Monzo International Transfer: Fees, Limits and How to Send Money Abroad (2026)
Monzo is one of the two cheapest UK banks for sending money abroad, and the reason is structural rather than promotional. It does not add a margin to the exchange rate at all. The rate you see is the mid-market rate, the same number Google returns, because Monzo sends through Wise underneath and passes that rate straight through.
Every high street bank does the opposite. HSBC adds 2.2%, Lloyds adds 3.55%, TSB adds up to 3.65%, and none of it appears on your statement. On a £1,000 payment that hidden half is £22 at HSBC and £35.50 at Lloyds. At Monzo it is nothing, and the entire price is the fee shown on screen before you confirm.
That makes a Monzo international transfer cost about £8 on £1,000, against about £27 at the cheapest traditional bank and about £55 at the most expensive.
There is one charge worth knowing before you give anyone your details, and it runs in the other direction. Money arriving in a non-GBP currency is converted at a 1% fee. This guide covers the sending price, the limits, the timings, that receiving fee and how to avoid it, and where Monzo is still not the right tool.
Find the Best and Cheapest Way to Send Money Abroad
What any provider costs depends on your amount, your currency and your destination, and it moves with the rate. Put those three in and you will see what each option actually delivers today.
Then read on for what Monzo charges and where it stops being the answer.
What Monzo Charges for an International Transfer
Monzo charges a single visible fee and nothing else. There is no exchange rate margin layered underneath it, which is what separates this from every high street price list on the site.
The Fee Structure: A Percentage Plus a Fixed Charge
The fee is built from a small percentage of the amount plus a fixed charge, and it varies by destination currency and by how fast the payment moves. Monzo displays the total in full before you confirm, broken out from the amount being sent.
What matters is what is not in that calculation. There is no spread added to the rate, so the fee you are shown is the fee you pay. At a traditional bank the number on screen is typically a fifth to a quarter of the real cost, with the rest buried in a rate presented as a market fact.
The practical test is simple. Open the payment screen, note the rate, search the same currency pair on Google. At Monzo those two numbers match. At every high street bank they do not, and the gap is the charge.
What That Costs on a Real Payment
Take the most common payment people make and price it properly, with both halves counted rather than just the visible one.
What £1,000 to Euros Actually Costs
The same payment, same day, same destination account, priced across the UK market.
- Monzoabout £8, all of it the stated fee. Nothing sits inside the rate.
- HSBCabout £27. A £5 fee plus 2.2% on the rate, so £22 of it is invisible.
- Lloydsabout £45. A £9.50 fee plus 3.55%, and the fee is barely a fifth of the total.
- Santanderabout £55. A £25 fee plus 3%, the most expensive combination on the high street.
Monzo is roughly three times cheaper than the best traditional bank on this payment and roughly seven times cheaper than the worst.
Scale it up and the shape holds, because a percentage grows and a fee does not. On £5,000 the gap between Monzo and Lloyds is close to £150, and on £10,000 it is over £300.
What the Monzo Fee Does Not Cover
Two costs sit outside the fee and Monzo does not control either. Payments that travel over SWIFT rather than a local network pass through correspondent banks, and each can deduct a handling charge of £10 to £30 before the money arrives.
The receiving bank may also charge its own fee for accepting an incoming international payment, which comes out of the recipient's money rather than yours. Neither of these is specific to Monzo, and how they work is in the guide to telegraphic transfer fees.
Ask the person receiving what actually landed. If it is short and you know exactly what you sent, that gap was taken between the two banks rather than at either end.
How a Monzo International Transfer Works
Monzo does not run its own international payment network. It partners with Wise, which means the payment leaves the Wise infrastructure rather than a Monzo one, and the rate comes from there too.
That is unusual enough to be worth stating plainly. Most banks that offer international payments build or buy their own rails and price them as a product. Monzo has effectively resold someone else's, and adopted their pricing model along with it.
The Wise Connection and What It Means
This partnership is the whole explanation for the pricing. Wise's model is to use the mid-market rate and charge a separate visible fee, and Monzo has adopted that model wholesale rather than layering a bank margin on top of it.
It also explains the coverage and the speed. The countries Monzo reaches, the currencies it supports and the delivery times are largely Wise's, which is why some routes complete in seconds and others take days.
