# How to pay bills/cards/loans back in the UK?



## Greeky01 (Aug 14, 2015)

Looking for some info please - how does everyone pay their UK direct debits from Dubai to the UK?

I was thinking of keeping my UK account open and transferring money from Dubai to my English account but someone has advised me that this is very expensive..

Any solutions?


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## LesFroggitts (Dec 30, 2013)

Direct bank to bank = Expensive
Through online currency exchanges = Cheaper
Through Western Union agents = Cheaper than banks, but maybe not as secure.

Not that I pay any bills/loans/debts in the UK as I didn't bring any with me when moving out to the Middle East - a nice clean break, also allowing for a clean departure from the UK tax system.


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

Your initial thought is pretty much the only way to do it, and is less expensive than paying UK GBP direct debits from a Dubai bank account.

Just try to leave as much money as you can in your UK account to cover a couple of months worth of payments, and try to transfer from Dubai once every 3 months or so to limit the transfer fees.


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## Greeky01 (Aug 14, 2015)

Thanks for info - I have been told PayPal is good to use?


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## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

Paypal is expensive and you can't use it to transfer money, only pay and receive across two parties.


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## Sootydaz (Dec 29, 2014)

I send money quarterly into my uk bank accounts for mortgages and insurances etc... My bank ADCB charge about 100 dhs for the privilege and my uk bank don't charge anything, but I make a point of tracking the interbank exchange rate and try to pick the best day to send the money otherwise it can be an expensive hobby. The rates are not the best but it's secure and I know it's going to make it in 2 days. Just another cost of living in the sun&#55357;&#56832;


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## Greeky01 (Aug 14, 2015)

Sootydaz said:


> I send money quarterly into my uk bank accounts for mortgages and insurances etc... My bank ADCB charge about 100 dhs for the privilege and my uk bank don't charge anything, but I make a point of tracking the interbank exchange rate and try to pick the best day to send the money otherwise it can be an expensive hobby. The rates are not the best but it's secure and I know it's going to make it in 2 days. Just another cost of living in the sun&#55357;&#56832;


So I can open a dubai bank account and transfer it quarterly to my RBS UK bank account for a small fee ?


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## Felixtoo2 (Jan 16, 2009)

If you are seriously thinking of coming to Dubai on 5000dhs a month sending money home will be the least of you problems, but I send money back to my UK account through Al Rostamani exchange as they give me a very competitive rate.


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## LesFroggitts (Dec 30, 2013)

Greeky01 said:


> So I can open a dubai bank account and transfer it quarterly to my RBS UK bank account for a small fee ?


Once you have your residency in place you can open up a 'full' bank account here (prior to residency most banks would only allow a savings account but that 'may' allow international transfers). Fees can vary from bank to bank and could depend upon the amount being transferred - then you have to take into account the exchange rate variability and potential recipient bank charges.


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