Barclays International Transfer: Fees and Exchange Rates 2024

This article will cover everything you need to know about Barclays international transfers including: how much they cost, how long they take, and how to arrange your payment.

Despite being one of the biggest banks in the UK, sending your international transfer through Barclays may not be the best option available. There are many alternatives which can be cheaper, faster and more convenient, like Wise, Western Union and OFX.

• Receive payments with local account details in 10 currencies
• Hold and exchange 40+ currencies
• Send money quickly to accounts in 160+ countries

Wise money transfer

The Wise account can be opened online or in the Wise app, with no minimum balance requirement. Use Wise to receive, send and convert 40+ currencies. Your Wise account comes with local account details for 10 currencies, which can be used to receive international payments.

Go to Wise

Barclays international money transfer comparison

Let’s start with a comparison of Barclays international bank transfers against a few specialist providers.

Before we start it’s handy to know that you may pay several different fees when you send a payment overseas with a regular bank:

• Transfer fee - often a fixed cost paid to your own bank
• Exchange rate markup - a percentage fee added to the exchange rate used
• Third party charges - paid to intermediaries and your recipient’s own bank

The easiest way to see the impact of these charges is to figure out what your recipient might get when you send your payment with different providers.

In this example, we’re sending an online payment to a friend in France. We’ll send 1,000 GBP, to be received into an account in euros:

*Fees and rates correct at time of research - 23rd August 2024

In the example above, your recipient gets the most in the end if you use Wise.

In this example, the Barclays international transfer fee was actually 0 GBP. It’s pretty common for banks to use no upfront transfer charge - but that doesn’t mean the total cost is zero. In this case, the fee you pay is wrapped up in an exchange rate markup. That’s an extra charge which can quickly become the most costly of all the fees you pay to send money overseas. Banks aren’t often open about the exact markups they add to their retail exchange rates - but they can be around 2.5% - 3% for many currency pairs. That represents an extra 150 GBP fee on a transfer worth 5,000 GBP. More on fees later.

When it comes to transfer time, you’ll need to hit a 3pm cut-off time to have your money arrive the next day with Barclays. Wise payments are often instant for major currency routes, and 90% of all payments arrive in 24 hours.

Getting started with an international money transfer provider is usually easy. These services specialise in online and mobile payments, so have an intuitive customer experience and plenty of help on hand if you need it.

More about the alternatives to Barclays

We’ve touched on a couple of Barclays alternatives already - bank alternatives can often offer fast transfers with low fees and great exchange rates. They’ve invested in new ways to process overseas payments which can keep down the costs of sending money - which means a lower cost in the end.

Wise and OFX are not banks - but they’re still regulated by the FCA in the UK like a bank would be - making them safe options to choose.

Wise

Open a Wise account online or in app, to send payments to 160+ countries, quickly or even instantly. Currency conversion uses the mid-market rate with low fees from 0.33%

If you send and receive payments a lot you may also want to open a Wise account, and order a Wise card. Accounts can hold and exchange 40+ currencies and let you receive international transfers with local account details in 8+ currencies, and SWIFT details in additional currencies.

OFX

OFX customers can create an account to send 50+ currencies all over the world, by phone, in the app or online. Transfers can arrive quickly, and are usually in the recipient’s account in 1 or 2 days. Generally there’s no upfront fee to pay for an OFX transfer, but there’s a small exchange rate markup instead.

OFX also offers more complex currency risk management products and 24/7 phone service.

Barclays international transfer fees

Figuring out the total cost of an international transfer isn’t always as easy as it should be. The costs can include a few different things:

• Transfer fee
• Exchange rate markup
• Third party charges

The fees vary depending on the country you’re sending money to, and the currency in question. There’s a full country by country list available on the Barclays website and we’ve rounded up some of the most common costs below:

Barclays additional fees

Aside from the transfer fee and any exchange rate costs, there are a couple of extra fees it’s worth being aware of whenever you send an international payment:

• Third party fees paid to intermediary or correspondent banks
• Fees imposed by your recipient’s own bank

These extra costs usually arise when banks transfer payments using the SWIFT network. This involves one or more correspondent banks passing along a payment until it reaches the right account. The correspondent banks can each deduct a fee as they process the payment. Then finally, your recipient’s own bank may also deduct a fee before the payment is deposited into their account.

For some payments with Barclays you can choose to pay an extra fee to cover third party costs, so your recipient does not need to bear these charges.

Barclays international transfer receiving fees

If you’re getting a payment to your Barclays account there may be a fee:

• SEPA and euro payments from the EEA are free
• Payments under 100 GBP in value are free to receive
• Other payments over 100 GBP in value cost 6 GBP to receive

How to receive money with Barclays from abroad

If you’re expecting a payment from overseas into your Barclays account you’ll need to give the sender your account’s IBAN and the Barclays UK SWIFT/BIC code to make sure the money arrives safely.

