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Sign up nowMoney on the move: how to save on overseas transfers
If you’re sending cash abroad, it's important to shop around for the best deal
If you send a letter or package overseas, you probably don’t think too much about the journey it takes – the hours spent travelling across borders by rail, air or sea, and the multiple hands it passes through. And if things go well, it will arrive in just a few days, leaving you and the recipient none the wiser.
International payments work similarly. Money can travel very different routes to the same destination, leading to significant differences in cost, speed of payments and customer service.
Here, we outline your options for sending money abroad and explain why shopping around could help you and your recipient save money.
How common are overseas transfers?
When we surveyed 1,209 Which? Connect panel members in December 2024 and January 2025, 21% said they made an international payment in the last year.
The most common reasons were to pay an overseas seller for an item (16%), send a Christmas gift (13%), pay into their own offshore account (11%) or financially support a relative living abroad (10%).
The amounts sent were typically small: 57% sent less than £1,000 on their most recent payment. But 30% sent between £1,000 and £9,999, and 7% transferred more than £10,000.
The most popular destinations were the USA, Australia and countries within the Eurozone, but there were a few less common destinations in the mix, such as Bhutan and Eritrea.
As for the provider chosen, 52% used their existing bank or current account provider; 22% opted for a specialist money transfer company; and 9% used PayPal.
Loyalty doesn't pay
When we asked why they chose their provider, an overwhelming 86% said they had stuck with one they had used previously to ‘play it safe’.
Just 11% said they had compared costs and chosen the most favourable deal.
But sticking with who you know doesn’t always get you a reliable service. For example, one Which? member ditched their bank due to cost and reliability issues.
They said the firm they now use provides email confirmations when money arrives, plus ‘its exchange rates can be competitive – though it’s always best to check’.
How much does it cost to send money?
It can be anxiety-inducing to wave your cash off into the international banking ecosystem, but a little research can result in savings for you, a quicker transfer and a larger ‘recipient gets’ figure – the amount after fees and exchange rates are taken into account.
International payments can be subject to a range of fees and charges, including flat fees (eg £1.50) per transfer, percentage charges based on the amount you send, and margins added to exchange rates.
Fees can vary depending on the payment methods used to make and receive the transfer. The recipient may also be charged to receive the money by their own bank.
| Amount recipient receives (in AUD) | How long it takes | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic Money | $1,983 (standard)/ $1,981 (express) | 4 working days | Express service takes 3 days |
| Currencies Direct | $1,962 | Not stated | Requires online account to generate quotes |
| Moneygram | $1,916 | 0-1 working days | Pricing applies to first online transfer only |
| OFX | $1,980 | Not stated | Requires online account to generate quotes |
| Revolut | $1,984 | 2 days | Requires Revolut bank account |
| Starling | $1,970 | Not stated | Requires Starling bank account |
| Western Union | $1,983 | 2-3 working days |
Our comparison of costs
In January, we gathered quotes for bank-to-bank international transfers from nine established providers authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that make it reasonably easy to obtain a quote online.
These were digital banks Revolut and Starling, as well as Atlantic Money, Currencies Direct, Moneygram, OFX, Xoom (part of PayPal), Western Union and Wise.
We compared the costs of sending £1,000 to Australia, India, Spain and the USA, and for a larger £100,000 transfer to Spain. For each scenario, we checked each provider’s website in quick succession at a specific date and time.
Exchange rates can change by the second, and they fluctuated while we were doing this, so it’s not an exact comparison. But it still indicates the savings available.
We found that temporary deals and introductory pricing can be a factor. For example, Moneygram states its pricing is ‘effective for first online transfer only’. This means it’s worth shopping around each time you make a transfer, to make the most of these offers.
We checked the ‘recipient gets’ figure for each provider and recorded information on how long the payment would take to arrive, whenever this was stated at the quote stage.
Western Union offered the best rate for sending £1,000 to Europe, but it didn’t provide a quote for the £100,000 transfer as this exceeded its £40,000 limit. Atlantic came out top for rate on both its ‘standard speed’ and ‘instant’ options for the £100,000 transfer.
Moneygram ranked best for rates for £1,000 sent to the USA or India; Revolut came top for the same amount sent to Australia.
Moneygram and Western Union are commonly associated with wire transfer services – where the recipient picks up physical cash from a branch in their country, but they also allow online payments to bank accounts, and from credit and debit cards.
The fee or fees you’ll pay vary widely between providers and aren’t always made clear when you first compare quotes. Here’s what to look out for:
- Flat fee: some firms may charge a flat amount per transfer, regardless of how much you send. This can work out more favourably if you’re making a large payment
- Percentage fee: you may be charged a percentage of the payment you’re making, so the more you send, the more you’ll pay in charges.
- Exchange rate margin: even if they advertise themselves as fee-free, providers will almost always apply a less favourable exchange rate than the one they receive themselves, in order to make a profit.
- Recipient fees: intermediary banks can charge the recipient extra fees. If this is a concern, try a smaller test payment first.
Doing your homework
Timescales varied considerably between providers. It would take three or four working days for £1,000 to reach Australia via Atlantic depending on the option chosen; Moneygram and Wise offered to do it in one working day.
When shopping around, treat comparison tables on provider websites with caution, and do your own comparisons too. We found Revolut’s table repeatedly showed a different ‘recipient gets’ rate for Moneygram and Western Union from the one quoted on the providers’ own sites.
In one case, Revolut put itself at the top of its table, despite Moneygram and Western Union quoting better rates on their sites.
When we approached Revolut it told us: ‘The data shown in our comparison table is standardised to not include promotions or offers by Revolut or its competitors, so each provider is only compared by their standard rates. Revolut is confident that when removing promotions, our comparison data is consistent and verifiable.'
Know your needs
Cost might not always be your primary concern. Speed may be of the essence if an important purchase hangs in the balance, or if a relative is in financial difficulty. And if there isn’t much difference between providers, reputation or customer service reviews could be the deciding factor.
But if you’re sending a large sum of money, it’s likely that the exchange rate will be paramount, as small differences can sometimes equate to thousands of pounds for the recipient.
Our list of providers isn’t exhaustive and didn’t include a number of specialist FCA-authorised currency firms, including Caxton, Corpay, Currency Solutions, Moneycorp, Key Currency and TorFX.
These firms didn’t offer easily accessible quotes online and may require you to register, verify yourself and/or engage by phone with an account manager before finding out rates. That’s a lot of work for low-value or one-off payments, but may well be worth your while if you are making regular or large payments.
However much you’re sending, and however regularly, read the payment provider’s terms and conditions before pressing send, so you know what to expect from the service.
