Send money outside the UK or in a foreign currency (2024)

Our fees

**This fee won't apply to payments sent in pounds from our Basic Account.

Other fees

When you send money using online banking or our app, the payment will always be sent using the shared charging option. This means you’ll only pay our £9.50 fee and the person you’re sending money to will pay any other fees. This could include money deducted from the payment by an agent bank and the bank you’re sending money to.

For payments made in branch or over the phone and being sent outside the UK or EEA, you can arrange for the full amount to be received by the recipient’s bank. Please note, the recipient’s bank may still charge a fee before they pay the money into the recipient’s account. To send a payment this way in branch or over the phone, you’d pay our £9.50 fee and the Correspondent Bank fee shown below.

Correspondent Bank Fee

• Zone 1 (USA, Canada and Europe (non-EEA)) - £12
• Zone 2 (Rest of the world) - £20

You can use the online payment calculator to see our standard exchange rate, which may change depending on how much you send.

If you enter an amount without selecting a recipient or without entering a new recipient, we’ll only show you a payment illustration.

If you select a recipient or enter a new recipient first, you can continue your payment with the exchange rate displayed.

We’ll show you the final payment details and exchange rate before you confirm your payment.

Our standard exchange rate includes a margin which you can see by using our margin calculator. The margin changes depending on how much you send.

The margin is the difference between our standard exchange rate and the wholesale rate at which we buy and sell currency in the foreign exchange markets.

You can send payments overseas in pounds.

Please be aware that most bank accounts are held in the currency of that country. For example, Canadian dollar accounts in Canada. This means the recipient bank would have to change a payment into foreign currency to be able to pay it into the recipient’s account.

If you send pounds, you may not know what exchange rate will be used by the receiving bank when the money arrives or exactly how much money the recipient will get. If we convert your payment into foreign currency before you send it, we’ll tell you our exchange rate at the time you request your payment. This means you'll know exactly how much foreign currency is being sent even if you make your payment request after the cut-off time.

If the account overseas is in pounds, you have a special arrangement to send pounds or you would just prefer to, then you should send it in pounds.

You can make a payment 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but we'll only process it during normal banking hours.

When the money will leave your account

Money will only be taken from your account once we've processed your payment.

• If you make your request before 3pm on a working day, the payment will be made the same day.
• If you make a payment in euros in branch or over the phone, there may be an earlier cut off time of 2pm.
• We process requests made after 3pm on the next working day.
• We process requests made on bank holidays and weekends on the next working day.

For example, if you request the payment at 3:30pm on a Friday, we won't process it until the following Monday.

Please make sure you keep enough money in your account to cover your payment amount. Otherwise we won’t be able to make the payment and it'll be cancelled. Also be aware of any other payments due that day which will reduce your balance such as direct debits, standing orders and debit card payments.

When the money will reach the recipient

The following table gives you information about the time the payment will take to reach the recipient's bank. These timescales apply if you've requested the paymenton a working day before the cut off time:

Please call the International Helpdesk on0345 982 5319 Monday to Friday 8.30am – 5.15pm.

We can’t guarantee that we’ll be able to cancel the payment. If we are able to cancel it for you, you may lose money through the differences in exchange rates.

Please make sure you’ve allowed enough time to pass before calling the International Helpdesk on0345 982 5319, Monday – Friday, 8.30am – 5.15pm.

They can review the Payment Tracking system and talk you through your options. Please be aware that if we need to trace your payment, we won’t charge you a fee but other banks involved may do.

IBAN and BICs are details that help banks identify the correct account when money is sent internationally. They're mandatory in certain countries.

What is an IBAN?

IBAN stands for ‘International Bank Account Number.’ An IBAN identifies a specific bank account. Each country has a different number of characters in their IBANs.

This is an example of an IBAN for the United Kingdom:

GB29NWBK60161331926819.

Which countries do I need a BIC/SWIFT and an IBAN for?

We need you to give us a BIC/SWIFT and IBAN when sending payments to the following countries:

All EU and EEA countries:

Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden

As well asthe following countries:

Albania, Andorra, Bahrain, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Gibraltar, Greenland, Isle of Man, Israel, Jordan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Lebanon, Macedonia, Montenegro, Moldova, Monaco, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and United Arab Emirates.