The Cheapest Ways To Send Money More Cheaply From The UK: Monito's Guide

Sending money abroad, whether to friends, family or even other businesses, can be an expensive process if you don’t do your research. Fluctuations in the worldwide currency markets and varying bank fees make it all the more important to compare your options carefully and seek out the cheapest way to transfer funds.

In this guide, we explore some of the best ways to send money abroad from the UK and what you need to be aware of so that you don’t get caught out.

How To Transfer Money Abroad Cheaply

International money transfers allow you to send money from one bank account to another in a different country. There are various methods for doing this, but in order to find the best option for you, there are a number of points to watch out for. To make the process easier, we’ve outlined these points below:

1. How Much Does the Transfer Cost?

The first, and perhaps most important point is the cost. Unfortunately, no international money transfer is completely free of charge which means the person receiving the transfer may get less money than expected. You’ll therefore want to keep these costs as low as possible.

The two key costs you’ll need to keep in mind are:

• The transfer fee: You’ll either be charged a flat fee for transferring your funds or a percentage of the transfer amount. Be wary if you see a provider advertising fee-free transfers as you may be offered a poor exchange rate to cover the cost.
• Exchange rates: Not all providers publish their exchange rates which can make it difficult to get a clear idea of how much you’ll be charged. You’ll usually need to log into your account or give the provider a ring to find out the exchange rate for that particular day.

2. How Long Does The Transfer Take?

The second point to consider is how long your international transfer might take, particularly if the funds are needed urgently. Traditional wire transfers, for example, take place over the SWIFT network which is an international funds transfer protocol allowing banks around the world to exchange money between one another. However, wire transfers can be both slow and expensive.

A much quicker option is to use an online money transfer provider. But there are even disparities here - some transfers can be instant, while others can take a few days.

3. How Safe Is It?

Safety should also be an important part of your comparison, so be sure to look for a provider that is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This means they are required to meet certain standards and your money must be kept separate from the provider’s own funds. This process of “safeguarding” means that you should be able to get your money back if the company ceases trading.

You can rest assured that all services shown on Monito are fully authorised money transfer operators that have been vetted against the highest standards of security and reputability even before appearing on our comparison engine.

What Is The Cheapest Way To Send Money Abroad From The UK?

Unfortunately, there’s no single answer to this question as it will ultimately depend on how much money you’re transferring, where you’re sending it to and how quickly you need it to arrive.

We’ve outlined some of your options below so you can make the decision that’s right for you.

How Much Do UK Banks Charge For International Money Transfers?
UK banks tend not to offer the cheapest international money transfers. However, many people automatically turn to their high street bank because they believe it to be the safest and most reliable option. Plus if you already have your bank account set up, it’s more convenient to carry out your transfer that way.

However, this ease and convenience comes at a cost. Bank exchange rates are usually far less competitive and transfer fees can also be much higher compared to other options, as the table below shows:

To give you an idea of how this compares, if you were to carry out the same transfer with international money transfer specialist Wise, you’d pay a £3.69 transfer fee. More importantly, Wise’s exchange rate is 0.02% better than the mid-market exchange rate, subtracting £0.16 from the total cost of the transfer. That means the amount received would come to €1,161.00 – easily beating the above banks.

Better Bank Options For Sending Money Abroad From UK

Although high street banks are generally not the best option when it comes to sending money abroad, some banks will allow you to transfer money to linked banks overseas without the need to pay a fee.

There are two different scenarios in which this could be useful. The first is if you and the person you’re sending money to (such as a family member overseas) have bank accounts with the same banking group. The second is if you have a foreign bank account in your own name, perhaps because you have a property overseas. These options are both explained below:

HSBC Worldwide Bank Transfers

If you and the person you’re transferring money to both hold an HSBC account, you won’t need to worry about transfer fees, which could save you a considerable sum of money. You can send up to £50,000.00 or currency equivalent online in a matter of minutes or you can send an unlimited amount if you go in branch. Money can be sent to accounts in more than 150 different countries.

However, even though there are no transfer fees, it’s still crucial you check the exchange rate carefully. Although HSBC says rates are “updated by the second during market hours”, these rates won’t always be the most competitive. To ensure you’re getting the best deal, check how the exchange rate compares with international transfer services. In some cases, it could be more cost effective to choose a service that charges a transfer fee but offers a much better exchange rate. You’ll need to do some maths to check.

Free Transfers to Foreign Account in Your Name

The second option is to open both a UK account and a foreign account with your chosen bank, depending on the country you need to send money to.

For example, if you’re sending money to Scandinavian and Baltic countries, you could open accounts with Danske Bank and transfer money between them. Danske Bank operates in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, the USA, Northern Ireland and Ireland, as well as the UK.

Alternatively, if you open an Instant Savings Account with State Bank of India UK, you can send money to Indian bank accounts for free, providing your balance does not fall below £500.00.

Save Money by Sending Money Online in The UK

Although there are ways to keep costs down if you want to use a traditional high street bank to carry out your money transfer, generally you’ll find that sending money online will be the quickest, easiest and cheapest way. You can do this via:

• An international money transfer service: These include the likes of Wise, Paysend, WorldRemit and Western Union. Such services provide more competitive exchange rates, fees and commissions compared to banks, which means your recipient will end up with more money. Using Monito’s live comparison tool will help you find the cheapest money transfer service to meet your needs.
• Neobanks: These offer banking services exclusively online and include Monzo, N26, Monese and Revolut. Many neobanks allow users to transfer money abroad without the extortionate fees and at the interbank or mid-market exchange rate, making them a competitive option.

Read more in our guide The cheapest way to send money internationally.

Best Providers For Transfers Under £5,000.00

The table below shows three of the best providers when transferring £1,000.00:

Cheapest Ways To Transfer Over £5,000.00

The table below shows three of the cheapest providers when transferring £6,000.00:

Our Top Instant Transfers

It’s important to note that most of the above services take two days to carry out a transfer. So if your transfer is urgent, below are five of the speediest services available:

• TransferGo – money arrives in minutes
• Western Union – money arrives in minutes
• XE – money arrives the same day
• Small World – money arrives the same day
• Skrill – money arrives the same day.

Keep in mind that while these services are the quickest, they won’t usually be the cheapest, so you’ll need to weigh up what’s most important to you – speed or cost.

An alternative option is to use a cash pickup transfer. With this option, the money is transferred to a physical location that the recipient can collect - usually in a matter of minutes. Read more in our guide the fastest way to send money internationally, or run a search on our real-time comparison engine below: