International Money Transfer from the UK
What a transfer abroad really costs, how banks, apps and specialist brokers compare, which fraud protections stop at the UK border, and how large sums are moved safely — in more than 30 currencies, by phone, with a dedicated specialist.
An international money transfer moves funds from an account in one country to an account in another, converting between currencies on the way. Above roughly £3,000, a specialist currency broker is normally the cheapest route, because the cost sits in the exchange rate margin rather than the transfer fee. A typical UK high-street bank margin of 3% to 4% dwarfs the £10 to £30 fee it charges alongside it. Cambridge Currencies quotes the rate by phone before anything is booked, charges no transfer fee, and processes payments through FCA-authorised partners Currencycloud (FRN 900199) and ScioPay (FRN 927951).
GBP
EUR
Mid-market rate shown for reference. Your transfer rate includes a small broker margin. For other pairs, use the currency converter.
GBP to EUR Exchange Rate History
What is an international money transfer?
Which rail your money takes determines almost everything you experience — the speed, whether an intermediary bank can take a cut, and how the beneficiary's name is checked. It is decided by the provider, not by you, and it is rarely stated on the pricing page.
A euro payment into the euro area normally goes through SEPA, arriving in full because scheme rules require the full amount to reach the beneficiary. A dollar payment sent by SWIFT wire may pass through one or two correspondent banks, each entitled to deduct a handling charge. A specialist broker holding local accounts in the destination country can often bypass the correspondent chain entirely by paying in-country.
That distinction is the reason two providers can quote the same headline rate and deliver different amounts. Our guide to how SEPA transfers work covers the euro-area rules in detail.
How much does an international money transfer cost?
The cost of an international transfer has four components, and the one most people compare on is the smallest.
- The exchange rate margin. The difference between the mid-market rate and the rate you are actually given. Typically 3% to 4% at a UK high-street bank, 0.4% to 0.8% at a transfer app, and 0.2% to 1% at a specialist broker depending on size and pair. This is the real price.
- The transfer fee. £10 to £30 at most UK banks, variable at apps, and nil at Cambridge Currencies. Visible, quotable, and almost never the number that matters.
- Correspondent bank deductions. On SWIFT wires, intermediary banks can deduct handling charges in transit, so the amount that arrives is less than the amount sent.
- Receiving bank charges. Some overseas banks levy an inbound payment charge on the beneficiary. It is their charge, not the sender's, and it is worth asking the recipient about before you send.
Independent benchmarking bears out how large the spread between provider types is. In its September 2025 issue, the World Bank's Remittance Prices Worldwide put the global average total cost of sending the equivalent of $200 at 6.36%, with banks the most expensive channel at 14.99%, money transfer operators at 4.72% and digital services at 4.59%. The average cost of sending from the United Kingdom fell to 4.61% in the same quarter.
One honest caveat, because it matters: those figures measure small remittances of around $200, where fixed fees dominate. Large transfers price very differently — margins compress sharply with size, which is exactly why a £250,000 transfer should never be priced from a small-transfer comparison table.
Illustrative worked example
A buyer sending £250,000 to a euro account, at an illustrative mid-market rate of 1.1600.
At a bank margin of 3.5%, the dealt rate is 1.1194 and €279,850 arrives. At a broker margin of 0.4%, the dealt rate is 1.1554 and €288,840 arrives.
Difference: €8,990 on the same £250,000, from a 3.1 percentage-point difference in margin alone.
Rates used above are illustrative round numbers chosen to show the arithmetic, not quotes. Our fees page sets out how we price, and the GBP to EUR pair page carries the live rate.
Bank, transfer app or specialist broker — which should you use?
There is no single winner. The right choice depends almost entirely on the size of the transfer and whether you need someone to speak to.
| Feature | High-street bank | Transfer app | Specialist broker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange rate margin | Poor (3–4%) | Fair (0.4–0.8%) | Strong (0.2–1%) |
| Transfer fee | £10–£30 | Variable, often rises with size | No transfer fees |
| Rate confirmed before you commit | Often not | Yes, in app | Yes, by phone |
| Correspondent deductions in transit | Possible on SWIFT wires | Usually avoided | Avoided via local rails |
| Upper transfer limits | Online caps common | Caps common | No practical upper limit |
| Ability to fix a future rate | Rarely offered to individuals | No | Forwards and limit orders |
| Named person to call | Call centre | Chat or in-app support | Dedicated specialist |
| Best suited to | Small ad-hoc payments | Under £1,000 | Above £3,000 |
Apps are genuinely good at small, frequent, self-service payments, and we say so. What they do not offer is a fixed forward rate, a person who knows the route, or pricing that improves as the amount grows. Banks rarely win on price at any size; what they offer is keeping the payment inside a relationship you already have.
