HSBC Send Money Abroad: Fees, Global Money & Limits (2026)

To send money abroad with HSBC UK, log in to the HSBC app or online banking, add your recipient’s IBAN/account number and SWIFT/BIC, and pay. HSBC charges £5 for most international payments (free for euros within the EEA, HSBC-to-HSBC, and from a Global Money Account), but every conversion uses the HSBC exchange rate, which includes a conversion charge. That hidden margin is usually a bigger cost than the £5, and it’s where providers like Wise tend to beat HSBC.

Quick answer: HSBC international payments at a glance

All figures from HSBC UK’s own pages (checked November 2026). Premier and Private Banking customers don’t pay the £5 fee.

What HSBC charges to send money abroad

HSBC’s fee table is simpler than most banks’. Here’s what you pay HSBC for sending (checked November 2026):

The £5 is waived for Premier and Private Banking customers, and doesn’t apply to Global Money.

The cost that isn’t in the fee table: the exchange rate

When HSBC converts your pounds, it uses the HSBC Exchange Rate, which “includes a currency conversion charge”. Put simply, you get fewer euros, dollars or rupees per pound than the mid-market rate (the real rate you see on Google or Reuters). The difference is HSBC’s margin.

HSBC doesn’t publish a single percentage for outbound payments. The only figure it does publish is for converting incoming foreign-currency payments into pounds: 2.2% on amounts up to £50,000, falling to 0.4%–0.7% above £500,000 (checked November 2026). We use 2.2% as a working assumption in the examples below. Treat it as illustrative, not as HSBC’s quoted outbound rate. The way to see the real cost is to compare HSBC’s on-screen rate with the live mid-market rate at the same moment.

Correspondent and receiving bank fees

For payments outside the EEA, HSBC may route your money through an intermediary (correspondent) bank, and both that bank and the recipient’s bank can take a fee. HSBC lets you choose who pays:

• Pay all the fees: you cover HSBC’s fee plus intermediary, agency and receiving bank charges (the “OUR” option at most banks).
• Share the fees: you pay HSBC’s fee, and others may be deducted along the way (“SHA”).
• Beneficiary pays all fees: nothing charged to you; the recipient gets less.

Within the EEA you can’t choose to pay the recipient’s charges. HSBC also warns that since January 2021 some EEA receiving banks charge more than they used to for UK payments.

Receiving money from abroad into HSBC

Incoming euros from the EEA are free. Other currencies, or euros from outside the EEA, cost £5, unless the money goes into a Global Money, Premier, Private Bank, MyAccount or MySavings account, which are free. Foreign currency paid into a sterling account is converted at the HSBC rate with the conversion charge above (checked November 2026).

HSBC Global Money: is it worth using?

Global Money is a multi-currency account that lives inside the HSBC UK app. If you already bank with HSBC, it’s the cheapest way to send money abroad with HSBC.

What you get (checked November 2026):

• Hold up to 18 currencies: GBP, EUR, USD, AUD, ZAR, PLN, CAD, NZD, CHF, SEK, HKD, AED, CZK, NOK, DKK, SGD, JPY and CNY (CNY can be held but not sent or spent).
• Send in 50+ currencies to 200+ countries and regions, up to £50,000 a day.
• No HSBC fee and no intermediary fee on sends. The receiving bank may still charge.
• Receive payments in the 18 supported currencies with no fee.
• A free multi-currency debit card with no HSBC fees on spending or cash withdrawals abroad (£500 daily cash limit; ATM owners may charge).
• Balances are FSCS-protected as part of HSBC UK.

Who can open it: anyone with an active HSBC UK current account (not Basic Bank Account, Appointee or MyAccount), a valid email and mobile number on file, and the HSBC UK app.

The catch: the transfer goes at the HSBC Global Money Exchange Rate, which also includes a conversion charge. So the “£0 fee” is real, but the transfer isn’t free. You’re paying through the rate instead. Global Money is a clear improvement on a standard HSBC transfer (you skip the £5), but it still usually costs more than a specialist that uses the mid-market rate.

One handy use: if you’re paid in euros or dollars, or receive money from family abroad, you can hold that currency in Global Money and send it on without converting twice.

How to send money abroad with HSBC, step by step

In the HSBC UK app (Global Money)

1. Log on to the HSBC UK app.
2. Tap Pay, then Send internationally.
3. Choose your Global Money Account as the account to pay from.
4. Add or pick your recipient and enter the amount. The live rate is shown and held for 40 seconds.
5. Check the rate, the amount the recipient gets and the estimated arrival time, then confirm.

In HSBC online banking (from your current account)

1. Log on and add the new payee with their international details.
2. Select Pay and Transfer, then choose the account to pay from.
3. Enter the payment details: amount, currency, reference and reason.
4. For a first payment to a new international payee, authorise it with your Secure Key: enter the last 4 digits of the payee’s account number or IBAN, then the unconverted amount, and type the code into online banking.
5. Review and confirm. After that, future payments to the same payee can be made in the app.

You can track payments with Track global payments in the app or the international payment tracker in online banking.

