Typical wait times

Wow, 2 weeks is a pretty long time.

That's what I thought as well. 4 years ago, it would be done within a day. I would request it by 9am and by 7pm the money would be present on my American account. Over the last couple of years, it has taken longer but only recently (the last 3 or 4 transactions) it has been longer. But 2 weeks seems like an unnecessary amount of time.

Thats why I was wondering if others (especially al rajhi bankees) have the same wait times.

I talked to a guy who has account with alRahji and he transfers money to South Africa regularly, he says that he takes 2/3 days for the money to be wired to South Africa cuz of stringent transferring norms in his country !!

Are you sure the issue is from here or the Trump administration has made more checks in the money which is getting into the country !!

That could also be an issue. I'm going to try again from my bank in the US tonight to see if someone else at that bank can help me....we'll see *fingers crossed*

There is a reason for that.   When you transfer money abroad; depending on the currency of the transaction, the appropriate correspondent bank steps in.

For example, any USD transfer will be handled through a correspondent bank in the US so Rajhi will send the money to your US account through that bank.  That applies EVEN if you were to send money from Saudi in USD to a USD bank account in the UAE - the money will go to the US first and then to UAE.

With the recent increase in money laundering regulations and security climate; especially when it comes to US banks and when the money is originating in a "risky" locale, stringent security checks are done.  Usually what happens is that the correspondent bank asks your bank for information such as full name of account holder, address, purpose of payment etc etc.  When this information is provided and the correspondent bank is satisfied, the money is credited.

The process can take long depending on the bank and you (US nationals or residents tend to get a lot more scrutiny due to your beloved IRS).  It can be that Rajhi and it's correspondent bank are not the best in turnaround times.  To give you an example, I transfer in USD quite frequently from Bahrain and Channel islands; most transactions go through in a few days but some get delayed for up to 2 weeks.

I always use Al Rajhi in sending money  back home and it only takes 1-2working days max before it gets credited to my account in the Philippines. I think the reason behind it is the bank in the Philippines is directly affiliated with Al Rajhi bank so it is faster transferring money than any other remittance agent.