# Which bank offer the best USD / AED exchange rate?



## dweber

I know the AED is pegged to the USD but obviously banks has to make money and they like to charge hefty hidden fees (wide spread).

Which bank in Dubai offer the best USD / AED exchange rate if you want to exchange between your own accounts?

If I want to exchange for instance 10,000 USD to Dirhams then which bank give me the most Dirhams?


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## Stevesolar

Hi,
Best to use an exchange house or dedicated forex company.
Banks tend to give worst rates.
Cheers
Steve


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## ExpatnKids

Banks will probably give you more or less the same rate across the board. Theres hardly any competition there, unless you are changing a very large amount. As a business, you can perhaps negotiate a better rate with your bank, provided you make frequent exchanges.
Money exchanges will probably give you a slightly better rate.


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## dweber

Could anyone mention a company with a good USD / AED exchange rate?


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## dweber

Btw since I don't see the rates offered by Dubai banks please give me an example of the rates to know how greedy those banks are!


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## ExpatnKids

Pegged rate is 3.67
Banks will probably buy at 3.655, and sell at 3.685
Money exchanges will probably buy at 3.66, and sell at 3.68. Not a huge difference between banks and money exchanges, but will matter if changing large amounts.
Theres Al ansari exchange, UAE exchange, plus many others all over Dubai. You can find a branch in most malls.


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## TallyHo

Dubai is possibly the best place to change USD into the local currency. As mentioned, the spread difference between the banks and the exchange places is minimal but when I first came here I came from the US and had USD to change, and my bank at the time (Lloyds) frankly told me to go to the nearest exchange house. So I went to UAE Exchange. Then went back to the bank and deposited the cash into the account.


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## Malbec

To give you an idea:
Exchange rates
http://www.nbad.com/en/Documents/xx.htm

I know that it is best to go to money changer like Al Ansari or UAE exchange, however sometimes going back and forth to the bank and waiting in queues might not be the most convenient option to get AED 50-100 more on exchanging US$10,000.

Also it has been said that these money changers have different rates depending on the location. I checked Al Ansari at Wafi but apparently ENBD next door had better FX rates. I was shocked.


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## RandomDude

Do it at the mall.

The exchange houses are all over, and banks branches are all over.

1. Shop around Exchange houses (Dubai Mall, Ground Floor)
2. See who gives the best rate
3. Head to your bank, which is in the same area of the exchange houses in Dubai Mall

Also, Mall of the emirates, Deira City Center, Festival, same case. Exchange are near banks.

So shop around, see best rate, then do the transaction.

Even if the savings are like 100AED, take this amound and give it to someone needy, or enjoy a movie....

Alternatlivey, give me the money, and I'll take care of the rest :bolt:


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## david.14

Hello all,

I recently joined HiFX hoping to save delightful amounts of Dirhams transferring money home to the UK. Unfortunately the process requires an AED to AED transfer to the UK, which my bank UNB and UAE Exchange can't do. Has anyone experienced this problem and knows a way of transferring AED to a UK AED account please?

Many thanks,

David


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## dweber

Exchange houses are not an option because I'm looking for an online solution so even if I'm out of Dubai I can exchange my dollars to dirhams to be able to settle my credit card balance for instance!

Any other idea / experience with other money exchange providers?

Noor bank's spread is pretty good. Only 0.5% worse than the actual spot Fx rate!
I was thinking about HiFX also. I don't really understand your problem david.14

I would use HiFX with my HSBC Expat (located in Jersey) account or with my UK Citibank account. I mean I would transfer USD from my HSBC Expat account to HiFX and I would receive the AED equivalent in Dubai on my HSBC Dubai account! It must work.

*Please post here the link for any Dubai based bank's exchange rates to be able to compare them!*


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## dweber

Malbec said:


> To give you an idea:
> Exchange rates
> http://www.nbad.com/en/Documents/xx.htm
> 
> I know that it is best to go to money changer like Al Ansari or UAE exchange, however sometimes going back and forth to the bank and waiting in queues might not be the most convenient option to get AED 50-100 more on exchanging US$10,000.
> 
> Also it has been said that these money changers have different rates depending on the location. I checked Al Ansari at Wafi but apparently ENBD next door had better FX rates. I was shocked.


Previously I was thinking about relocating to Singapore. How many days should you spend there each year in order to maintain your residence? For instance in Dubai it's enough if you come here once in every 180 days.


