UAE: No More Free Remittances? Emirates NBD Says 6 Countries Exempted From New Rule

Sending money from the UAE to India, Pakistan, the Philippines, and three other countries via Emirates NBD DirectRemit service would remain free of charge, the major bank confirmed to Khaleej Times on Saturday.

This comes following an email sent by Emirates NBD to its clients on Friday informing them that starting September 1, 2025, customers will be charged Dh26.25 (inclusive of VAT) for international transfers made via the app or online banking, including those done through DirectRemit.

In a statement sent to Khaleej Times, the bank spokesperson noted,“Emirates NBD remains committed to offering seamless and cost-effective banking solutions for our valued customers. As part of this commitment, Emirates NBD DirectRemit Transfers to India, Pakistan, Egypt, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and the UK will continue to be offered free of charge to all Emirates NBD customers.”

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This means nothing will change as there will be no fees for sending money to these six countries with a minimum transfer of Dh100 through the app via DirectRemit services.

The spokesperson continued,“Emirates NBD is expanding its DirectRemit offerings to over 30 new countries, enabling customers to benefit from near real-time transfers, as well as customers will no longer be charged any correspondent bank fees and will just be charged a nominal transfer fee of up to Dh26.25 (inclusive of VAT).

“All other international transfers will also incur a nominal fee of up to Dh26.25. These charges will be effective from September 1, 2025,” the Emirates NBD spokesperson confirmed, adding,“Emirates NBD Private Banking, Priority Banking, and Personal Banking Beyond customers will continue to enjoy free DirectRemit and International Transfers as usual.”

DirectRemit is a digital money transfer service that allows Emirates NBD customers to make remittances to India, the Philippines, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Egypt, and UK in less than 60 seconds.

Meanwhile, there are apps like Botim, Careem Pay, e& money, and Taptap Send that offer free to minimal fees when sending money from the UAE to other countries.

Some require no registration fees, no minimum balance, and no bank account required. Customers only need an active UAE mobile number, a debit or credit card, and/ or an active UAE bank account with online banking access.

The apps can also be used not only to send money globally and locally but also to pay bills and merchants, as well as to send money directly to a mobile wallet.

The UAE is the third-largest sender of remittances in the world, after the US and Saudi Arabia. Last year, Indian expats based in the UAE sent $21.6 billion to India, equivalent to 19.2 per cent of the total dollar inflows, ranking the UAE as the second-largest source of global remittance after the US.

In 2024, Filipino workers in the UAE, meanwhile, sent approximately $1.52 billion in cash remittances to the Philippines, according to Statista.

The total remittances sent by overseas Filipinos to the Philippines surged to an all-time high of $38.34 billion in 2024, with top sources coming from the US, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and the UAE, according to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Philippine Central Bank).

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