Sending money overseas

• credit or debit cards;
• prepaid cards;
• bank or building society services;
• money transfer operators;
• online money transfers/internet money transfers; or
• foreign exchange (FX) brokers.

• Credit or debit cards
  Some credit or debit cards are marketed as specialist overseas plastic (and are therefore not so competitive to use in the UK). For most people, this is the easiest and cheapest way to pay for things overseas, but check what fees you have to pay. You add the person overseas as an additional cardholder, and you pay off the balance each month (for credit cards) or it comes straight out of your account (for debit cards). For more information see Credit cards.
  
  
• Prepaid cards
  With a prepaid card you load up the card with money and can only spend what you have loaded up. To load a card you can usually transfer funds from a bank account, either at a bank branch or online, or put cash on to the card at post offices and through bill-payment facilities available in convenience stores and newsagents. Prepaid cards are available in selected shops in the UK or can be ordered online. They are usually accepted at cash machines all over the world for withdrawing money or for spending in shops in the same way as a credit or debit card. You can give or send the card to the person overseas to use, and you top up the card whenever necessary.
  
  As you cannot get into debt with these cards there is no credit check. Also, other people can load money on to your card as well if they have the relevant details (including your employer if you wanted to have your wages paid directly onto the card). However, the downside is that there are often a lot of fees to pay (including fees for applying for the card, loading money onto it, withdrawing cash from a cash machine, renewing/replacing the card, and often a monthly service charge), and these fees can be quite considerable.
  
  
• Banks and building society services
  Most banks and building societies offer money transfer services, but in most cases you must either apply for or already have an account with them. Banks and building societies will normally offer a standard transfer or an express transfer service. The express transfer will usually be slightly more expensive but should reach the recipient more quickly.
  
  To make these transfers you will need the details of the bank overseas and the account name and number of the person you are sending it to. In most cases this will be the IBAN (International Bank Account Number). Your bank or building society will be able to tell you what your IBAN is and the person you are sending money to overseas will be able to confirm their IBAN details too. An IBAN includes a BIC (Bank Identified Code). For more information on IBANs or to check that the IBAN details you’ve been sent are valid, see Related links.
  
  You can send UK cheques overseas, but this is likely to be both slow and very expensive because you will have to pay foreign bank charges (and possibly UK bank handling charges). A number of banks allow you to transfer money to linked banks overseas without a fee. So, if you both open accounts with linked banks, you can move money between your accounts with little or no charges. This is best for regular payments of money to people who stay in one country.
  
  A number of banks and building societies have arrangements that allow you to send money without a fee at good exchange rates. However, both the UK account and the one in the country you are sending to need to be in your name, so this may be useful if you have a second home abroad and need to pay bills.

• is properly organised and is run by suitable people who have not been convicted of financial crimes;
• has enough money behind it; and
• has proper arrangements in place to protect customers’ money if it gets into serious financial difficulty. This is known as ‘safeguarding’ (see Protecting your money below).

• that none of the people running the firm have been convicted of financial crimes;
• that it is based in the UK; and
• if it is choosing to protect its customers’ money (‘safeguarding’), how it will do so.

• Information up front
  Firms will have to provide more information to you before you commit to using their services, for example:
• details of the firm;
• whether or not they safeguard your money;
• costs or charges;
• interest and/or exchange rates;
• how the transaction is carried out;
• how long the payment will take to reach the recipient;
• how to get incorrect transactions corrected; and
• your rights to cancel or terminate the transaction.
  
  
• Protecting your money
  
• Authorised firms must safeguard your money while they are holding it (if overnight or longer). This applies if the amount of the transaction is more than £50, in which case they must safeguard the full amount and not just the amount of money over £50. It must be kept separately (for example in a different account) to their own funds, so that if the firm went bust your money would still be safe.
• Registered firms can choose to safeguard your money but they don’t have to. You may want to check with the firm whether or not they safeguard customers’ funds.
  
  
• Right to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service
  You’ll be able to take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you are not satisfied with the firm’s response to your complaint – see If things go wrong.
  
  
• Payments to countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA)
  Firms that make payments to countries outside the EEA still have to be authorised or registered by us, but the transactions are not subject to the same standards, for example you are not entitled to the same amount of information and there is no limit on the amount of time the firm takes to send the money. You should therefore make sure you understand and are happy with the service the firm will be providing. If you are sending money to a country outside the EEA, it is worth asking the firm whether it has signed up to the Remittances Customer Charter – see Related links. An organisation that has signed up to this agrees to meet certain standards when sending money (in a foreign currency) overseas.

• it is operating illegally, so you shouldn’t use it;
• it was operating before the end of 2007 and is delaying authorisation or registration, which it can do until 30 April 2011 (but remember, although it is allowed to operate, we have not checked it); or
• it may be authorised in another EU country. This should be explained in its paperwork. The regulator in that country will have made similar checks to ours.

• Money transfer operators
  These are companies that only offer money transfer services, usually through agents, and you do not generally have to open an account with them. You can either go into an agent (there are many in newsagents, post offices and banks) or pay the money online. The recipient will need ID or a reference number (which you would tell them) to enable them to pick up the money at the other end. You should never give the ID or reference details required to anyone but the recipient. These services are fast but can be expensive, and you’ll also need to check that the recipient is able to get to a branch or agency to collect the money.
  
  
• Online money transfer services/internet money transfers
  You can send money over the internet through secure online services, often for a very small fee. You will need to have a bank account or credit card and either have access to the internet or have an email address in order to transfer money. You will also have to register your details online. The recipient may also need a bank account and access to the internet or an email address. These are generally suitable for non-urgent transfers of smaller amounts of money.
  
  
• Foreign exchange (FX) brokers
  When transferring larger amounts of money, for example if buying a property, it may often be cheaper to use a reputable currency broker. In most cases, you will have to open an account with the company you intend to use and you will need to fund the account using a bank account or credit card. They offer good exchange rates for high sums of money (in the thousands) and most don’t charge fees. You can make specific arrangements for your individual needs such as fixed exchange rates for a set period.