International payments | Barclays (2024)

Types of payment you can send to Europe

• International payments in most currencies, or
• SEPA payments in euros only

For euro payments, we’ll use the SEPA scheme where possible – see below.

You can also pay for goods or service in euros using a SEPA Direct Debit, but you’ll need to agree this with the person you’re paying.

SEPA payments

SEPA is a scheme designed to make euro payments faster and easier across the Single Euro Payments Area. We’ll use SEPA to send euro payments where possible and the person receiving the payment will get the money on the same day.

You can make SEPA payments to these countries:

Austria, Andorra, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK (including Guernsey and the Isle of Man)¹and Vatican City State.

See our A to Z country list for more details.

Options for payment, fees and fee options

When you send money to the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA) in any currency, the payment will be sent using the shared charging option (also known as SHA).

This means you’ll pay

• our sending fee (when this applies)
• a £3 cover charge if the payment is in USD

The person you’re sending money to will pay any other fees. This could include money deducted from the payment by a correspondent bank and the bank you’re sending money to.

Making euro payments using SEPA means that charges won’t be deducted from your payment, but some banks may charge the recipient separately.

You can send payments using Online Banking, our app, from a branch or using Telephone Banking if you have a Business or Premier account with us.

If you use your Barclays app or Online Banking to make a payment, limits will apply, and these limits might be lower than your payment amount. However, splitting your payment across multiple smaller transactions to stay within these limits might result in higher fees. This is because our exchange rates are typically better for higher value transactions, so you might get a better rate by paying with a different method. Please check our limit page before deciding how to make your payment.

If you have a personal, Premier or Wealth Management account, you won’t pay a fee when you send an international payment using Online Banking or your app.

If you make your international payment in a branch or by phone, you’ll need to pay a £25 fee, unless it’s a SEPA payment – those are fee-free.

How we charge for payments from business accounts depends on the tariff on your account and how you make the payment. See more about sending and receiving international business payments.

You can find out more about cut-off times and timescales for international payments in our A to Z country list. Our list says there’s no fee when you send payments to some countries – this only applies if you’re making a payment from a personal, Premier or Wealth Management account.

What you’ll need to make a payment

• The name on the account you’re sending the money to – you need to include this in the payment instruction
• The address of the person or business you’re sending money to
• The address of the bank you’re sending money to (for branch payments)
• The IBAN (or account number) of the person or business you’re sending money to – this has the information we need to send a payment overseas. Ask them for this
• SWIFTBIC code of the bank you’re sending money to (for non-SEPA payments only). Ask them for this

When you make a payment using the SEPA Direct Debit option, the company receiving the payment needs to give your name and address on the payment instruction. If they don’t, the payment might be rejected.

Fees, charges and payment limits

Payment limits

If you use your Barclays app or Online Banking to make a payment, limits will apply, and these limits might be lower than your payment amount. However, splitting your payment across multiple smaller transactions to stay within these limits might result in higher fees. This is because our exchange rates are typically better for higher value transactions, so you might get a better rate by paying with a different method. Please. Please check our limit page before deciding how to make your payment.

Charges from other banks

A payment to the USA may be processed by several banks before reaching the account of the person or company you're paying. Any of these banks could charge for processing the payment, and this could affect the final amount received.

Payment options for fees and charges

If you’re making a payment in our app, you’ll need to pay all the fees and charges when you send the payment. This is known as an 'OUR payment'.

If you’re making a payment in Online Banking, Telephone Banking or in a branch, there are three ways you can manage the fees and charges.

• Pay all the charges – this is known as an 'OUR payment'. If you choose this option, we ask any other banks involved to charge us rather than deducting their charges from the payment amount. We’ll charge you an additional fee to cover this, which we call an ‘overseas delivery charge’. You’ll pay this and our international payment fees (if any apply) when you make the payment, and the person you’re paying should get the full amount you send them

You can see the overseas delivery charge for each country in our A to Z country list.

