Halifax International Transfers & Exchange Rates

Halifax is a leading UK banking brand, and today operates as a division of the Bank of Scotland. It offers banking solutions, insurance, mortgages, and wealth management services to its customers, in addition to facilitating international transfers. This review will take you through everything you need to know if considering transferring money using Halifax, from the exchange rate margins the bank charges to how to open an account and contact its customer service team.

About Halifax

Halifax was originally formed as a building society in the UK in 1853. In 2001, it merged with the Bank of Scotland forming HBOS Plc. In 2019, Lloyds Banking Group acquired HBOS to bring Halifax into the Lloyds Banking Group family. Today the bank serves over 11 million customers, providing a wide range of financial services, and is a familiar brand on the UK high street.

Halifax exchange rates and fees

Halifax allows customers to transfer money within the UK, EU, and across non-EU countries. International transfers attract a fee and an exchange rate margin charged as a commission above the mid-market rate. Here are the transfers costs to expect when transferring money with Halifax.

Exchange rates

Halifax charges a margin of between 1.50-3.55% above the mid-market rate you see on Google or Reuters. The margins depend on the amount transferred as shown below.

• 0 - £25,000: The margin charged is 3.55%

• £25,000.01 – £75,000: The bank charges a 2.40% margin

• £75,000.01 - £250,000: Expect to pay a 2.00% margin

• £250,000.01 and above: The margin drops to 1.50%

As you can see, the rates get more reasonable the higher the amount you are transferring.

Fees

Payments made in Euros from your Halifax account are free of cost while the rest are billed at £9.50. There is also a correspondent bank fee of £12 if sending to the US, Canada, or EU and £20 to the rest of the world. Fees can be paid in full by the sender or shared with the recipient and are paid when making the transfer.

Additional costs

Halifax charges its customers between £2 and £7 to receive incoming transfers from outside the UK. The bank also charges a small fee to cancel international payments.

Halifax Pros and Cons

Halifax draws its strength from the many years of experience and its integration with the Lloyds Banking Group. Having said that, there are a couple of drawbacks you must also consider before using its services. Here are the most prominent pros and cons to consider before using Halifax’s services.

Halifax Bank Swift Codes

How to open an account and transfer money with Halifax

Halifax offers accounts ranging from basic accounts to packaged current accounts that customers can open and use to make payments online, over the telephone, or at any of their branches. Here is the process to open an account online and make payments.

Opening an account

1. About you: Provide your name, gender, title, date of birth, country of birth, and nationality

2. Address: Give your postcode and house or flat number details

3. Your income: Provide your employment status and level of income

4. Contact details: Provide your email address and UK phone number, then confirm all the details and submit

Sending money

• Step 1: Log onto your Halifax online account

• Step 2: Go to 'make a quick transfer'

• Step 3: Type in the transfer amount

• Step 4: Select the account you are paying from

• Step 5: Select the beneficiary or add a new payee

• Step 6: Click on 'Transfer' to submit the payment

Summary

Halifax is part of UK’s Lloyds Banking Group offering banking, insurance, wealth management and other services. It is one of the most recognisable banking brands in the UK and has been around for over 100 years. Customers can open accounts with the bank and transfer up to £100,000 per day online across borders.

Fees are minimal when making large transfers, but for small transfers you may end up paying more than it is necessary. Halifax charges steep exchange rate margins of 3.55% on international transfers lower than £25,000, so it is likely you will be better off using specialist money transfer services if your transfer amount is below this threshold. It’s also worth noting that transfers may take upwards of 4 working days to be delivered.

To help you get the best deal when moving money across borders, you can use MoneyTransfers.com’s comparison tool. It quickly shows you the providers available on your route, payment options offered, transfers speeds, and key features of the different transfer companies, to help make sure you get the best deal.

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