The trade is that you are paying Monzo's fee for a Wise payment. Going to Wise directly is usually slightly cheaper on the same route, because there is one fewer party in the chain, and it also unlocks the currency accounts Monzo does not offer.
Sending From the App, Step by Step
Open the Monzo app, choose Payments and select the option to send money abroad. Pick the destination country and currency, enter the amount, and add the recipient's details.
Monzo then shows the exchange rate, the fee and the amount that will arrive, on one screen before you confirm. That third number is the one to compare against other providers, because it already accounts for everything.
For Europe you need an IBAN. Outside Europe you need a SWIFT or BIC code and an account number, and several countries require a third identifier: a routing number for the United States, a BSB for Australia, an IFSC code for India.
The recipient's name must match what their bank holds, or the payment bounces days later. The full list by country is in the guide to what bank details you need to transfer money.
Why You Cannot Send Pounds Abroad
Monzo will not let you send sterling to an overseas account. The payment has to be converted into the destination currency before it leaves, which surprises people who expected to send pounds and let the other bank handle it.
This is a feature rather than a limitation. When you send pounds, the receiving bank performs the conversion at a rate it chooses and never shows you, and that rate is routinely worse than anything discussed on this page. Forcing the conversion up front means the price is visible and yours to accept or reject.
The exception it costs you is a recipient who holds a sterling account abroad. In that specific case you genuinely do want to send pounds, and Monzo cannot do it.
Monzo Against the UK Banks
Against the high street, Monzo wins on the number that decides the total. The banks compete with each other on a margin Monzo does not charge at all.
The Cost Gap on the Same Payment
Read the third column first. At every traditional bank it is larger than the fee, and at Monzo it does not exist.
Bank | Fee | Exchange rate margin | £1,000 to US dollars |
|---|---|---|---|
Starling | 30p to £5.50 | 0.4% | about £4.30 |
Monzo | Shown before you send | None, uses the mid-market rate | about £8 |
HSBC | £5 online | 2.2% | about £27 |
NatWest | £0 standard | Up to 2.75% | about £27.50 |
Nationwide | £15 SWIFT, £0 SEPA | 2.2% | about £37 |
TSB | £10 to £17.50 | 3.20% to 3.65% by currency | about £42 |
Lloyds and Halifax | £9.50 | 3.55% | about £45 |
Santander | £25 | 3% under £10,000 | about £55 |
Barclays | £0 online | Not published | unknown |
Starling is the one that beats Monzo on price, at 0.4% plus a delivery fee from 30p. The full ranking, and why the app banks are cheaper at all, is in the guide to the best UK banks for international transfers.
Where the High Street Still Wins
Three things, and they are real rather than defensive. Coverage is the first: a traditional bank reaches destinations the app banks do not, and Monzo inherits Wise's country list rather than a global banking network.
Limits are the second. Lloyds allows £100,000 a day online and Nationwide has no cap at all, which matters for a property completion. See the Lloyds guide and the HSBC guide.
The third is having somewhere to go when a payment goes wrong. A branch, a relationship manager and a phone number you can escalate through are worth something on a payment large enough to matter, and no app bank offers them.
Where Monzo Wins and Where a Bank Still Does
Monzo is not better at everything, and the cases where a high street bank wins are specific rather than vague.
- Monzo wins on priceabout £8 on £1,000 against £27 at HSBC and £45 at Lloyds, with nothing hidden in the rate.
- Monzo wins on transparencythe rate on screen matches Google. At every high street bank it does not, by 2.2% to 3.65%.
- A bank wins on coverageMonzo inherits Wise's country list, and a traditional bank reaches destinations that list does not.
- A bank wins on sizeLloyds allows £100,000 a day and Nationwide has no cap. Monzo sets limits per currency and they are lower.
The honest split: Monzo for ordinary payments to covered destinations, a bank or a specialist for anything large or unusual.
Monzo International Transfer Limits
Monzo sets its limits per currency rather than as one figure, and they are lower than most people assume. The cap that applies to you depends on which currency you are sending and how your account is verified.
Why the Limits Vary by Currency
The limits follow the underlying payment rails rather than Monzo's own risk appetite. A currency that settles over a local network in the destination country behaves differently from one that has to travel over SWIFT, and the caps reflect that.
It also means the figure can change without an announcement. Check the limit in the app for the specific currency before you plan a large payment, rather than assuming last month's number still applies.
