How to send and receive international payments

There are 2 types of payments when you send money internationally from your Nationwide current account: SEPA payments and SWIFT payments.

To send a SEPA or a SWIFT payment, follow the instructions for making an international payment.

You make a SEPA payment when you send euros to one of the 36 countries in the SEPA Zone.

The Single Euro Payments Area includes the following countries:

If you’re not sending euros to countries in the SEPA Zone, you can make a SWIFT payment. There’s no limit to how much you can send.

You need to use your current account to send or receive a SWIFT or SEPA payment. You can’t use a savings account unless advised by one of our teams.

You'll also need some extra information to make a SWIFT payment.

To make an international payment online from a Nationwide current account, you'll need your card reader and you must include:

To make an international payment in branch, you’ll also need:

When you request an international payment in our Internet Bank, the exchange rate is quoted in the online form. So you know exactly how much money will be sent.

We convert international payments into pounds sterling using our standard inbound exchange rate. This can vary, depending on the payment type.

If you request a payment in person at a branch, we’ll let you know the exchange rate on the day and exactly how much money will be sent. We can also give you a print out of the rates.

The fee to send an international payment varies depending on the type of payment and the account you hold.

We’ll let you know the cost when you set up your payment.

We charge a £20 transaction fee for SWIFT payments.

You’ll need to have enough money in your account or a covering overdraft to pay the £20 fee as well as the amount you’re sending. For example, if you were sending £100, you would need at least £120 in your account. If you don’t have enough to pay the fee, we may refuse to make the payment.

If you have a FlexBasic current account and you’re making a SWIFT payment in pounds to the EEA, the £20 fee will be refunded after the transaction is complete.

If you have a FlexOne, FlexStudent or FlexGraduate current account, there’s no transaction fee.

We want to make it easier for members who want to help those in need. So, we're refunding our £20 charge for payments to Ukraine.

If you're making a payment to Ukraine in branch, we won't charge you. If you're paying in the Internet Bank, we'll refund the fee the next working day after we send the payment.

If you make an international payment from your Nationwide account, you can choose to send it in foreign currency or in pound sterling.

If you make an international payment in foreign currency, we will convert the money from pound sterling to the foreign currency before sending it. We use the latest standard outbound exchange rate, which is updated throughout the day. The standard outbound exchange rate includes a currency conversion mark-up of 2.2%. The mark-up is added by the third party processing the currency conversion. We receive a share of this mark-up. The standard outbound exchange rate shown on your statement includes the currency conversion mark-up of 2.2%.

We will display the total charge of the 2.2% currency conversion mark-up when you request to make a payment with us.

If you choose to send your payment in pound sterling the receiving foreign bank will convert the currency. They will use their own exchange rate and may apply their own charges to the transaction.

There’s no transaction fee to receive an international payment. But we’ll convert the payment into pounds sterling using our standard inbound exchange rate. This can vary, depending on the type of payment.

There may also be fees and charges that the sender needs to cover. These can affect the amount you receive.

When a foreign bank sends money to Nationwide, they will either convert the money into pound sterling before sending it to us, or they will send it as foreign currency.

When we receive an international inbound payment in foreign currency, we use the standard inbound exchange rate to convert the currency into pound sterling. A currency conversion mark-up of 0.5% is included in the standard inbound exchange rate. This percentage is set by the third party and is not an additional charge from Nationwide. The standard inbound exchange rate shown on your statement includes the currency conversion mark-up of 0.5%.

If a foreign bank converts the money to pound sterling before sending it to us, the 0.5% mark-up will not apply. However, the sending bank may apply their own charges.

Timings vary between countries and the type of currency you’re sending.

If you’re sending euros in the SEPA Zone, your payment will arrive by the end of the next working day.

If you’re sending a currency other than euros within the EEA (opens in a new window) or the UK, your payment will normally arrive within 4 working days.

If you’re sending a payment outside the EEA, your payment will take longer than 4 working days, depending on the country and bank.

If you’re receiving an international payment, the time to get the payment will depend on where it’s coming from.

There’s no limit to how much you can send internationally.

But there are different rules for whether you’re sending euros in the SEPA Zone or money outside the SEPA Zone.

You can make an international payment online in our Internet Bank or at your local branch.

You need to give the person sending money:

The person or company sending the payment also needs to include their full name and address or the full name and address of their company.

You can only receive a SWIFT payment to your current account, not a savings account.

In exceptional circumstances, you can also use a Nationwide savings account to send international payments.

One of these circumstances is following a bereavement.

Call us or visit your nearest branch if you need some help with making an international payment.