Sending cross-border payments from the UAE: the stack

By Polynopsis team · Last updated 28 October 2026

Sending money from the UAE requires a Central Bank of the UAE licence, either an Exchange Business licence (Category I or II, or the digital-only Category IV) or a Retail Payment Services licence that covers cross-border fund transfers, and exchange houses must deposit remittance customers' funds into designated accounts at UAE banks by the end of banking hours on the next business day. The typical stack pairs a UAE bank such as Zand or Wio for accounts and escrow, collections through Aani (24/7, up to AED 50,000 per transaction), UAEFTS and card acquirers such as Network International or Checkout.com, and VARA-licensed AED to stablecoin ramps such as BitOasis, all against a dirham pegged at AED 3.6725 to the US dollar.

Currency	AED
Collection and funding rails	Aani, UAEFTS, IPI (Immediate Payment Instruction), UAEDDS (UAE Direct Debit System)
Holiday calendar	United Arab Emirates bank holidays 2026 and 2027

The United Arab Emirates market

Personal remittances paid from the UAE were US$62.13 billion in 2025, up from US$58.47 billion in 2024 (World Bank data, last updated 8 October 2026). source
Outward remittances through UAE exchange businesses rose 27.8% to AED 188.8 billion in 2025: personal remittances AED 115.7 billion, trade AED 63.3 billion, other AED 8.5 billion and investment AED 1.0 billion. Inward remittances rose 53.6% to AED 36.0 billion. source
At the end of 2025 the CBUAE licensed 64 exchange businesses (73 a year earlier), 16 stored value facilities, 30 retail payment service providers and 2 payment token issuers. source
UAEFTS handled 114.9 million retail transfers worth about AED 9.9 trillion and 865,708 institutional transfers worth about AED 14.5 trillion in 2025. source
Aani passed 12.5 million users in April 2026, with 74 connected licensed financial institutions and approximately 774,000 merchants. source

Licensing: who can send money from the UAE

Under the Exchange Business Regulation (Circular 7/2025, effective 26 June 2025) a Category I licence covers currency exchange, remittances and WPS salary processing, Category II covers currency exchange and remittances, Category III currency exchange only, and Category IV remittances through digital channels only, with no cash-in or cash-out and currency conversion only within the digital remittance. source
Exchange businesses that are limited liability companies need minimum paid-up capital of AED 25 million and a bank guarantee to the CBUAE of AED 50 million for Categories I to III or AED 25 million for Category IV; a Category IV licensee must be a limited liability company, and the CBUAE can allow 100% non-UAE ownership for that category. source
The Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation (Circular 15/2021) has four licence categories; cross-border fund transfer services are available under Category I and Category II, Category I adds payment token services, and Category IV covers payment initiation and account information services. source
Under the Payment Token Services Regulation, Dirham payment tokens from licensed issuers can be used for any lawful purpose, while foreign payment tokens from registered foreign issuers can be used only as payment for virtual assets or virtual asset derivatives; licence applicants must be incorporated in the UAE, including free zones but excluding the financial free zones. source
The CBUAE register lists AED StableCoin L.L.C, Zand Trust L.L.C and AEDC Stable Coin L.L.C as Dirham payment token issuers, and Network International L.L.C and Checkout MENA FZ L.L.C among retail payment services licensees. source
VARA is the sole regulator of virtual assets across Dubai's free zones and mainland except the DIFC; its public register lists BitOasis Technologies FZE (broker-dealer, VL/2024/11/001), Rain MENA FZE (exchange and broker-dealer, VL/26/10/001, licensed 5 October 2026) and Zand Bank (custody, VL/2024/12/001). source

This page explains the rules in general terms and is not legal or regulatory advice. Check the primary source and take advice on how the rules apply to your firm.

