If you’re relocating, paying rent or school fees, or running a business in the UAE, where you convert your pounds decides how many dirhams arrive. The visible fee is the small part; the exchange-rate margin is where the money usually goes.
You can rely on the figures below: we checked them against provider pricing, the mid-market GBP/AED rate, and the Central Bank of the UAE rules in June 2026.
Sending Money to the UAE at a Glance
Pick by what matters most to you: the lowest fee on a small transfer, or money in the account today. For a £1,000 transfer Revolut is cheapest at about £3 but slow, while Wise costs £5.86 and lands the same day, which we rate the better pick for a deadline.
| Key point | Details |
|---|---|
| Destination currency | UAE dirham (AED) |
| Cheapest on £1,000 (June 2026) | Revolut, about £3 on a weekday (but 3 to 5 days to arrive) |
| Fastest way | Wise, £5.86 and delivered the same day, often within hours |
| What the recipient needs | Full name and a 23-character UAE IBAN starting AE |
| Typical UK bank charge | £35 or more on £1,000 (2.5% to 4% margin plus a fee), per comparison-service estimates |
| UAE rules | Wire transfers from AED 3,500 must carry full sender and recipient data |
If you just want the cheapest reliable route and can wait a few days, that’s Revolut. If you need the dirhams to land today, that’s Wise. The bank counter loses on both counts.
How Much It Costs to Send Money to the UAE
You pay two things on a GBP to AED transfer: the exchange-rate margin hidden in the rate, and any upfront fee. When you pay rent or school fees, the margin is usually the bigger cost, so compare the dirhams that actually land.
The mid-market rate is the real wholesale GBP/AED rate, the one you see on Google. A bank quietly widens the spread around it; a mid-market provider gives you that rate and charges a visible fee instead.
| Provider | Cost on a £1,000 GBP to AED transfer (June 2026) | How it charges |
|---|---|---|
| Revolut (Standard) | About £3 on a weekday | 0.3% fee (min £0.30, max £5), mid-market rate; adds 1% at weekends; 3 to 5 days |
| Wise | £5.86 | Mid-market rate plus a transparent fee of about 0.59%; same-day |
| OFX | No upfront fee | A margin in the rate (about 0.7% on a recent check, tighter on large sums) |
| High-street bank | £35 or more | 2.5% to 4% margin in the rate plus a £10 to £25 fee |
On a £1,000 transfer you’ll find Revolut’s roughly £3 undercuts Wise’s £5.86, but Wise lands the money the same day where Revolut takes 3 to 5. You’re really trading a few pounds against several days.
Watch OFX’s no-fee headline if you want the real cost: it’s a margin in the rate, heavier on small sums and tighter on large ones. That’s the catch with a margin-only model.
Best Providers for Sending Money to the UAE
When you pay rent or move savings out, the best route changes with the amount and how soon it must land. We’d match the three below to three common situations on this corridor.
Wise for same-day transfers
Choose Wise when you need the dirhams to land today. It uses the mid-market rate, shows the fee of about £5.86 on £1,000 upfront, and typically delivers within hours, which is what you want for a rent deadline.
Revolut for the lowest fee on small transfers
Use Revolut if you already bank in the app and your transfer isn’t urgent. The 0.3% fee is capped at £5 on Standard, so a £1,000 weekday transfer costs about £3, but it takes 3 to 5 business days and adds 1% at the weekend.
OFX for dealer-led large transfers
Consider OFX when your amount is large and you want a person on the phone. It charges no upfront fee and earns a margin in the rate that tightens on bigger sums, with 24/7 dealers, so compare the dirhams quoted against Wise before you commit.
How GBP Compares to AED Right Now
You should check the live mid-market GBP/AED rate before you commit, then compare what each provider would deposit. On 3 June 2026 the rate sat at 4.9440, so £1,000 buys about 4,944 dirhams before any margin.
You can’t time the rate, and we don’t try to: the dirham is pegged to the US dollar, so GBP/AED tracks the pound’s strength against the dollar. The honest move is to compare the dirhams you receive on the day and send when you need to.
How Long It Takes to Send Money to the UAE
You should expect the money the same day with Wise, often within hours, when you send to a UAE bank account. Revolut and most high-street banks are slower, taking 3 to 5 business days, and OFX usually lands in 1 to 2.
Picture your landlord needing a rent deposit by Monday: send with Wise on Friday and it clears in time, but a Revolut transfer started the same day could still be in transit. Match the provider to the deadline, not just the fee.
Your transfer can also get held for a source-of-funds check above £10,000, or a recipient bank querying an unfamiliar incoming payment. Those are the usual reasons a clean transfer slows down.
