How to transfer large sums of money between bank accounts?

Need to make a large payment to another bank account in the UK or internationally in different currencies? You might be putting a deposit down on a property purchase, buying a car or paying a bill for recent building work.

Whatever the reason, you’ll need to know the best ways of transferring large sums of money between bank accounts. In this guide, we’ll look at the fastest, cheapest and safest ways to do it.

What’s the best way to transfer large amounts of money between banks?

If you’re sending money within the UK, one of the best ways to securely send a large sum is to make a bank transfer. You should be able to set this up with online or mobile banking, although you can also make use of branch or telephone banking if available.

An important thing to bear in mind though is that some banks have maximum transfer limits. This is a cap on the amount of money you can send at once, and/or per day.

If the amount you’re sending is under this limit, you should be able to use the free BACS or Faster Payments service to make the transfer.

If it’s above the limit, you’ll need to send a CHAPS payment. This can’t always be set up online, so you may need to visit a branch. Most banks also charge a fee of around £25 to £30 for CHAPS payments.¹

Another option, especially when making overseas transfers, is to use a money services provider like Wise.

With Wise, you can send secure and trackable large amount transfers to 160+ countries worldwide for low fees* and mid-market exchange rates.

Have a look at the main benefits for using Wise to send large transfers:

• Fast and easy setup with no physical paperwork
• Low, upfront, transparent fees
• Fully trackable transfers
• Fast transfer times
• Two-factor authentication and real-time notifications
• Dedicated support for large transfers

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What’s the quickest way to transfer a large amount of money?

As the name would suggest, Faster Payments bank transfers tend to be the quickest - if your payment is under the maximum sending limit.

Otherwise, you’ll need to make a CHAPS payment. But the great thing about CHAPS is that payments tend to be processed and completed the same day (depending on whether you initiate the payment before the daily cut-off time).

International transfers tend to be slower, but it depends on the provider, payment type, destination, currency and other factors.

Here’s a rough guide to how long each type of payment takes:

Transfer type	Average delivery time
BACS	Up to 3 working days²
Faster Payments	Up to 2 hours²
CHAPS	Same day²
International payments - sent via SWIFT with a bank	1 to 5 working days³
International payments - sent with a money services provider like Wise	Instant or up to 2 working days (depending on the type of transfer and other factors, you can read more about it here)

📚 Read more: CHAPS, BACS, SWIFT and Faster Payments explained

Is it safe to transfer large amounts of money online?

It is safe to send large transfers online, but only if you take the right precautions. This means either using your bank, or a trusted, regulated and secure money transfer service.

Look for providers that are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and which offer advanced security features like data encryption and 2-factor authentication to protect account access.

You should also make sure you check the details of the account you’re sending to very carefully.

And although it can sometimes be difficult to spot a scam, be very vigilant. Never feel pressured to make or rush a payment, and be extra cautious about sending money to people you don’t know. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

How to transfer large sums of money between bank accounts?

To make a large amount transfer, you’ll need the following details to hand:

• The account name, number and sort code for the recipient
• Details of their bank, including SWIFT/BIC and IBAN (for international transfers)
• Your valid photo ID (usually required for CHAPS and other large amount transfers, where extra checks are required).
• The reason for the payment (if asked)
• The amount you want to send
• A payment reference (optional - this is to tell the recipient what the payment is for).

If you’re sending money through BACS or Faster Payments, you can set up an online payment by logging into your bank’s internet banking service. For CHAPS payments though, you may need to go into a branch with your ID and fill in a form.

Online transfers with a money transfer company require you to provide all of the details above. You may also be asked to verify your ID by uploading a photo of your passport or driving licence, along with a selfie photo/video to match it against.

📚 Read more: Receiving money from abroad in the UK: a how-to guide

What’s the maximum amount you can transfer between banks?

The upper limit for how much you can send with Faster Payments or BACs varies depending on the bank. Here are just a few examples to give you some ballpark figures:

• Barclays - max. £50,000 a day⁴
• Santander - max. £100,000 a day, max. £25,000 per single payment⁵
• NatWest - max.£20,000 a day (max. £50,000 a day for Premier customers)⁶
• First Direct - max. £49,999 a day (max. £999,999 if sending between your own First Direct accounts)⁷

CHAPS payments are designed for payments over £100,000, and there’s usually no upper limit.

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After reading this, you should have a better idea of how to set up your large transfer. You can do it with your bank, and it could be fast and free depending on how much money you’re sending.

But for those really big payments, it’s good to know that there are fast, secure and affordable alternative solutions out there too.

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Sources used:

1. GoCompare - CHAPS Payments
2. Barclays - What’s the difference between Faster Payments, CHAPS (same-day UK payments) and BACS?
3. GoCardless - How long do international bank transfers take?
4. Barclays - Daily payment limits in Online Banking
5. Santander - Payments and transfers
6. NatWest - How do I make online payments greater than £20,000?
7. First Direct - Payments and transfers

Sources last checked on date: 14-Jun-2024