# Transfer money from Dubai to USA



## arseweb (Jul 7, 2015)

Hi, I am about to move to Dubai from the U.S. I have been searching for threads about transferring money from UAE to U.S. but the threads seem to be pretty old. Just wondering if anyone is using the Citi Global Transfer to do the money transfer? It says there is no any transfer fee, so I wonder how the exchange rate is? 

If it is good, I plan to open a Citi account before I leave the U.S. Any insights on money transfer appreciated!! Thanks.


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

arseweb said:


> Hi, I am about to move to Dubai from the U.S. I have been searching for threads about transferring money from UAE to U.S. but the threads seem to be pretty old. Just wondering if anyone is using the Citi Global Transfer to do the money transfer? It says there is no any transfer fee, so I wonder how the exchange rate is?
> 
> If it is good, I plan to open a Citi account before I leave the U.S. Any insights on money transfer appreciated!! Thanks.


Hi,
The US dollar is pegged to the UAE dirham at a fixed rate of 3.68.
You need to check if the bank is using this rate with no transfer fees - or whether they are changing the rate to earn a margin.
They need to earn money from you - one way or another.
Cheers
Steve


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## jgw99 (May 26, 2014)

arseweb said:


> Hi, I am about to move to Dubai from the U.S. I have been searching for threads about transferring money from UAE to U.S. but the threads seem to be pretty old. Just wondering if anyone is using the Citi Global Transfer to do the money transfer? It says there is no any transfer fee, so I wonder how the exchange rate is?
> 
> If it is good, I plan to open a Citi account before I leave the U.S. Any insights on money transfer appreciated!! Thanks.


As Stevesolar mentioned, ask Citi for the fees as there would be since banks need to make money. I use Chase as the recipient bank and a local bank for our transfers. There are fees involved $15 fixed from Chase and I believe roughly the same amount from the local bank but the exchange rate is fair. I'm assuming Citi works the same way(fixed incoming wire fee). I know others who get levied higher amounts. You can always space out the transfers to save on fees if needed. I've taken this approach and only transferred once (been here 10 months). Plan to look into other methods (money exchange merchants, maybe western union, etc) for the next transfer.


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## iggles (Jan 4, 2015)

arseweb - literally what sort of name is that.

SHAME!!


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

I don't think Abdul Rahman Seweb can do much about his name...


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## Simey (Dec 4, 2012)

arseweb said:


> Hi, I am about to move to Dubai from the U.S. I have been searching for threads about transferring money from UAE to U.S. but the threads seem to be pretty old. Just wondering if anyone is using the Citi Global Transfer to do the money transfer? It says there is no any transfer fee, so I wonder how the exchange rate is?
> 
> If it is good, I plan to open a Citi account before I leave the U.S. Any insights on money transfer appreciated!! Thanks.


First things first, you should be aware that British English is prevalent here. Did you really mean it when you picked that user name? 

I personally would not pick Citi. Their retail banking doesn't have a good reputation here. You don't need to have the same bank brand in the UAE as you use in the US. All banks are independently regulated by the country in which they operate anyway, and you will find that even if it is purportedly the same bank, your UAE experience will be quite different from your US one.

Most any bank will easily be able to wire money to the US. Just don't pick an Iranian bank. 

I use ADCB and it has been pretty easy for me. You register the payee online and then once they have checked the details (typically a few minutes), you can at any time wire money to the payees you have selected from their online portal or phone app. They have even been cooperative with US banks that often don't have SWIFT codes. (I.e. they will wire just using the US routing number, even though it perplexes them a bit). Other banks will be similar to this I expect. 

Pick a US bank to receive your money that has a good online operation. They vary quite a bit and soon you will find yourself thousands of miles away, making it difficult to interact with your bank. SunTrust is an example of a good one.


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## iggles (Jan 4, 2015)

Gavtek said:


> I don't think Abdul Rahman Seweb can do much about his name...


Where is Stevesolar when you need him. This is an outrage! 

I transfer my money via ADCB or ACDC whatever they are called (my bank here) direct to my UK bank. Look I don't know if i get the best rates, but I am happier/more comfortable about not using a 3rd party.

I saw a funny meme of facebook for a girl called Megan Finger, with the new email address... [email protected] 

haha. Clearly, i am the immature one of the forum


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## helloworld2013 (Nov 22, 2013)

iggles said:


> Where is Stevesolar when you need him. This is an outrage!
> 
> I transfer my money via ADCB or ACDC whatever they are called (my bank here) direct to my UK bank. Look I don't know if i get the best rates, but I am happier/more comfortable about not using a 3rd party.
> 
> ...


I'll/we'll probably be doing the same when I/we land in Abu Dhabi. Banking with ADCB - needing to transfer funds to a UK bank on semi-regular occasions.

How long does this type of transfer take? 1 day? 3 days?

Thanks for any insights,

hw2013


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## iggles (Jan 4, 2015)

helloworld2013 said:


> I'll/we'll probably be doing the same when I/we land in Abu Dhabi. Banking with ADCB - needing to transfer funds to a UK bank on semi-regular occasions.
> 
> How long does this type of transfer take? 1 day? 3 days?
> 
> ...


a day, i am not sure, i usually check a week later so I can't give you that information. Also i think your bank account matters as well. 

I use my UAE card to pay for everything, and then i build up a saving and when it reaches around AED40-50k i send on bulk to my UK card.

I tried sending a monthly allotment back of around 10k- 15k a month back, but I always ended up running short with a week left or missing bill payments, and therefore i was using my UK card to take funds out.


