Interactive Brokers – local AED transfers are finally here!

Getting set up

[Note that FAB account holders don’t seem to be able to transfer AED in this way yet, despite FAB being the correspondent bank. This could change soon enough though.]

I recommend sending money (and everything else) via IB’s online Client Portal, rather than the app. 

Go to Transfer & Pay > Transfer Funds > Deposit Funds

Choose an existing UAE bank you’ve set up, or select Use a new deposit method.

Make sure you choose United Arab Emirates Dirham from the dropdown list. then click Get Instructions in the Bank Wire box.

Enter the bank name, your account number with that bank and a (small) amount that you want to send to IB as a test transfer. Let’s say 1000 AED. If you try 10 AED, it could go wrong just due to size.

You don’t have to notify IB every time you send over some AED, though if you’re doing a 6-figure transfer it might be worth it.

IB will now show you the good stuff – IB’s beneficiary address in the US (still a bit confusing), the IBAN and SWIFT code (note the VOS at the end of the SWIFT code, now you know what it means). 

[Except… some people don’t have access to the updated details yet. If you’re seeing a UK AED account with an IBAN beginning with GB, don’t use the correspondent banking details lower down that page. See Troubleshooting below.]

Also IB gives you the payment reference, which you must add to your transfer if you want the AED to actually turn up in your IB account anytime soon.

Remember, IB isn’t a bank, so it needs the reference to distinguish your dirhams from all the other dirhams pouring into its bank account.

Save this information somewhere secure, then use it to set up a new beneficiary (IB) with your UAE bank.

Then do a test transfer!

Troubleshooting

1) Set up the beneficiary in your bank’s web portal rather than in the app. If you save it, you should then be able to do transfers from the app.

2) If you can’t find FAB in the list of local banks to transfer to, choose National Bank of Abu Dhabi now First Abu Dhabi Bank (all branches).

3) You may get a warning that the IBAN can’t be validated. Ignore it, though do check you have typed it in properly. Because it’s a vostro account, the IBAN has been confusing some banks’ beneficiary set-up pages.

Ignore the warning, it should still work. This is why you should test it with a smallish amount!

If you get something wrong, your money will bounce back, either immediately or up to two working days later. Don’t worry, but do test before you send large amounts.

4) For some banks (HSBC currently it seems), you may need to select international transfer rather than local transfer.

Note that all these things could shift over time as banks sort out problems or create new problems. But once the beneficiary is set up properly, transfers should continue to work.

5) If IB is still showing you the old UK bank details and IBAN starting with GB for AED bank transfers, do not send money to the correspondent bank details shown there. Your money can get stuck.

The correct IBAN for transfers to FAB starts with AE and ends in 2006.

If you can’t see it, try the web portal rather than IBKR app, wait a day or so for the account info to refresh, or try setting up a new deposit method in IB.

6) If you are sending AED to IB for the first time, don’t forget that IB will store the AED as AED, even if your base currency for reporting is USD or GBP etc. 

Before you invest, you must convert the AED into USD (or whichever currency you are buying funds in).

And finally

If this all sounds very complicated, remember that you set up the beneficiary once and then subsequent rounds of transfers and investing are much quicker. It’s worth a little bit of complexity and time initially to setup a fantastically cheap and robust way of investing from the UAE.

Happy investing!
Steve

 Any questions or comments? Add them below. If you need help with the specifics of your financial situation, consider private coaching with me.