How to Raise a Limit
Limits lift once Monzo has verified more about you and the payment, and the process is document-driven rather than a conversation.
Have This Ready Before You Ask
A limit increase is usually granted within a day or two, and almost all of the delay is waiting for documents you could have had ready.
- Where the money came froma completion statement, an inheritance letter, a sale confirmation or recent payslips.
- What it is forthe contract, invoice or deposit request showing the recipient's name.
- Who the recipient ishow you know them, particularly if the account name looks unconnected to you.
- Ask before the deadlinea limit increase requested on the day the money is due is a limit increase that arrives late.
Above about £10,000 every UK institution is legally required to ask these questions. It is not specific to Monzo and it is not about you.
If the amount is genuinely large, a specialist quotes its limit in advance and handles far bigger single payments. The options are in the guide to transferring large sums internationally.
How Long a Monzo International Transfer Takes
Some Monzo payments arrive in seconds and some take three to five working days. The difference is the route rather than the amount, and you can tell which you are getting before you send.
When It Arrives in Seconds
Where the destination has a local payment network that Wise plugs into directly, the money moves almost instantly. Major European currencies and US dollars frequently land within seconds or minutes.
This is possible because no correspondent bank is involved. Wise holds money at both ends and settles locally, so nothing has to travel across the SWIFT network at all.
When It Takes Three to Five Days
Where no local network exists, the payment falls back to SWIFT and behaves like any other bank transfer: two to five working days, one or two correspondent banks, and a handling charge at each.
Monzo shows the expected arrival time on the confirmation screen before you send. Read it, because a route that takes four days needs sending on a Monday rather than a Thursday.
Weekends and UK bank holidays are not working days, and a public holiday in the destination country adds a further day at the far end. The full picture is in the guide to how long an international money transfer takes.
Receiving Money Into Monzo From Abroad
Here is the charge that catches people, and it runs in the opposite direction to everything above. Monzo charges 1% to convert money arriving in a non-GBP currency. Sending costs almost nothing and receiving does not.
The 1% Conversion Fee
If someone abroad sends you euros, dollars or any other currency, Monzo converts it into pounds on arrival and charges 1% of the value for doing so. On a payment worth £100, the fee is £1. There is no fee at all if the money arrives already in sterling.
You are not asked to approve this. There is no rate screen and no confirmation, because by the time the balance updates the conversion has already happened. That is what makes it the least visible charge on the account.
The Receiving Fee Nobody Checks Before Giving Out Their Details
1% sounds small next to a bank's 2.2%, and over a year on regular income it is not small at all.
- £2,000 a month arriving in dollars1% is £20 a month, so £240 a year on money already earned.
- A one-off £500 payment£5, which is genuinely trivial and not worth restructuring anything for.
- Compared with a high street bankHSBC charges 2.2% plus a £5 receiving fee, so Monzo is still less than half the cost.
- Compared with holding the currencynothing at all, because no conversion takes place.
Who this hits: freelancers with overseas clients, landlords with property abroad, and anyone on a foreign pension.
The £1,000 Cap and Who It Affects
The 1% is capped at £1,000 per transaction, which means it stops growing once a single payment exceeds £100,000. That ceiling is irrelevant to almost everyone and genuinely useful to the few it applies to.
A £250,000 payment arriving in dollars costs £1,000 rather than £2,500. At a high street bank charging a percentage with no cap, the same payment would cost several thousand.
For a property sale abroad, an inheritance or a business exit, that cap is worth more than every sending fee on this page combined. It is also the one piece of Monzo pricing that gets better as the amount grows rather than worse.
How to Avoid the 1%
Two ways, and the first is free. Ask the sender to send in sterling rather than their local currency. Monzo charges nothing to receive GBP, because no conversion is needed.
That is not always possible, because the sender's own bank may charge them more to convert at their end, and their rate may be worse than Monzo's 1%. Check both before deciding, rather than assuming.
The second way is to hold the currency instead of converting it. A currency account gives you real account details in dollars or euros, so money arrives and stays put until you choose a moment to convert. Monzo does not offer this. The options are in the guides to the best USD bank account in the UK and the best euro account in the UK.
Monzo Against Starling and Revolut
The three UK app banks price international payments in genuinely different ways, and the cheapest depends on what you are doing rather than on which is better.
