Liv is Emirates NBD's app-only digital bank, popular for everyday spending — and because it sits on the Emirates NBD group, its international transfers ride the same rails, including the group's DirectRemit fast-remittance service to supported countries. Here's how a Liv international transfer works, what it costs, and when it's worth reaching for an exchange house or app instead.
How Liv sends money abroad
Because Liv is part of Emirates NBD, sending internationally works much like it does on the main bank's app: you add an international beneficiary and send, either by ordinary international transfer or, to a supported corridor, via DirectRemit — the group's near-instant, often fee-free remittance service.
- In the Liv app, open the transfers / payments section and choose to send money abroad.
- Add the beneficiary: full name, account number or IBAN, and the receiving bank's local code or SWIFT/BIC (IFSC for India, and so on).
- Review the rate and any fee, confirm, and keep the reference. To a DirectRemit corridor the money often lands within minutes.
Liv accounts sit under Emirates NBD, so money received from abroad uses the group's SWIFT code, EBILAEAD. For the remittance service in depth, see our Emirates NBD DirectRemit guide.
Fees, speed and the exchange rate
To a DirectRemit-supported country a Liv transfer is often near-instant and may carry no transfer fee; other destinations go by ordinary international transfer at normal speed and cost. Confirm both in the app, and note the UAE's Saturday–Sunday weekend delays standard wires sent late on a Friday.
As always, a zero fee doesn't mean zero cost — the exchange-rate margin is the part that's easy to miss:
Compare on the amount received, not the fee headline.
Liv vs an exchange house or app
For a Liv user, DirectRemit-backed transfers are convenient and often cheap — but they only help for supported corridors, and exchange houses like Al Ansari and LuLu, or apps like Wise, sometimes still pass on a stronger rate.
Check the real amount received in our live tool, or a route page like AED to INR and AED to PKR. Moving money between UAE banks instead? See the bank-to-bank transfer guide. 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.