Payment methods and EOIs when buying off-plan in Dubai

How do you pay for an off-plan home in Dubai?

An off-plan purchase is not paid in one go. There are several stages and each has its own way of paying. Many launches start with an EOI to bid for a unit. Then come the booking, the contract with the developer, registration with the DLD and its 4% fee, and the construction instalments. Finally, the handover payment.

What matters most is not the method but where each payment goes and what document you get for it. Plan instalments go by law into the project escrow account. The EOI and the booking depend on each developer.

Paying by bank transfer from abroad

It is the most common method and the one with the fewest problems. You send an international SWIFT transfer from your bank to the escrow account in your contract or in the developer’s payment letter. You can check that account number in the DLD’s Dubai REST app.

• Send dirhams, not pounds or euros. Contract payments are counted in AED. Some developers ask for the conversion to be done by the sending bank, so the exact amount arrives, and adjust any difference on the next instalment.
• Add the reference. Buyer name, unit number and customer number in the payment details. Without them, some developers send the money back.
• Compare the exchange rate. A 0.5% difference is £500 on a £100,000 instalment, or $500 on $100,000. Ask for the rate and fees before sending.
• Leave time. An international transfer can take several days, and if the contract sets late payment charges, they can be applied.
• Send the proof. Email the SWIFT confirmation to the developer and ask for the official receipt.

Your bank has its own obligations. Anti-money laundering rules require it to check that transactions fit your profile and the source of your funds. For a large transfer to Dubai it is normal to be asked for the contract or the payment letter. Keep them as PDFs and the transfer will go through without delays. The full process is in the guide to sending money to Dubai.

Cheques and post-dated cheques

Cheques are still very common in the UAE. Developers use them for EOIs, for instalments and above all for post-handover plans, where they usually ask for post-dated cheques for the instalments due after you get the keys.

From abroad you need a UAE bank chequebook. If you do not have one, there are alternatives. One of Dubai’s largest developers, for example, lets non-residents on its post-handover plans provide third-party cheques with an undertaking letter or register with a property management company. Others accept a transfer at each due date. It depends on the developer, and we confirm it before you choose a plan.

Since 2 January 2022, a cheque bounced for insufficient funds is no longer a crime in the UAE, unless there is bad faith. Even so, the cheque can be enforced directly and the developer charges fees, in some cases AED 500, about €120, per dishonoured cheque. Only sign post-dated cheques if you will have the money on each date.

Paying by card for the EOI and booking

More and more developers accept cards for the first payments. Some large developers charge the EOI and the booking to a card and refund what is refundable to the same card or account. Others take debit and credit cards in their customer app. The DLD itself accepts credit cards for its fees.

Before paying by card, check three things.

• The limit. An EOI or booking can exceed your card’s daily or monthly limit. Ask your bank to raise it a few days before the launch.
• The fees. Your bank may charge for paying in a foreign currency and some developers add a surcharge. Ask for the final amount in your currency.
• Where you pay. Only on the developer’s official gateway or at its office. Never through a link sent by a third party.

For large instalments a card rarely makes sense because of limits and fees. Whether a developer takes cards for instalments depends on the developer. We check it for each project.

Can you pay in cash?

Sometimes, but it is almost never a good idea. Cash is legal in the UAE but tightly controlled.

• Some developers do not accept it for instalments. One of the largest only accepts property instalments by cheque or transfer, and caps cash for other charges at AED 40,000, about €9,700 or $10,900, per person per unit.
• If AED 55,000 or more in cash, about €13,300 or $15,000, is paid on a freehold property purchase, in one or several payments, the real estate agency must file a report with the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit and keep your ID and the receipts. This Ministry of Economy rule has applied since July 2022.
• If you enter or leave the UAE with more than AED 60,000 in cash, about €14,500 or $16,300, you must declare it at customs.
• Your home country may also require a declaration when you carry cash. We cover the UK and the US below.

Even if you comply with everything, travelling with a lot of cash is an unnecessary risk and makes it harder to prove where the money came from. We always recommend a bank transfer.

Paying with crypto

Some Dubai developers accept crypto. Since 2022 some have accepted Bitcoin and Ethereum for their properties, converted to fiat. The government is moving too. In July 2025 the DLD signed an agreement with Crypto.com to explore digital currencies in property transactions. In October 2025, Dubai Finance and the DLD ran the first test payment of a DLD fee in crypto, settled in dirhams.

In practice, crypto almost never reaches the project account as crypto. An intermediary converts it to dirhams and that is what gets credited. In Dubai, companies providing virtual asset services need a licence from VARA, the authority created by Law No. 4 of 2022, and appear in its public register.

If you want to pay this way, keep this in mind.

• Any payment in crypto, or with money converted from crypto, must be reported by the agency to the UAE FIU, whatever the amount.
• You will be asked for the source of funds. Download your exchange history, wallets and purchases beforehand.
• The intermediary sets the rate when converting. Ask for the fee and the rate before sending anything.
• Paying with crypto may count as a disposal for tax purposes where you live. Talk to your tax adviser first.

Which developers accept it, and on what terms, changes often. If you want to pay in crypto, we tell you which developers allow it at that moment and through which intermediary.

What is an EOI?

EOI stands for Expression of Interest. It is a payment made before a project goes on sale, to bid for a unit when the launch opens. It is used mostly for high-demand projects, where the developer allocates units in order or by priority.

An EOI is neither a purchase nor a booking. It does not give you a right to a specific unit or oblige the developer to sell you one. Developers’ terms make this clear: the EOI gives you the opportunity to take part in the launch.

