Gulf Remittance Cost Index
Q3 2026 — Edition 1
Data current as of 17 July 2026
Across major UAE remittance corridors, the average gap between the cheapest and priciest provider is 2.0% of the amount received — meaning picking the wrong provider costs senders more than the corridor itself does.
Based on sending AED 1000 across 7 remittance corridors.
Corridor breakdown
Egypt — EGP
2.0% spreadSending AED 1000 to Egypt delivers between £13,352 and £13,625 depending on provider — a £273 difference on the same money, across 6 providers compared.
On smaller amounts, zero-fee providers tend to win (today: Revolut, fee-free). On larger amounts, the better exchange rate tends to win (today: Wise).
Compare live AED → EGP ratesIndia — INR
2.0% spreadSending AED 1000 to India delivers between ₹25,469 and ₹25,989 depending on provider — a ₹520 difference on the same money, across 6 providers compared.
On smaller amounts, zero-fee providers tend to win (today: Revolut, fee-free). On larger amounts, the better exchange rate tends to win (today: Wise).
Compare live AED → INR ratesPhilippines — PHP
2.0% spreadSending AED 1000 to Philippines delivers between ₱16,292 and ₱16,625 depending on provider — a ₱333 difference on the same money, across 6 providers compared.
On smaller amounts, zero-fee providers tend to win (today: Revolut, fee-free). On larger amounts, the better exchange rate tends to win (today: Wise).
Compare live AED → PHP ratesPakistan — PKR
2.0% spreadSending AED 1000 to Pakistan delivers between ₨73,444 and ₨74,944 depending on provider — a ₨1,501 difference on the same money, across 6 providers compared.
On smaller amounts, zero-fee providers tend to win (today: Revolut, fee-free). On larger amounts, the better exchange rate tends to win (today: Wise).
Compare live AED → PKR ratesBangladesh — BDT
2.0% spreadSending AED 1000 to Bangladesh delivers between ৳32,558 and ৳33,223 depending on provider — a ৳665 difference on the same money, across 6 providers compared.
On smaller amounts, zero-fee providers tend to win (today: Revolut, fee-free). On larger amounts, the better exchange rate tends to win (today: Wise).
Compare live AED → BDT ratesNepal — NPR
2.0% spreadSending AED 1000 to Nepal delivers between ₨40,750 and ₨41,583 depending on provider — a ₨833 difference on the same money, across 6 providers compared.
On smaller amounts, zero-fee providers tend to win (today: Revolut, fee-free). On larger amounts, the better exchange rate tends to win (today: Wise).
Compare live AED → NPR ratesSri Lanka — LKR
2.0% spreadSending AED 1000 to Sri Lanka delivers between ₨88,804 and ₨90,618 depending on provider — a ₨1,815 difference on the same money, across 6 providers compared.
On smaller amounts, zero-fee providers tend to win (today: Revolut, fee-free). On larger amounts, the better exchange rate tends to win (today: Wise).
Compare live AED → LKR ratesMethodology
Every figure compares a fixed AED 1000 sent through each licensed provider we compare, calculated as (amount − fee) × rate — the same model shown on GulfSend's live comparison tool.
Rates come from the same live database that feeds GulfSend's comparison tool, manually checked against each provider's official published rates, with the date of the last human verification recorded per rate (our internal `last_verified` column).
Honest limitations:
- Rates are point-in-time, not averages — they move daily and sometimes intraday. The figure shown here is what was observed when this edition was compiled.
- The comparison is limited to the licensed providers GulfSend covers (currently 6) — it doesn't represent the entire market.
- Historical trends across editions will be added from Edition 2 onward, once enough data has accumulated.
Cite this report
Suggested citation:
Gulf Remittance Cost Index, Q3 2026 — Edition 1, GulfSend, https://www.gulfsend.com/en/reports/gulf-remittance-cost-index
For press inquiries: hello@gulfsend.com
This report is updated quarterly.