Most Filipinos working in the UAE send pesos home through a licensed exchange house or a bank, paying a flat fee in dirhams plus a small margin in the exchange rate. That margin is unusually thin on this route, so the fee decides most of the price, and sending the dirham equivalent of $200 cost noticeably less on average than the same send from the US. The sections below cover the World Bank benchmark, why the dirham-to-peso rate moves with the dollar, where to send from, the UAE rules, how the money lands in the Philippines and when overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) send the most. The general mechanics of any transfer are in the money transfer hub.
How much do exchange houses charge to send dirhams to the Philippines?
In the World Bank's Q3 2025 survey, sending the dirham equivalent of $200 cost 3.04% on average, and sending the equivalent of $500 cost 1.61%. The survey priced sends of AED 735 and AED 1,835, so read each row's fee and total against those amounts.
| Amount sent | Average fee | Exchange-rate margin | Total cost (% of amount) | Total cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AED 735 | AED 20.55 | 0.24% | 3.04% | AED 22.33 |
| AED 1,835 | AED 25.11 | 0.24% | 1.61% | AED 29.55 |
On the smaller send, the average fee was AED 20.55 and the margin just 0.24%, about AED 1.76, for a total of AED 22.33. On AED 1,835 the fee rose only to AED 25.11, so the total dropped to 1.61%. Two sends of AED 735 at the average fee cost AED 41.10 in fees, while one send of AED 1,835 cost AED 25.11, so batching a month's support into one transfer saves real money. Because margins are this thin, the fee is the number to compare between UAE providers. The same-sized send from the US averaged 4.52%, with a 1.40% margin; see sending from the US to the Philippines.
UAE VAT also lands on the fee. The Federal Tax Authority treats a money-transfer fee as a standard-rated financial service at 5%, while pricing earned only through the exchange-rate spread is exempt. On a AED 20.55 fee, VAT would add about AED 1.03, so ask whether the fee on the screen already includes it.
Worked example: Sending AED 2,000 for school fees in Iloilo
An exchange house quotes a AED 22.00 fee plus 5% VAT and 15.75 pesos per dirham when the mid-market rate is 15.79. These rates are examples, not live quotes.
- Fee with VAT: AED 22.00 × 1.05 = AED 23.10
- Pesos delivered: AED 2,000 × 15.75 = PHP 31,500
- Pesos at the mid-market rate: AED 2,000 × 15.79 = PHP 31,580
- Rate shortfall: PHP 80, about AED 5.07 at 15.79, a 0.25% markup
- Total cost: AED 23.10 + AED 5.07 = AED 28.17, or 1.41% of AED 2,000
- Payout check: PHP 31,500 is under InstaPay's PHP 50,000 limit per credit, so a bank or wallet credit can land within seconds
To convert a quoted rate into a percentage markup yourself, see exchange-rate markups, and for the habits that keep total costs low on any route, the cheapest way to send money abroad.
Why the dirham-to-peso rate tracks the dollar
The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) keeps the dirham fixed to the US dollar. Its buying rate for dollars is 3.672 dirhams and its selling rate 3.673, a narrow band around the familiar 3.6725, and federal law requires its foreign reserves to cover at least 70% of the monetary base so that promise stays credible.
Because the dirham doesn't float, a dirham-to-peso quote is effectively the dollar-to-peso rate divided by 3.6725. At an illustrative 58.00 pesos per dollar, that works out to about 15.79 pesos per dirham. When the peso moves against the dollar, UAE senders feel it on the same day as US senders, and a quick division tells you whether a provider's dirham rate is fair. Below, common dirham amounts are converted at today's mid-market rate and with markups of 0.25%, close to this corridor's average margin, and 1%.
| You send | At the mid-market rate | With a 0.25% markup | With a 1% markup |
|---|---|---|---|
| AED 500 | ₱8,673 | ₱8,651 | ₱8,586 |
| AED 1,000 | ₱17,346 | ₱17,303 | ₱17,173 |
| AED 2,000 | ₱34,692 | ₱34,606 | ₱34,345 |
Nobody can tell you which way the peso will move next, so a better habit than waiting for a rate is sending on a schedule that matches your family's bills. You can check the dollar side of the rate on the currency converter.
Where can you send money from in the UAE?
Use a bank or an exchange house licensed by the CBUAE, in a branch or through its app; the central bank's public register lists every licensed firm. Exchange houses appear there under exchange business, and that listing is the check worth making before you hand over cash or link a card. Informal money carriers working without CBUAE registration sit outside that system, so if a transfer goes missing there is no regulator to take the complaint.
Many workers already hold an account or salary card with an exchange house or bank because of the Wage Protection System (WPS). Private employers registered with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) must pay wages through WPS, using banks, exchange houses or other financial institutions the central bank authorizes. Under a 2026 ministerial resolution, the previous month's salary is due on the first day of each Gregorian month. WPS also covers some domestic-worker jobs, and having your pay land with the same provider you send through keeps the process short.
What do you need to send, and what does your family need to receive?
You need your Emirates ID, the recipient's name spelled the way their ID or account spells it, and the payout details for the channel they chose. Visitors without an Emirates ID are generally asked for a passport.
