Key takeaways
- Compare the amount delivered, not the fee. A "£0 fee" transfer with a 3% markup on a £5,000 EUR transfer costs £150 you never see.
- Mid-market rate (the rate banks quote each other, what you see on Google or XE.com) is the benchmark. Anything else is a markup.
- Wise wins on most major currency corridors (EUR, USD, AUD, CAD) with mid-market plus ~0.4% fee. WorldRemit wins on Africa, South-East Asia, Latin America. XE wins on amounts over about £20,000.
- Specialist providers are FCA-authorised but not banks. Your funds are safeguarded in segregated accounts, not protected by FSCS up to £120,000.
How much will it cost you?
Set the amount and the destination. The calculator runs the same transfer through four typical routes and shows the estimated total cost. Live, no email, no signup.
Estimate the total cost in pounds
Indicative, based on typical 2026 pricing. Always run a live quote on the provider site before sending.
Total cost on your to
LiveHigh-street bank
Visible £0 fee, ~3 to 5% FX markup
WorldRemit
Fixed fee + variable spread
XE Money Transfer
No fee over £500, small FX margin
Wise (TransferWise)
Mid-market rate + transparent percentage fee
Cheapest: . Sending via a specialist instead of a high-street bank saves about on this transfer.
Estimates based on published fee schedules in 2026. Actual cost depends on the payment method, recipient delivery method and live FX rate. Always run a live quote.
Why the bank route is rarely the cheapest
UK high-street banks built their international transfer business on a model that no longer fits a smartphone-first market. They route payments through SWIFT (the global bank-to-bank network), apply a wholesale FX rate, then add their own margin on the rate plus an optional flat fee. The margin is invisible: you see "£0 transfer fee" and lose 3 to 5 percent of the amount in the exchange.
Specialist providers reverse that. Wise transfers happen at the mid-market rate (the rate Google shows you) with a small visible percentage fee. XE charges a small spread on rates but waives the headline fee. WorldRemit uses a fixed fee plus a corridor-specific spread, which makes it competitive in markets where the others struggle.
The structural reason: the high-street bank's international transfer is a low-volume, high-margin product. The specialist's is high-volume, low-margin. Both businesses work, but only one rewards you for using it.
SWIFT, SEPA, Faster Payments: which does what
All international transfers run on one of three underlying payment rails. Knowing which one your provider uses tells you how fast and how cheap the transfer will be.
| Rail | Where it works | Speed | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) | Euros to EU and EEA countries | Same day or hours (SEPA Instant) | Cheapest. Wise uses SEPA for GBP to EUR. |
| Faster Payments (FPS) | GBP between UK banks | Within seconds | Free at the UK end. Wise uses FPS to receive your GBP. |
| SWIFT | Any currency, anywhere | 1 to 5 working days | Most expensive. High-street banks default to SWIFT. |
| Local rails (ACH, NEFT, etc.) | Domestic networks in the destination country | Same day to next day | Cheap when used. Wise reaches USD via ACH, INR via NEFT. |
| Mobile money / cash pickup | Africa, SE Asia, Latin America | Minutes | Per-corridor pricing. WorldRemit is strongest here. |
How to send money abroad in five steps
- 1Check the mid-market rate. Open Google or XE.com. Type "GBP to EUR". The number you see is your benchmark.
- 2Run a quote on two providers. Wise and one of XE / WorldRemit (corridor-dependent). Compare the amount the recipient gets, not the headline fee.
- 3Sign up and verify. Email, ID photo, sometimes a selfie. Same KYC (Know Your Customer) checks as a UK bank. Takes 5 to 15 minutes once.
- 4Fund the transfer. Faster Payments (free, instant) is the cheapest UK funding method. Debit card adds a small fee; credit card adds more. Avoid the latter unless you need speed.
- 5Track and confirm. All three providers send delivery alerts. EUR via SEPA arrives within hours; USD within a day; mobile money in minutes; SWIFT within 1 to 5 working days.
Is it safe to use a non-bank provider?
Yes, if the provider is FCA-authorised. Wise, XE Money Transfer and WorldRemit all hold UK authorisation as Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) or Authorised Payment Institutions. The Financial Conduct Authority requires them to safeguard client funds: customer money is held in a segregated account at a bank like Barclays or Citibank, separate from the firm's own balance sheet.
The protection works differently from FSCS. If a bank fails, FSCS pays you back automatically up to £120,000 per person. If an EMI fails, the safeguarded pool of customer money is returned to customers in an orderly insolvency. Funds should be returned, but the process can take weeks and there is no automatic compensation if a small shortfall is found.
Practical rule: EMIs are safe for the in-and-out flow of a transfer. They are less ideal as a long-term home for a large balance you would otherwise leave in a UK bank with £120,000 FSCS cover.
The Selectra expert answers your questions
For most major currencies under £20,000, Wise is the cheapest specialist: mid-market rate plus a ~0.4 to 0.6% fee depending on the corridor. For amounts above £20,000, XE Money Transfer often beats Wise because XE has no headline fee and its FX margin is smaller in proportion. For mobile money or cash pickup in Africa, South-East Asia and Latin America, WorldRemit tends to win.
It depends on the rail. SEPA (GBP to EUR) takes hours, sometimes minutes if SEPA Instant is supported. Local-rail USD, AUD, CAD typically settle next working day. Mobile money arrives in minutes. SWIFT (the high-street fallback) takes 1 to 5 working days because each intermediary bank in the chain adds a delay.
Because the bank adds a 3 to 5 percent margin to the exchange rate before quoting you. Wise quotes you the mid-market rate and a small visible fee. The end result is what matters: the foreign-currency amount your recipient receives. Always compare that number, not the fee.
Different, not strictly safer. Wise is FCA-authorised as an EMI and safeguards client funds in segregated accounts. A UK bank is FSCS-protected up to £120,000 per person. For the duration of a transfer, both are safe. For storing tens of thousands of pounds long-term, a bank with FSCS protection is the more conventional choice.
Not by default. UK income tax and capital gains tax apply to the underlying activity (a salary you earned abroad, a property you sold), not to the act of moving money. HMRC may ask for documentation on transfers above ~£10,000 under Money Laundering Regulations, so keep evidence of the source of the funds.
Yes, with XE and some Wise Business products. The product is called a forward contract: you agree the rate today, the transfer happens up to 12 months later. Useful for paying for a property purchase abroad or expecting a future salary payment.
Deep-dive provider reviews
Wise (TransferWise) review
How Wise charges the mid-market rate, full fee schedule and which corridors it dominates.
WorldRemit review
WorldRemit pricing, mobile money payouts and the African, Asian and Latin American corridors it wins.
XE Money Transfer review
XE's fee-free model on amounts over £500, forward contracts and the £20k+ break-even point.