Short answer
Saudi Arabia flags UAE-bound transfers as high-risk, rattling the Gulf's busiest money corridor.
Key facts
- SAMA flagged UAE transfers: Saudi Arabia's central bank has applied enhanced due-diligence controls—normally reserved for high-risk jurisdictions—to financial transfers heading to the UAE, sources tell Reuters.
- Transfers blocked since May: A banking source confirmed to EnterpriseAM that payments from Saudi banks to UAE accounts have been delayed, returned, or blocked since at least May, corroborating earlier FT and Bloomberg reporting.
- BBK offers 6.50% FCNR rate: BBK is offering NRI customers a special Foreign Currency Non-Resident deposit rate of 6.50% p.a. in a limited-time window closing 31 August 2026.
The big picture
Saudi Arabia flags UAE-bound transfers as high-risk, rattling the Gulf's busiest money corridor.
Why it matters
Expats moving salaries, business payments, or savings between Saudi Arabia and the UAE face delays, returns, or outright blocks. This is the most-used remittance and corporate transfer corridor in the GCC.
The details
Reuters
SAMA flagged UAE transfers: Saudi Central Bank places UAE-bound bank transfers under high-risk AML scrutiny. Saudi Arabia's central bank has applied enhanced due-diligence controls—normally reserved for high-risk jurisdictions—to financial transfers heading to the UAE, sources tell Reuters.
Read at Reuters ->
Enterprise AM
Transfers blocked since May: Saudi-UAE payment disruptions confirmed: transfers delayed, returned, or blocked since May. A banking source confirmed to EnterpriseAM that payments from Saudi banks to UAE accounts have been delayed, returned, or blocked since at least May, corroborating earlier FT and Bloomberg reporting.
Read at Enterprise AM ->
BBK (Instagram)
BBK offers 6.50% FCNR rate: Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait launches 6.50% p.a. FCNR special deposit rate through 31 August. BBK is offering NRI customers a special Foreign Currency Non-Resident deposit rate of 6.50% p.a. in a limited-time window closing 31 August 2026.
Read at BBK (Instagram) ->
What to watch
BBK's 6.50% FCNR special deposit offer closes 31 August 2026—eligible NRI customers have days to act.
The Gulf Money digest surfaces reported news from third-party publications. We do not republish the stories themselves - every headline above links to the original source so you can read the publisher's own coverage.