How to transfer large sums of money internationally?
To transfer a large sum of money internationally, you’ll need to find a currency broker or bank that can handle this request for you. Your two main options are:
Using a high street bank which can facilitate large transfers between two bank accounts.
Using a specialist money transfer service that allows large transfers
You should note that not all money transfer providers will be able to accommodate large transfers, as many have a maximum sending limit. Therefore, finding a currency broker that can accommodate your needs is essential to help you get your money abroad efficiently and without delays.
What to consider when sending large amounts of money?
When finding the best service, you will want to consider several things. These include:
Transfer fees
Traditional banks are known for having more expensive transfer fees than money service providers, but that’s not to say you won’t get caught out with hefty transfer fees if you don’t do your research. Some brokers will add a fixed fee for large transfers, whereas some will charge a percentage-based fee.
What’s most important is that you have a clear understanding of what fees you will be charged and any additional fees that your recipient’s bank could charge them.
Exchange rate markups
Often referred to as the hidden fee, exchange rate markups are the margin added onto the mid-market exchange rate by banks and transfer providers. Again, banks tend to be known for adding a higher markup than specialist providers, but it’s still important you know roughly how much you are being charged on the exchange rate.
The best way to do this is to compare providers and ensure you know exactly how much your recipient will receive.
Additional fees
Additional fees cover things such as credit card charges, processing fees, and any fees that the receiving bank may charge for a transfer. If you need your recipient to receive a set amount, it’s essential to consider these fees in case more is deducted from your transfer sum.
Payment method and delivery method
The majority of large sum transfers will need to be done directly from bank account to bank account, although this doesn’t mean you’re limited to making the transfer with your bank.
Transfer time
If you are making a payment for a certain deadline, you will want to check that your transfer provider can process your transfer within that time frame.
Large sums can sometimes take longer to process because additional verification checks are required to verify that you are authorised to send that amount of money, so take this into account when looking to send a large sum abroad.
Security
Importantly, you’ll want to consider the security measures your chosen transfer method has in place. Not only do you want to ensure your money is delivered securely to your recipient, but you also want to make sure that should you encounter any problems, you are using a reliable service that can help you. One thing to look out for is how the provider you use is regulated. In the UK, providers should be regulated by the financial conduct authority (FCA), which oversees financial institutions.
Ultimately, the best way for you to transfer a large amount of money abroad really depends on the circumstances of your transfer. Variables that can affect this include:
Where you are located
Where you are sending the money to and the currencies you need to convert between
The sum you are sending (and the fee structure each provider charges)
Whether an urgent transfer vs the cheapest cost is your top priority
Our innovative comparison engine takes all of these factors into account to help you find the best transfer provider for your individual transfer needs, helping you find the perfect provider for securely transferring a large amount of money internationally.
How much money can you send abroad?
Theoretically, you can wire any amount abroad with no limits, provided you have the funds in your bank account. That being said, your bank or transfer provider may have their own maximum send limitations. These limits usually prohibit you from sending more than a certain amount (which will differ depending on your bank) in a set time.
Again, the best way to overcome this is to make sure you are using a broker that specialises in transfers for large sums, so you’re unlikely to run into this obstacle.
What do I need to send a large sum of money abroad?
Sending a large amount of money internationally usually requires more documentation than a regular transfer because of the additional security checks needed to keep your money and your account safe. Documents you should have handy in case you need them include:
A valid form of ID, such as a passport or driving license
Proof of where the money came from - this might include a bank statement, payslip, investment certificate etc. Check with your broker what you’ll need as it may depend on where the money comes from (e.g. selling a property, salary, investments etc.)
Source of income - you may need to provide payslips or bank statements to verify your income for large transfers
Your recipient may also need a form of ID to receive the funds
The Common Reasons for Sending Large Amounts Abroad
The world has become a global village, and it is not uncommon for people on one end of the world to transfer large sums of money to other people or businesses in different countries. Whatever the currencies and amounts involved, every transfer has a purpose that may affect the best service to use. Some of the most common reasons for large money transfers are:
Relocation: If you are moving to another country either as an expatriate or for retirement, you may want to move all your savings and other monetary assets you have to your new destination. If you are an employee moving to a new country for work, a relocation package may include reimbursement of expenses, down payment on house rentals, money to buy a car and so forth. Using a transfer provider that gives you the best balance of exchange rates and transfer fees can save you a lot of money and help you get started in your new life.
Property Purchase: If you are working overseas and you want to buy a house abroad either as an investment or a holiday home, using online money providers for the down payments or outright cash purchase is the best option. You’ll know how much the recipient will get, hence eliminating the guesswork and ensuring the process goes smoothly.
Tuition and Other Costs: You can use money transfer services to send money to educational institutions around the world to cover tuition and other costs incurred from studying or living abroad. Xe Money Transfer even gives you a direct-to-bank account option for such transfers.
Business Transactions: Whatever the nature of your business, you’ll have overheads to cover, including wages and salaries for your employees or freelancers. With the world opening up and restrictive borders collapsing, businesses are also able to take a more global approach to their operations. This may call for an inter-company transfer of capital, investment in international assets, transfers for expenses relating to offices in other countries and so forth.
As these expenses are likely to be frequently occurring and some will be quite large amounts of money, it’s good to use a reliable service to ensure you have the right amount of funds available in the right countries so you can balance the books effectively. If transferring large sums of money for business reasons, look specifically for providers that offer business rates, as these are often lower and can save you more money.
Other Common Reasons: Other reasons that people send large amounts of money abroad include income repatriation, paying for vacations, supporting family back home, paying for weddings, funerals, religious festivals, among others. With so many possible reasons to need to send money, the best way to transfer large sums of money internationally is to compare your options to avoid overpaying when you need to make a transfer.
