Sending money abroad: how to do it cheaply and safely

In short

• What matters is the total cost: the transfer fee plus the margin hidden in the exchange rate. Compare how many złoty the recipient will get for the same amount in pounds, not just the fee.
• The UK is still part of SEPA, but SEPA covers payments in euros. You usually send złoty by international transfer (SWIFT) or through a payment firm.
• Check a money transfer firm on the FCA's Financial Services Register. Money held by a payment or e-money institution isn't protected by the FSCS; it is protected by safeguarding instead. In a bank, the FSCS protects deposits up to £120,000 (as of October 2026).
• When using a card or cash machine abroad, choose to pay in the local currency (złoty in Poland), not in pounds. Otherwise you pay the terminal's exchange rate and fees (DCC).
• Reimbursement of up to £85,000 for authorised push payment (APP) fraud covers payments within the UK (Faster Payments and CHAPS). International payments aren't covered, so check who you're paying before you send.
• In Poland, a cash gift from close family can be exempt from tax. The conditions: the money goes into the recipient's bank account, and if the amount is over 36,120 zł, the recipient reports the gift on form SD-Z2 within 6 months (as of October 2026).

Ways to send money

Bank transfers: SEPA and SWIFT

SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) is an area with common rules for credit transfers and direct debits in euros. According to the FCA, it includes EU and EEA countries and some non-EEA countries, among them the UK and Switzerland, including after Brexit. When you make a payment in euros using SEPA, you don't need to give the BIC of the recipient's bank.

In practice:

• SEPA is mainly useful when the recipient in Poland has an account in euros. If the account is in złoty, the euros will be converted anyway at the recipient's bank's rate. Ask your bank whether it sends SEPA payments and what they cost.
• An international transfer (often called a SWIFT transfer) can be sent in pounds, złoty or another currency. Your bank will usually ask who pays the charges: the form may offer OUR (the sender pays all charges), SHA (charges are shared) and BEN (the recipient pays the charges). Intermediary banks and the recipient's bank may also take their own fees along the way, so the recipient may get less than you sent. Before you send, ask your bank what fees may be deducted.
• Which currency should you send? If you send pounds to a złoty account, the recipient's bank converts them at its own rate. If you send złoty, your bank or payment firm does the conversion. Either way someone applies a rate with a margin, so compare how many złoty actually arrive.

You can read about UK bank accounts and how money in a bank is protected in our guide Banking, credit and your credit history in the UK.

Money transfer firms and e-money accounts

You can also send money abroad through a payment firm that isn't a bank. According to the FCA, these include:

• electronic money institutions (EMIs) – an online account or wallet, or a prepaid card; they can also provide accounts similar to bank current accounts,
• authorised payment institutions (APIs) – for example a money remitter, which sends money abroad,
• small payment institutions (SPIs) – the same services, but with limits on the value of payments they can make over time; this might be a new business or, for example, a firm that only sends money to one country.

Every such firm must be authorised or registered with the FCA. Your money is protected differently than in a bank (see the section on the FSCS and safeguarding below).

How to compare the cost of a transfer

The mid-market rate is the rate halfway between the buying and selling price of a currency on the market. A bank or firm usually converts your money at a rate worse than the mid-market rate, and the difference is its margin, a hidden cost. That's why a transfer with ‘no fee’ isn't necessarily cheaper than one with a fee.

What the provider must tell you. Under the payment services rules (Payment Services Regulations 2017, reg. 43), before you make a one-off payment, a bank or payment firm must give you information including:

• what details you need to provide for the payment to be made,
• the maximum time the payment will take,
• all the charges, with a breakdown where there is more than one,
• the exchange rate or reference exchange rate, where the payment involves a currency conversion.

How to compare:

1. Compare quotes for the same amount at the same time, as rates change during the day.
2. Look at the amount the recipient will get in złoty, after all charges.
3. Add any fees that other banks along the way may take, and any fee on the recipient's side.
4. Compare the result with the amount at the mid-market rate. The difference is your total cost.
5. Also check the delivery time, any limits on amounts, and whether the rate is guaranteed when you place the order.

Example (made-up figures, just to show the method): you send £500, and the mid-market rate is 5.00 zł to the pound, so with no costs the recipient would get 2,500 zł. The fee is deducted from the amount you send.

