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For access to your online account please contact your personal account manager, alternatively email team@regencyfx.com.
When you need to send money to the UAE from the UK, you’d be forgiven for thinking it is more complex than with other countries. But, at Regency FX we help you achieve the most from the currency you are converting so you can transfer money from the UAE to the UK with minimal fuss and drama.
As an independent currency specialist, we have lower overheads than the banks enabling us to pass the savings to on you. And we specialise in the transfer of money from the UAE to the UK.
We can also discuss and agree on the right time to exchange your money, rather than using a bank or online-only system and having to accept the rate they give you on the day, which makes it more cost-effective to send money to Dubai from the UK and make your transfer from the UAE to the UK than you may think.
What’s more, all money transfers are conducted through safeguarded client accounts.
Let us explain what a ‘safeguarded’ account is and how it benefits our clients. Regency FX keeps your funds in a separate account which blocks access by third parties and keeps your money safe.
Clear and helpful advice: bank or money transfer specialist? We tell you what you need to know when you transfer money from the UAE to the UK so you can make an informed decision.
How long does it take?: it may be quicker than you imagine to send money to the UAE from the UK.
Tax: find out what the tax implications are when you transfer money from the UAE to the UK.
Limits: how much can you transfer when you send money to Dubai from the UK? Is there a maximum?
Costs: what is the cost implication to send money to the UAE from the UK?
And that’s not all, read on as we go through the everything you need to know to find the best place to transfer money from the UAE to the UK.
There are a few ways in which you can transfer money from the UAE to UK; a local bank, a UK bank or a money transfer specialist, the costs vary for each different way.
As there are around 240,000 brits living in the UAE it is a safe path to transfer money to a UK bank!
The four simple steps on the road to transferring money from the UAE to the UK involve; a customer id check, securing the exchange rate, paying for the money transfer and finally, the money is converted!
Before you can send money from the UAE to the UK, you need to be identified.
There is a legal obligation to verify customers sending money internationally due to global anti-money laundering regulations.
The check only applies to new customers.
Once your set-up, you can skip this step if you are sending money back to the UK on a regular basis.
For British expats, it is usually straightforward. If you still have an address in the UK, it’s even quicker.
Once you are set up, a bank or money transfer company will quote you their current exchange rate.
When moving money back to the UK, you are selling Dirhams and buying Pounds.
This is sometimes written as AED/GBP.
The exchange rate moves throughout the day. It’s up to you whether you go ahead at the quote given.
If you are happy to proceed, the bank or money transfer company will lock-in your rate at that time.
Shortly after, you will receive an email confirming all the details of your transaction.
Banks will require your Dirhams upfront before they will agree an exchange rate.
However, a money transfer company will allow you to lock-in a rate before you send your Dirhams in.
This might be an advantage if you see a favourable rate and want to lock it in before it moves.
On the confirmation transaction, you will be given the bank details of where to send your Dirhams.
This will be to a safeguarded Dirham-denominated client account.
Once your Dirhams are with your bank or money transfer company, they will convert them into Pounds Sterling at the rate agreed, then send the Pounds to the UK bank account you request.
That's it.
Depending on which UK bank you are using it can vary but normally it takes 2-4 working days for the money to go across.
Dubai itself has zero income tax, a lot of Brits work and live in the UAE, especially Dubai.
If you are working full-time in Dubai the money you earn is tax-free, due to this, when you send your money to the UK you owe HMRC nothing on those earnings!
When you look at paying tax it is more about the country you are a tax resident at the time of those specific earnings.
The tax paying gets assessed on a yearly basis; for example, if someone were to go to Dubai for just 4 months on a contract but they spend the rest of that year in the UK they would still be a UK tax resident as they spent most of that year in the UK.
It would be a good idea to get some tax advice on a “split-year” if you spend a lot of time in both countries.
To put it shortly, no.
There is a cash limit of AED 100,000 that is for people that come and go however, there are no exchange controls in the UAE or UK when it comes to transferring money electronically, meaning bank to bank transfers.
As well as residents, non-residents are also permitted to move money freely between Dubai and the UK.
The banks sometimes set their own limits for online transfers and that differs depending on what bank you use. The daily limit would be a problem if you have the intentions to make large money transfers.
It can cost you more money and time as you would need to make more transfers to move a large amount of money; however, when you use a money transfer company, they do not normally have daily limits therefore, it might be the better opinion when looking at larger money transfers.
When transferring money from Dubai to UK there are two charges:
I will be using Emirates NBD and HSBC as they are the two major banks that are used by British expats in Dubai.
You need to keep in mind that every money transfer company have their own rates and fees and they differ from company to company.
When you are comparing costs, you need to ensure that you do it at around the same time as they change every few seconds, so you want the most accurate price.
The simple way to compare the costs is to find out the total amount of Pounds that you will get for your Dirhams.
It is best to check that a money transfer company is regulated by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) before you use them as authorised companies are required to keep client’s money in a separate, safeguarded bank account to ensure its protection.
Your money will not be mixed with company funds and will only be used just for transfers. You can find out if a company is regulated by the FCA by looking on the FCA register.
Many customers search online for exchange rates, there are many companies that offer ‘live rates’ like XE and Daily FX however, the exchange rates that you see online are not available for customers.
In small print on the website, it will say something like “for information purposes only” or “consumers cannot access these rates”.
This is something called ‘interbank exchange rates’ these are used by banks to exchange money with themselves, even large firms cannot gain access to these rates.
To ensure you get an exchange rate you can use you need to request a quote from a provider.
Exchange rates are moving all the time, it is not easy for customers to pick the best time to exchange their Dirhams into Pounds, even tiny moves can cause a huge difference in the amount of Pound Sterling you will receive.
For example, a 1% move in the AED to GBP rate on an AED 500,000 transfer is a difference of AED 5,000, around £500. Moves of this size are regularly on a daily occurrence and you might not be watching the rates when they change, money transfer specialists can work alongside you to get you the best exchange rate possible.
If you are looking for a certain rate you could get an alert when that rate is available with a money transfer specialist, the better the rate the more money you will have in your back pocket!
It is good to keep in mind that not all money transfer companies offer this first-class service.
Usually, the larger the transfer the more the customer want someone to speak to, to make them feel at ease!
Regency FX are a UK based independent currency broker, specialising in high volume transfers.
We pride ourselves on our premium level of customer service, you will be allocated your own personal account manager whom you will have direct access to.
All funds transferred through Regency FX are made using client segregated accounts in accordance with the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) guidelines.
The important thing is the comparison, online rates shown on Google and other search engines are not always accurate for the consumer.
They can often refer to the rates that banks exchange at rather than what is available to you, the customer.
Even if you are just looking for property at this stage it is worth getting in touch to discuss your options.
We can monitor the market on your behalf enabling you to budget more effectively.
As a first-class currency transfer service, here at Regency FX we endeavour to get the best available rate regardless of how much you are transacting.
Get a quote and see how we stack up.