Sending Large Amounts Abroad - Analysis
Sending money across borders to buy a property or settle a business transaction can be expensive for various reasons. Factors such as your transfer destination, the money transfer service provider you choose, the currency pairs involved, and the transfer payment method you use determine the affordability of a transfer.
To illustrate this, below is a look at how these and other factors play out when transferring £10,000 to the US through some of the biggest financial institutions: HSBC, Lloyds Bank, Barclays UK and NatWest.
HSBC
With HSBC, the main component you need to consider carefully is the exchange rates. HSBC updates its exchange rates frequently in a bid to reflect the global currency market movement – but, since rates vary and at times you have to call the international transfer desk to negotiate a good rate, the best approach is to look at the exchange rate margin.
At the time of creating this article, HSBC charges a 3.52% exchange rate margin. This means that a £10,000 transfer to the US will cost you £352 above the mid-market rate. The receiving bank in the US will also charge your recipient a receiving fee. If we assume the receiving bank is Wells Fargo, the recipient will be charged $16 to collect the funds.
When all these charges are added up and expressed as a percentage of your transfer, you’ll lose nearly 4% of your £10,000 in the transfer process. The exchange rate margin is always the hidden cost in money transfers and the most important one to look out for with large amounts.
Lloyds Bank
If you are sending money online through Lloyds bank, you have a limit of up to £100,000 per day. An international transfer to the United States will take anywhere between 2 and 3 working days to be delivered.
Save for Euro transfers which are free; sending money to countries that use different currencies like the United States will cost you £9.50 per transfer.
Again, the difference comes when you bring in the exchange rate margin. A transfer of £10,000 attracts a margin of about 3.47% between the rate given and the mid-market rate. For £10,000, this will translate to £347. If you are sending to a Capital One account, the recipient will be charged a further $15.
Looking at the full cost of the transfer, you’ll again be losing in the region of 4% of your £10,000 using Lloyds for your transfer.
Barclays UK
Barclays UK has three charging options which are:
OUR - Here, the sender pays all the charges related to the transfer
SHA- the sender pays only their share of the transfer charges, with the rest borne by the beneficiary
BEN -The beneficiary pays all the transfer charges.
Barclays UK charges an exchange rate margin of 2.75%. Therefore, a transfer of £10,000 will see you pay a margin of £275 above the mid-market rate. Compared to HSBC and Lloyds Bank, this margin is one of the lowest you’ll find with the big banks, although it’ll still eat up a chunk of your transfer.
If you factor in the $15 or $16 international wire transfer receiving fee, the total transfer cost still is more in the region of 3 – 4%. However, Barclays UK doesn’t explicitly lay out how much is charged in fees by any correspondent and intermediary banks – so there may be a small hidden cost or two lying around.
NatWest
International money transfers to the United States through NatWest cost £23.50 per transfer. You can opt for either a standard transfer or an urgent transfer. Standard transfers take anywhere between 2-4 working days to be delivered, while urgent transfers take 1-2 working days at the cost of £30 per transfer. The maximum amount you can send per day is £10,000.
But be wary of the rates: transfers of £10,000 and above to USD attract exchange rate margins of about 2.32% on top of the mid-market rate. This adds up to about £232 less per transfer. Intermediary fees and transfer recipient fees can weigh heavily on the transfer cost bringing it close to 3% of the amount transferred.
Using a money transfer provider - XE
As you can see, transferring a large amount of money abroad using a bank can be a costly process. Luckily there are a variety of online platforms that offer you an alternative, and can often save you a lot in terms of fees.
Let’s take international money transfer provider XE Money Transfer as an example. When you make the same transfer we have been examining above (£10,000 to the United States) using Xe Money Transfer, you will pay zero fees with only a margin of about 0.9% on top of the mid-market rate. This means that the cost of your £10,000 transfer will only be £90, when it could be nearer £400 with some of the big banks.
One potential hidden charge with Xe Money Transfer is that third-party banks may occasionally charge you for the money to end up in your recipient’s bank account. However, these fees are unlikely to be much, if anything at all, and the most important factor with using a platform like Xe Money Transfer is the large saving you get on the conversion rate against the big banks.
Analysis Roundup
Like any decision involving spending or sending money, when choosing a method to send large amounts of money overseas, it is always a good idea to compare your options. From the breakdown of all the relevant fees and charges we’ve given above, it’s clear that it’s most often financially sensible to choose an online provider such as Xe Money Transfer over some of the bigger names in international banking.
This can come across as a bit of a surprise, as high street banks are the form of financial service most often used by regular consumers and, therefore, often the most trusted. However, as you can see from our analysis, the big banks know that many people will see them as the default option. And therefore know that this means they can charge higher fees and margins above the mid-market exchange rate, which can see you spending up to A$400 overall on a transfer of A$10,000.
On the contrary, most online money transfer providers know that in order to attract business, they have to provide attractive rates to their users. Not only can the fees and charges add up to less than a quarter of what some banks may charge, but companies like Xe Money Transfer also have dedicated currency specialists that have mastered trends between currency pairs to help you process your transfer at the best rates possible.
There are many reasons why people might want to transfer a large amount of money abroad, but the common theme across all of them is a desire to ensure as much money as possible reaches the person on the other end of the transfer.
Making a comparison across all transfer service providers is always the best way to go about finding the lowest rate for each transfer. In most cases, you will find that the most financially sensible option will be a specialist money transfer service rather than a large bank.
Disclaimer:
We have an active affiliate relationship with Xe Money Transfer and receive compensation when a user signs up at their service. However, this comparison & analysis has been made independently, and the affiliate relationship with Xe Money Transfer has not influenced the rankings of the services.
