🇦🇪 Sending to United Arab Emirates¶
AE · ARE · +971 · GCC
IBAN required SWIFT BIC required
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Required information¶
For your end users
UAE: P2P payments are not permitted. The IBAN must be entered exactly. A 3-character UAE Central Bank Purpose of Payment code is mandatory.
Real-Time Alternative
Aani (Al Etihad Payments)
Last reviewed by GIB compliance on 2026-05-19. Reference material only.
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Currency
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Typical settlement
1-2 business days typical; longer for cross-border with FX or compliance review.
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SWIFT BIC
Required
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Local clearing
UAEFTS
Account format¶
How beneficiary account numbers are structured for United Arab Emirates. Failure to match this format is the single most common reason wires are rejected at the destination.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Format tier | IBAN required |
| Length | 23 alphanumeric (AE + 21) |
| Validation regex | ^AE[0-9]{2}[0-9]{3}[0-9]{16}$ |
| Example | AE070331234567890123456 |
IBAN Composition
| Component | Length | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Country Code | 2 | AE |
| Check Digits | 2 | 12 |
| Bank Code | 3 | 345 |
| Bank Account Number | 16 | 6789123456789123 |
Routing identifiers¶
Which routing codes the wire-creation API call must include for United Arab Emirates.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| SWIFT BIC | Required |
| None | Optional |
| Local clearing | UAEFTS |
Address format¶
How United Arab Emirates expects the beneficiary address to appear on the wire. Free-form variations frequently trigger compliance holds.
- Full Name
- Building/Villa Name or Number + Street Name
- Area/Community
- City/Emirate
- P.O. Box (if applicable)
- UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Postal code | Optional — this country has no postal code format |
Purpose of payment¶
Put the country's own code in the regulatory reporting (<RgltryRptg><Dtls>) of the ISO 20022 wire-creation request.
Requirement: Mandatory (confirmed)
GIB check: a missing or unexpected purpose is reported as a validation warning; the wire is not held.
Non-standard element
For United Arab Emirates, the purpose is placed in <RgltryRptg> (regulatory reporting), not the standard <Purp> element.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Code format | 3-character purpose code from the Central Bank of the UAE list |
| Source | ↗ CBUAE UAEFTS Technical Notes |
Available codes:
3-character codes from the Central Bank of the UAE Balance of Payments table. Categories: trade in goods/services, primary income, secondary income, capital account, financial account.
Remittance info¶
Extra content the regulator requires inside the free-text remittance field, beyond the purpose-of-payment code.
Payment purpose must be clearly identified.
Compliance triggers¶
Beneficiary tax-ID requirements and rules that activate at certain payment amounts.
| Trigger | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Residency restrictions | P2P payments are not permitted; IBAN must be entered exactly. |
Operational notes¶
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Currencies accepted | AED, USD |
| Typical settlement | 1-2 business days typical; longer for cross-border with FX or compliance review. |
| Market closures | Weekend is Saturday-Sunday since 2022-01-01 (UAE Cabinet Decision); banks closed Sat/Sun. |
| Banking holidays | ↗ Calendar |
Common rejection reasons¶
Documented patterns that cause this country's banks to return wires. Universal reasons (sanctions holds, missing BIC) aren't repeated here.
P2P (peer-to-peer) payments not permitted.
IBAN not entered exactly as registered.
Missing 3-character UAE Central Bank Purpose of Payment code.
Beneficiary name mismatch (no initials accepted).
Sanctions or compliance hold.
Validate before you send¶
Check identifiers before you submit. The IBAN check runs in your browser (format plus the ISO 13616 MOD-97 check digit). GIB's API checks the IBAN format for countries where an IBAN is required. The BIC lookup searches GIB's BIC directory and needs a dashboard login.
IBAN check
Format: ^AE[0-9]{2}[0-9]{3}[0-9]{16}$ · MOD-97 (ISO 13616) check digit verified locally.
BIC lookup
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References¶
First-party sources — central banks, FX regulators, ISO registries. Always re-verify against these before pushing volume to a new corridor.
Disclaimer
These country guides aggregate information from central banks, regulators, and industry-standard references. Global Innovations Bank reviews them on a rolling cadence and notes the verification date on each page. Payment-corridor rules change between releases, so we cannot guarantee continued accuracy.
Always verify against the primary sources linked in the References section before going live in a new corridor. Re-check applicable sanctions lists (OFAC, EU, UK, UN consolidated, and any state-level requirements) at the time of payment, since designations shift between our refreshes.
For fintech partners on GIB's sponsor-bank rails, these guides do not replace your BSA/AML, KYC, sanctions-screening, or transaction-monitoring obligations under your program agreement with GIB.
Nothing in this material constitutes legal, tax, or regulatory advice, and wire-acceptance decisions remain at the discretion of GIB Compliance and the destination bank.