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## ExpatnKids

dweber said:


> Exchange houses are not an option because I'm looking for an online solution so even if I'm out of Dubai I can exchange my dollars to dirhams to be able to settle my credit card balance for instance!
> 
> Noor bank's spread is pretty good. Only 0.5% worse than the actual spot Fx rate!
> 
> *Please post here the link for any Dubai based bank's exchange rates to be able to compare them!*


You already know that the AED is pegged to USD. Banks across the UAE will provide you with a standard +/-0.005 deviation from money exchange shops. 
For personal banking, you will simply not get a better rate. Banks will not entertain it. However, for corporate banking, banks will negotiate better rates (which will be equal, or close to those of money exchanges) *only if you commit to exchanging very large amounts on a regular basis*. In other words, unless you are using your corporate account, and are exchanging 50k-100k twice or thrice a month, banks will not consider giving you a better rate.


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## Malbec

dweber said:


> Previously I was thinking about relocating to Singapore. How many days should you spend there each year in order to maintain your residence? For instance in Dubai it's enough if you come here once in every 180 days.


You need to spend more than 183 days in Singapore in order to be considered as tax resident. If you have your own business, it is better to stay in UAE. Singapore will give you poor rate and worse quality of life for the same salary IMO.


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## currently_indian

ExpatnKids said:


> Pegged rate is 3.67
> Banks will probably buy at 3.655, and sell at 3.685
> Money exchanges will probably buy at 3.66, and sell at 3.68. Not a huge difference between banks and money exchanges, but will matter if changing large amounts.
> Theres Al ansari exchange, UAE exchange, plus many others all over Dubai. You can find a branch in most malls.


Mashreq bank gives me special rate of 3.66 but I wonder if any of the exchanges out there offer more than 3.66 ? Wall Street gives 3.65 for smaller amounts.


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## JMAdams_UK

david.14 said:


> Hello all,
> 
> I recently joined HiFX hoping to save delightful amounts of Dirhams transferring money home to the UK. Unfortunately the process requires an AED to AED transfer to the UK, which my bank UNB and UAE Exchange can't do. Has anyone experienced this problem and knows a way of transferring AED to a UK AED account please?
> 
> Many thanks,
> 
> David


Dear David,

I have completed a similar process. HSBC are able to transfer AED from my UAE account to my currency provider's AED account with Barclays in the UK. This is treated as an international payment.

The transfer cost around AED 60 but the savings on the FX rate more than offset this..


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## atlanticist

JMAdams_UK said:


> Dear David,
> 
> I have completed a similar process. HSBC are able to transfer AED from my UAE account to my currency provider's AED account with Barclays in the UK. This is treated as an international payment.
> 
> The transfer cost around AED 60 but the savings on the FX rate more than offset this..


David - I did exactly what you did. Signed up with HiFX and all that. But I too encountered problems. 

For me, the easiest and cheapest solution is to withdraw cash from my AED current account and to take it to Al Fuad Exchange. They offer, by quite a margin, the smallest spread on sterling transactions. I am sending 30k + back to my UK current account and I get charged 50 AED this side, and a tenner the other side for the transaction.

I've yet to find any high street currency exchange with a better spread than Al Fuad.


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## GloballyRelaxed

atlanticist said:


> David - I did exactly what you did. Signed up with HiFX and all that. But I too encountered problems.
> 
> For me, the easiest and cheapest solution is to withdraw cash from my AED current account and to take it to Al Fuad Exchange. They offer, by quite a margin, the smallest spread on sterling transactions. I am sending 30k + back to my UK current account and I get charged 50 AED this side, and a tenner the other side for the transaction.
> 
> I've yet to find any high street currency exchange with a better spread than Al Fuad.


Can I ask what spread they were giving you, if you can remember that is.


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## atlanticist

GloballyRelaxed said:


> Can I ask what spread they were giving you, if you can remember that is.


Max spread for Al Fuad is usually 10-11 fils


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## twowheelsgood

JMAdams_UK said:


> Dear David, I have completed a similar process. HSBC are able to transfer AED from my UAE account to my currency provider's AED account with Barclays in the UK. This is treated as an international payment. The transfer cost around AED 60 but the savings on the FX rate more than offset this..


You are the first person to ever claim that HSBC were good in exchange rates. They have in my experience been universally pants.


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## JMAdams_UK

twowheelsgood said:


> You are the first person to ever claim that HSBC were good in exchange rates. They have in my experience been universally pants.


Sorry, to be clear- I was transferring AED to my currency provider's AED bank account in the UK. My currency provider in this case was TOR FX. They translated the AED into GBP at a margin of around 0.8 percent, which was not bad given the amount was relatively low. 

I agree that the rates charged by banks are generally higher, although this can sometimes be more convenient for smaller amounts. HSBC would have charged me about 2.2 percent if I had used them instead of TOR FX, so the saving in my case was worth the bank transfer fee and added hassle.


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