Holding customer funds

An exchange business conducting remittances must deposit funds received from remittance customers into one or more designated remittance intermediate accounts at CBUAE-licensed banks daily, or at the latest before the end of banking hours on the next business day, and use them only to settle customers' remittances with foreign correspondents. source
Retail payment service providers can hold user funds only in transit. If they settle within 24 hours the funds must be kept separate and insulated from other creditors; if settlement takes longer they must use a separate escrow account at a bank restricted to transfers to the beneficiary, and/or insurance or a bank guarantee from a provider outside their group. source
A stored value facility licensee needs paid-up capital of at least AED 15 million and aggregate capital funds of at least 5% of the float, and must protect the float against claims by other creditors in all circumstances; an unconditional bank guarantee for the full paid-up capital accompanies the licence application. source
A licensed payment token issuer holds its reserve as cash in a separate escrow account, in the token's currency, at a UAE-licensed bank outside its group, reconciles it regularly against its records and has it audited monthly by an external auditor; a bank-owned Dirham token issuer can keep at least 50% in cash and the rest in UAE government bonds and CBUAE M-bills with an average duration of 6 months or less. source

Collection and funding rails

Rail	Operator	What matters	Source
Aani	Al Etihad Payments (CBUAE subsidiary)	Instant payments 24/7 of up to AED 50,000 per transaction, processed in under 10 seconds, using a mobile number, email address or QR code instead of an IBAN, with request to pay and split payments.	source
UAEFTS	Central Bank of the UAE	The UAE's real-time gross settlement system, operating since 2001; transfers between participants' accounts at the CBUAE are settled individually and continuously in real time during system business hours.	source
IPI (Immediate Payment Instruction)	Central Bank of the UAE	Processed 33.8 million transactions worth AED 168.8 billion in 2025, down from 67.5 million in 2024, as volume moved to Aani from March 2025.	source
UAEDDS (UAE Direct Debit System)	Central Bank of the UAE	Processed 16.3 million direct debit transactions worth about AED 140.3 billion in 2025, up 3.76% in volume.	source

The send-side stack, layer by layer

A starting shortlist for each layer, described from each provider's own documentation. Confirm terms, coverage and licences with each provider.

Sponsor banks and safeguarding accounts

Provider	What it does	Source
Zand Bank	CBUAE-licensed digital bank offering banking as a service, multi-currency and collection accounts, virtual IBANs, client money safeguarding and escrow, and digital asset banking including fiat on and off ramps and VASP banking.	source
Wio Bank	CBUAE-licensed bank whose banking as a service lets non-bank apps integrate with Wio to offer banking products directly to their customers.	source

Collections and pay-ins

Provider	What it does	Source
Network International	N-Genius Online gateway for cards, digital wallets and Aani, with hosted payment pages, web and mobile SDKs, direct API, plugins and pay by link, and multi-currency pricing for international customers.	source
Checkout.com	Granted a CBUAE retail payment services licence in May 2023, covering merchant acquiring, payment aggregation and cross-border fund transfers in the UAE, alongside international cards and regional methods such as Tamara, Mada and KNET.	source
Ziina	CBUAE-licensed payments for UAE businesses through payment links and invoices, accepting Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay and Google Pay, with a published price of 2.6% plus AED 1 and daily cash-out to a bank account.	source

Stablecoin ramps

Provider	What it does	Source
BitOasis	VARA-licensed broker-dealer (VL/2024/11/001) that converts between AED and USDT, USDC, USDG and AE Coin for businesses, funding and settling in dirhams on UAE banking rails.	source
Zand Bank (ZandMint and AEDZ)	ZandMint gives fintechs fiat-to-stablecoin and stablecoin-to-fiat conversion through a regulated bank, and the AEDZ AED-backed stablecoin can be built into payment, wallet and treasury products.	source

FX and liquidity

Provider	What it does	Source
Al Ansari Exchange	Corporate remittances in major currencies including USD, EUR, GBP, SAR and INR through the eExchange corporate platform or branches, over a correspondent network of more than 250 banks and agents with over 500,000 branch locations worldwide.	source

