Sending money abroad

The information in this guide was last updated on 01/05/2018

It’s easy to send your money between your UK bank or building society current account and an overseas bank account. So if you want to pay someone in another country for goods or services, here’s a quick guide to the various methods you can use to send money abroad…

What information do I need to make an international payment?

There are various ways of making international payments, but typically you’ll need to have the following information to make a payment overseas:

  • the recipient's full name and address
  • the recipient's IBAN (International Bank Account Number) or account number
  • the name and address of the recipient's bank - including the BIC* (Banking Identifier Code) / SWIFT code / clearing code
  • the amount you want to transfer.

* You will not need to provide the BIC to us for SEPA Credit Transfers, Nationwide will derive it for you.

These IBAN and BIC/SWIFT codes make international payments faster and more secure. They also help prevent them being rejected, delayed or sent incorrectly. However, an increasing number of countries now require additional information on their payment instruction which needs to be provided by the sender in order for the funds to be successfully credited to the beneficiary’s account.

Note: Use of the IBAN is mandatory for Euro payments to accounts within the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) by SEPA Credit Transfer, for SWIFT payments to countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) and for SWIFT payments to certain other destinations as shown in additional information.

SEPA Credit Transfers can only be made from current accounts.

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What will making an international payment cost?

There are typically two types of cost when transferring money abroad - banking fees and exchange rates differences:

Fees

Usually you are charged a fee for international payments and these will differ according to the service used and the bank or building society that is providing the service.

There may also be fees charged by any agent banks involved in the payment transmission before a payment reaches its final destination account.

Exchange rates

If you're sending payments overseas and the recipient’s account is in a foreign currency, you'll need to consider exchange rates for the currency conversion. This will affect what is received by the recipient. Different banks may offer different exchange rates.

Types of international payments

Here are some of the more common international payments offered by banks and building societies:

Please note, you can only make these types of payments from, or receive them into, a Nationwide Current Account.

Swift payments

SWIFT stands for Society of Worldwide InterBank Financial Telecommunications. It’s an automated payment system used to transfer funds between different countries. Provided you have the money in your account you can transfer it via SWIFT.

  • A SWIFT payment within the European Economic Area (EEA) usually takes one working day to reach the destination bank, but payments outside the EEA may take longer
  • The fee for this service may differ between banks, but as an example Nationwide's fee is £20

Single Euro Payments Area

A SEPA Credit Transfer is used for making an electronic payment in euros to an account within the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). In order to send a SEPA Credit Transfer, you will need to provide the beneficiary (recipient’s) name, address and International Bank Account Number (IBAN). The Bank Identifier Code (BIC) will be derived for you by Nationwide.

  • Most SEPA payments reach the destination bank by the end of the next working day.
  • SEPA Credit Transfers can only be received into Nationwide FlexPlus, FlexDirect , FlexAccount, FlexBasic, FlexOne and Flex Student current accounts. SEPA credit transfers cannot be received into savings accounts.
  • Nationwide’s transaction charge for SEPA Credit Transfers is £9 (exceptions apply).
  • We will use our standard outbound exchange rate to convert your payment from sterling to euros.

Receiving payments from abroad

To receive a payment from someone outside the UK you will need to provide the sender of the payment with the following details:

For SWIFT payments

You will need to provide the sender with your:

  • name and address
  • Bank Identifier Code (BIC), also called the SWIFT address
  • SWIFT Intermediary Bank address
  • International Bank Account Number (IBAN)

Your BIC and IBAN can be found at the top or your statement

For SEPA payments (SEPA Credit Transfers)

You will need to provide the sender with your:

  • name and address
  • International Bank Account Number (IBAN)

Typically details of all of the above will be shown on your current account statement or provided upon request by your bank or building society.

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