How a credit card balance transfer works in the UAE, step by step

A balance transfer moves what you owe on one bank’s credit card to a card at another bank. You apply to the new bank, which pays the old bank and turns the amount into a monthly instalment plan on your new card. You repay that plan with any interest and fees.

Key takeaways

• You need a new card with enough available limit: the two banks we checked allow up to 90% of it to be moved.
• The new bank pays the old bank; you repay the new bank in monthly instalments over a term you choose from the bank’s list.
• Keep paying the old card until the transfer shows on it, and ask for the Key Facts Statement before you sign.
• The old card is not closed automatically. Closing is a separate request.
• Missing an instalment can end the plan at some banks and bring the whole balance due at once.

How a balance transfer works

The new bank pays the old bank the amount you choose, up to a share of your new limit, and records it on your new card as an instalment plan. Your debt does not disappear: it moves to a new lender, on terms that bank sets. Our guide to credit card balance transfers covers the costs and the wider choices in more depth, and this page walks through the process in order.

The Central Bank of the UAE leaves card interest rates to banks under Article 11 of Regulation 29/2011, so the plan’s rate, any processing fee and any early settlement charge come from the new bank’s own terms, not from a Central Bank rule. What the rules do require is disclosure: the bank must tell you its rates and fees before you sign, in the Key Facts Statement.

Before you start: limit and eligibility

Two things decide whether a transfer is possible: whether you qualify for the new card, and whether its available limit is big enough.

On eligibility, the Central Bank’s rule is that credit cards may be issued to people with an annual income of AED 60,000 or more; others can get a card only against a pledged deposit of at least AED 60,000 (Article 5 of Regulation 29/2011, checked on 13 October 2026). A bank can set a higher income for a particular card: see the minimum salary for a credit card. A bank’s own conditions, such as a salary transfer, differ by card, and credit cards without salary transfer explains what the Central Bank rules do and do not require. A secured credit card is the deposit-backed route, though it is a separate product with its own terms.

On the limit, Emirates NBD says up to 90% of the available credit limit, with a minimum of AED 1,000, and First Abu Dhabi Bank says up to 90% of the pre-approved credit limit, as recorded on 13 October 2026. Under a 90% rule the available limit must be at least the amount divided by 0.9. To move AED 20,000, that is AED 20,000 ÷ 0.9 = about AED 22,223.

The transfer step by step

1. Get the exact balance. Ask the old bank for the full amount owed on the day, including interest and fees since the last statement. A transfer that falls short leaves the difference on the old card, still attracting interest.
2. Check the new card’s available limit. Work out the smallest limit that can carry the amount, using the 90% method above.
3. Ask for the Key Facts Statement. Note the rate, the Annual Percentage Rate (APR), any processing fee, the term and the early settlement charge, and ask for the total cost in writing.
4. Choose the amount and the term. Emirates NBD lists terms of 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, 36 or 48 months. FAB describes “flexible repayment durations”.
5. Apply. Emirates NBD takes requests through the ENBD X app, online banking, SMS or a call back, and FAB through the FAB Mobile app or SMS, as recorded on 13 October 2026.
6. The new bank pays the old bank. Emirates NBD says it processes a request within 5 to 7 working days. Until the payment shows on the old card, keep paying that card.
7. Repay the instalments. The plan is billed on the new card’s statement, so you pay it with your card payment each month.
8. Decide about the old card. It stays open until you ask to close it.

What you pay, and when

You can pay interest on the plan, a processing fee and, if you settle early, an early settlement charge. Each bank sets all three, and the rules require the bank to disclose them before you sign. Lenders must say whether a fee is one-time or recurring.

Timing differs by bank. At Emirates NBD the first instalment appears on the second card statement after booking, with the interest accrued up to that statement date included, and any processing fee is charged on the first statement after booking. It charges 1% of the outstanding principal plus 5% VAT for each plan settled early: with AED 8,000 of principal left, that is AED 8,000 × 1% = AED 80, plus AED 4 of VAT, so AED 84. Another bank’s timing and charges can differ, so read its Key Facts Statement.

For what a headline rate can leave out, see 0% balance transfer credit cards and no-fee balance transfer credit cards. To compare offers against each other, use our guide to the best balance transfer credit cards in the UAE, and for the card charges the Central Bank does cap, see credit card interest and fees.

Worked example: the first two instalments

This example follows an illustrative plan from the moment of transfer. It shows why early instalments are mostly interest.

Worked example

An AED 20,000 balance moved to a 12-month plan

The balance, rate, fee and term are illustrations, not any bank’s offer. The plan charges 1% a month on the reducing balance over 12 months, with a processing fee of AED 200 that is assumed to include any VAT. Banks may calculate and bill interest differently, so use your own Key Facts Statement.

1. Limit needed: AED 20,000 ÷ 0.9 = about AED 22,223 available on the new card.
2. Instalment = 20,000 × 0.01 ÷ (1 - 1.01^-12) = AED 1,776.98 a month.
3. Month 1: interest = AED 20,000 × 1% = AED 200. The rest of the instalment, AED 1,776.98 - AED 200 = AED 1,576.98, repays principal, leaving AED 18,423.02.
4. Month 2: interest = AED 18,423.02 × 1% = AED 184.23. Principal repaid = AED 1,776.98 - AED 184.23 = AED 1,592.75, leaving AED 16,830.27.
5. Over 12 months you repay 12 × AED 1,776.98 = AED 21,323.76, so interest is about AED 1,324. With the AED 200 fee, the plan costs about AED 1,524.

On these figures the plan costs about AED 1,524 in interest and fees on AED 20,000, repaid at AED 1,776.98 a month.

To test the interest on your old card against a plan like this, use the calculator below with your own figures.

What happens to the old card

It stays open, with its full limit, until you close it. If you keep it, avoid spending on it: you would then repay the plan and a new balance at the old card’s rate. If you close it, pay off anything left and ask for a clearance letter, as explained in closing the old card.

What a transfer does to your credit report

A transfer moves debt rather than adding it, but while both cards are open, both limits can count against you. The Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB) reports an Income Utilisation Ratio that counts 5% of every active card limit as a monthly payment, whatever the balance.

If the old card has a limit of AED 25,000 and the new one AED 30,000 (illustrations), the ratio counts 5% × AED 55,000 = AED 2,750 a month while both are open, and AED 1,500 once the old card is closed.

The bureau lists how much of your credit limits you use and recent applications for new credit among the factors behind your score. Its score page gives no weights for them, so we cannot say how much a transfer moves a score.

Common mistakes

• Stopping payments on the old card too soon. Anything the transfer does not cover stays there and can keep attracting interest.
• Spending on the cleared card. You then carry the plan and a new balance.
• Missing an instalment. The instalment is billed on your card statement, and a card payment that arrives after the due date can bring a late payment fee. At Emirates NBD, if you fail to make payments the plan is closed and the whole outstanding balance, with the foreclosure fee, becomes due at once.
• Ignoring new purchases. They appear on the same statement as the instalment. Pay the statement in full by the due date and purchases carry no interest; pay less and they attract interest at the card’s own rate, so check the Key Facts Statement for the date and the amount.

More on how we work is on our about page, and further topics are in our credit card guides.