Britline international payments: fees and exchange rate explained

If you live in the UK and want to send money overseas, you might want to know about Britline international payments. You might also want to read up on it if you’re a UK expat living in France, and want English-speaking banking services specially designed for expats.

Britline, a branch of the French bank Crédit Agricole, offers international transfers at competitive rates. But how much does it actually cost to make an international payment with Britline?

We’ll give you all the essential info you need to know here in this guide. This includes fees and exchange rates, along with any limitations or restrictions which could affect your transfer with Britline.

But remember that Britline isn’t the only option for making international transfers. Another option for sending money worldwide is Wise. It’s fast, secure, transparent, and your British pounds are exchanged at a fair exchange rate – the mid-market rate.

Learn more about the Wise International money transfer

Please see the Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise fees & pricing for the most up-to-date information on pricing and fees.

What is CA Britline?

CA Britline is a branch of the French bank Crédit Agricole. It offers English-speaking French banking services for UK and Irish citizens, and UK expats living in France.

It was set up back in 1999, when there was just one English person working at the French bank. There was such a demand for their services among English-speaking expats living in France, that a new business - CA Britline - was born. Today, around 40 people work for the bank.¹

The bank also provides international transfers through the Britline International Payments Service (BIPS).

Cooperation with Xe money transfer (formerly HiFX Money Transfer) in the UK

Britline works with a partner in order to facilitate international payments. This was previously HiFX Money Transfer, but the company has now become Xe money transfer. This is a name you might be more familiar with in the UK.

Xe is a currency exchange authority based in Canada, owned by US electronic payment services company Euronet Worldwide. It also provides a money transfer service, offering safe, secure and quick payments worldwide.

Britline international payment fees – what are the real costs?

When making any international payment, there are always two crucial things to check. These are the upfront transfer fee, and the exchange rate. The rate can actually be one of the most critical things to find out, as it can affect the overall cost more than you might think.

Let’s take a look at the rates and fees for Britline’s international payment services.

Exchange rate

Like a lot of payment providers, Britline doesn’t use the mid-market exchange rate when converting currency. The mid-market rate is the one you’ll find on Google, and it’s a fair one.

Britline adds its own margin to the mid-market rate, in the form of a foreign exchange commission of 0.10% ².

This can make your transfer more expensive overall. If you don’t want to lose out, consider sending money with Wise instead. Wise uses the mid-market rate for international transfers, with no margins added on top.

In fact, you can visit the Wise live comparison tool page at any time to see exactly how the exchange rates vary between Wise and many leading banks and payment services. This will give you all the information you need on how much money your recipient will actually receive every time you make a transfer.

Sign up with Wise

Please see the Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise fees & pricing for the most up-to-date information on pricing and fees.

Transfer fees

In addition to the foreign exchange commission, Britline also charges some fees for certain international transfers.

Whether or not you’ll pay a fee (and how much it is) depends on a few key factors. These include the amount you’re sending, the destination, currency and how you set up the payment (online or in branch).

Take a look at the table below for an idea of Britline’s transfer fees:

*1 EUR = 0.8450 GBP (17-08-2022)

Limitations for transfers

There are some limits and restrictions to be aware of when transferring money abroad with Britline.

If you set up your transfer online, the minimum transfer amount is £50. The maximum you’ll be able to send at once is £300,000. There are 37 different currencies available with Britline when transferring online.³

There are no maximum transfer limits for telephone transfers. However, to use the telephone transfer service, you’ll need to send a minimum of £10,000. You can choose from up to 51 currencies.³

For regular payments (when you set up a recurring transfer), the minimum you’ll need to send is £300 a month. There’s no upper limit, and you can choose from up to 19 currencies.³

After reading this guide, you should have a better idea of how much it could cost to send an international payment with Britline. Remember, though, it’s not just the upfront transfer fee (if any) you need to pay attention to. The exchange rate can make a big difference to the cost of the transfer, so make sure to compare rates carefully.

If in doubt, send money internationally with Wise. You can be sure of getting a fair exchange rate, with no hidden charges or commissions to worry about.

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