Send Money From the UK
Sending pounds overseas? See what a UK transfer really costs, which FCA-regulated app is cheapest to your country, how the four-step send works through Faster Payments, and exactly what lands for your recipient.
Compare live rates from the UK
Enter an amount and a destination and every major GBP service is ranked cheapest-first, showing the fee, the exchange-rate margin, and exactly how many rupees, naira or zloty land in your recipient's account.
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Best ways to send money from the UK — and who each suits
Which option wins comes down to where you're sending, how much, and whether your recipient wants a bank deposit, a wallet top-up or cash in hand. The comparison above does the sums for your route; below is a quick read on which FCA-regulated name is strong at what.
Wise
Best for a rate you can trustThe London-born app shows you the mid-market rate and a single upfront fee, with nothing tucked into the exchange rate. Start here if you want a transfer’s true cost on screen before you commit.
Remitly
Best for South Asian & African routesChoose Economy for the keenest price or Express when it has to arrive today. It’s strongest exactly where British families send most — India, Pakistan, Nigeria and the Philippines — paying out to banks, wallets and cash.
WorldRemit
Best for wallets & airtime top-upsDeep coverage across Africa and Asia from the UK, including mobile-money deposits and phone airtime — handy when your recipient runs their money life from a phone rather than a bank branch.
Instarem & TapTap Send
Best for low-fee regular sendsTwo apps that often charge little or nothing on their core corridors and fund in a tap over Faster Payments. Well suited to the modest amounts people wire home month after month.
Western Union & MoneyGram
Best when they need cash in handIf your recipient has no bank account, nothing matches these two for reach — tens of thousands of counters worldwide, cash often ready within minutes. The catch turns up in the exchange rate.
OFX & XE
Best for five-figure transfersMade for bigger sums: no upper limit, little to nothing in fees, and a person on the phone for large trades. When you’re moving thousands, a sharper rate beats shaving an hour off delivery.
Want the full field? Compare every provider side by side.
How to send money from the UK in 4 steps
- 1
Check the live rates for your route.
Drop your amount and destination into the tool above. It sorts every provider by what your recipient actually pockets — fee and rate margin combined — so you’re weighing real outcomes, not headline fees.
- 2
Register and add who you’re paying.
Signing up takes a few minutes. Add your recipient’s name exactly as their bank holds it, along with their account, wallet or cash-pickup details. A quick identity check on your side is routine FCA practice, not a warning sign.
- 3
Pay by Faster Payments.
A bank transfer reaches the provider in minutes and is the cheapest way to fund a send; a debit card is instant if you prefer; credit cards are best left out. Reassuringly, the UK charges no tax on money you send abroad.
- 4
Review, send, and follow it.
Check the rate and fees the app locks in on screen, confirm, and keep the reference or tracking link to hand until your recipient has the money.
Popular routes from the UK
The corridors British senders use most — pick any of them (or another country) in the comparison above.
Fees vs the exchange rate: what you actually pay
A UK transfer carries two costs, not one. The fee is the part you're quoted — usually £0 to £3 on a specialist app, £10 to £25 for a bank SWIFT payment. The exchange-rate margin is the part that actually stings. Every provider works from the mid-market rate — the true figure your currency converter shows — then hands you a slightly meaner version and keeps the difference. It sits inside the rate rather than on top of it, so it never appears on your receipt. That's the whole reason "fee-free" and "cheap" are not the same thing.
Send £1,000 to India or Nigeria through a high-street bank and a 3–4% margin quietly costs you £30–£40 before the flat fee is even added. A specialist such as Wise takes a small, visible fee and passes on close to the mid-market rate, so your family receives meaningfully more at the other end. The honest way to rank any two options is by their all-in cost — fee and margin together — as a share of the amount you send, which is precisely what the comparison above works out.
How to pay, and how your recipient gets it
How you pay
- Faster Payments (bank transfer) — cheapest and reaches the provider in minutes. No UK tax on sending abroad.
- Debit card — instant funding for a little more.
- Credit card — priciest; your issuer may add a cash-advance fee.
How they receive it
- Bank deposit — suits most transfers; typically one to two business days.
- Cash pickup — Western Union, MoneyGram, Ria agents; often ready in minutes.
- Mobile wallet — UPI in India, mobile money across Africa; frequently instant.
Is it safe? UK regulation in brief
Sending from the UK is safe with an FCA-regulated firm. Money-transfer companies here are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority as Authorised Payment Institutions or Electronic Money Institutions, and must safeguard your money in accounts separate from their own — so it's protected if the firm fails. One nuance: that safeguarding is not the same as the £85,000 FSCS guarantee, because these firms don't hold your money as a bank deposit; it only matters if you park a large balance in the app rather than passing it straight through. You can look up any provider on the FCA Register before you send.
Regulation covers the firm, not your judgement. Double-check the recipient's name, sort code and account details before you confirm — a cross-border transfer is hard to recall once collected — and treat any unexpected, urgent demand for money as a warning sign, especially from a stranger you know only through a screen.
Sending money from the UK — FAQ
What is the cheapest way to send money from the UK?
For most people it is a specialist transfer app funded by a Faster Payments bank transfer. Wise (a British company) uses the real mid-market rate with a small fee; Remitly, WorldRemit, Instarem and TapTap Send are often free or near-free on popular UK corridors like India, Pakistan and Nigeria. High-street banks are the most expensive route — a SWIFT transfer typically carries a £10–£25 fee plus a 3–4% exchange-rate markup. Compare the total cost on your exact route in the tool above.
Which app is cheapest to send money from the UK to India or Pakistan?
There’s no permanent winner — rates move daily and the amount matters. As a rough guide, Wise and Instarem tend to price keenly to India, while Remitly and WorldRemit are often ahead to Pakistan and Nigeria, particularly for wallet and cash payout. Run your own figure through the comparison first; the individual country guides then dig into each route.
How much does it cost to send money abroad from the UK?
Two costs matter: the fee you see and the exchange-rate markup you usually don’t. Good specialist services charge £0–£3 and add 0–1.5% to the rate; banks bury 3–4% in the rate on top of a flat fee. On a £1,000 transfer, the difference between the cheapest and most expensive provider is commonly £25–£45 for the same delivery.
How fast will my money arrive when I send from the UK?
Usually somewhere between minutes and two working days. Cash and mobile-wallet payouts on the big UK routes — India via UPI, Pakistan, Nigeria, the Philippines — are often instant or same-day, and bank deposits typically arrive in one to two working days. Paying in by Faster Payments keeps your side near-instant; a high-street bank’s SWIFT wire is the slow option at three to five days.
Are UK money transfer services regulated, and is my money safe?
Yes. Reputable UK money-transfer companies are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as Authorised Payment Institutions or Electronic Money Institutions and must safeguard customer funds in separate accounts. Wise, Remitly, WorldRemit, Western Union, MoneyGram, Instarem and Revolut are all FCA-regulated — you can check any firm on the FCA Register before you send.
Is there a limit on how much I can send from the UK?
Limits are set by each provider and your verification level, not by a single national cap — many services let verified customers send tens of thousands of pounds per transfer, with higher amounts needing extra ID or proof of funds. Large transfers may also trigger anti-money-laundering checks, which is normal. For very large sums, a dedicated FX broker can beat an app on the rate.