How much is it? Each developer sets it. Some ask for a fixed sum, for example AED 50,000, about €12,100 or $13,600, by a cheque that is not cashed until you confirm the unit. Others ask for an amount based on the unit type. Some developers allocate first to buyers paying a larger down payment or the full price.

How is it paid? By cheque, transfer or card, depending on the developer. Always get a receipt in the developer’s name.

If any term is new to you, they are all explained in the glossary.

Do you get the EOI back if you do not book?

Usually, yes, but each developer sets its own refund terms. Two examples published by the developers themselves:

• One of Dubai’s large developers refunds the full EOI if you ask in writing before signing a booking form or contract, or if the launch ends without you booking. The money goes back to the card or account you paid from.
• Another developer does not cash the EOI cheque and returns it within 5 working days if you decide not to book.

You would normally get the EOI back if you are not allocated a unit, if the unit offered does not suit you or if the launch is cancelled. What changes between developers is the timing, how to request it and whether there is any charge. That is why the terms are read before paying.

One important detail. Once you accept the unit and pay the booking, that money is usually no longer refundable, and some developers say so in their terms.

Before you pay an EOI, we go through its refund terms, timings and payment method with you and put it in writing.

What happens when you do book the unit?

When the developer offers you a unit and you accept, the process continues like this.

1. Booking. You sign the booking form and pay the deposit. The EOI is credited to the price. The booking holds the unit for a few days.
2. Down payment. You pay the first part of the plan within the developer’s deadline.
3. Contract. You sign the SPA with the developer.
4. Oqood registration. The developer registers the sale with the DLD and you pay the 4% DLD fee, unless agreed otherwise. The certificate is emailed to you.
5. Instalments. You pay the plan into the project escrow account until handover.

Timings vary a lot. As an example, the booking terms of one large developer set 7 days of exclusivity, a 5% payment within that period and a further 24% within 25 days of the booking, before the contract. On an AED 1,000,000 home it would look like this:

Approximate figures, for illustration only.

Other developers ask for 10% or 20% in one go. So have the down payment ready before paying the EOI. Work out what you need at each step with the off-plan calculator, which already has this example filled in, and see how payment plans work.

EOI, booking and contract: the differences

Where does your money go?

Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007 requires every developer selling off-plan to open an escrow account for each project with an approved bank. Everything paid by off-plan buyers goes into that account, and the bank only releases money when its engineer confirms construction has reached each milestone. On top of that, 5% is held for one year after completion to cover defects.

• Plan instalments. Always into the project escrow account. Check the number in Dubai REST.
• EOI and booking. It depends on the developer. Sometimes an uncashed cheque, sometimes a card charge. Get a receipt and ask which account it goes to.
• 4% DLD fee. Goes to the DLD, usually through the developer when the Oqood is registered.
• Never into the personal account of an agent or a third party.

If you are asked for an instalment tied to construction progress and you have doubts, the DLD recognises your right to know the completion percentage before paying. You can see it in Dubai REST, and we explain how in the guide to checking an off-plan project is safe.

Paying from the UK or the US

The payment methods are the same wherever you live. What changes is the currency you send from, what your bank asks for and what you declare at home. The UAE is not part of the Apostille Convention, so if you sign through a power of attorney, it is legalised in a chain: notary, your foreign ministry, the UAE embassy and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Dubai is on UTC+4 all year.

How to pay for off-plan property in Dubai from the UK

Most UK buyers send a SWIFT transfer from their bank, with the bank converting pounds to dirhams so the exact amount arrives. Your bank may ask for the contract or the payment letter. Bank transfers are not declared at customs, but cash of £10,000 or more carried between Great Britain and a country outside the UK must be declared to UK customs.

If you are UK resident for tax, HMRC normally taxes the rent from the property, usually reported through Self Assessment. Dubai is 4 hours ahead of the UK in winter and 3 in summer.

How to pay for off-plan property in Dubai from the US

Paying from a dollar account means no currency risk, because the dirham is pegged to the dollar at 3.6725. A bank transfer is not reported at customs, but carrying more than $10,000 in cash out of the US must be reported to CBP on FinCEN Form 105.

The IRS taxes US citizens and residents on worldwide income, so the rent is reported there, and a UAE bank account above the threshold goes on an FBAR. New York and Miami are 9 hours behind Dubai in winter and 8 in summer.

Wherever you are, before you book we help you review all the numbers of the plan.

Receipts and documents to keep

• The official receipt for the EOI and the booking, in the developer’s name.
• Every SWIFT confirmation with its reference.
• The developer’s statement of account, with what is paid and what is due.
• The DLD Oqood certificate.
• The signed SPA.

These documents do three jobs. They prove what you paid if there is ever a problem with the developer. They show your bank where the money comes from and where it goes. And they let you declare correctly at home, where the purchase price may matter for asset reporting and for the gain when you sell.

Common mistakes when paying off-plan

• Paying an EOI without reading the refund terms.
• Paying into an account that is not the project escrow, or to an agent.
• Sending pounds or euros and letting the receiving bank convert them.
• Leaving the unit reference out of the transfer.
• Finding out your card limit on launch day.
• Paying the EOI without the down payment ready.
• Signing post-dated cheques without a plan to cover each date.
• Not asking for receipts or not keeping them.

You make the payments, on the dates in your plan. Before you book we help you review all the numbers, and we resolve your questions with the developer’s team.

Frequently asked questions

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