Interactive Brokers launches local AED funding in the UAE

Interactive Brokers (IBKR) has accepted AED deposits from UAE investors for years, but dirhams originally had to be wired to an AED account IBKR held in the UK — a route that confused many UAE banks and could cost AED 100-150 per transfer. A local AED option has since replaced it:

Originally published 30 September 2025. Fees, routing and FX pricing last verified against IBKR’s own documentation on 16 September 2026.

UAE clients fund in dirhams through an AED account IBKR holds with First Abu Dhabi Bank, which means many UAE banks treat the payment as onshore rather than an international SWIFT wire. IBKR does not publish the bank details on its website — you generate your own IBAN, SWIFT code and mandatory payment reference by creating a deposit notification in Client Portal. Always use the details Client Portal shows you rather than any account number you read online.

This means transfers are far faster and cheaper. Instead of waiting 3-4 days and paying AED 100-150 in SWIFT fees on a London-based AED account, most UAE banks will treat the FAB transfer as local, often free and much faster.

The upshot: you fund your IBKR account in AED quickly, and then convert to USD close to the official peg. The dirham has been pegged to the dollar since 1997, with the CBUAE intervening at 3.672 when buying dollars and 3.673 when selling — a central parity of 3.6725. Figures such as 3.6729 are live interbank quotes inside that band, not the peg.

For context on IBKR’s platform, see our Interactive Brokers review.

What this means for UAE investors

• Fast transfers: Direct AED transfers to IBKR’s local FAB account, commonly arriving the same day, though IBKR’s own documentation allows 1 to 4 business days.
• Low fees: IBKR does not charge for deposits (your sending bank may). On the way out, IBKR allows 2 free withdrawals per month; beyond that an AED bank wire costs AED 18.00.
• Better FX rate: IBKR passes through interbank AED–USD pricing, close to the 3.6725 central parity, beating typical bank rates (~3.674+).

These changes make AED funding at IBKR much smoother for UAE expats and investors. Previously you had to send AED via IBKR’s UK bank account, risking wrong currency and big fees. Now the process is localized.

How the FAB account works

In practice, IBKR has told FAB (First Abu Dhabi Bank): “Keep AED for us in this account.”. When you send AED to FAB’s IBKR account, FAB acts as the correspondent bank. They collect your dirhams and pass them on (or convert them) for IBKR.

Because it’s a correspondent setup, some banks may warn that you’re transferring to a foreign account and sometimes charge a fee. (This is similar to any international wire.)

However, by using FAB as the local route, most UAE banks now treat the transfer like an onshore payment. As Steve Cronin from DeadsimpleSaving notes:

“for most banks the transfer into IB seems to be free”

      Steve Cronin, UAE financial coach

The only catch is you must send in AED (not accidentally in USD or AED→GBP) and include your IBKR reference, so the funds get to the right account.

Step-by-step: Deposit AED via the FAB account

To fund your IBKR account in AED, follow these steps in the IBKR Client Portal:

1. Open IBKR Client Portal: On a web browser, go to Transfer & Pay > Transfer Funds > Deposit Funds.
2. Select UAE Dirhams: Choose “Use a new deposit method” (if you haven’t added one) and select United Arab Emirates Dirham (AED) as the currency.
3. Get wire instructions: Click Get Instructions under the Bank Wire section. IBKR will display the wire details, including a FAB (NBAD) IBAN and SWIFT code. It will also show your unique IBKR reference code.
4. Create the transfer: In your UAE bank’s online banking (preferably the desktop portal), add a new payee and send the desired AED amount to that FAB account. It’s wise to start with a small test transfer to verify everything.  

_{⚠️ Important: include your IBKR reference code in the payment reference/remarks field. IBKR is not a bank, so without the code, it won’t know who the money is for.}

IBKR’s own documentation gives a range of 1 to 4 business days for an AED bank transfer, and notes it does not control transfer speed — that depends on your sending bank and its cut-off times. In practice, local AED transfers are commonly reported as arriving the same day or the next morning, but treat that as typical rather than guaranteed. A 3-business-day withdrawal hold applies.

In the end, your transfer instructions should look like this:

Converting AED to USD in IBKR

Once your AED lands in IBKR, it will appear in your multi-currency portfolio. If your base currency is USD, you’ll eventually want to convert. There are two main ways:

• Manual Conversion: Place a forex trade on IBKR. To convert AED to USD, you buy USD.AED (i.e. buy USD using AED). Note that IBKR currently uses USD.AED rather than an “AED.USD” pair. IBKR does not mark up the exchange rate on manual conversions — it passes through the interbank price and charges a separate commission instead: 0.20 basis points of trade value, with a minimum of USD 2.00 per order. That minimum is what you actually pay on any conversion below roughly USD 100,000, so converting AED 50,000 (about USD 13,600) costs USD 2, or around 0.015%. Even so, that still comfortably outclasses typical bank exchange rates (often 3.674-3.675).
• Auto-Conversion: IBKR offers an automatic currency conversion feature. If enabled, any residual AED balance above a small threshold can be auto-converted to USD. It is priced differently from a manual conversion: IBKR typically adds or subtracts 0.03% to the exchange rate and charges no separate commission. Which route is cheaper depends on size — because manual conversions carry a USD 2.00 minimum commission, auto-conversion actually works out cheaper below roughly USD 6,700 (about AED 24,500), while above that the manual route wins, with the full 0.03%-vs-0.002% gap only appearing past USD 100,000. (This setting is found under Account Settings > Auto/Residual Conversions.) This ensures your cash is always in your base currency without manual trades.

Either way, you never have to convert AED through a local bank. All currency exchange happens inside IBKR’s platform.

Even if you do convert to another currency, IBKR has excellent exchange rates and automatic transfers can make investing easy.

Old vs. new AED funding: a comparison

In summary, the new FAB AED route eliminates the old pain points. UAE investors now send AED locally, saving on fees and time.

Conclusion

For UAE-based and expat investors, IBKR’s FAB AED account is a game-changer.

You can fund your IBKR account in dirhams, just like a domestic transfer, and then access global markets.

Remember to follow the steps above, include your IBKR reference code, and do a small test transfer. Once set up, future AED deposits will be quick, cheap, and smooth.

For a full overview of Interactive Brokers and its features (commissions, platform, currency options, etc.), see our in-depth Interactive Brokers review on BrokerMatch.

Do your own research: explore the Interactive Brokers website.

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