Sending money to and from the UK: how fast are international payments, really?

Everything you need to know about international payments involving the UK post-Brexit.

International payments to and from the UK can be fast. But they won’t necessarily be cheap or convenient. We get under the surface of why and how this may be changing by looking at the different types of payment rails:

Bank

Card

Blockchain

Proprietary networks

Bank rails for cross-border payments in the UK

There are two ways to send or receive money internationally from a bank account in the UK: SEPA or Swift.

SEPA refers to the single euro payments area, which comprises 41 countries, including the UK. The three main bank-to-bank SEPA payment schemes are:

• SEPA Credit Transfer
• SEPA Instant Credit Transfer
• SEPA Direct Debit

Swift refers to the messaging system for international bank payments that connects 11,500 banks, financial institutions and corporate customers across more than 200 countries.

How fast are international bank payments in the UK?

As the name suggests, SEPA Instant Credit Transfers are instant, also known as immediate or real-time payments. Yet UK banks allow a considerable cushion, describing them as same day. For less urgent payments, SEPA Credit Transfers take one business day and SEPA Direct Debits two business days.

Sending Swift payments outside the EEA can take between one and four business days, sometimes longer depending on the destination.

Some of the major global correspondent banks in the UK could be faster. For example, Barclays can make same-day payments in a variety of currencies before the daily cut-off times, including USD, CAD, ZAR, TRY. And next-day payments in many more, including HKD, INR, JPY and SGD.

How much do international bank payments cost in the UK?

TL;DR: The cost of sending and receiving international payments in the UK varies considerably. And each of the Big Four UK banks, which together account for around 75% of UK current accounts, calculates their fees differently. See below for more information.

UK banks typically charge a transaction fee and a currency conversion fee. The factors influencing the price include the payment system and channel used (online, mobile banking app, branch), as well as the countries and currencies involved.

Following Brexit, some European banks treat SEPA transfers between the UK and EU as international transfers. So, UK customers can expect to be charged fee by some European banks for accepting SEPA transfers from the UK.

For international Swift payments, there are generally three fee options: the sender pays all the fees, the sender and the beneficiary share the fees, and the beneficiary pays all the fees. You may see these referred to by their Swift abbreviations: OUR, SHA and BEN.

At the time of writing (May 2026), typical fees for international bank transfers to and from the UK are as follows:

Barclays

There are no transaction fees for SEPA payments. But for Swift payments, there’s a charge of £4-12 to send an international payment. A currency conversion charge is based on the market rate for the currency pair but is no more than 2.75% for personal customers. This applies to both Swift and SEPA payments.

There’s no transaction fee to receive SEPA payments. Receiving international payments from outside the EEA costs £6, unless the sender chooses to pay all the fees. Fees to receive both SEPA and Swift payments are waived for payments under £100.

HSBC        

There are no transaction fees for international bank transfers to another HSBC account or for euro payments in the EEA. There’s a £5 fee for currencies other than euro within the EEA, or for any currency outside the EEA. This fee is waived for certain accountholders. For Swift payments, there are also intermediary and agency bank charges.

The cost of receiving payments from outside the UK depends on the method: SEPA or Swift. And if the latter, the charging option the sender has chosen (see above). It also depends on whether the money is sent in GBP or in another currency, in which case a currency conversion fee applies.

Lloyds

There are no transaction fees for euro payments for personal banking customers, if they use online or mobile banking. All other payments cost £9.50. For Lloyds International customers sending funds internationally is free to another Lloyds account. But a £12 correspondent bank fee applies for the US, Canada and Europe, and a £20 fee for the rest of the world. Any fees the receiving bank charges also apply.

There’s no transaction fee for personal banking customers to receive payments in euro from within the EEA. Receiving international payments from outside the EEA costs £2 for transfers of up to £100 and £7 for those over £100. If the sending and receiving currencies are different, there’s a currency conversion fee which include a margin. Similarly, there’s no transaction fee for international banking customers to receive payments, although a currency conversion fee may apply.

Natwest

Most international payments made online are free. For urgent international payments, a £15 fee applies. If the sending and receiving currencies are different, there’s a currency conversion fee which include a margin.

