Sending money from the UAE to India: the payments stack
Sending AED 735 from the UAE to India cost 3.72% of the amount on average in Q3 2025, across 24 services in the World Bank's Remittance Prices Worldwide survey. Payouts in India typically run over UPI (Unified Payments Interface), IMPS (Immediate Payment Service); between now and the end of 2027 there are 9 weekdays when banks in the UAE are closed but India keeps paying out, so the payout balance has to be funded before them.
| Average cost to send | 3.72% of AED 735 (Q3 2025, World Bank RPW) source |
| Money transfer operators | 2.73% across 20 services |
| Banks | 8.66% across 4 services |
| Collect in UAE | Aani, UAEFTS, IPI (Immediate Payment Instruction), UAEDDS (UAE Direct Debit System) |
| Pay out in India | UPI (Unified Payments Interface), IMPS (Immediate Payment Service), NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer), RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) |
What it costs to send AED 735
The World Bank surveyed 24 services sending from the UAE to India from 15 August 2025 to 22 August 2025. The average total cost, fees plus the FX margin, was 3.72% of the amount sent; money transfer operators averaged 2.73% and banks 8.66%. source
Bank and operator averages are worked out from the survey's provider types.
The send side: 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
Licences, sponsor banks, collections, ramps and KYC providers: sending from the UAE.
The payout side: India
| Payout partner | What it does in India | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Nium · our guide | Pays INR to all banks in India, choosing IMPS (24x7, up to INR 500,000), RTGS (18:00 IST cut-off) or NEFT in that order, plus UPI proxy and Visa Direct; trade transactions are capped at INR 1.5 million. | source |
| Thunes · our guide | Offers bank account payouts across India with real-time processing for C2C, B2C and C2B flows, B2B payments on a T+1 basis, and cash pickup. | source |
| dLocal · our guide | Supports payouts in India by bank transfer (IFSC) and by UPI to a virtual payment address, in INR or USD, for B2B, B2C and P2P flows. | source |
| TerraPay · our guide | Provides local-currency payouts in India through its global payments network, and in February 2026 partnered with Raenest to pay freelancers in India and the Philippines. | source |
| Razorpay | Holds RBI's Payment Aggregator Cross Border (PA-CB) licence, which lets it collect inward and process outward cross-border payments for Indian merchants such as exporters and SaaS firms; PA-CB covers merchant transactions, not payouts to individuals. | source |
| Cashfree Payments | Received RBI's PA-CB licence and lets Indian businesses collect from abroad in 140+ currencies by card and through local USD, EUR, CAD and GBP accounts; PA-CB covers merchant collections, not payouts to individuals. | source |
Licensing, local banks, stablecoin ramps, FX and KYC in India: launching payments in India.
Payout rails in India
| Rail | Operator | What matters for payouts | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPI (Unified Payments Interface) | National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) | Available round the clock; carried 85.5% of India's payment volume in July to December 2025. Payouts go to a virtual payment address linked to a bank account. | source |
| IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) | National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) | Instant transfers 24x7, including holidays, up to Rs 5 lakh per transaction on all channels except SMS and IVR. | source |
| NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer) | Reserve Bank of India | Runs 24x7 on every day of the year, settling in half-hourly batches; RBI sets no minimum or maximum amount, though member banks may set their own limits. RTGS, the high-value system, has a Rs 2 lakh minimum and no upper limit. | source |
| RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) | Reserve Bank of India | Has run 24x7 since 00:30 on 14 December 2020, about a year after NEFT moved to round-the-clock operation. | source |
Holiday gaps to plan for, to December 2027
Weekdays when one side of the corridor is closed. On the 9 dates when the UAE is closed and India is open, the payout balance has to already hold enough to cover them. On the 11 dates when India is closed, instant rails may still pay out.
