Best Way to Send Money Abroad from the UK (2026)

For most people sending money from the UK to a bank account abroad, the best way is a specialist transfer service such as Wise, which uses the real mid-market exchange rate and charges a small fee you can see upfront. On a £1,000 transfer to euros that costs about £4, against roughly £27 to £33 hidden in the exchange rate at a high-street bank (checked November 2026). If your recipient needs cash in hand, use a cash-pickup service such as Remitly, WorldRemit or Western Union, and judge it on how much arrives.

The rest of this guide shows where the money goes, how each option compares and which one fits your situation.

The quick answer: best option by situation

Want to see the numbers for your own amount? Try our transfer cost calculator.

Our pick: For most bank-to-bank transfers, Wise is the one to beat. It shows the mid-market rate and the fee before you pay, and our live quote for £1,000 to euros cost £3.81 (checked November 2026). Get a quote, then compare it with your bank’s figure for the amount received.

Where the money goes: the mid-market rate and the hidden markup

Every international transfer has two possible costs:

1. A transfer fee. The fixed or percentage charge you can see, such as £5 at HSBC for non-euro payments.
2. An exchange-rate markup. The gap between the rate you get and the mid-market rate, which is the real wholesale rate halfway between what banks pay to buy and sell a currency. It’s the rate you see on Google or Reuters.

Most people only compare the first cost. The second is usually bigger, and it never appears as a line on your statement. Banks call it a “currency conversion charge” or “margin” and build it into the rate they quote you.

UK banks now publish their caps, so we can measure it:

• Barclays adds a currency conversion charge of up to 2.75% on top of its reference rate for personal customers, with no Barclays fee for app or online payments (checked November 2026).
• NatWest applies a margin of no more than 3.25% and no sending fee (checked November 2026).
• HSBC uses its own rate “which includes a currency conversion charge”, and charges £5 for non-euro payments or euros sent outside the EEA unless you’re a Premier customer or use its Global Money Account (checked November 2026).

Worked example: sending £1,000 to euros

On the day we checked, the mid-market rate was £1 = €1.1988 (November 2026). At that rate, £1,000 is worth €1,198.83. Here’s roughly what arrives:

*Revolut converts at its own rate, which tracks the market closely on weekdays. Outside market hours (Friday evening to Sunday evening) a markup applies on some plans, and Standard users pay a 1% fair usage fee on exchanges above £1,000 a month. Wise figure from a live Wise quote; bank figures are calculated from each bank’s published maximum margin, so the real margin may be lower on some amounts.

The pattern holds for other currencies too. Our live Wise quotes for £1,000 (checked November 2026):

At a bank charging a 3% margin, the same £1,000 would cost about £30 in the rate alone, before any fee. If you send £300 home every month, a 3% gap is around £108 a year.

Your options compared

UK high-street banks (HSBC, Barclays, NatWest, Lloyds, Santander, Nationwide)

How it works: In your banking app, add an international payee using their IBAN (Europe) or account number plus SWIFT/BIC code, choose the currency and send.

Costs: Fees range from £0 (Barclays and NatWest in the app) to £5 or more for some SWIFT payments. The margin of up to around 3% is the main cost. You can also be hit by intermediary bank charges on SWIFT payments outside Europe, which come out of the amount in transit. Banks let you choose who pays these: you (often for an extra fee; NatWest charges £10 for this option), the recipient, or a split.

Speed: Euros within Europe usually arrive the same or next working day. Elsewhere it’s typically 1 to 4 working days.

Limits: Generally high. HSBC allows up to £50,000 online and NatWest up to £20,000 a day in the app if you have biometrics set up (checked November 2026).

Best for: People who want to stay with their bank, very large sums where your bank will negotiate, or transfers within the same banking group (for example HSBC to HSBC, which is fee-free).

Bank-specific guides: HSBC, Barclays, NatWest, Lloyds and Halifax, Nationwide and Santander.

Wise

How it works: Create a free account, verify your ID, enter the amount and recipient’s bank details, then pay by bank transfer or card. Wise pays out from its local account in the destination country, so the transfer usually avoids SWIFT.

Costs: A percentage fee that depends on the currency (0.33% plus 52p for GBP to EUR by bank transfer), converted at the mid-market rate (checked November 2026). Paying by debit card costs a bit more, and business or credit cards cost much more (around 1.9% to 2.9% on our quote), so pay by bank transfer. Monthly volume above £20,000 unlocks an automatic discount.

Speed: Many euro and sterling transfers arrive within seconds or hours. Wise shows an estimate before you pay.

Limits: Wise’s own UK guide says up to £1 million per transfer by bank transfer, with higher limits from a Wise balance. Card payments have lower limits.

Safety: Wise Payments Limited is authorised by the FCA as an electronic money institution (FRN 900507). Your money is safeguarded, not FSCS-protected (see the safety section).

Best for: Most bank-to-bank transfers, regular payments and large one-offs.

Revolut

How it works: Hold pounds in the app, exchange to the target currency and send, or let the app convert as you send.

Costs: On the free Standard plan you can exchange up to £1,000 a month without a fair usage fee. Above that it’s 1%. Plus (£3.99 a month) raises the allowance to £3,000 with 0.5% above it, and Premium (£7.99 a month) and higher plans have no monthly cap. Exchanges made outside market hours, from Friday evening to Sunday evening, can carry an extra markup of up to 1% depending on your plan. Euro transfers within SEPA are free; payments outside the UK and SEPA can carry a transfer fee shown in the app. Revolut’s plan terms change often, so check the in-app fee screen before you confirm (checked November 2026).

Safety: Revolut exited mobilisation and became a fully licensed UK bank (Revolut Bank UK Ltd) in March 2026, and says eligible deposits are FSCS-protected up to £120,000.