It’s free to receive SEPA and euro payments from the EEA, and regular international transfers under the value of 100 GBP. If you’re expecting a larger payment you’ll pay a 6 GBP fee when it is deposited into your account.

Barclays exchange rate

Although the Barclays website shows live mid-market exchange rates, these aren’t the rates offered to most customers making international transfers. Instead, a margin - an extra fee - is added to the mid-market rate to calculate the customer exchange rate.

It’s very common for banks and international money transfer services to add a markup to the exchange rates used, but this pushes up costs and makes it harder to see exactly what you’re paying for your transfer. Because a markup is a percentage cost, it increases steeply when you send higher value payments. That can mean it’s the highest cost of all the fees involved with sending an international payment.

Bank exchange rate margins are often about 3%. Here’s how the exchange rate markup builds up with a 3% margin used for different transfer values:

• Sending 1,000 GBP - the exchange rate markup adds 30 GBP to the total
• Sending 5,000 GBP- the exchange rate markup adds 150 GBP to the total
• Sending 50,000 GBP - the exchange rate markup adds 1,500 GBP to the total

Barclays international transfer limits

The Barclays international transfer limit may vary depending on the destination country. There are also account limits which cap the maximum value of payments made each day. Usually these are 50,000 for personal customers, and 100,000 for Premier or business customers.

You can send Barclays international bank transfers to over 200 countries, in more than 50 different currencies. The countries and currencies available are regularly updated but you can get the live Barclays A - Z country list here.

How long does a Barclays international money transfer take?

Barclays international transfer times vary by country and currency being sent. For most popular transfer destinations, your payment will arrive the next day as long as it is arranged before the cut-off time[7]. Cut-off times depend on how you’re sending your transfer, and the currency involved.

Here’s a rundown of the delivery times for Barclays compared to a few popular specialist providers:

• Barclays: Usually available next day if arranged before relevant cut-off time
• Wise: 80% of payments arrive in 24 hours
• Western Union: Up to 2 days
• OFX: 1 - 2 business days

Pros and cons of transferring money abroad with Barclays

Pros:

• Familiar and secure service
• Arrange your payment online, by phone or in a branch
• No upfront transfer fee for online payments
• Next day delivery for most major currencies

Cons:

• Exchange rates include a markup
• Total overall costs can be high
• Setting up a transfer in a branch may cost you 25 GBP

Sending your international transfer with Barclays may seem like an obvious solution - but the exchange rate markups can push up the costs against alternative providers. They also make it harder to calculate the total cost of sending your transfer, compared to a specialist which uses the mid-market exchange rate and a transparent charge.

Read also:

• Barclays foreign currency account

How to make an international transfer with Barclays

You’ll be able to set up your payment with Barclays in a few ways:

• Transfer using your online or mobile banking service
• Send your money by phone
• Visit a branch to arrange your transfer

Sending non-SEPA payments by phone or in a branch does come with an upfront transfer cost. There are also a small handful of destination countries where Barclays will require you to arrange your transfer in branch. These include Algeria, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Georgia, Nepal and Uruguay.

What information do you need to make an international transfer with Barclays?

Here’s the information you’ll need to send a Barclays international money transfer:

• Your recipient’s name and address
• The address of the recipient’s bank
• Your recipient’s bank account number or IBAN
• Your recipient’s bank’s SWIFT/BIC code (Non-SEPA payments only)

Transfer limits and available countries

The Barclays international transfer limit may vary depending on the destination country. There are also account limits which cap the maximum value of payments made each day. Usually these are 50,000 for personal customers, and 100,000 for Premier or business customers[8].

You can send Barclays international bank transfers to over 200 countries, in more than 50 different currencies. The countries and currencies available are regularly updated but you can get the live Barclays A - Z country list here.

Receiving money from abroad with Barclays

If you’re expecting a payment from overseas into your Barclays account you’ll need to give the sender your account’s IBAN and the Barclays UK SWIFT/BIC code to make sure the money arrives safely. It’s free to receive SEPA and euro payments from the EEA, and regular international transfers under the value of 100 GBP. If you’re expecting a larger payment you’ll pay a 6 GBP fee when it is deposited into your account.

Barclays SWIFT code

The Barclays SWIFT/BIC code is: BUKBGB22

A SWIFT code is a unique identifier issued to banks around the world. It’s used to make sure that payments arrive safely into the recipient’s account - a bit like giving a postcode when you’re writing your postal address.

Conclusion

Choosing to transfer money abroad with Barclays is a familiar and comfortable option - but it may not be the cheapest, fastest or most convenient. While the best choice for you will depend on the particular payment you’re making, and your own personal preferences, specialist providers can often offer an intuitive user experience, low costs and bank beating exchange rates.

Shopping around and comparing a few different providers before you set up your international transfer is the best way to know you’re getting the right fit for your specific needs.

Interested in making international transfers with banks? Read our guides on HSBC, Lloyds, Santander, NatWest, RBS, Nationwide, Halifax