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.
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 £40 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 £40
The Co-operative Bank
Up to £6
Up to £25
First Direct
Up to £4
Up to £9
HSBC
Up to £6
Up to £8
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 decisions 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 two 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.
Case study: Wiring £1,000 to India
Bank transfer
Cash pickup 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, resulting in the least amount of money delivered among the three – 3,340 INR less than if you sent the money through the online money transfer service.
Send money abroad with XE
Whatever amount you transfer, XE will not charge you a fee for using their service.
Compare banks to independent money transfer services
Table: sorted by a combination of service offering and the amount your recipient will receive
Disclaimer: Exchange rates change often. Confirm the total cost with the provider before transferring money.
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 of 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 cutoff time. Others can take up to five business days.
Zak Killermann is a staff writer at Finder specializing in money transfers. He has ghostwritten hundreds of FinTech articles over the years and found his love for publication at St. Cloud State University. Zak has been traveling internationally for nearly half his life and — after getting burned once by an over-the-counter money exchange — vowed to never settle for anything short of the mid-market rate.
I want to sponsor a teenager in Ethiopia and want to send him £40 each month. I’ve already checked and he’s genuine and he has a bank account. What would be the cheapest way to do this?
There are multiple ways in sending money to Ethiopia. We have a comparison of money transfer services specific to Ethiopia if you click here. You can also read our guide from there so you can weigh your options.
Please send me a message if you need anything else. :)
Hi – does anyone know where I can find a comparison of bank fees for receiving an international incoming payment in GBP (for UK-based banks)? There is lots of information online on the cost of sending transfers but not much on the cost of receiving them. Apparently, there are some banks that do not charge anything to receive an incoming international GBP payment but I don’t know which ones they are!
Thanks for getting in touch with finder. I hope all is well with you. :)
We currently don’t have a list of bank fees that are charged to the recipient when doing a money transfer. This is due to, like what you mentioned, a lot of transfer fees are charged to the sender.
For you to confirm, you can directly get in touch with your bank or money transfer company to know more about their fees.
I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.
Typically how much do overseas banks (US/ Europe/Asia) charge their domestic customers for making small bank transfers of for example £20, and will a receiving UK bank charge the UK account holder as well and if so how much?
Incoming and outgoing bank transfer fees vary depending on the type of account the sender and receiver hold, the amount transferred, destination as well as whether the transfer is done in the branch, over the phone or online. Some beneficiary banks charge the receiver some fees unless the sender shoulder all the fees, which you have to indicate during the transfer.
For small amounts though, it might be cheaper to do the transfer through a money transfer service since most banks charge a fixed wire transfer fee irregardless of the amount. If you can tell us the bank you’re dealing with, we can try to check the rates for you. Better still, contact your bank directly to know the fees they charge specifically for this amount.
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I want to sponsor a teenager in Ethiopia and want to send him £40 each month. I’ve already checked and he’s genuine and he has a bank account. What would be the cheapest way to do this?
Hi Bernard,
Thanks for leaving a question on finder.
There are multiple ways in sending money to Ethiopia. We have a comparison of money transfer services specific to Ethiopia if you click here. You can also read our guide from there so you can weigh your options.
Please send me a message if you need anything else. :)
Cheers,
Joel
Hi – does anyone know where I can find a comparison of bank fees for receiving an international incoming payment in GBP (for UK-based banks)? There is lots of information online on the cost of sending transfers but not much on the cost of receiving them. Apparently, there are some banks that do not charge anything to receive an incoming international GBP payment but I don’t know which ones they are!
Hi tgeorge,
Thanks for getting in touch with finder. I hope all is well with you. :)
We currently don’t have a list of bank fees that are charged to the recipient when doing a money transfer. This is due to, like what you mentioned, a lot of transfer fees are charged to the sender.
For you to confirm, you can directly get in touch with your bank or money transfer company to know more about their fees.
I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.
Have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Joshua
Typically how much do overseas banks (US/ Europe/Asia) charge their domestic customers for making small bank transfers of for example £20, and will a receiving UK bank charge the UK account holder as well and if so how much?
Hi Michael,
Incoming and outgoing bank transfer fees vary depending on the type of account the sender and receiver hold, the amount transferred, destination as well as whether the transfer is done in the branch, over the phone or online. Some beneficiary banks charge the receiver some fees unless the sender shoulder all the fees, which you have to indicate during the transfer.
For small amounts though, it might be cheaper to do the transfer through a money transfer service since most banks charge a fixed wire transfer fee irregardless of the amount. If you can tell us the bank you’re dealing with, we can try to check the rates for you. Better still, contact your bank directly to know the fees they charge specifically for this amount.
Best regards,
Liezl