Al Ansari Exchange is licensed by the UAE Central Bank as an exchange business and says it has 280+ branches across the UAE. If an in-person option with a wide branch network matters to you, it is one of the main choices.
On the popular remittance corridors — India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Nepal — instant transfers carry a modest flat fee, with the exchange-rate spread layered on top of that. Larger transfers or digital-channel bookings sometimes qualify for a discount. How far the counter rate sits from mid-market varies by currency.
Reviews are genuinely mixed. Al Ansari scores well on aggregator sites for licensing and overall trust, but Trustpilot has a recurring thread of complaints about transfer delays and rate transparency at busy branches — worth factoring in if you're sending on a deadline.