KYC and KYB providers

Provider	What it does	Source
UAE PASS	National digital identity for citizens, residents and visitors, registered with an Emirates ID, GCC ID or passport and verified by face verification or at a kiosk, with digital signing and requests for official documents.	source
uqudo	Identity verification with document scanning, NFC chip reading for 156 passport types and 22 national ID cards, facial recognition and liveness, and government database verification.	source

Bank data and open banking

Provider	What it does	Source
Lean Technologies	Account verification, financial data, pay by bank and payouts across 30+ banks in MENA; Lean UAE holds In-Principle Approval from the CBUAE for open finance services, and Lean ADGM is regulated by the ADGM FSRA (FSP 200033).	source
AlTareq (Nebras API hub)	Under the Open Finance Regulation (Circular 3/2025, issued 10 July 2025) participation is mandatory for CBUAE licensees, which must give licensed data sharing and service initiation providers access to customer accounts through the central API hub.	source
Commercial Bank of Dubai (AlTareq live bank)	Commercial Bank of Dubai reports that in December 2025 it became the first UAE bank to fully activate open finance in live use under AlTareq, operating on Nebras with third-party providers including Pay10 and Lean Technologies.	source

When money can leave the UAE

First Abu Dhabi Bank moved its UAE offices to a Monday to Friday working week with a Saturday and Sunday weekend from 3 January 2022, following UAE Government and CBUAE guidelines, in line with the federal government's Saturday and Sunday weekend. source
Islamic public holidays (Eid Al Fitr, Arafah Day, Eid Al Adha, Hijri New Year and the Prophet's birthday) are set by moon sighting, and under Cabinet Resolution No. 27 of 2024 a public holiday is not moved when it falls on a weekend or another holiday; National Day is 2 and 3 December. source
The bank guarantee an exchange business gives the CBUAE must be at least the higher of the category minimum and 5% of its average monthly inward and outward remittance value over six months, calculated as at 30 June and 31 December. source
Aani runs 24/7 but caps each transaction at AED 50,000, so transfers above that amount need another rail. source
The CBUAE buys and sells US dollars against dirhams automatically at 3.672 and 3.673, so the AED to USD leg of a funding cycle trades inside a narrow fixed band. source
The IMF classes the UAE regime as a conventional peg with the mid-point fixed at AED 3.6725 per US dollar, and the exchange system as free of restrictions on payments for current international transactions apart from notified security-related measures. source

Corridors from here

Frequently asked questions

Which licence do I need to send remittances from the UAE?

A CBUAE Exchange Business licence in Category I or II, or Category IV for remittances through digital channels only, or a Retail Payment Services licence in Category I or II, which covers cross-border fund transfer services. Limited liability exchange businesses need AED 25 million of paid-up capital.

How must remittance customer funds be held?

Exchange businesses deposit remittance customers' funds into designated remittance intermediate accounts at UAE banks daily, or by the end of banking hours on the next business day, and use them only to settle with foreign correspondents. Retail payment service providers that settle after 24 hours use a separate bank escrow account or an insurance policy or bank guarantee.

Can I use USDT or USDC for payments in the UAE?

Foreign payment tokens from registered foreign issuers can be used only to pay for virtual assets or virtual asset derivatives. AED payment tokens from licensed issuers, such as those issued by AED StableCoin L.L.C and Zand Trust, can be used for any lawful purpose.

How large can an Aani payment be?

Up to AED 50,000 per transaction, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with transfers processed in under 10 seconds.

Is there FX risk between the dirham and the US dollar?

The dirham is pegged at a mid-point of AED 3.6725 per US dollar, and the CBUAE buys dollars at 3.672 and sells them at 3.673 to hold the peg.

Which days can I fund from the UAE?

The UAE moved to a Saturday and Sunday weekend in January 2022, and banks such as First Abu Dhabi Bank work Monday to Friday. Islamic holidays follow moon sighting, so their exact dates are confirmed shortly beforehand, and holidays that fall on a weekend are not moved.

Sources

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