How long does a bank transfer take in the UAE?

It depends on the route. Same-bank and Aani transfers are instant, any time of day. A standard local interbank transfer through UAEFTS usually arrives within a few hours on a working day — but one sent after the cut-off or over the weekend waits for the next working day.

Is transferring between UAE banks free?

Moving money between accounts at the same bank is free. A local transfer to a different bank is free through the app, or a small fee of a few dirhams; branch transfers can cost more. Only international transfers carry meaningful fees and exchange-rate costs.

What is an IBAN and where do I find mine?

Your IBAN is a 23-character code starting with "AE" that identifies your exact account for transfers. You'll find it in your banking app under account details, on your statements, and on your cheque book. Double-check every digit — it's the number transfers rely on. (For an international transfer you'll also need the bank's SWIFT/BIC code — the IBAN names the account, the SWIFT code names the bank.)

Can I transfer money on weekends in the UAE?

Yes, with the right method. Aani and same-bank transfers work 24/7, weekends included. A standard UAEFTS transfer sent on the Saturday–Sunday weekend queues and processes on the next working day, so use an instant option if it can't wait.

Can I transfer money online between different UAE banks?

Yes — it's the normal way to do it. In your banking app, add the recipient as a beneficiary with their name and 23-character IBAN, then send via a local transfer, or choose "Aani" for an instant one. You'll confirm with a one-time code. Note that some banks hold or cap the first transfer to a newly added beneficiary for a short cooling-off period, so add them a little ahead of time if the amount is large.

Can I do a bank to bank transfer online in the UAE?

Yes, and it's the default way people move money between UAE banks today — almost nobody visits a branch for this anymore. Open your banking app, add the recipient's IBAN as a beneficiary, and send via a local transfer or Aani for an instant one. It's usually free or a few dirhams, and takes a minute from your phone.

How to Transfer Money Between Banks in the UAE

We're based in the UAE and build tools for people moving and sending money across the Gulf.

Living in the UAE, you'll move money between bank accounts constantly — shifting your own savings to an account at another bank, splitting rent with a flatmate, paying a landlord who banks elsewhere. Most of the time it's quick and cheap. How quick, and how cheap, comes down to one thing: whether both accounts sit at the same bank or at two different ones. Here's how to transfer money between banks in the UAE — the routes, what each costs, and the small slip-ups behind most of the delays.

Same bank vs. a different bank

It all hinges on one question: does the money stay inside a single bank, or cross to another?

Same-bank transfers are the easy case. If you and the recipient both bank with Emirates NBD, ADCB or FAB, the money never actually leaves the bank's own system — so it's instant, free, and available any hour of the day. When that's on the table, it's always your best option.
A different bank is where timing starts to matter. Send from ADCB to Mashreq, say, and the money has to cross the country's shared clearing rails; how long that takes depends on which of them carries it.

The UAE's two transfer systems: UAEFTS and Aani

Two systems carry these local interbank transfers, both run under the UAE Central Bank.

UAEFTS — the UAE Funds Transfer System — is the workhorse. It moves money from one bank's IBAN to another's, settling on working days, usually within a couple of hours. Send it after the daily cut-off or over the weekend, though, and it waits in line for the next working day.
Aani is the newer one, live since 2023, and it's properly instant: money lands in seconds, any time, weekends included, often from nothing more than a registered mobile number. One thing worth knowing before you assume it handles everything — it's built for everyday sums. Transfers are capped at 50,000 AED each across the platform, and some banks set the ceiling lower still (Emirates NBD, for now, at 5,000 AED).

If your app shows an "instant" or "Aani" option, take it; otherwise a plain local transfer rides UAEFTS.

How to transfer money between banks in the UAE, step by step

Open your banking app and choose "Local transfer" (or "Send via Aani" for an instant one).
Add the recipient as a beneficiary: their full name and 23-character IBAN (it starts with AE), or their Aani-registered mobile number.
Enter the amount and, if asked, a short purpose — most banks require one.
Check the name matches the account, review any fee shown, and send. Keep the reference number until the recipient confirms it arrived.

Bank to bank transfer online: the default way to send now

Almost nobody queues at a branch for this anymore. A bank to bank transfer online — through your bank's app or internet banking — is the default in the UAE, and it's how same-bank, UAEFTS and Aani transfers all work from your phone. Doing a bank to bank transfer online is usually free, or a few dirhams, takes a minute to set up, and runs any hour you're awake.

Two security steps are worth knowing. Most transfers are confirmed with a one-time code sent to your registered phone or generated in the app — no code, no transfer. And some UAE banks apply a short cooling-off period on a newly added beneficiary — often up to a few hours, occasionally longer — before you can send them a large amount, or they cap that first transfer. It's an anti-fraud measure, not a fault: add the recipient a little ahead of when you need to send, and keep the confirmation reference until the money lands.

Banks and apps use a few different names for the same thing — a fund transfer, a bank-to-bank transfer, an online bank transfer — but they all just mean moving money electronically between accounts instead of handing over cash.

Costs, cut-off times, and common mistakes

Same-bank transfers are free. A local interbank transfer through the app is free, or costs a few dirhams; some banks charge more at a branch or by phone. (International transfers are a different story and cost far more — see below.)

The moment you send abroad instead of across town, a second cost appears that a local transfer never has: the exchange-rate margin. It's usually larger than any upfront fee, and easy to miss because providers advertise the fee, not the rate they hand you.

A few things trip people up. A wrong IBAN — even one digit off — will bounce the transfer or send it to the wrong account, so paste it rather than type it. Cut-off times matter for UAEFTS: send late and it processes the next morning. And the UAE weekend is now Saturday–Sunday, so a Friday-evening UAEFTS transfer may not clear until Monday. Aani sidesteps all of that by running around the clock.