Sending Money Abroad with Lloyds: Everything You Need to Know

Thinking of using Lloyds Bank to send money abroad? While the bank is one of the most established and most popular in the UK, users should be aware of the hidden fees that the bank charges on international money transfers, and mindful of the lower-cost alternatives.

Founded in 1765 in Birmingham, Lloyds Bank is one of the oldest and most-respected banks in the UK. Lloyds serves over 30 million customers and is the leading provider in the UK market for current accounts, savings, loans, and mortgages. Lloyds Bank is one of the UK’s “Big Four” banks, alongside Barclay’s, NatWest, and HSBC.  

With over 2,000 branches across the UK, Lloyds is without a doubt one of the most conveniently accessible banks in the country when it comes to speaking with someone or withdrawing money. It is not, however, the most convenient for making international transfers. 

If you’re one of the many UK residents who frequently makes international money transfers, sending remittances to loved ones around the world, or looking to make important international transactions, then it’s important to note that though it is reliable, Lloyds is rarely the fastest or the cheapest option to send money abroad. Its exchange rates are not competitive, and consequently, Lloyds often ranks low in Monito’s comparison engine. Its international transfers come with significant fees that can cost you upwards of 25% of the amount you’re transferring. 

What Will Lloyds Charge You? 

On the surface, Lloyds discloses two fees to its users looking to make international money transfers: 

• A £9.50 fee for any transfer made out of the Eurozone
• A Correspondent Bank Fee of either £12 if made to the USA, Canada, or (non-EEA) Europe or £20 if made to anywhere else in the world.

What is a Correspondent Bank Fee? Well, when a bank sends money to a beneficiary in a country where they themselves do not have any branches, then another bank needs to receive and handle that money and usually, they charge a fee. The resultant fee is the Correspondent Bank Fee. Sometimes banks give you the option of charging this fee to your beneficiary while others give you the option to pay it yourself.  

While these fees may already seem like a lot, they aren’t all… 

Lloyd’s Exchange Rates: Beware the Hidden Fees

What traditional banks don’t tell you is that they make a lot of their money in hidden fees, especially when it comes to transferring money internationally. 

Well, quite simply, this is due to the exchange rate margin. When you make a foreign transfer, you essentially sell your British pounds to your bank, after which they exchange your money at or below the mid-market rate, and then charge you a percentage so that they can make a profit. 

So say you want to send £100 to India. You see via Google that this should get your recipient INR 9,476* With Lloyds UK however, only INR 7,036 arrives in India. That’s a difference of 2,440 Indian rupees or 25.75 pounds sterling – over 25% of your transfer! 

Why so much? Well, as we’ve already seen, Lloyds charges £9.50 to initiate an international transfer outside of the Eurozone and charges a Correspondent Bank Fee. In this case, Monito estimates that the receiving bank fee would be £13.50. That together makes up £23 of the £25 lost to fees. The remaining £2.75 makes up the hidden exchange rate margin fee. 

The percentage you pay in hidden fees goes down the more money you transfer in one go, but the absolute cost remains high regardless. 

*values given on September 28th,2020 at 19:50 GMT. 

The Costs Combined

Since Lloyds also charges you £9.50 to initiate your international transfer, that means that the fees on your transfer consist of an initial transfer fee, the exchange rate margin, and a receipt fee. With the above example of a £100 transfer to India, that brings your total fees to £26.12 – over 25% of your transfer. These specific fees will vary depending on the country you’re sending money to and the day’s exchange rates, but the practice remains the same. 

All data from September 28th,2020 at 19:00 GMT. 

The takeaway? Hidden fees take an enormous amount of money out of your remittances. Fees get proportionally smaller the more money you send, but sending more money is rarely a solution. What is? Avoiding international transfer providers who hit you with hidden fees. 

Compare your options with Monito and save upwards of 95% in fees from the UK:

Sending Money Abroad with Lloyds: Other Fees to Anticipate

While exchange rate fees make up the bulk of the fees you’ll pay in making an international money transfer with Lloyds from the UK, you may be hit with additional fees if you make your transfer by phone or need to call Lloyds to ask any questions via their International Helpdesk. 

Is Lloyds Right for You? 

At the end of the day, Lloyds Bank is truly a household name and a very well established bank that can be trusted with your transfer. If you already have a bank account with Lloyds in the UK and value the ease of making your international money transfer straight from it, that may be enough for you.

On the other hand, if you’d rather keep the costs low and are open to sending your international transfers and remittances through a third party, then there are lots of lower-cost alternatives at your disposal. Monito regularly evaluates and reviews them for comfort of use, security, and speed, so you can be sure that whichever service you choose through Monito’s search engine will get the job done. 

For these reasons, we recommend that you explore your options through Monito’s comparison engine and find a transfer provider who will get your money to your beneficiary safely, securely, and faster, all at a lower cost. 

All data from September 28th,2020 at 19:00 GMT.