How to Transfer Money From Abroad to a UK Bank Account

Transferring money to the United Kingdom is easier and faster today than at any point in history, made even easier by the fact that, from most countries, your funds will normally arrive in the UK within just one or two business days. However, although easy, transferring to pounds sterling with your bank can sometimes be surprisingly expensive due to high fees and poor exchange rates.

In this short guide, we'll explain everything you should know about transferring money from abroad to the UK, whether from US dollars, euros, or any other foreign currency. If you'd like to skip ahead and find the best deal for you (or the person sending you money) to send money to pounds sterling, search our real-time money transfer comparison engine below! 👇

Option 1: International Wire Transfers

When most people think about transferring money from abroad to the UK, they normally think about a domestic bank transfer such as Bacs, CHAPS, or Faster Payments. These three transfer types use different means to achieve the same thing: sending British pounds from one bank account in the UK to another.

When the transfer is international, the concept is more or less the same. In these cases, even though there are big differences involved, from your point of view as a customer, it works more or less the same: euros, US dollars, or South African rands will be exchanged by third parties behind the scenes and deposited into your UK bank account as British pounds. The main difference is the time it takes. In domestic transfers, money is deposited within a day or two at most, while with international transfers, the time varies considerably. Euro transfers from SEPA countries can arrive in as little as one working day, while SWIFT transfers from less-traded currencies (e.g. New Taiwan dollars or Nigerian nairas) can take five or more working days to arrive.

In short, if you're transferring money from abroad to the UK, there isn't any special action needed in most cases because currency conversion happens behind the scenes and is therefore out of your control. Still, we've provided an overview of the process below:

How to Send an International Wire to the UK From Abroad

The exact process for transferring money from abroad to the UK will depend on your bank, and the precise steps may differ. However, here's an outline of how to instruct an international wire transfer from your online banking or app:

1. Log in to your internet banking portal or mobile app,
2. Select the option for international money transfer or payments,
3. Input your recipient's details (e.g. their name, account number, SWIFT/BIC code, etc.),
4. Enter the amount you'd like to transfer,
5. Set GBP as the currency (if applicable),
6. Review the transfer details for accuracy,
7. Select the option to send the transfer,
8. Ask your beneficiary to let you know once they receive the money.

Wire Transfer Charges

If all you're interested in is transferring money from abroad to a UK bank account regardless of the cost, then there's no problem. However, if you're interested in saving money or helping your beneficiary to receive as many pounds as possible in exchange for the foreign currency you send, then we recommend thinking things through a bit more closely. That's because international money transfers are notoriously expensive when done via the bank, racking up a number of possible fees along the way:

• Sending bank's fees: Your sender's bank will normally charge your sender a fee to send to the UK. Additionally, they will exchange their transfer into British pounds, which is normally done at a poor exchange rate (the global average range being around 5% to 15% of the entire transfer amount).
• Third-party banks' fees: Third-party banks involved in the SWIFT transfer process frequently extract fixed fees of up to £100 along the way.
• Receiving bank's fees: Your bank might add a final fee to the transfer amount before depositing the money into your account. If your sender transfers the amount in their local currency, then your bank will handle the GBP exchange itself (in other words, no foreign currency balance will appear in your bank account unless you have a specialised foreign currency bank account).

Take a look at our guide to bank charges for international transfers to learn more about these types of fees.

To save yourself money on the exchange rates and to skip SWIFT altogether, we recommend that you or whoever sends the money to your UK bank account use an international money transfer provider instead of a bank-to-bank wire transfer. This way, you can save a large fee amount, ultimately leading to more pounds being deposited into your bank account at the end of the day! You can use Monito's live comparison to scout the market in real time:

Option 2: Foreign Currency Accounts

If you're frequently sending money to the UK from abroad or receiving foreign currency into your UK bank account, opening up a foreign currency account could make sense. This option can let you open up an account in the very currency that you frequently receive from abroad and convert it into pounds in your own time (usually at better exchange rates than via SWIFT) or spend directly in the foreign currency.

Broadly speaking, there are two options to consider:

Bank Foreign Currency Accounts

Most banks in the UK like HSBC, NatWest, Barclays, and Santander have extensive foreign exchange services allowing you to, among other things, open up a bank account in a foreign currency. These accounts function more or less like normal bank accounts do (i.e. they come with online banking and a debit card), with the only notable difference being that they're denominated in a different currency.

We recommend contacting your bank directly or visiting their website to explore what options they have for foreign currency deposits. However, remember that foreign currency accounts at UK banks normally come with a monthly fee and are normally only restricted to accounts in major currencies like US dollars and euros.

If you're looking for a bank that doesn't charge fees on foreign currency bank accounts in euros, then we recommend checking out Starling Bank, whose foreign currency bank accounts are the cheapest and among the best-rated in the UK:

• Foreign currency accounts: Euro accounts are available.
• Monthly fee /account: £0
• Conversion costs to pounds: 0.2% - 0.6%
• More information: See our Starling Bank review or visit the website

Fintech Foreign Currency Accounts

Non-bank financial services are popular in the UK. Many offer foreign currency balances (not full bank accounts), which you can use to pay in a foreign currency and even receive foreign currency deposits. In this category, we recommend Revolut in particular. Its critically acclaimed and immensely popular mobile finance app has changed the way people send and spend foreign currencies in recent years, and with its online platform, you'll be able to receive foreign currency deposits and convert them to pounds at excellent exchange rates (although fair use limits and weekend surcharges may apply).

• Foreign currency balances: 30+ currencies
• Monthly fee: £0
• Conversion costs to pounds: 0.1% - 1%
• More information: See our Revolut review or visit the website

Option 3: Cash and Check Deposits

Cash or a cheque is another option to receive foreign currency into a UK bank account. Although less and less popular these days, there's always a slim chance you may have a wad of foreign banknotes or a cheque you need to cash.

In these cases, we recommend visiting your bank branch and speaking directly to the teller. They'll be able to give you information about the specific requirements and fees for depositing foreign cash or cheques into your bank account. For cheque deposits, you'll probably need to endorse the cheque and write up a deposit slip with your account details.

Either way, remember to allow up to a few days of processing time for foreign currency transactions to reflect in your bank account.