Job Discussion Forums

[ludhilltoysoldier]

Hi!

I'm looking at the Western Union and UAE Exchange websites in an attempt to figure out the best (safe, low cost) way of sending money back to Spain There appear to be several different options offered by UAE Exchange, but they don't specify costs. Can anyone give an opinion on the best method? Also, has anyone used Commercial Bank International? Thanks

[Sheikh N Bake]

It all depends on (a) whether this is a one-time transfer or if you are talking about recurring transactions, and (b) how fast and convenient you need it to be. Western Union is very expensive unless, in a one-time-only transaction, you are transferring a large amount. The last time I worked in the UAE I had excellent, user-friendly, online international money transfer services with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi. I'm sure some others are just as good.

[ludhilltoysoldier]

Hi SNB, I'll be doing a monthly transfer, so I need to try and keep costs to a minimum. Could you give me an idea of what to expect in bank charges from the UAE end, when doing a transfer? I read on another post 30 dirhams a time. Would that be about average? The impression I got from other posts on this topic was that UAE Exchange would be cheaper than bank transfers. Do you disagree?

Thanks!

[veiledsentiments]

If you are teaching there on a contract, your salary is direct deposited into your bank account (as has been done since the 1990s). With the internet, you can transfer the money to any account you have anywhere in the world.

As far as charges, the best bet is to check this out when you get there. It may cost you slightly more to do it yourself directly from your own bank, but... dragging a wad of cash every month down to some exchange joint to save a couple dirhams also opens you up to the possibilities of it being snatched. (not common, but has happened) Personally I would rather pay the slightly higher price to avoid having to trek to the bank... wait about... and trek to an exchange... wait about. Time is money.

There have been a couple longish threads about this in the last few months. Try a search using various terms to see if you can get them up.

VS

[helenl]

I used to do a monthly transfer with Emirates Bank for 30AED each - my bank in Canada would take another 10$. For me the convenience of being able to do that online was worth it.

[Middle East Beast]

Dear VS (or anyone else with a definitive answer),

Will employers in the UAE direct deposit your monthly salary into your foreign (UK, US, Spain, whatever) bank account, or must you open an account in the UAE?

[veiledsentiments]

The only employer that I had who would do that was AUC and that was because they had a NYC office. I haven't heard of this and I suspect not, but you just never know these days. Helen?

VS

[Middle East Beast]

So HCT will not?

You really don't need an office in a country to deposit funds there. Of all the terrible traits that define STA, they deposited my salary in my US account every month that I worked for them in the KSA. It was an outstanding arrangement.

I don't need an account in the host country for my own purposes. For cash I simply use the ATM system.

It was great to go online and see that monthly deposit automatically fed to my home account. Simplifies everything. No worries.

[ludhilltoysoldier]

Thanks for the info!

[helenl]

The only employers I know of that transfer directly to a foreign bank are those companies that have head/home offices in that particular country - i.e. A US based company operating in UAE might do that for their US employees. None of the educational institutions do it to my knowledge.

Maybe if you open a Citibank account it would be more economical to do transfers to a Citi account in the US? HSBC will do 1 free transfer a month for their status/prestige customers but the bank on the other end (even if it is HSBC there) will take some kind of fee - and you have to check up on HSBC as they have a bad rep for "forgetting" your status/prestige designation and taking the transfer fees on UAE end as well.

[hurricane]

National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) has mall branches (Abu Dhabi Mall and Marina Mall) which are open in the evenings. Cashing a personal check against your account and making the short trip to an exchange in either mall is easy, particularly if you combine it with some evening shopping/a trip to the movies/a night on the town. The exchange sends the money directly to your overseas account, thereby alleviated a float (the few days that the banks will spend playing around with your money while it is in transit), a higher cost of doing business, and the possibility of an intermediary bank fee (several people have mentioned some kind of �middle man� fee from another bank).

[veiledsentiments]

[ItsJustMe]

[helenl]

I had to pay the going rate for converting AED to CAD - if you're transferring to a US bank - the rate is fixed as the Dirham is pegged to the USD.

[ItsJustMe]