Here the no-fee quote (A) works out almost twice as expensive as quote B, and the best rate (C) doesn't help when the fee is high. This is only an example: do the same sums with real, current quotes.

Cards and cash machines abroad: dynamic currency conversion (DCC)

When you pay with a UK card or withdraw cash abroad, the terminal or cash machine may ask whether you want to be charged in pounds (‘own currency’, ‘GBP’) or in the local currency (złoty in Poland). Choosing pounds is dynamic currency conversion (DCC): the terminal or cash machine owner converts the amount there and then, at its own rate and with its own charges.

In one case decided by the Financial Ombudsman Service, a customer paid an 8.5% mark-up on each of nine cash withdrawals abroad because they chose their own currency rather than the local one. The ombudsman didn't uphold the complaint: it found the customer had most likely been shown this option on screen and accepted it. The lesson: when asked which currency to use, choose the local currency and read the screen before you confirm.

Staying safe: check the firm and the recipient

Check the firm on the FCA Register. According to the FCA:

• the Financial Services Register shows whether a firm is authorised and has permission for the service it's offering you, and whether it's a bank or a payment firm;
• the brand (the app's name) may differ from the firm's name on the Register. You can usually find the company's name at the bottom of its website or in its terms and conditions;
• the FCA also keeps a Warning List of firms operating without authorisation. Contact a firm using the details on the Register, not the ones in a message you've received.

Confirmation of Payee is a name check for payments within the UK. According to the PSR, your bank compares the name you enter with the account number and shows you the result: a match, a close match or no match. It works for Faster Payments and CHAPS payments. When sending money to Poland, don't assume your bank will check the recipient's name.

Scams and international payments. According to the Payment Systems Regulator (as of October 2026), someone tricked into sending a payment themselves (authorised push payment or APP fraud) can get up to £85,000 back. However, this only applies to payments between UK accounts via Faster Payments or CHAPS made on or after 7 October 2024. The PSR's rules (PS25/5) explicitly exclude international payments. The FCA points out that different rules also apply to payments made overseas, to a crypto exchange, to your own account and between accounts at the same firm.

So before sending money abroad:

• confirm the account details with the recipient through another channel, for example by phone on a number you already know, especially if someone suddenly asks for money or says they've ‘changed their account number’;
• don't send money to someone you only know online, and don't give in to pressure to act quickly;
• if your bank holds a payment and asks questions, answer honestly. According to the FCA (FG24/6), since 30 October 2024 a bank with reasonable grounds to suspect fraud can delay a payment by no more than 4 business days to look into it, and it must tell you about the delay and the reasons for it.

Wrong account details. According to the FCA, if you give the wrong account details, your bank must make a reasonable effort to get your money back, but it isn't liable for the loss and may charge a fee. If the bank made the mistake, it must refund the full amount plus any charges. Report the mistake straight away.

How to spot a scam and where to report it is covered in our guide Scams in the UK: how to spot a scam and where to report it.

How your money is protected: the FSCS and safeguarding

Source: FCA.

• The FSCS protects deposits in a UK-licensed bank, building society or credit union up to £120,000 per person per institution (since 1 December 2025, as of October 2026, according to the FSCS).
• Safeguarding means that EMIs and APIs keep customers' money in a separate account with a bank, or protect it with an insurance policy or similar guarantee. If the firm fails, you should get most of your money back, but it may take time and may not be the full amount, as some costs could be taken by the administrator or liquidator. In that case you contact the firm's administrator or liquidator.
• SPIs don't have to safeguard your money. If you use a small payment institution, ask how it protects your funds.

If you keep a larger sum in a payment app, remember that the FSCS doesn't cover it.

What to have ready before you send

• The recipient's IBAN. According to the European Consumer Centre Poland, a Polish IBAN has 28 characters: the letters PL followed by the 26-digit account number. To create it, you just add ‘PL’ in front of the account number.
• The BIC (SWIFT code) of the recipient's bank – a bank code needed for international transfers. It usually has 8 characters, sometimes 11 (the last three identify a branch). You don't need a BIC for a SEPA payment in euros.
• The recipient's name exactly as their bank has it, and their address if your bank asks for it.
• The currency of the recipient's account (złoty, euros, pounds). This determines who converts the money and at what rate.
• A payment reference. For money sent to family, a clear reference (such as ‘darowizna’, Polish for ‘gift’) will make it easier for the recipient to document the gift in Poland.