Starling: Lower Percentage, Fixed Delivery Fee
Starling charges 0.4% on the rate plus a delivery fee starting at 30p, which comes to about £4.30 on £1,000 against Monzo's £8. On price alone it wins. It reaches only 34 countries though, and India, Pakistan, the Philippines and Nigeria are not among them. The detail is in the Starling international transfer guide.
Revolut: Free Until It Is Not
Revolut offers free conversion up to a monthly allowance on its lower tiers, then charges once you pass it. It also applies a markup at weekends, when the currency markets are closed and it is carrying the risk of a Monday move.
For someone sending small amounts inside the allowance, that is genuinely free and beats everything here. For someone sending regularly or at weekends, the effective rate is harder to predict than Monzo's, which is the same every day of the week.
Which One for Which Job
None of these three is best at everything, and the differences are sharp enough to matter.
Monzo | Starling | Revolut | |
|---|---|---|---|
Rate | Mid-market, no margin | 0.4% margin | Mid-market inside allowance |
Fee | Percentage plus fixed, shown up front | 30p to £5.50 delivery | Free to a monthly cap, then charged |
Weekend pricing | Same as weekdays | Same as weekdays | Markup applied |
£1,000 to US dollars | about £8 | about £4.30 | free or charged, depending on tier |
Receiving in a foreign currency | 1% capped at £1,000 | 2% | Depends on tier |
Monzo's advantage is predictability. The price is the same on a Sunday as a Tuesday, it does not depend on a tier or an allowance, and there is no margin to discover afterwards.
Which of the Three to Use
All three hold UK banking licences and all three are FSCS protected. The choice is about pricing shape rather than safety.
- Sending regularly to a covered countryStarling, at about £4.30 on £1,000, is the cheapest of the three.
- Sending to somewhere Starling does not reachMonzo, because its coverage follows Wise rather than a 34 country list.
- Small amounts inside an allowanceRevolut can be genuinely free, provided you stay inside the tier and avoid weekends.
- Being paid from abroadnone of them. All three charge on money coming in, from 1% to 2%.
That last row is the one worth acting on, because it is the only charge here that recurs every month without a decision attached to it.
Other Ways to Send the Same Money
Specialists price the same transaction the same way Monzo does, with the real rate and a stated fee, which is unsurprising given Monzo is built on one of them.
All three below are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and must hold customer money separately from their own. None is a bank, so your money is safeguarded rather than covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Monzo, by contrast, holds a full UK banking licence and is FSCS protected, which is a genuine point in its favour.
Wise
Wise is what sits underneath a Monzo international payment, so going directly is usually slightly cheaper on the same route: about £6.50 on £1,000 to US dollars against Monzo's £8.
The larger difference is the currency accounts. Wise gives you real account details in several currencies at no cost, which removes the 1% Monzo charges on money coming in. Read the full Wise review.
What it does not do: no branches, no overdraft, no cash payout and no FSCS cover. If Monzo is your main current account, running both is a reasonable answer rather than switching.
Remitly
Remitly is built for sending money home to family and covers South Asia, the Philippines, Latin America and much of Africa. Several of those destinations sit outside what Monzo reaches at all.
It can also pay out as cash for collection or into a mobile wallet, which no bank on this page offers. Where the recipient has no bank account, that is the entire transaction rather than a convenience.
Xe
Xe suits larger and planned payments. You can lock today's rate for a transfer months away, which matters far more than any fee when the amount is large.
On a £300,000 property purchase, a 4% rate move between exchange and completion is £12,000, which dwarfs every charge discussed here. Monzo's limits rule that payment out anyway.
Find the Cheapest Option for Your Amount
Which one wins depends on the amount, the currency and the destination, and it changes with the market. Sending £300 to Manila and £30,000 to a Spanish notary are different problems with different answers.
Check your own numbers rather than trusting any ranking, including this one. The method is in the guide to the cheapest international money transfer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Monzo international transfer fees?
Monzo charges a small percentage of the amount plus a fixed fee, both shown in full before you confirm. It adds no margin to the exchange rate, so the fee you see is the entire cost. On £1,000 that comes to about £8, against about £27 at HSBC and about £45 at Lloyds, where most of the cost is hidden in the rate.
Does Monzo use the real exchange rate?
