Beneficiary Activation Delays in ENBD & EI Apps

Welcome to my first blog post! I’m really excited to be sharing my experiences and insights with you. For this initial entry, I’ll keep it brief and discuss a small but significant issue I’ve encountered: the activation delay when setting up a beneficiary in the Emirates NBD and Emirates Islamic (EI) banking apps.

When you add a new beneficiary in either the EI+ or ENBD X apps, there’s always a mandatory 2-hour delay before the beneficiary is activated, allowing you to transfer funds to their account. This delay can be a bit frustrating, particularly when you need to make a payment urgently. If you’re someone who frequently needs to transfer funds quickly, this might be a drawback to consider when using ENBD or EI for your banking needs.

I understand that this delay might serve as a security measure, giving users time to reconsider their transactions. However, in my experience, it’s a noticeable interruption compared to other banks. For instance, I haven’t encountered this issue with ADIB, ADCB, FAB, Wio, or HSBC. These banks allow immediate transfers after adding a beneficiary, which can be more convenient, especially in time-sensitive situations.

I’m curious to know if this delay is unique to ENBD and EI, or if it’s something others have noticed with different banks. I’d love to hear about your experiences or insights regarding this issue, whether with the banks mentioned above or others in the UAE. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments—your feedback is valuable, and I plan to keep updating this blog as I explore more banking apps and features.

Thank you for joining me on this journey, and I look forward to sharing more of my findings with you soon!