How long a payment takes depends on the currency you're sending and the rail it travels on. In most cases the rail is chosen automatically based on the beneficiary's details and the amount — you don't select it.
The clock starts when the payment run is booked, not when it's created or reviewed.
By currency
Currency | Rail | Typical timing |
GBP | Faster Payments (local) | Usually seconds, occasionally 1–2 hours |
GBP | SWIFT (international) | 3-5 working days |
EUR | SEPA (local) | ~ 1-2 working days |
USD | Fedwire or SWIFT, routed automatically | Up to 1 working day |
AED | IPP — payments under AED 50,000 | Processes 24/7, including bank holidays |
AED | FTS — payments of AED 50,000 and over | Subject to UAE bank hours |
AED | SWIFT (international, via UAE banks) | Released only when banks are open |
What can slow a payment down
Bank holidays and bank hours. Faster Payments and AED IPP run continuously, including weekends and bank holidays. The others depend on the banks being open.
For AED specifically: FTS is unavailable from 20:45 on the evening before a UAE bank holiday until banks reopen. Payments booked during that window are held and processed when banks reopen — they are not lost or rejected.
The size of an AED payment. AED payments under AED 50,000 route via IPP, which runs 24/7. Payments of AED 50,000 and over route via FTS, which does not. A payment just over the threshold can therefore take considerably longer than one just under it, if it's booked outside bank hours.
International routing. Payments travelling via SWIFT pass through one or more correspondent banks, each of which adds time. If your beneficiary needs an intermediary bank and the details aren't on file, the payment may be delayed or returned.
The reason on the payment. The reason you select is used for compliance purposes. An inaccurate or vague reason can cause a payment to be held for review, so pick the closest match to what you're actually paying for.
Checking where your payment is
Open the payment run to see the status of each payment individually. Payments in the same run are sent separately, so they don't all complete at the same moment — and one payment being delayed doesn't hold up the rest.
Sent — the payment has been executed and appears as an outgoing transaction on your account. You can download a receipt.
Failed — the payment couldn't be completed and no money has left your account. An explanation is shown on the payment.
Returned — the payment was sent but sent back by the beneficiary's bank. The funds return to your account as an incoming transaction and the original payment is flagged.
If a payment is taking longer than expected
Before contacting us, it's worth checking:
Whether the destination country is observing a bank holiday.
That the beneficiary's account details match exactly what appears on their bank statement.
Whether the payment is routing internationally and may need intermediary bank details.
If the payment has been sitting without updating and none of the above explains it, contact us with the payment reference and we'll chase it.