With the help of a research agency, TransferWise called up the high-street banks in the UK to see what sending £2000 to Germany, the US and India would cost for businesses. Turns out, it’s a lot, but they won’t tell you if you don’t ask.
The up-front fees charged by banks varies between £9 and £25. Santander is the most expensive, and Natwest is the cheapest. But that's not all, the banks all added a mark-up to the exchange rate. The worst one is again Santander, who added on 3.47% in the exchange rate.
It doesn’t end here however. We also investigated how much the recipient pays on the other end. Commerzbank in Germany took £14 and Bank of America took £24. Only in India were there no receiving fees.
Sending bank fees for £2000 to EUR
Name of bank
|
% exchange rate mark-up
|
International transfer fee
|
Exchange rate mark-up in £
|
Total sending fees
|
Barclays
|
2.02
|
£25.00
|
£40.39
|
£65.39
|
HSBC
|
2.07
|
£9.00
|
£41.45
|
£50.45
|
Lloyds
|
2.45
|
£15.00
|
£48.99
|
£63.99
|
Natwest
|
1.73
|
£12.00
|
£34.66
|
£46.66
|
RBS
|
2.29
|
£12.00
|
£45.72
|
£57.72
|
Santander
|
3.47
|
£25.00
|
£69.36
|
£94.36
|
