How to transfer large amounts of money with Barclays

Sending a large payment? You might be buying a new home, upgrading your car or embarking on major building work. Or perhaps you have inheritance or pension funds to transfer between accounts.

Whatever your plans, you’ll need to know how to transfer large sums securely and conveniently - and without racking up huge fees.

In this guide, we’ll be looking at how to transfer large amounts of money with Barclays. So if you’re a customer at the bank or are thinking of opening a Barclays account, read on.

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Can you send large transfers with Barclays?

Yes, Barclays lets you transfer large amounts using both personal and business current accounts.

There are a few different options available, which vary depending on how much you’re sending and what kind of Barclays account you have.

You can send up to £50,000 per transaction (a maximum of £50,000 a day) online via Faster Payments if you have a standard current account with the bank. This limit increases to £100,000 if you have a Premier or Business account.¹

Faster Payments is what most UK banks use to send payments between UK accounts, and it does what it says on the tin - with most payments arriving instantly.

If you prefer, you can also visit your local Barclays branch to send a large transfer.

Need to send a larger payment? If the amount is larger than the daily limit for your Barclays account type, then there is another option available to you.

You can send a CHAPS (Clearing House Automated Payment System) payment. This type of payment is specially designed for making fast, secure large transfers, and doesn’t usually have any minimum or maximum limits on how much you can send.

UK banks usually have a fee for CHAPS payments, but the good news is that with Barclays it’s fee-free if you’re a Personal, Premier or Platinum customer and set up your payment online. If you do it in a branch though, there’s a fee of £25 per payment.²

Barclays also lets you make international payments of large amounts, but these may also involve some money transfer fees.

Is Barclays safe for large transfers?

Barclays is a fully licensed UK bank and strictly regulated. It’s one of the UK’s ‘big four’ banks, trusted by hundreds of thousands of customers nationwide.

In order to be compliant, Barclays and other licensed UK banks are required to use sophisticated security measures to protect customers’ data, money, accounts and transfers.

This includes protections such as:

• 24/7 anti-fraud protection and monitoring service
• An online banking guarantee, which issues refunds if a payment from your account wasn’t authorised by you
• Strong Customer Authentication to safeguard your account (i.e. texting you a passcode when you login to online banking)
• Data encryption
• Biometric authentication to login to the Barclays app
• Timed logout when using digital banking.

How to make a large amount payment with Barclays

Once you’ve opened an account with Barclays, it’s pretty straightforward to set up your first transfer - even if it is a large sum you’re sending.

To send a large payment with Barclays using Faster Payments, CHAPS or to send money abroad, the easiest option is to use online or mobile banking.

Here are the recipient details and other info you’ll need to have ready:

• The recipient’s name as it appears on their bank account
• Their bank account number and sort code
• The type of account (personal or business)

You’ll need additional details if you’re sending money abroad:

• The name, account number and address of the person or company you’re paying
• The recipient’s International Bank Account Number (IBAN)
• The SWIFT/BIC code for their bank

To set up your transfer, you’ll need to login to your online or mobile banking. Select an existing payee or follow the on-screen instructions to set up a new recipient, including any security verification steps.

Then you can enter the amount you want to send along with any other required details - and confirm the payment.

If you prefer, you can also visit a branch of Barclays in person to send your payment. Just remember that you’ll need to take ID documents along with you, and that there may be additional fees for in-branch services (such as for sending a CHAPS payment, for example).

How long do large transfers take with Barclays

Here’s an overview of average transfer times with Barclays:

What's the maximum transfer limit with Barclays?

The maximum amount you can send with Barclays depends on how you’re making your transfer.

Let's take a look at of the transfer methods available with Barclays and the sending limit for each:

Wise – A low-cost alternative to bank transfers

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With Wise, you can send large amount transfers worldwide to countries for low, transparent fees* and you’re guaranteed the mid-market exchange rate with no markup.

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Sources used:

Sources last checked on date: 07-Jan-2025