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The Cost of Sending GBP to USD
Are you using your bank to send business payments to the United States of America? If so, we’ve got data from independent research agency PCM that shows you’re probably paying too much.
Research methodology
The research was carried out on the 22nd May 2017 (“Research Period”) by market research agency, PCM in conjunction with Wise. We’ll call this the research period. The initial phase of the project was conducted on the basis of a mystery shopping exercise contacting the major UK providers used by SMEs, Barclays, RBS, Santander, Lloyds, Natwest, Western Union, and HSBC — we’ll call these the researched providers. The reference to “provider average” in the table below refers to the average fees/charges charged by the researched providers.
There are two types of fee recorded for this price comparison: an upfront international money transfer fee, and the mark-up all the researched providers added to their exchange rate. The exchange rate markup is calculated as the difference between the exchange rate offered by the relevant provider, and the exchange rate listed on Reuters at the time of the phone enquiry.
Research for all the surveyed providers on a single route took place on the same day to minimise exchange rate fluctuations.
The data
For a £2,000 transfer to USD, Wise is 11.74x cheaper than the researched providers.
| Amount sent | Sending bank fees | Sending bank hidden charges | Total bank fees and charges | Wise fees | Wise is x times cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £2,000.00 | £24.91 | £56.93 | £81.84 | £9.95 | 8.23 |
| £10,000.00 | £22.36 | £253.61 | £275.97 | £49.75 | 5.55 |
See the charges for researched providers in the PCM price comparison below.
Sending fees for £2000 to USD
| Name of bank/broker | Wise | Lloyds (online/ phone banking) | Lloyds (branch banking) | RBS (online/ phone/ branch banking) | Santander (online/ phone banking) | Western Union (branch banking) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and time of quote | 42877 | 42877 | 42877 | 42877 | 42877 | 42877 |
| Real exchange rate | 1.3018 | 1.3018 | 1.3018 | 1.2991 | 1.3 | 1.3033 |
| Rate from researched provider | 1.3018 | 1.2653 | 1.2653 | 1.2694 | 1.26 | 1.2217 |
| % exchange rate mark-up | 0 | 0.028 | 0.028 | 0.0229 | 0.0308 | 0.0626 |
| Upfront fee for using transfer company | £9.95 | £15.00 | £21.00 | £22.00 | £25.00 | £52.90 |
| Exchange rate mark-up in £ | £0.00 | £56.08 | £56.08 | £45.72 | £61.54 | £125.22 |
| Upfront fees plus exchange rate mark-up | £9.95 | £71.08 | £77.08 | £67.72 | £86.54 | £178.12 |
| Name of bank/broker | Barclays (online/ phone/ branch banking) | Natwest (online/ phone/ branch banking) | HSBC (online/ phone banking) | HSBC (branch banking) | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and time of quote | 42877 | 42877 | 42877 | 42877 | |
| Real exchange rate | 1.3033 | 1.3033 | 1.3033 | 1.3033 | 1.30208 |
| Rate from researched provider | 1.2734 | 1.2694 | 1.2717 | 1.2717 | 1.26501 |
| % exchange rate mark-up | 0.0229 | 0.026 | 0.0242 | 0.0242 | 0.0285 |
| Upfront fee for using transfer company | £25.00 | £22.00 | £17.00 | £30.00 | £24.91 |
| Exchange rate mark-up in £ | £45.88 | £52.02 | £48.49 | £48.49 | £56.93 |
| Upfront fees plus exchange rate mark-up | £70.88 | £74.02 | £65.49 | £78.49 | £81.84 |
Sending fees for £10,000 to USD
| Name of bank/broker | Wise | Lloyds (online/ phone banking) | Lloyds (branch banking) | RBS (online/ phone/ branch banking) | Santander (online/ phone banking) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and time of quote | 42877 | 42877 | 42877 | 42877 | 42877 |
| Real exchange rate | 1.3018 | 1.3018 | 1.3018 | 1.2991 | 1.3 |
| Rate from researched provider | 1.3018 | 1.2653 | 1.2653 | 1.2694 | 1.26 |
| % exchange rate mark-up | 0 | 0.028 | 0.028 | 0.0229 | 0.0308 |
| Upfront fee for using transfer company | £49.75 | £15.00 | £21.00 | £22.00 | £25.00 |
| Exchange rate mark-up in £ | £0.00 | £280.38 | £280.38 | £228.62 | £307.69 |
| Upfront fees plus exchange rate mark-up | £49.75 | £295.38 | £301.38 | £250.62 | £332.69 |
| Name of bank/broker | Barclays (online/ phone/ branch banking) | Natwest (online/ phone/ branch banking) | HSBC (online/ phone banking) | HSBC (branch banking) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and time of quote | 42877 | 42877 | 42877 | 42877 |
| Real exchange rate | 1.3033 | 1.3033 | 1.3033 | 1.3033 |
| Rate from researched provider | 1.2734 | 1.2694 | 1.2717 | 1.2717 |
| % exchange rate mark-up | 0.0229 | 0.026 | 0.0242 | 0.0242 |
| Upfront fee for using transfer company | £25.00 | £22.00 | £17.00 | £30.00 |
| Exchange rate mark-up in £ | £229.42 | £260.11 | £242.46 | £242.46 |
| Upfront fees plus exchange rate mark-up | £254.42 | £282.11 | £259.46 | £272.46 |
Independent price comparison from PCM Research
All pricing data was obtained independently by market research company PCM Research through audit phone calls and online research. It shows the quoted overall costs of sending pounds internationally from the UK to USD via their phone and online services.
*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.
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