How do you send an international money transfer?
Opening an account is free and takes around ten minutes. Every transfer then follows the same four steps, with the rate confirmed by phone before anything moves.
- Open a free accountRegister online or by phone and complete identity verification. UK residents and companies are usually verified within one working day. There is no obligation to trade.
- Agree the rate by phoneYour specialist quotes a live rate and confirms the exact amount that will arrive on the other side, after all costs. The rate is fixed the moment you accept it.
- Send your fundsTransfer sterling by Faster Payments or CHAPS to the safeguarded client account. CHAPS is used for larger sums where a same-day guarantee matters.
- We pay your beneficiaryOnce your funds arrive and convert, the foreign currency is paid to the account you nominated — your own, a supplier, a lawyer, a notary or a family member.
Details you will need: the beneficiary's full name exactly as their bank holds it, plus an IBAN for Europe, a BSB and account number for Australia, or an ABA routing number and account number for the United States. You can check an IBAN or a SWIFT code for free before you send.
How long does an international money transfer take?
Speed is set by the rail and the cut-off, not by the provider's marketing. A euro payment routed through SEPA typically arrives the same or next working day. A SWIFT wire through a correspondent chain generally takes one to three working days. A payment made from a local account inside the destination country can arrive within hours.
Two constraints catch people out. The first is your own funding leg: the exchange rate is fixed when you agree it, but nothing can be paid out until your money arrives, so a late CHAPS or a Faster Payment that hits a bank limit costs a day. The second is that a payment settles only on a day that is a working day in both currencies, and national holiday calendars rarely line up.
Our guide to how long international payments take breaks this down by route, and an MT103 gives you proof of payment when a beneficiary needs to trace a wire.
Which fraud protections stop at the UK border?
This is the part of international transfers that is least well understood, and it is the strongest argument for confirming beneficiary details with a person rather than typing them into a form.
Two of the UK's headline payment protections are domestic by design.
Confirmation of Payee, the name check that warns you when an account name does not match, is described by Pay.UK as "a payments agnostic overlay service for domestic UK-based payments" offered on CHAPS, Faster Payments and Bacs (Pay.UK). It is not a cross-border service.
Mandatory reimbursement for authorised push payment scams began on 7 October 2024, with a maximum of £85,000 per claim. The Payment Systems Regulator describes its scope plainly: "Everyone making a payment via Faster Payments or CHAPS from one UK bank account to another will be covered" (Payment Systems Regulator). A payment to an account outside the UK is not a payment from one UK bank account to another.
At the receiving end, the euro area now runs its own check. Under the EU Instant Payments Regulation, from 9 October 2025 payment service providers in the euro area must offer Verification of Payee, under which, as the European Commission puts it, "a payee's name must match the provided IBAN in order for a payment to be processed" — provided free of charge (European Commission).
Put together: on a transfer out of the UK you generally have neither the UK name check nor the UK reimbursement right, and whether the destination performs its own name check depends on where and in what currency you are sending.
This is why every Cambridge Currencies transaction is completed by phone. Beneficiary details are read back and confirmed with a specialist before a payment is released, which is a deliberate control on the exact risk the domestic protections do not reach. Take account details from the recipient's own written instructions, and treat any change of bank details notified by email as suspect until you have confirmed it by phone on a number you already had.
What documents do you need for a large international transfer?
There is no regulatory maximum on the amount you can send. Larger transfers simply attract more evidence, because UK money laundering regulations require a firm to understand the source of the funds it is moving.
In practice that means a document that explains where the money came from: a completion statement or contract of sale for a property, a mortgage offer, a contract note for sold investments, a grant of probate for an inheritance, a settlement agreement, or company accounts and invoices for business flows. Supplying it up front is what keeps a large payment on schedule.
Where the sums are substantial, the practical guidance lives on our large currency transfers page, and property buyers will find the sequencing set out under property buyers.
Should you transfer today or fix a rate for later?
If the funds are in hand and the payment is due now, a spot transfer is the right tool: you agree today's rate and settle within a couple of working days.
If the payment is committed but dated — a completion in three months, a supplier contract running through the year — the exposure is not a rate you have to accept on the day. A forward contract fixes a rate now for settlement later, usually against a deposit. If you have a target level rather than a fixed date, a limit order converts automatically if the market reaches it.
The mechanism to understand is that major pairs move on the interest rate differential between their two central banks and on the data that shapes it. A 2% move on a €400,000 purchase is €8,000, which is why the timing decision on a large transfer is worth as much attention as the provider decision. Live levels and ranges sit on our currency forecasts, and you can set a free exchange rate alert rather than watching the screen.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Comparing providers on the fee. A £15 fee beside a 3.5% margin on £250,000 is a rounding error next to the real cost.