Yes. Monzo sends through Wise and passes the mid-market rate straight through, which is the same rate you get if you search the currency pair on Google. No UK high street bank does this: they add between 2.2% and 3.65%, and it never appears on your statement as a charge.
How much does Monzo charge to receive money from abroad?
1% to convert money arriving in a non-GBP currency, capped at £1,000 per transaction. There is no fee if the payment arrives in sterling. On £2,000 arriving in dollars that is £20, and there is no confirmation screen, so the conversion has already happened by the time your balance updates.
How do I avoid Monzo's 1% receiving fee?
Ask the sender to send in sterling, because Monzo charges nothing to receive GBP. That is not always cheapest, since their bank may charge more to convert at their end. The alternative is a currency account that holds dollars or euros so no conversion happens at all, which Monzo does not offer.
Can I send pounds abroad with Monzo?
No. Monzo converts into the destination currency before the payment leaves. That is usually better for you, because sending pounds means the receiving bank picks the conversion rate and never shows it to you. The exception is a recipient who holds a sterling account abroad, where Monzo genuinely cannot help.
How long does a Monzo international transfer take?
Seconds to five working days, depending on the route. Where a local payment network exists in the destination country, money often lands within minutes. Where it does not, the payment falls back to SWIFT and takes two to five working days with correspondent banks in the chain. The app shows the expected time before you confirm.
What is the Monzo international transfer limit?
It varies by currency rather than being a single figure, because the limits follow the underlying payment rails. Check the app for the specific currency before planning a large payment. Limits can be raised once Monzo has verified the source of the funds and the purpose of the payment.
Is Monzo cheaper than Wise?
No, usually slightly more expensive on the same route, because Monzo sends through Wise and adds its own fee on top. About £8 against £6.50 on £1,000. The larger difference is that Wise offers currency accounts and Monzo does not, which matters most for money coming in rather than going out.
Is Monzo or Starling cheaper for international transfers?
Starling, on the routes it covers. Starling charges 0.4% plus a delivery fee from 30p, about £4.30 on £1,000, against Monzo's £8. Starling only reaches 34 countries though, and India, Pakistan, the Philippines and Nigeria are all missing, so Monzo covers more of the world.
Is Monzo safe for international transfers?
Yes. Monzo Bank Limited holds a full UK banking licence and deposits are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to the standard limit, exactly as at HSBC or Lloyds. That is stronger protection than a specialist offers, since specialists safeguard money rather than being FSCS covered.
The Bottom Line on Monzo International Transfers
If Monzo is already your bank, use it for sending. About £8 on £1,000 against £27 at the best traditional bank is not a close decision, and you get full FSCS protection alongside it.
Starling is cheaper still on the routes it covers, and Wise is slightly cheaper than both because it removes a party from the chain. Whether that is worth another app depends on how often you send.
The part worth acting on is the receiving side. If money comes in from abroad regularly, the 1% costs about £240 a year on £2,000 a month, and a currency account removes it entirely rather than reducing it.
And check the limit for your specific currency before you plan anything large, because Monzo sets them per currency and they are lower than most people expect.
Sources
Every fee and figure on this page comes from Monzo's own published material and was checked in August 2026. Pricing changes with little notice, so verify the number that applies to you before you send.
- Monzo, Why was I charged a 1% fee for my international payment?, the 1% conversion fee, the £1,000 cap and the GBP exemption.
- Monzo, What fees are charged for receiving international transfers?, which currencies are converted and when no fee applies.
- Monzo, Fee information, the published account fee schedule.
- Monzo, Currency exchange rate calculator, the live rate and fee shown before sending.
- Financial Conduct Authority, Financial Services Register, to confirm Monzo, Wise, Remitly and Xe are authorised.
- Financial Services Compensation Scheme, what is covered for banks and building societies, the protection limit and what falls outside it.
Prices for Wise, Remitly and Xe were checked on the same day. The method behind these cost calculations is set out in the guide to how banks charge for money transfers.
Mohammad Humaid
Verified AuthorMo is the founder of MoneyTransferStore. As an expat who has experienced the challenges of sending money across borders himself, he set out to help others like him avoid hidden fees and unfair exchange rates on international transfers. With a background spanning fintech, payments, and Web3, Mo brings years of practical experience to building a platform focused on transparency and trust.