In branch or by phone

Branch payments cost the same £5 (free for euros to the EEA) but you’ll need photo ID plus the recipient’s details. Phone payments are capped at £10,000 (Premier customers can send much more by phone). Post costs £17.

What details you need

• The amount, in pounds or the foreign currency
• The recipient’s exact account name
• Their IBAN or account number
• Their bank’s SWIFT/BIC code
• The recipient’s address and their bank’s address
• The reason for payment and a payment reference

Some countries need extra codes, such as an IFSC for India or a purpose-of-payment code for parts of the Gulf. Get these from the recipient before you start. Our India guide and Pakistan guide cover the local details.

Limits, cut-off times and how long it takes

Limits (checked November 2026):

• Online and app: up to £50,000 (or currency equivalent)
• Global Money: up to £50,000 a day
• Phone: up to £10,000 (Premier customers higher)
• Global Transfers between your own HSBC accounts in different countries: up to US$200,000 a day

Speed: euro or sterling payments to the EEA usually arrive the next working day. Payments outside the EEA can take up to 4 working days, longer around bank holidays. Larger or unusual payments (property, investments) can be held for extra security checks.

Cut-off times depend on the currency. HSBC’s current cut-off sheet (effective June 2025) gives, for example, 3:30pm for euros, 6:00pm for US dollars, 2:00pm for Indian rupees and 6:30am for Pakistani rupees and UAE dirhams, UK time on working days. Miss the cut-off and processing starts the next working day. Check the full PDF for other currencies.

HSBC UK no longer processes payments to or from Russia or Belarus.

Worked example: sending £1,000 with HSBC vs Wise vs Revolut

Example 1: £1,000 to a euro account in Spain

Assumptions (clearly illustrative): mid-market rate of €1.20 per £1 (the live rate was about €1.199 when we checked on 5 November 2026). HSBC margin assumed at 2.2%, the conversion charge HSBC publishes for converting incoming payments; HSBC doesn’t publish a fixed outbound figure. Wise fee is a live quote from 5 November 2026.

On these assumptions, Wise gets about €22 more to your recipient. HSBC’s euro payments aren’t “free” just because the fee line says £0.

Revolut’s Standard plan includes £1,000 a month of currency exchange at the Revolut rate, then a 1% fair-usage fee on anything above that (checked November 2026). So a one-off £1,000 transfer can be very cheap, but bigger or regular transfers start costing more. Rates can also be less favourable outside market hours, so check the app before you confirm.

Example 2: £1,000 to India (rupees)

Here HSBC’s £5 fee applies on a standard account, on top of the rate margin:

• HSBC current account: £5 fee + ~£22 margin (2.2% assumption) = about £27
• HSBC Global Money: £0 fee + ~£22 margin = about £22
• Wise: £5.14 total fee at the mid-market rate (live quote, 5 November 2026)

The gap grows with the amount: at £5,000 the same assumed margin costs about £110 at HSBC.

Want to plug in your own numbers? Use our transfer cost calculator.

Our pick: If you’re sending more than a few hundred pounds and the recipient doesn’t bank with HSBC, get a quote from Wise and compare it with the HSBC app before you hit send. Compare the amount received, not the fee.

When HSBC is the better choice

Being honest, HSBC wins in a few situations:

• Sending between your own HSBC accounts abroad. Global Transfers between linked HSBC accounts in different countries are free and instant-ish, up to US$200,000 a day.
• You’re a Premier customer sending large sums by phone, with a relationship manager and higher limits.
• The recipient banks with HSBC and you’re sending in a currency they hold, so no conversion is needed.
• You already hold the foreign currency in Global Money (for example, euros you were paid), so there’s no conversion margin at all.
• You want everything in one place with FSCS protection on the balance and no new account to open.

When to use Wise or Revolut instead

• Any payment involving a currency conversion, especially over a few hundred pounds. A mid-market rate plus a visible fee usually beats a bank margin.
• Regular remittances home (India, Pakistan, Nigeria, the Philippines). Small savings on each transfer add up over a year.
• You want to know the exact amount that will arrive before you send. Wise shows it upfront.
• Revolut suits people sending up to £1,000 a month on the Standard plan, or paying a SEPA euro account, and who are happy managing money in an app. Open Revolut and check the in-app quote.

For a side-by-side of the two apps, see Wise vs Revolut. For every option ranked, including banks, PayPal and cash pickup services, read our guide to the best way to send money abroad.

Bottom line: HSBC is convenient and Global Money removes the £5 fee, but the exchange rate still carries a margin. For most personal transfers, Wise gets more money to the other end.

Tips before you send with HSBC

1. Send in the local currency, not pounds. If you send sterling, the receiving bank converts it at its own rate and you lose control of the cost.
2. Check the rate against the mid-market rate at the same moment. The difference, multiplied by your amount, is your real cost.
3. Don’t split big payments to dodge limits. Bank margins often shrink for larger amounts, and you’ll pay the £5 fee each time.
4. Confirm the recipient’s details by phone or in person, not from an email. International payments are hard to recall, and scammers often use “updated bank details” messages.
5. Choose who pays fees deliberately for payments outside the EEA, especially for exact amounts like rent or school fees.