- Assuming the mid-market rate is the rate you get. Converters and comparison sites show mid-market. Every provider prices around it — ask for the dealt rate and the exact amount that will arrive.
- Treating a dated future payment as a series of daily decisions. If you owe €400,000 in three months, you do not have a transfer to make today; you have three months of unmanaged exposure.
- Sending to details supplied by email. Invoice and conveyancing fraud both work by changing bank details late in a chain. Confirm by phone, on a number you already held.
- Ignoring the destination calendar. Nothing settles on a public holiday in the receiving country, however early you funded.
- Splitting a large transfer to avoid checks. It does not reduce the documentation required, it slows the payment down, and it looks precisely like what compliance teams are trained to escalate.
Is your money protected?
Cambridge Currencies is not itself FCA-authorised. Payments are arranged through FCA-authorised partners — Currencycloud (FRN 900199) and ScioPay (FRN 927951) — and client funds are safeguarded by those partners.
It is worth being straight about what safeguarding is and is not. The FCA states plainly that if a non-bank payment provider goes out of business, "your money won't be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)". Instead, firms "must either put your money in a separate safeguarding account with a bank, or protect it with an insurance policy or similar guarantee" — and if the firm fails, "you should get most of your money back. But it may take some time to receive, and it may not be the full amount" (Financial Conduct Authority).
That is true of every UK currency broker, not only of us, and you can verify any provider's permissions on the FCA Financial Services Register. We would encourage you to.
Where are you sending money?
Corridor guides carry the paperwork, the local rails and the timing quirks that a general page cannot.
UK to Europe
Property completions, notaire and gestor deposits, and euro-area Verification of Payee. See UK to Spain and UK to France.
UK to the Americas and Pacific
No name check on US payments and Australia's domestic-only Confirmation of Payee. See UK to USA and UK to Australia.
Sending into the UK
Repatriating a property sale, a pension or overseas savings into sterling, from more than 40 countries. Start at send money to the UK.
Business payments
Supplier settlement, payroll, invoicing currency and hedging an order book. See business foreign exchange.
Planning a transfer abroad?
Speak to a Cambridge Currencies specialist about your transfer — the route, the cut-off and the amount that will land on the other side, confirmed before anything moves. Every transaction is completed by phone with a dedicated specialist.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest way to send money internationally from the UK?
For amounts above roughly £3,000, a specialist currency broker is normally cheapest, because the margin inside the rate — not the transfer fee — is where the cost sits. Below about £1,000 a transfer app is usually simpler and the difference is small. High-street banks are rarely the cheapest option at any size.
How much does a bank charge for an international transfer?
Most UK high-street banks charge a fee of £10 to £30 and take a margin of around 3% to 4% inside the exchange rate. On a £250,000 transfer, a 3.5% margin is roughly £8,750 of cost that never appears on the statement as a charge.
How long does an international money transfer take?
It depends on the rail. Euro payments through SEPA typically arrive the same or next working day, SWIFT wires generally take one to three working days, and payments made from a local account inside the destination country can arrive within hours. Your own funding leg and both countries' bank holidays are usually the binding constraints.
Is there a limit on how much money I can transfer abroad?
There is no regulatory maximum. Banks apply their own online caps, and transfer apps commonly cap per transaction. A specialist broker has no practical upper limit; larger amounts simply require evidence of the source of funds, such as a completion statement, mortgage offer or contract note.
Are international transfers covered by UK scam reimbursement rules?
The UK's mandatory reimbursement requirement, which began on 7 October 2024 with a £85,000 maximum per claim, covers payments made via Faster Payments or CHAPS from one UK bank account to another. A payment to an overseas account falls outside that description, which is why confirming beneficiary details directly with a person matters more on a cross-border payment than a domestic one.
Will the recipient get the full amount I send?
On SEPA payments, scheme rules require the full amount to reach the beneficiary. On SWIFT wires, correspondent banks can deduct handling charges in transit, and some receiving banks apply their own inbound charge. Ask your provider to confirm the amount that will land, not just the rate.
What information do I need to send money abroad?
The beneficiary's full name exactly as their bank holds it, their account details in the correct format for the destination — an IBAN for Europe, a BSB and account number for Australia, an ABA routing number and account number for the United States — and a reason for the payment. Take the details from the recipient's own written instructions rather than an email signature.
Can I fix an exchange rate for a transfer I need to make later?
Yes. A forward contract fixes today's rate for settlement on a future date, usually against a deposit, and is commonly used for property completions and dated supplier contracts. If you have a target rate rather than a fixed date, a limit order converts automatically if the market reaches your level.