Hi Lars,

This is one of the most common concerns I hear from business owners involved in international trade. In most cases, a SWIFT transfer isn't actually "lost”, it's simply taking longer to move through the international banking system.

A standard SWIFT payment to a UAE business account usually takes between 1 and 5 business days, but several factors can extend that timeline.

One of the biggest reasons is the involvement of correspondent (intermediary) banks. International transfers often pass through multiple banks before reaching the beneficiary bank, and each institution may carry out its own processing and verification.

Another common reason is compliance screening. UAE business bank account have strict AML and KYC obligations, so if the transaction amount, payment purpose, or supporting documents don't match your business profile, the payment may be held for additional checks.

Simple errors can also slow things down. A small mistake in your company's legal name, IBAN, or SWIFT/BIC code is enough to trigger manual verification instead of automatic processing. Timing matters too, payments initiated after international cut-off times or just before weekends and public holidays generally take longer to settle.

The first thing I'd recommend is asking the sender for the MT103 payment confirmation. This document contains the SWIFT tracking reference and allows your UAE bank to trace exactly where the funds are in the payment chain.

Once you have the MT103, share it with your bank's business banking or trade finance team. If the transfer is waiting for compliance clearance, they can let you know whether additional documents, such as a commercial invoice or payment explanation, are required to release the funds.