• Share the charges – this is known as a 'SHA payment'. You only pay our international payment fees (if applicable), and the person you’re paying pays the other charges. Their charges will probably be deducted from the payment amount, so they could get less than the amount you sent
• Pay none of the charges – this is known as a 'BEN payment'. We deduct our international payment fees (if applicable) from the payment amount, and if other banks have charges, they’ll deduct them from the amount you’re paying, too. This means the person you’re sending the payment to will get less than the amount you sent

The information you’ll need to make a payment

• The name, account number and address of the person or company you’re paying
• The bank SWIFTBIC code (or ABA routing code, if applicable) of the person or company you’re paying – ask them for this

Where you can send international payments

You can make payments to more than 200 countries worldwide, in over 50 different currencies.

In a branch, you can make payments to any of the destinations in our A to Z country list.

If you’re sending money to Algeria, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Georgia, Nepal or Uruguay, you’ll need to go to a branch to make your payment – see our A to Z country listfor more details.

Fees, charges and payment limits

Payment limits

If you use your Barclays app or Online Banking to make a payment, limits will apply, and these limits might be lower than your payment amount. However, splitting your payment across multiple smaller transactions to stay within these limits might result in higher fees. This is because our exchange rates are typically better for higher value transactions, so you might get a better rate by paying with a different method. Please check our limit page before deciding how to make your payment.

Charges from other banks

When you make an international payment, it may be processed by one or more other banks before it reaches the bank of the person or company you’re paying. Any of these banks could charge for processing the payment, and this could affect the final amount that’s received.

Payment options for fees and charges

If you're making a payment to Canada, Switzerland, South Africa or the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through the app, you'll pay all the fees and charges when you make the payment. This is known as an 'OUR payment'.

If you’re making a payment in Online Banking, Telephone Banking or in a branch, there are three ways you can manage the fees and charges, regardless of the destination.

• Pay all of the charges/OUR – if you choose this option, we’ll ask any other banks involved to charge us rather than deducting their charges from the payment amount. We’ll charge you an additional fee to cover this, which we call an 'overseas delivery charge'. You’ll pay this and our international payment fees (if applicable) up front when you make the payment, and the person or company you’re paying should receive the full amount you send them.

You can see the overseas delivery charge for each country in our A to Z country list.

• Share the charges/SHA – you’ll only pay our international payment fees (if applicable), and any other charges will be paid by the person or company you’re paying. This will probably be deducted from the payment amount, so they could receive less than the amount you sent
• Pay none of the charges/BEN – we’ll deduct our international payment fees (if applicable) from the payment amount, and if other banks have charges, they’ll deduct them. This means the person or company you're sending the payment to will receive less than the amount you sent

When you make an international payment, it may be processed by one or more other banks before it reaches the bank of the person or company you’re paying. Any of these banks could charge for processing the payment, and this could affect the final amount received.

The information you’ll need to make a payment

• The name, account number and address of the person or company you’re paying
• The bank SWIFTBIC code (or ABA routing code, if applicable) of the person or company you’re paying – ask them for this

What you need

• Your IBAN (How to find your IBAN)
• Barclays UK SWIFTBIC code, which is BUKBGB22

How much does it cost?

There are two potential costs for receiving an international payment – an inward payment charge and a currency conversion charge.

Payment charges

The below payment charges apply to international payments you receive. The person sending the payment can choose to pay all bank charges when they send the payment from their account. If they do this, we won’t charge a fee.

Foreign exchange rate conversion charges

If we need to convert the payment into another currency, we’ll use the latest Barclays Reference Exchange Rate and will apply a currency conversion charge.

The conversion charge we apply will be no greater than:

• 2.75% for Personal and Premier customers
• 2% for Business customers.

For transactions above £25,000 the conversion charge will reduce further as the amount increases.

What is the Barclays Reference Exchange Rate?

The Barclays reference exchange rates are set by us and based on market exchange rates. The rate depends on the type of currency you want to exchange. You can find our rates on Online Banking, Telephone Banking or in the Barclays app.

How to view your payments

Your monthly statement will show the amount of money credited to your account on the day it was credited to you.You'll also see this in your transactions in your Barclays app or online banking.

For transactions involving a currency conversion, we’ll send you all the details, including the original amount and foreign exchange rate we applied, in the 'Statements and documents' section of your Barclays app or Online Banking, or by post.