Skip to main content
Back Custom print Text Only Rich Text Print

  • Section 3 Wire Transfers

    • Article (27)

      1. Financial institutions shall ensure that all international wire transfers equal to or exceeding AED (3,500) are always accompanied by the following data:
         
        1. The name of the originator, his or her identity number or travel document, date and place of birth, address and account number. In the absence of an account, the transfer must include a unique transaction reference number which allows the process to be tracked.
           
        2. The name of the beneficiary and his account number used to make the transfers. In the absence of the account, the transfer must include a unique transaction reference number which allows the process to be tracked.
           
      2. In the event that several individual cross-border wire transfers from a single originator are bundled in a batch file for transmission to beneficiaries, the batch file shall contain required and accurate originator information, and full beneficiary information, that is fully traceable within the beneficiary country; and the financial institution shall be required to include the originator’s account number or unique transaction reference number.
         
      3. Financial institutions shall ensure that all cross-border wire transfers less than AED 3,500 are always accompanied by the data in Clause (1) of this Article, without the need to verify the accuracy of the data referred to, unless there are suspicions about committing the Crime.
         
      4. For domestic wire transfers, the ordering financial institution shall ensure that the information accompanying the wire transfer includes originator information as indicated in Clause (1) of this Article, unless this information can be made available to the beneficiary financial institution and competent authorities by other means.
         
      5. Where the information accompanying the domestic wire transfer can be made available to the beneficiary financial institution and competent authorities by other means, the ordering financial institution shall be only required to include the account number or a unique transaction reference number, provided that this number or identifier will permit the transaction to be traced back to the originator or the beneficiary. The ordering financial institution shall make the information available within three business days of receiving the request either from the beneficiary financial institution or from competent authorities.
         
      6. Financial institutions shall not carry out wire transfers if they fail to comply with the conditions set out in this article.
         
      7. Ordering financial institutions shall keep all information about the originator and the beneficiary collected in accordance with the provisions of Article (24) of this Decision.
         

    • Article (28)

      1. An intermediary financial institution shall ensure that all originator and beneficiary information that accompanies a wire transfer is retained with it for cross-border wire transfers.
         
      2. Where technical limitations prevent the required originator or beneficiary information accompanying a cross-border wire transfer from remaining with a related domestic wire transfer, the Intermediary Financial Institution shall keep a record of all the information received from the ordering financial institution or another cross-border Intermediary Financial Institution, in accordance with the provisions of Article (24) of the present Decision.
         
      3. Intermediary Financial Institutions shall take reasonable measures, which are consistent with straight-through processing, to identify cross-border wire transfers that lack required originator information or required beneficiary information and shall have risk-based policies and procedures for determining when to execute, reject, or suspend a wire transfer; and the appropriate follow-up action.
         

    • Article (29)

      1. Beneficiary Financial Institutions shall take reasonable measures, to identify cross-border wire transfers that lack required originator information or required beneficiary information, which may include real-time monitoring where feasible or post-event monitoring.
         
      2. For cross-border wire transfers of AED 3,500 or more, a Beneficiary Financial Institution shall verify the identity of the beneficiary, if the identity has not been previously verified.
         
      3. Beneficiary Financial Institutions shall have risk-based policies and procedures determining when to execute, reject, or suspend a wire transfer lacking required originator or required beneficiary information; and for determining the appropriate follow-up action.
         
      4. Beneficiary Financial Institutions shall maintain records of all required originator and required beneficiary information collected, in accordance with the provisions of Article (24) of this Decision.
         

    • Article (30)

      1. Providers of Money or Value Transfer Services shall comply with all of the relevant requirements of Articles (27), (28), and (29) of this Decision, whether they operate directly or through their agents.
         
      2. In the case of a provider of money or value transfer services that controls both the ordering and the beneficiary side of a cross-border wire transfer, the provider of money or value transfer services shall:
         
        1. Take into account all information from both the ordering and beneficiary sides in order to determine whether an STR is to be filed; and
           
        2. If it is decided to file STR regarding the Transaction, the STR shall be sent to the Financial Intelligence Unit in the relevant country, attaching all relevant transaction information.