Ask your family for these details, and check the last column before you pay:
| Channel | Ask your family for | Fake example | Check before you pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank account, credited by InstaPay or PESONet | Full account name, bank name and account number | BAUTISTA, ROSARIO DIAZ · 0000 1111 2222 | The name matches the passbook or banking app, middle name included |
| GCash or Maya wallet | The 11-digit mobile number starting 09 and the name on the wallet | 0900 123 0000 | The wallet is fully verified, or the credit may bounce |
| Cash pickup | The name on a valid government ID, and the city or province | ROSARIO DIAZ BAUTISTA, Davao City | The ID hasn't expired; every format of the National ID is accepted |
| Door-to-door delivery | House address with barangay and municipality, plus a mobile number | Purok 2, Barangay Dos, Tarlac City | Someone with ID will be home on delivery day |
| Bank wire from a UAE bank | All the bank-account details plus the Philippine bank's SWIFT code | XXXXPHMM | The code has 8 or 11 characters, with PH as the country letters |
Philippine banks and pickup counters match names strictly, and the middle name, which in most families is the mother's surname before marriage, is an easy place for a mismatch. If a sister has married, use the surname on her current ID rather than the one you grew up with.
How does the money arrive in the Philippines?
Through the same channels a US sender uses: InstaPay or PESONet into a bank or e-wallet, a GCash or Maya credit, cash pickup, or door-to-door delivery. What trips up Gulf senders is the limits.
InstaPay stops at PHP 50,000 per credit, about AED 3,170 at an illustrative 15.79 pesos per dirham, so a bigger payment travels over PESONet, which settles only on Philippine banking days. A basic GCash wallet accepts just PHP 5,000 a month under the limits in force since October 1, 2026, which is less than a single AED 735 send at that rate; a fully verified wallet can take in up to PHP 1,000,000. Cash pickup and delivery suit relatives in provinces far from a bank. The US to the Philippines guide sets out every payout's speed, PESONet's cut-off times and the National ID rules at pickup counters, and mobile money explained covers how phone wallets work in general.
UAE rules that apply when you send
Four rules shape a transfer from the UAE:
- Licensing. Only CBUAE-licensed banks and exchange houses, or providers the central bank has registered, may move money abroad for customers.
- Verified sender details. Since December 14, 2025, Cabinet Resolution No. 134 of 2025 requires providers to verify the originator's information on international wire transfers of AED 3,500 or more. Below that amount the details must still travel with the transfer, but checking them is not required.
- VAT on fees. The 5% standard rate applies to explicit transfer fees, not to the margin inside the rate.
- Source of funds. Large or unusually frequent sends prompt questions about where the money came from, and a salary certificate or recent payslips usually answer them.
The UAE adds no separate tax on the transfer itself. If you are a US citizen or green-card holder working in the UAE, US gift tax rules still follow large gifts wherever you send from; gift tax on money sent abroad sets out when a return is due.
Do relatives in the Philippines pay tax on money from the UAE?
No: an overseas Filipino worker's foreign wages are outside the Philippine income tax, and family members receive the money as a gift, which the Tax Code excludes from income. Both rules sit in the National Internal Revenue Code.
Section 23(C) taxes a Filipino working abroad as an overseas contract worker only on income from Philippine sources, so a salary earned in Dubai or Abu Dhabi isn't taxed in Manila. Section 32(B)(3) keeps gifts out of the recipient's gross income, so parents receiving support owe nothing on it. A relative who earns money in the Philippines, such as rent or business income, still reports that income as usual; the exemption follows the remittance, not the household.
When do Filipinos in the UAE send the most?
Sends cluster just after payday, when WPS salaries arrive at the start of each month, and peak before Christmas and the June school opening.
The Philippine central bank's figures show the scale. Cash remittances from the UAE reached $1.64 billion in 2025, 4.6% of the national total and 7.6% more than in 2024. In 2026, the busiest months through August were March, at $164.2 million, and July, at $160.8 million.
December is the national peak. Philippine banks then close for the Christmas and New Year holidays, Rizal Day on December 30 among them, and PESONet credits wait until they reopen. Sending by mid-December gives bank credits room before those closures. The school calendar drives the second wave: public schools opened the 2026–27 year on June 8, 2026 and finish it on April 8, 2027, and the 2027–28 dates will come in a DepEd memorandum issued before the year begins, so families usually ask for enrollment money in May. Why cut-off times and bank holidays slow any transfer is explained in the guide to transfer timing.
Scams and slip-ups on the Gulf route
A few patterns account for most losses on this corridor:
- Better-rate offers on social media. Individuals advertising cheaper "padala" through a group chat are usually unlicensed; check any firm against the CBUAE register first.
- Fake job or visa processing fees. Relatives back home are asked to pay a fee, often by remittance, for a UAE job that doesn't exist.
- One-time PIN requests. No bank or exchange house needs your UAE Pass PIN or a one-time password read out over the phone.
- Account renting back home. Offers to relatives to "lend" a bank or GCash account for a commission are money-mule recruitment, a crime under the Philippines' Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act.
- Name and wallet slips. An unverified wallet, a married surname or a missing middle name sends money back, and the refund can take days to come through.
Broader warning signs, such as pressure and secrecy, are collected in money transfer scams.
How many Filipinos in the UAE send money home?
The Philippine Statistics Authority's preliminary 2025 survey placed 11.3% of about 2.05 million overseas Filipino workers in the UAE, second only to Saudi Arabia, at 24.1%. That works out to roughly 230,000 workers who were abroad between April and September 2025, and the total was down from 2.19 million a year earlier.
Headcounts and money don't line up neatly: Saudi Arabia hosts about twice as many OFWs, yet the central bank attributes the largest share of bank-channel remittances to the US, partly because transfers from elsewhere are routed through US correspondent banks. Guides for other routes on this site cover sending from the US to China and to Vietnam.