| Date | UAE | India | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 24 Nov 2026 | Open | Guru Nanak's Birthday | India banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Wed 2 Dec 2026 | National Day (Eid Al Etihad) | Open | Prefund India the day before: no funding from the UAE, payouts continue |
| Thu 3 Dec 2026 | National Day (second day) | Open | Prefund India the day before: no funding from the UAE, payouts continue |
| Fri 25 Dec 2026 | Open | Christmas Day | India banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Fri 1 Jan 2027 | New Year's Day | Open | Prefund India the day before: no funding from the UAE, payouts continue |
| Tue 26 Jan 2027 | Open | Republic Day | India banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Tue 9 Mar 2027 | Eid Al Fitr (Ramadan 30 or Eid day 1) | Open | Prefund India the day before: no funding from the UAE, payouts continue |
| Wed 10 Mar 2027 | Eid Al Fitr | Id-ul-Fitr | Both closed |
| Thu 11 Mar 2027 | Eid Al Fitr | Open | Prefund India the day before: no funding from the UAE, payouts continue |
| Fri 12 Mar 2027 | Eid Al Fitr (only if Ramadan lasts 30 days) | Open | Prefund India the day before: no funding from the UAE, payouts continue |
| Tue 23 Mar 2027 | Open | Holi | India banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Fri 26 Mar 2027 | Open | Good Friday | India banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Thu 15 Apr 2027 | Open | Ram Navami | India banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 19 Apr 2027 | Open | Mahavir Jayanti | India banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 17 May 2027 | Eid Al Adha (day 2) | Id-ul-Zuha (Bakrid) | Both closed |
| Tue 18 May 2027 | Eid Al Adha (day 3) | Open | Prefund India the day before: no funding from the UAE, payouts continue |
| Thu 20 May 2027 | Open | Buddha Purnima | India banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Wed 16 Jun 2027 | Open | Muharram | India banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Wed 25 Aug 2027 | Open | Janmashtami (Vaishnav) | India banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Fri 29 Oct 2027 | Open | Diwali (Deepavali) | India banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Thu 2 Dec 2027 | National Day (Eid Al Etihad) | Open | Prefund India the day before: no funding from the UAE, payouts continue |
| Fri 3 Dec 2027 | National Day (second day) | Open | Prefund India the day before: no funding from the UAE, payouts continue |
Full calendars: United Arab Emirates and India. Size the buffer with the corridor runway calculator.
Funding the corridor
- 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
- RBI's onshore FCY/INR market hours are 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. IST; dealing outside them depends on an AD Category-I bank choosing to quote, so rupees for night, weekend and holiday payouts have to be bought in advance unless a bank quotes outside those hours. source
- RDA Vostro accounts run on a credit basis with no overdrafts, and banks credit rupees only after the foreign currency reaches their nostro account. Under the Speed Remittance Procedure exchange houses ordinarily prefund through the bank's nostro account before sending payment instructions, and banks set their own collateral policy; under DDA and non-DDA arrangements banks may take collateral of 7 days' projected drawings from exchange houses with under three years of operation. source
- MTSS Overseas Principals keep collateral with a designated Indian bank equal to 3 days' average drawings or US$50,000, whichever is higher; the first US$50,000 is a foreign currency deposit and the rest can be a bank guarantee, reviewed quarterly. source
Running the corridor
Polynopsis shows every balance on both sides of this corridor in one live position: the collection accounts in UAE, the payout partners and banks in India and any stablecoin in between. It warns before the India balance runs dry, holidays included. See how it works.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to send money from the UAE to India?
The World Bank's survey put the average total cost of sending AED 735 at 3.72% in Q3 2025, across 24 services. Money transfer operators averaged 2.73%.
Which rails pay out in India?
Local payouts run over UPI (Unified Payments Interface), IMPS (Immediate Payment Service), NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer), RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement).
When do I need to prefund India payouts ahead of holidays?
Between now and December 2027 there are 9 weekdays when the UAE is closed and India is open, the first on Wed 2 Dec 2026. The payout balance has to cover those days before they start.
Related corridors
Sources
- World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide dataset · World Bank
- Cabinet Resolution No. (27) of 2024 Concerning the Public Holidays in the State · UAE Legislation
- Public holidays · The Official Portal of the UAE Government
- Holidays (holiday matrix under the NI Act) · Reserve Bank of India
- RBI announces date for launching of RTGS 24x7 · Reserve Bank of India
Know where all your money is.
Polynopsis gives cross-border payment teams one live position across every bank, payout partner, exchange and wallet, including money in flight, and warns before a corridor runs dry.