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## helloworld2013 (Nov 22, 2013)

iggles said:


> a day, i am not sure, i usually check a week later so I can't give you that information. Also i think your bank account matters as well.
> 
> I use my UAE card to pay for everything, and then i build up a saving and when it reaches around AED40-50k i send on bulk to my UK card.
> 
> I tried sending a monthly allotment back of around 10k- 15k a month back, but I always ended up running short with a week left or missing bill payments, and therefore i was using my UK card to take funds out.


Thanks iggles!

Are any banks particularly better than others? Or are they all as bad as each other?

I think we'll be going with ADCB - as I think this is the one my wife's employer recommends (or initially sets up for her....and me..I think...?). How long does the process of setting up a bank account take? (obviously, once all the necessary arrival procedures (medical, employment visa, residency etc) have been sorted). 

Cheers,

hw2013


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## iggles (Jan 4, 2015)

helloworld2013 said:


> Thanks iggles!
> 
> Are any banks particularly better than others? Or are they all as bad as each other?
> 
> ...


I think its dependent on your salary, now how quickly it progressed. 

but for me days. My problem with ADCB is i had my salary cheque in my wallet for about 2 weeks because I couldn't find a bank to deposit it to. Also they pushed and pushed for a credit card (still do). I didn't like that after I emailed/rung saying i don't want one.


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## imac (Oct 14, 2012)

helloworld2013 said:


> ...Are any banks particularly better than others? Or are they all as bad as each other?


they are all equally horrible... but stick to the majors and the pain you feel when having to deal with a bank will be pretty consistent...



helloworld2013 said:


> ...How long does the process of setting up a bank account take? (obviously, once all the necessary arrival procedures (medical, employment visa, residency etc) have been sorted)...


one trip and an hour or so... its not overtly complicated, call them ahead of time, preferably take an appointment and ask them what to bring... from memory, it would be passport with visa in it, and emirates id... 

they will want to know where to send your debit card and check book which comes by courier in a couple of days after you set it up... and give them a working cell phone number where they can send you sms for account transactions...


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## iggles (Jan 4, 2015)

imac said:


> they are all equally horrible... but stick to the majors and the pain you feel when having to deal with a bank will be pretty consistent...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Some companies (mine) the bank rep came to you. So i signed some documents, gave copies of my ID & Passport then it was complete. Gonna say this again, i did not like how thye pushed for a credit card.


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## imac (Oct 14, 2012)

iggles said:


> ...Gonna say this again, i did not like how thye pushed for a credit card.


wait until your cell number starts making the rounds... soon you are going to get sms's up the hoohaa with "deals"... 

for me every friday morning at 7:30 like clock work, figaro's pizza spams me with 6 messages all saying the same thing about some weekend special... when you are just beginning to fall into a deep rem sleep... they probably have my number duplicated in their data base...

and here is the kicker... i have never ordered from figaro's pizza before...


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## QOFE (Apr 28, 2013)

I haven't tried this yet but it looks worth trying.

https://transferwise.com/


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

I just checked the last time I transferred a large lump sum in USD from my Emirates NBD current account to my Lloyd's account in Isle Of Man, not using any currency exchange houses or anything like that, just a regular transfer through online banking.

AED to USD exchange rate: 3.685
Total fees incurred by both banks: $33 (so about AED 120).

That's not too bad all considered is it?


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## alassaf123 (Jun 5, 2015)

Potentially dumb question--no US tax on repatriating money for individuals, right?


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## Navaron (Oct 13, 2014)

helloworld2013 said:


> I'll/we'll probably be doing the same when I/we land in Abu Dhabi. Banking with ADCB - needing to transfer funds to a UK bank on semi-regular occasions.
> 
> How long does this type of transfer take? 1 day? 3 days?
> 
> ...


I used EmiratesNBD with the basic account and ive never had a problem. transfer takes two days..... and charge around 100AED per transfer. Works well for me


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## whimaway (Jul 12, 2015)

alassaf123 said:


> Potentially dumb question--no US tax on repatriating money for individuals, right?


Nope, just bank fees and exchange rates.

Unles you are talking about yearly taxes.


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## alassaf123 (Jun 5, 2015)

whimaway said:


> Nope, just bank fees and exchange rates.
> 
> Unles you are talking about yearly taxes.


Thanks! Nope, i meant repatriation taxes (I've heard some asian countries have that which would be quite unpleasant. Hopefully with citibank global transfer there wont be fees, just exchange rates to deal with :juggle:


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## sm105 (Jan 9, 2014)

I transfer money every month from EmiratesNBD to my US bank account. It is a very straightforward process - you set up the international account on the website with the various codes and you can then do the international transfer from the web, phone, mobile app, etc...

Cost of this will be US$17 equivalent in Dirhams for the correspondent bank charges and whatever charges your US bank levies for incoming wire transfers. NBD's exchange rate is 3.685 which is not great, but close enough to best rate that the convenience factor cannot be beaten (for me at least).

I've used various other services at different times, but at the end of the day this has been the easiest and most cost effective for regular transfers between $3k-20k. Below or above those amounts you can probably find something more cost effective.


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## Dondi (Apr 21, 2018)

I will re-echo a previous question regarding repatriating money back to the US and the tax implications as I will be moving to Dubai in about a month or so and will still have active bills to pay back home in the US... I believe there is now a VAT tax in UAE? Yes? Are there any tax considerations and/or penalties I need to know about if I need to transfer money back to the US in a pinch?


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