Larger amounts: questions about where the money comes from, and carrying cash

Source of funds. Banks and payment firms must follow anti-money laundering rules. According to the FCA, they must know their customers and keep checking that transactions match what they know about them. They may ask about your source of funds, meaning where the money came from, such as your salary or the sale of something. Before a large transfer, have documents ready, such as payslips, a sale agreement or a savings account statement.

Cash. According to GOV.UK (as of October 2026):

• you must declare cash of £10,000 or more to UK customs if you carry it between Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales) and a country outside the UK, such as Poland. The total carried by a family or group travelling together counts;
• in Northern Ireland the threshold is €10,000 when travelling between Northern Ireland and a country outside the EU;
• cash also includes things such as travellers' cheques and bearer bonds;
• you can declare online (up to 72 hours before you travel) or by phone on 0300 322 9434;
• undeclared cash can be seized, and you may have to pay a penalty of up to £5,000 to get it back.

EU rules on declaring cash also apply when you enter Poland, so check them before you travel.

Money for family in Poland: tax on gifts

When you send money to family, in Poland this may count as a gift (darowizna). The obligations fall on the recipient. According to podatki.gov.pl and gov.pl (as of October 2026):

• Close family means: a spouse, descendants (such as children and grandchildren), ascendants (such as parents and grandparents), stepchildren, siblings, a stepfather and a stepmother. A gift from these people can be fully exempt from tax.
• Threshold for reporting: a gift doesn't need to be reported if its value doesn't exceed 36,120 zł. This counts everything the recipient has received from the same person in that year and the previous 5 years.
• Above the threshold, the recipient files form SD-Z2 within 6 months of receiving the money. Being late by even one day means losing the exemption (unless the deadline is reinstated).
• A cash gift must be documented by a payment into the recipient's account at a bank or a SKOK (a Polish credit union), or by postal order. If the recipient can't show they received the money this way, they can't use the exemption. Cash handed over in person or collected as cash from a money transfer agent may not meet this condition.
• When they receive the gift, the recipient must be a citizen of Poland or another EU or EEA country, or be permanently resident in one of these countries.
• SD-Z2 can be filed online (the form on podatki.gov.pl or e-Urząd Skarbowy) or on paper, with the tax office for the recipient's place of residence. Filing is free. Each recipient files a separate form.
• A gift made by notarial deed doesn't need an SD-Z2 form.

Gifts from more distant relatives and from people outside the family have different rules and thresholds. Check them on podatki.gov.pl.

Complaining about a bank or payment firm

1. Complain to the provider first. According to the Financial Ombudsman Service, for complaints about payment services, e-money and fraud or scams, a business has only 15 days to respond, and up to 8 weeks for most other complaints.
2. If you're unhappy with the response, or don't get one, take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service within 6 months of the firm's final response. It's free. The ombudsman also handles complaints about EMIs, APIs and SPIs.
3. The award limit (as of October 2026) is £455,000 for complaints referred on or after 1 April 2026 about events on or after 1 April 2019 (Financial Ombudsman).

If you use a provider based in another SEPA country (including a branch of a UK bank abroad), the FCA says you may need to complain in that country.

Where to get help

• Your bank or payment firm – straight away if you suspect fraud; call the number on your card or statement.
• Report Fraud – 0300 123 2040 (England, Wales, Northern Ireland). In Scotland, report fraud to the police on 101 or to Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 164 6000 (according to the FCA).
• FCA – consumer helpline 0800 111 6768 (freephone); check firms on the Financial Services Register.
• Financial Ombudsman Service – 0800 023 4567 (Mon–Fri 8am–5pm), free complaints about banks and payment firms.
• podatki.gov.pl – gift tax and form SD-Z2 in Poland.

This guide is general in nature and is not financial, tax or legal advice. We don't recommend any particular banks or firms. Fees, exchange rates and rules change, so check the current terms with your provider and at the source before you send money.