Personal Finance Money transfer

Sending a large payment with Santander UK

Gert Svaiko

28.02.24 (updated more than 1 year ago)

Read time 3 minutes

Need to make a large transfer? Perhaps you’re putting down the deposit on a house, buying a car or paying a bill for building work. Whatever your reason for sending a large payment, you’ll need to find the safest, most convenient and cheapest way to do it.

In this guide, we’ll take a look at using Santander for large payments. We’ll run through how to set up a large payment with the UK bank, along with security considerations, transfer times and limits.

Just remember that alternatives to banks are also available, like the money services provider Wise. You can send large transfers with Wise for low fees and fair exchange rates - making it ideal if you’re making an international transfer.

Table of contents
Can you use Santander for large payments? Is Santander safe for large payments? How to make a large payment with Santander? How long do large payments take with Santander? What's the maximum transfer limit with Santander? Wise – A low-cost alternative to bank transfers

Can you use Santander for large payments?

Yes, Santander offers a number of ways to make large transfers. It all depends on how much you’re sending, and where you’re sending to.

And of course, you’ll also need to be a Santander current or business account customer before you can send money.

If you’re sending money via Faster Payments in your online or mobile banking, you can send up to £25,000 at any one time without incurring transfer fees (up to a maximum of £100,000 a day in multiple payments).

If you want to send more than £100,000 at once, you’ll need to make a CHAPS payment.¹ This comes with a fee of £25, regardless of how much you send.²

Santander also lets you make international payments of large amounts, but these will involve money transfer fees.

📚 Read more: How to open a Santander account online?

Is Santander safe for large payments?

Santander is a fully licensed UK bank, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). As such, it is required to use sophisticated security measures to protect customers’ data, money and transfers.

So, you can feel confident that Santander is a safe choice for a large transfer, even one being sent internationally.

However, it’s always wise to take steps to protect yourself when sending a large sum. These include:

Double-check the recipient’s bank details
Avoid sending money to people you don’t know - Santander recommends doing extra checks and online research to make sure that payment requests are genuine.³
Never feel pressured into sending a payment - it could be a scam.
Avoid sharing your online or mobile banking details with anyone.

How to make a large payment with Santander?

To send up to £25,000 at once with Santander, you can use either online or mobile banking. In either case, you’ll need to have the recipient’s bank details to hand.

Here’s what you’ll usually need to provide, including details for sending money abroad:

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)
The International Bank Account Number (IBAN) - for international transfers
The SWIFT/BIC code for their bank - for international transfers.

You’ll need to log in, click the ‘Payments & Transfers’ tab and simply follow the on-screen prompts to set up your payment.

International payments can be made online, but not through mobile banking.⁴

If you’re sending over £100,000 at once, you’ll need to make a CHAPS payment. This can’t be done online, so you’ll need to visit a Santander branch with your photo ID.²

How long do large payments take with Santander?

If your payment is time-sensitive (i.e. you’re exchanging contracts on a property purchase and need the money to arrive fast), you’ll need to know average transfer times with Santander.

Here’s a quick look at how long large transfers usually take, based on you initiating the payment before the given cut-off time:

Sending method and amount	Cut-off time	Transfer arrives
Faster payments up to £25,000	N/A	Usually instantly¹
CHAPS payments over £100,000	4.30pm⁵	Same day⁵
International payments - any amount	Varies depending on currency and destination	Up to 4 working days⁵

What's the maximum transfer limit with Santander?

The maximum amount you can send with Santander depends on how you’re making your transfer. Let’s take a look:¹

Transfer method	Santander maximum transfer limit
Faster Payments - online or mobile banking	£25,000 per payment Up to £100,000 within 24 hours
CHAPS payment - in branch	£100,000+ (no upper limit)

Wise – A low-cost alternative to bank transfers

Looking for a secure, convenient and low-cost way to send large sums of money internationally? Take a look at the Wise account from the money services provider Wise. It’s not a bank account but offers many similar features.

With Wise, you can send large amount transfers worldwide, to 140+ countries for low, transparent fees. Best of all, you’re guaranteed the mid-market exchange rate with no markup added – only a small, upfront conversion fee. This means that more of your money reaches your recipient, and the transfer costs you less.

Wise uses sophisticated security measures to keep your money safe. This includes 2-factor authentication, a dedicated anti-fraud team and your money safeguarded with leading banks.

And if you need to send large sums overseas as a business, Wise has a dedicated service for that too.

Sources used:

Santander - Payments and transfers
Santander - CHAPS payments
Santander - Our top fraud and security tips
Santander - International payments
Santander - Making international payments

Sources last checked on date: 15-Feb-2024

*Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.

This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its subsidiaries and its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.

We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.