Your local bank branch offers an easy way to send money overseas straight out of your account, but often there are high fees attached to this convenience. We’ve researched the wire transfer fees of some of the top banks in the UK to show how they compare against one another and against independent money transfer services.
What wire transfer fees should I expect?
The fees your bank charges depend on whether you’re sending or receiving the money, as well as whether the recipient or sender is overseas. Some banks charge more depending on how you initiate the wire transfer – for example, online or in person.
Generally, it’s much cheaper to send money domestically because fewer financial systems are involved. International transfers involve banks and wire processing services for each country – and with more banks come more fees.
Based on our research from 10 UK banks, these are the current wire transfer fees you can expect:
Incoming international fee: Up to £7.50 for receiving money from an overseas bank account.
Outgoing international fee: Up to £25 for sending money to an overseas bank account.
Initiation fee: Up to £20, depending on how you make your transfer, for example, in a branch or over the phone.
Tracer fee: Up to £10 for requesting tracing services for a previous wire transfer.
Wire transfer fees for top UK banks
We’ve gathered the wire transfer fees charged by 10 major UK banks. You may also be subject to foreign transaction, minimum balance and other fees – and some banks waive or reduce fees depending on what kind of account you have
Bank
Incoming international
Outgoing international
Barclays
Up to £6
Up to £25
The Co-operative Bank
Up to £6
£13 to £35
First Direct
Up to £4
Up to £5
HSBC
Up to £5
£0 with a global money account
Lloyds
Up to £7
Up to £9.50
Metro Bank
£0
£15-£25
NatWest
Up to £7.50
Up to £15
RBS
Up to £7.50
Up to £15
Santander
£0
Up to £25
TSB
Up to £7
Up to £20
How can I compare these bank wire transfer fees?
To make your decision a bit easier, we’ve gathered wire transfer fees for several UK banks below.
When assessing these fees, how much you’ll pay depends on where you’re sending money to and other elements like:
Incoming vs outgoing. Incoming wire transfers tend to be cheaper than outgoing wire transfers. This is because the sender usually bears the brunt of the costs associated with the wire transfer.
Domestic vs international. Because domestic wire transfers involve less processing, they will be cheaper than international wire transfers. International wire transfers typically involve multiple banking systems and operators between the 2 countries.
Recurring vs one-time fees. Some banks offer savings of a few dollars per transfer when you set up recurring wire transfers.
Initiation fees. Your bank could charge a fee for requesting the wire transfer in a branch or over the phone, instead of online.
Tracer fees. If your recipient hasn’t received your transfer as scheduled, you may need to trace it. This could incur more fees.
Exchange rates. An exchange rate shows how much one currency is worth in another currency. Nearly all banks skew the published exchange rate for a profit, and they aren’t always forthcoming about the margin they add. You may need to call your bank or initiate a transfer online to see the best exchange rate offered.
How can I beat the banks and reduce what I pay in fees?
Many providers give a break on fees if you send more money each time you use its service. Some smaller banks even give you a break on transfers to and from student accounts. This helps parents or guardians avoid being double charged if they’re funding both accounts.
Example: Wiring £1,000 to India
This is a fictional (but realistic) illustration of the differences in cost between money transfer methods.
Bank transfer
Cash pick-up transfer
Money transfer service
Fee
£20 + bank fees
£1.90
£0
Exchange rate
1 GBP = 90.17 INR
1 GBP = 91.65 INR
1 GBP = 93.51 INR
Transfer speed
2-5 days
Minutes
1-2 days
Amount received
90,175 INR
91,654 INR
93,515 INR
Verdict
Slowest and most expensive
Fastest
Best value
The bank ends up being both the slowest and most expensive option among the 3, resulting in the least amount of money delivered – 3,340 INR less than if you sent the money through the online money transfer service
Bottom line
Banks offer a secure and familiar way to complete wire transfers with friends, family members and merchants. However, you can expect to pay high transfer fees on top of weaker exchange rates than you would get by using an online money transfer service.
There are more ways than just your bank to send money domestically and internationally, so be sure to compare your options before paying high fees.
Frequently asked questions
To send a wire transfer, you’ll need your recipient’s full personal and banking information, including their bank’s name and SWIFT code (if international) and their routing and account number.
Short for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, a SWIFT code is an international bank code used for incoming transfers. Every bank has a unique SWIFT code that can be used to identify it in a global financial transaction such as a money transfer.
For international money transfers, it’s better to send money in your recipient’s currency. This takes the burden of converting the currency off your recipient. Often times it is cheaper to wire in a foreign currency, too.
The processing time for a wire transfer varies from bank to bank and depends on several factors, such as whether the wire transfer is domestic or international. Some wire transfers can be processed within the same day if requested before the bank’s cut-off time. Others can take up to 5 business days.
We show offers we can track - that's not every product on the market...yet. Unless we've said otherwise, products are in no particular order. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations of these) aren't ratings, though we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it. This is subject to our terms of use. When you make major financial decisions, consider getting independent financial advice. Always consider your own circumstances when you compare products so you get what's right for you. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables has the source: Moneyfacts Group PLC. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.
Was this content helpful to you?
Thank you for your feedback!
To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Joelle Grubb as part of our fact-checking process.
Zak Killermann was a technical publisher at Finder who specialized in currencies and investing. Zak’s expertise was in breaking down technical finance concepts into approachable, digestible nuggets of information. See full bio
Revolut has made a name for itself as a favourite for frequent travellers by offering great currency services. Stick within the “fair usage” limit for your plan and the pricing can be hard to beat.
Lloyds Bank provides a range of options for sending money overseas to friends and family. See exchange rates, fees and services here and compare your options.
Send an international money transfer to someone without a bank account. Get it there instantly and they can pick it up in person, in cash. Get quotes now.
How likely would you be to recommend Finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
Advertiser disclosure
Finder.com is an independent comparison platform and information service that aims to provide you with the tools you need to make better decisions. While we are independent, the offers that appear on this site are from companies from which Finder receives compensation. We may receive compensation from our partners for placement of their products or services. We may also receive compensation if you click on certain links posted on our site. While compensation arrangements may affect the order, position or placement of product information, it doesn't influence our assessment of those products. Please don't interpret the order in which products appear on our Site as any endorsement or recommendation from us. Finder compares a wide range of products, providers and services but we don't provide information on all available products, providers or services. Please appreciate that there may be other options available to you than the products, providers or services covered by our service.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.