describes how that bank handles money it sends. Neither covers every bank, and neither is a promise about when the receiving bank will show the credit.

Reading your own bank pair. The sending bank’s rules and the method decide most of the timing; the receiving bank then credits the account.

• FAB to ADCB: FAB’s rules apply, so check whether your amount is within FAB’s instant threshold and whether you are sending before its 4 p.m. working-day cut-off. ADCB then credits the recipient.
• ADCB to Emirates NBD: ADCB’s rule applies: below AED 50K normally instant, above it within 1 business day in general. Emirates NBD then credits the recipient.
• Emirates NBD to Emirates NBD: the money stays within one bank. GulfSend has not verified an Emirates NBD source for this timing, so we don’t quote one; the app shows the processing details before you confirm.
• Any pair, through Aani: if both sides use Aani and the amount is within your bank’s Aani limit, Al Etihad Payments says it is processed instantly, 24x7.

Weekends and bank holidays. The UAE’s official federal weekend has been Saturday and Sunday since 1 January 2022. Whether a normal transfer is processed on those days is up to each bank, so check yours. FAB, for example, moves requests made on a bank holiday or after its cut-off to the next working day. Aani runs 24x7.

Fees and limits

Fees. Banks set their own fees for local transfers. For Aani, Al Etihad Payments says fees “will be determined by licensed financial institutions and payment service providers”. Two published examples for a local AED transfer:

• FAB: AED 0.49. FAB’s Service & Price Guide (updated April 2026) lists AED 1.05 for AED transfers within the UAE, with a footnote revising the fee to AED 0.49 from 15 January 2024.
• ADCB: AED 0.50, in its schedule of fees effective 1 September 2026, where ADCB says all fees are inclusive of 5% VAT where applicable.

Other banks publish their own schedules of charges, and the fee your app shows before you confirm is the one that applies. A transfer from AED to AED within the UAE involves no currency conversion, so there is no exchange rate to compare, as there would be when sending abroad.

Limits. Each bank sets its own, and they can differ by account and method. What the sources in this guide publish:

• Aani: AED 50,000 maximum per transaction on the platform; banks can set lower limits (see the Emirates Islamic and CBI examples above).
• IPI: AED 25,000 per transaction, according to Habib Bank AG Zurich and HSBC.
• Normal transfers: the FAB and ADCB thresholds above describe processing time. ADCB, for example, says transfers above AED 50K are processed within 1 business day in general. Your maximum is the limit your bank sets for your account.

To find your own limits, look in your app’s transfer or limit settings, start a transfer and read any limit message, or ask your bank. Limits can apply per transaction and per day, as the Emirates Islamic and CBI examples show.

Own account, someone else’s, or abroad?

• Your own accounts at the same bank: use the app’s option for transfers between your own accounts, if it offers one.
• Your own account at another UAE bank: add it as a beneficiary like any other, with your name as that bank holds it and that account’s IBAN, then treat it as a normal local transfer: check the fee, limit and processing message in your app.
• Another person’s UAE account: use their name as it appears on the account and their IBAN, or their Aani mobile number, email address or QR code. Check before you confirm: Habib Bank AG Zurich says IPI payments cannot be recalled.
• An account outside the UAE: this is an international transfer, not a local one. Al Etihad Payments says that at present Aani is limited to domestic transfers in AED. Your bank may ask for the recipient bank’s SWIFT/BIC code and other details for the destination; look it up in our SWIFT code finder and see what a SWIFT code is.

For bank-specific international options, see our guides to FAB, ADCB, Emirates NBD DirectRemit and Mashreq, or start with sending money abroad from the UAE.

Transferring large amounts of money between banks

For a large sum, limits and timing matter more than the method you would prefer:

• Check your limits first, per transaction and per day, in the app. Aani is capped at AED 50,000 per transaction on the platform, and your bank’s Aani limit may be lower.
• Allow more time. A larger normal transfer can fall outside instant processing: FAB processes transfers of up to AED 25,000 instantly, and ADCB says transfers above AED 50K are processed within 1 business day in general.
• If the amount is above your limit, ask your bank whether you can send it over several days or arrange it at a branch.
• Expect questions. Banks may ask questions or request documents for large or unusual payments, so be ready to explain what the payment is for.
• Send ahead of any deadline, such as a deposit due date, and keep every reference number.

Moving a large amount out of the UAE instead? See transferring large sums from the UAE.

Delayed, rejected or missing transfers

The usual reasons a local transfer is late or comes back:

• Wrong IBAN, or a name that doesn’t match the account. An incorrect beneficiary detail can delay, reject or misdirect a transfer.
• Timing. Sent after the cut-off, or on a weekend or bank holiday, a normal transfer may wait for the next working day; FAB’s rule above is one example.
• Amount. Above your limit, the bank may not accept the payment; above an instant threshold, it may follow a slower timetable.
• Checks. Banks may ask questions or request documents for large or unusual payments, which can add time.
• The receiving bank. Money can leave your account before the recipient’s bank shows the credit. For IPI, Habib Bank AG Zurich says a delay in crediting should be followed up with the beneficiary bank.

If the money hasn’t arrived:

1. Check the status and receipt in your app, and compare the IBAN and name you used with the recipient’s details.
2. Contact your bank first with the reference number, date, amount and beneficiary details. For Aani, Al Etihad Payments says customers should get in touch immediately with their financial institution or payment service provider. Ask the recipient to check with their bank too.
3. If it isn’t resolved, make a formal complaint to your bank and keep its complaint reference. Under the Central Bank’s Consumer Protection Standards, the bank must give you a written acknowledgement within 2 complete business days and send its final response in writing, with detailed reasons, within 30 complete business days.
4. If you are still not satisfied, you can take the case to Sanadak, the independent unit set up by the Central Bank to resolve consumer complaints free of charge. Sanadak may reject a case if you didn’t first raise an official complaint with the bank, or didn’t wait 15 calendar days after raising it.

Keep records from the start: the reference number, the confirmation screen or receipt, and the date and time you sent the payment. You will need them at every step above.