What You Need to Send Money to the UAE
You should gather the recipient’s details before you start, because a wrong IBAN is the usual reason a dirham transfer bounces. Get these right and the payment goes through cleanly.
- Recipient full name exactly as it appears on their UAE bank account.
- UAE IBAN, which is 23 characters long and starts with the country code AE.
- Recipient address and ID details, which UAE banks require on incoming wire transfers from AED 3,500.
You’ll also need your own ID to verify your account, and for a business payment your company details. Above £10,000 expect a source-of-funds question, so have proof of where the money came from ready.
UAE Rules and Reporting on Money From the UK
You should know the UAE rules before you send, because they shape the data a transfer must carry rather than blocking it. The Central Bank of the UAE sets the requirements, and a legitimate payment goes through once the details are complete.
Central Bank data and due-diligence rules
When you send AED 3,500 or more, the transfer must carry full originator and beneficiary data: names, account numbers or IBANs, address, and ID.
Your transfer also faces customer due diligence on occasional payments from AED 3,500 or standard ones above AED 55,000. Banks report anything suspicious to the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit, whatever the amount.
Common Reasons People Send Money to the UAE
Match your provider to your reason, because most GBP to AED transfers fall into a few buckets and the right pick follows from why you’re sending. Knowing your category points you straight to the cost-versus-speed trade-off.
- Relocation: moving savings ahead of a move to Dubai or Abu Dhabi, where a transparent fee matters on a large sum.
- Rent and school fees: paying a deposit or term fees, often on a fixed deadline that rewards a same-day provider.
- Business: funding a UAE entity or paying a supplier, where clean records help your bookkeeping.
- Savings: moving money into a UAE account, where the rate matters most.
Step by Step: Sending Money to the UAE
- Open and verify an account. Sign up with your chosen provider and upload ID; personal verification usually takes minutes, a business account one to two days.
- Get a live quote on the corridor. Enter your GBP amount, check the rate against the mid-market GBP/AED figure, and confirm the dirhams the recipient will get.
- Fund and send. Pay by Faster Payments for the lowest cost, or by debit card for instant funding, then track delivery in the app.
Final Verdict: Best Way to Send Money to the UAE
For a deadline we’d use Wise: on £1,000 you’ll pay £5.86 at the mid-market rate and the dirhams land the same day, often within hours. Compare the dirhams that land and the speed is worth the few extra pounds.
If you can wait a few days, Revolut’s roughly £3 is the cheapest small transfer, and for a large lump sum OFX is worth a call once you compare its quote. The bank counter is the one route we’d avoid.
Send Money to the UAE FAQs
What’s the cheapest way to send money to the UAE from the UK?
Compare the dirhams that land, not the headline rate, because most of the cost hides in the exchange-rate margin. On a £1,000 weekday transfer (June 2026) Revolut is the cheapest at about £3, though it takes 3 to 5 business days. Wise costs £5.86 and lands the same day, and a high-street bank can take £35 or more.
How long does a transfer to the UAE take?
Wise usually delivers dirhams the same day, often within hours. Revolut and most high-street banks take 3 to 5 business days, while OFX typically lands in 1 to 2.
Is there a limit on how much I can send to the UAE?
There’s no fixed cap, but wire transfers from AED 3,500 must carry full sender and recipient details, and UAE banks run due diligence on larger transfers. That’s a record-keeping step, not a block on the payment.
Do I need to pay tax on money I send to the UAE?
A normal transfer isn’t taxed in the UK, and the UAE has no personal income tax. Business payments get standard UK expense treatment, so for large or business transfers get professional tax advice.
What details do I need to send money to a UAE bank account?
You need the recipient’s full name and their UAE IBAN, which is 23 characters long and starts with AE. For transfers from AED 3,500 the bank also needs the recipient’s address and ID details.
Methodology and Disclosure
How we reviewed this
Sources: We verified GBP to AED pricing for Wise, Revolut, and OFX against each provider’s own pages and live quotes, the GBP/AED mid-market rate, and the rules against Central Bank of the UAE guidance, in June 2026. Atlantic Money is excluded because it does not support AED.
FX margins: High-street bank GBP to AED margins aren’t published by the banks; the 2.5% to 4% range reflects independent comparison-service estimates, not a bank-published figure. Provider fees and rates move, so confirm the current figure before you send.
Not advice: This is editorial guidance, not regulated financial or tax advice.
Affiliate disclosure: BusinessExpert may receive referral fees from some providers mentioned on this page. This doesn’t affect our editorial assessments.