There’s no transaction fee to receive payments in euro. For non-euro payments under £100, the fee is £1. For payments over £100, the fee is £7. If the sending and receiving currencies are different, there’s a currency conversion fee which include a margin. This margin can change based on the amount received, but it will not exceed 2.75%.

Card rails for cross-border payments in the UK

The UK is a card-loving nation. Debit and credit cards account for more than two-thirds of all domestic payments by volume, according to UK Finance. Likewise, when Brits make payments abroad or when shopping online from retailers in other countries, they prefer to pay by card.

The card proposition for consumers around speed and cost is strong. Payments are authorized in milliseconds. And there’s no up-front cost, unless surcharging card payments is permitted under local law.

For retailers and businesses accepting cards, the proposition is less compelling. Although transactions are authorized in real-time, settlement for card sales may take days, depending on where in the world the cardholder comes from.

Then there are card interchange fees. In the case of international card schemes like Visa and Mastercard, interchange is paid between two card scheme participants each time a card is used. For purchase transactions, the fee is paid by the acquirer to the issuer.

Interchange is generally a small percentage of the total purchase amount and depends on the type of card and channel (face-to-face, online etc.) used. Card acquirers and payment service providers (PSPs) pass on this cost to their retailer and business customers as part of their service charges.

Post-Brexit, the UK regulator is concerned that the UK card market is not working effectively. And that a lack of competition is leading to higher costs for businesses, which are passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is continuing its investigation into cross-border interchange fees. Since Brexit, these fees for UK merchants have increased five-fold, or by £150-200 million a year.

Blockchain rails for cross-border payments in the UK

Stablecoins are crypto assets that aim to maintain a stable value by referencing one or more fiat currencies. They have the potential to drive efficiency in payments and settlement using Blockchain rather than traditional rails, particularly for cross-border transactions.

Stablecoins side-step many of the problems of traditional bank-based international payments. They’re global by default, offer faster settlement, lower transaction costs, 24/7 availability and transparency on a blockchain.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that crypto will be regulated in the UK from October 2027. The FCA is finalising the wider crypto asset regulatory regime, with rules to be published in summer 2026.

Firms will have to be regulated to issue stablecoins, operate crypto trading platforms, engage in staking, deal, arrange deals or safeguard crypto assets. Until the new regime comes into force, crypto is largely unregulated except for financial promotions and financial crime purposes.

So, it is hoped that regulation will help boost confidence as well as take up of crypto solutions. After all, the UK remains one of Europe’s largest markets for crypto adoption, and grew 32% over the 12 months to June 2025.

Proprietary rails for cross-border payments in the UK

Aside from bank, card and Blockchain rails, other companies have built proprietary rails for cross-border payments in the UK. These include larger remittance service providers, such as Western Union or MoneyGram, and new fintech providers like Inpay.

Since the 1950s, the UK has attracted migrant workers to fill labour shortages. Most foreign workers currently come from India, Nigeria and Pakistan as well as from EU member states, such as Poland and Romania.

Unsurprisingly, these are the top three destinations for remittances from the UK by value. However, Bermuda, Somalia and Jamaica were the most dependent on remittance funds as a percentage of GDP, according to the Migration Observatory at Oxford University.

Indicative execution times and costs for sending £120 from the UK, drawn from Q3 2025 World Bank data, include:

Payments from UK to India arrive within the hour or in up to five days and cost 1.9% on average, ranging from 0.15% at the low end (State Bank of India) to 3% at the high end (Western Union cash at an agent location or a Wise credit card).

Payments from UK to Nigeria arrive within the hour. The average cost is 1.96%, ranging from 0.01% at the low end (Sendwave, internet initiated) to 6.34% at the high end (Western Union, internet initiated via bank transfer or payment card).

Payments from UK to Pakistan generally take less than an hour. They cost 2.39% on average, ranging from 0.46% at the low end (UBL, internet initiated) to 4.36% at the high end (Western Union cash at an agent location).

Inpay has built a proprietary network of global financial institutions to make it quicker, safer and more cost-effective to send money internationally. That’s compared to SWIFT wire transfers and other cumbersome payments mechanisms.