Best for: Weekday transfers under your plan’s allowance, especially to other Revolut users. See our full Wise vs Revolut comparison and Revolut review.

Remitly and WorldRemit

How it works: Apps built for sending money to family, particularly to South Asia, Africa and the Philippines. You can usually choose bank deposit, cash pickup or a mobile wallet.

Costs: A transfer fee (sometimes zero) plus a markup on the exchange rate, which varies by corridor and speed. Remitly often offers a better promotional rate on a new customer’s first transfer (currently on the first £1,000). That’s worth having, but compare normal rates for repeat transfers.

Safety: Remitly U.K. Ltd is authorised by the FCA as an electronic money institution (FRN 1047222).

Best for: Cash pickup or mobile wallet payouts, and corridors where they price aggressively. See our guides for India, Pakistan, Nigeria and the Philippines.

PayPal

How it works: Send to an email address or phone number via “Friends and Family”.

Costs: PayPal charges 5% of the amount for international personal payments, minimum £0.99 and maximum £2.99 (checked November 2026). If the money needs converting, PayPal also adds a spread to its base exchange rate. It doesn’t publish the personal-payment figure in its UK fee table, which publishes 3% for some other conversion types. That spread makes PayPal one of the dearer ways to send anything more than pocket money. Full breakdown: PayPal international transfer fees.

Best for: Small amounts to someone who only has PayPal.

Western Union and the Post Office

How it works: Send online, in the app, or over the counter at Western Union agents, including Post Office branches. You can pay in cash, by debit or credit card, or online by bank transfer. Recipients can collect cash, often within minutes, or get a bank deposit.

Costs: Fees vary by destination, amount and speed, and Western Union states that it “makes money from currency exchange” too. Credit card payments can also trigger cash-advance charges from your card provider.

Best for: Cash in, cash out, or a recipient without a bank account. See Post Office and Western Union: how to send money abroad.

Is it safe? FCA authorisation, safeguarding and FSCS

Before sending through any company, check it on the FCA Register (register.fca.org.uk). Every legitimate UK money transfer firm is either a bank or an authorised payment or e-money institution.

The difference matters if a firm fails:

• Banks (Barclays, HSBC, NatWest, and now Revolut Bank UK) hold deposits covered by the FSCS up to £120,000 per person, per banking licence.
• E-money and payment institutions (Wise, Remitly, Western Union, PayPal’s UK e-money business) are not FSCS-protected. They must safeguard customer money in separate accounts or with insurance. The FCA says customers should get most of their money back if one fails, but it may take time and may not be the full amount, because the administrator’s costs can come out first. New, stricter FCA safeguarding rules came into force on 7 May 2026.

In practice, money in transit for a day or two carries little risk with a large authorised firm. If you hold large balances for months, a bank account with FSCS cover is safer.

Scam warning: Once money has been sent abroad, getting it back is very hard. Never send money to someone you’ve only met online, to a “romance” contact, to an “HMRC officer” or to anyone pressuring you to act fast. If in doubt, stop and call your bank on the number on your card.

How to send money abroad: step by step

1. Get the recipient’s details. Full name as on their account, IBAN (in Europe and many other countries) or account number, and the bank’s SWIFT/BIC code. For cash pickup you need their full legal name exactly as on their ID.
2. Check the mid-market rate. Search “GBP to EUR” (or your currency) to see the real rate right now.
3. Get two or three quotes for the same amount. Use your bank’s app, Wise and one other. Compare the amount the recipient receives, not the fee.
4. Choose who pays overseas charges (for SWIFT payments from a bank). If the recipient must receive an exact amount, for example an invoice, choose “I pay all charges”.
5. Verify your identity. Specialists ask for photo ID once. For larger sums, expect questions about where the money came from. Keep payslips, sale contracts or savings statements handy.
6. Pay by bank transfer where you can. It’s usually the cheapest way to fund a transfer. Avoid credit cards, which can be treated as cash advances with fees and interest from day one.
7. Send a small test payment first when paying a new recipient a large sum.
8. Keep the reference (tracking number, MTCN for Western Union) until the money arrives.

Large transfers: house deposits, inheritances and savings

Above about £10,000, small percentage differences become real money. A 1% gap on £50,000 is £500.

• Wise’s fee falls as a percentage on large amounts. Our quote for £25,000 to euros cost £76.44, about 0.31% (checked November 2026).
• Currency brokers such as OFX and XE quote on large sums and can offer forward contracts to lock a rate for a future completion date. Ask for the margin in writing.
• Your bank may lower its margin if you ask, especially for Premier-type customers. Barclays, for example, has offered a reduced margin to Premier customers for a limited time.
• Plan for compliance checks. Have evidence of funds ready so the transfer doesn’t stall before a deadline.

Regular transfers: sending money home every month

If you support family abroad, you’re paying the cost twelve times a year, so pick on cost and reliability:

• Use a provider that pays out locally and quickly in your corridor. Wise, Remitly and WorldRemit all specialise here.
• Remitly’s new-customer rate only covers your first transfer, so judge it on the normal rate after that.
• Avoid weekend conversions with providers that add an out-of-hours markup.
• See our cheapest way to send money abroad guide for more ways to cut the cost.

Mistakes that cost people money

• Comparing fees, not the amount received. “No fee” usually means the cost is in the rate.
• Accepting dynamic currency conversion. If a payment page offers to “charge you in pounds” for a foreign amount, the conversion usually comes with a markup.
• Using a credit card to fund a transfer. Expect a cash-advance fee plus interest.
• Sending SWIFT without checking charges. Intermediary banks can shave off £10 to £30 before the money lands.
• Not double-checking IBANs. A mistyped account number can take weeks to recall, and a recall can cost you a currency loss.