Monzo International Transfer: Fees, Limits and Alternatives (2026)
Monzo is one of the cheapest ways to send money abroad from a UK current account, and most of its customers have no idea by how much. The fee sits under 1% on the routes people actually use, against 2.2 to 3.55% at the high street banks, which puts it in the same territory as a specialist like Wise rather than a bank.
That is the good news, and it is genuine. The catch is on the other side of the transaction, where Monzo charges 1% to convert anything arriving in a foreign currency, and in a rule that surprises people, will not let you send pounds abroad at all.
This guide covers Monzo international transfer fees currency by currency, how the limits work, how long transfers take, what happens when money comes back the other way, and where a Wise account still does the job better. Every figure comes from Monzo's own published fee documents.
Where Monzo Wins and Where You Want Wise Instead
Monzo is a strong sending product and a weak receiving one. Knowing which side of that line you are on decides everything below.
- Sending abroad: Monzo is excellent, at 0.65% to 0.82% depending on currency, and there is little reason to switch.
- Receiving from abroad: Monzo takes 1% on every foreign currency conversion. Wise gives you local account details so the money arrives without any conversion at all.
- Sending pounds: Monzo cannot do it. Wise can.
- Holding currencies: Monzo holds sterling only. Wise holds 40+ and lets you convert when the rate suits you.
- Over 20,000 GBP a month: Wise applies an automatic volume discount that Monzo has no equivalent of.
If money only ever leaves your account, Monzo is enough. If it also comes back, a Wise account alongside it is the cheaper arrangement.
What Monzo Charges for an International Transfer
Monzo international transfer fees are a variable percentage of the amount sent plus a small fixed fee, and the percentage depends on the currency. It runs from 0.64% for Australian dollars to 0.82% for Indian rupees, capped at 1.8% across all supported currencies. There is no separate exchange rate mark-up on top.
The Fee Structure, a Percentage Plus a Fixed Charge
This two part structure is the important thing to understand, because it is completely different from how a high street bank prices the same payment. A bank charges a flat fee that looks small, then adds a margin to the exchange rate that never appears as a charge. Monzo charges a percentage that is visible and applies its rate on top of that with nothing hidden inside it.
Here is what Monzo publishes for the currencies most UK senders use. The SWIFT fee only applies when a payment has to travel on the SWIFT network rather than a local one.
Currency | Variable fee | Fixed fee | SWIFT fee |
|---|---|---|---|
Euro | 0.65% | £0.31 | €3.55 |
US dollar | 0.68% | £0.61 | $2.90 |
Australian dollar | 0.64% | £0.49 | Not available |
Indian rupee | 0.82% | £0.41 | Not available |
Romanian leu | 0.82% | £0.50 | Not available |
Across the wider currency list the ceiling is 1.8%, so even the most expensive route Monzo supports costs roughly half of what Lloyds charges in exchange rate margin alone. Wise prices the same way, a stated percentage on top of the mid-market rate, which is why the two land close together and why both leave the high street far behind. The full breakdown is in the Wise review.
What That Costs on a Real Transfer
Percentages are abstract, so put Monzo international transfer fees on a real amount. Sending £1,000 to a euro account costs 0.65%, which is £6.50, plus the 31 pence fixed fee. Total £6.81, and the recipient gets the rest at the rate Monzo showed you before you confirmed.
The same £1,000 to a US dollar account costs 0.68%, £6.80, plus 61 pence. Total £7.41. Send £5,000 to dollars and it is £34.61, because the percentage scales while the fixed fee does not. Wise sits in the same range on that route, and pulls ahead once your monthly volume passes 20,000 GBP and its discount starts applying.
For comparison on that same £5,000 to dollars, Lloyds charges £9.50 plus a 3.55% margin, which comes to roughly £187. HSBC charges £5 plus 2.2%, roughly £115. The gap is not a promotion, it is a different pricing model, and the mechanics behind it are set out in the guide to the mid-market exchange rate.
What £1,000 to Euros Actually Costs
Same amount, same destination, same day. The only variable is who sends it.
- Monzo: 0.65% plus £0.31, about £6.81.
- HSBC: £5 fee plus a 2.2% margin, about £27.
- Lloyds: £9.50 fee plus a 3.55% margin, about £45.
- Santander: no fee on SEPA euros, but a 3% margin still applies, about £30.
Santander is the instructive one. It charges nothing to send euros inside SEPA and still costs more than four times what Monzo does, because the cost was never in the fee.
What the Monzo International Transfer Fee Does Not Cover
Monzo's fee covers Monzo's side of the payment, and on a local network route that is genuinely the whole cost. On a SWIFT route it is not, and the difference is worth understanding before you send.
Once a payment enters the SWIFT network it can pass through intermediary banks, and each is entitled to deduct a handling charge before passing it on. Monzo does not control that and cannot quote it in advance. The recipient's own bank may also charge to receive the payment or to convert it on arrival. This is the layer that explains why a round number sent abroad so often arrives as an odd one, and it is covered in the guide to telegraphic transfer fees.
The practical takeaway is that Monzo international transfer fees are complete on the fast routes and indicative on the slow ones. If the exact amount matters, because it is an invoice or a deposit, send a little more than the figure quoted or use a route that avoids the correspondent chain altogether.
The Weekend Markup Monzo Does Not Add
Currency markets close at the weekend, and several providers add a surcharge to cover the risk of holding a rate over a Saturday. Revolut is the best known example, applying an out of hours markup on its plans.
Monzo states plainly that it does not do this. A transfer sent on a Sunday afternoon carries the same fee as one sent on a Tuesday morning. It is a small thing that matters if you top up family abroad at the weekend, which is exactly when most people have time to do it.
How a Monzo International Transfer Actually Works
Transfers are sent from the app in three taps, and Monzo shows the full cost and the arrival estimate before you confirm. The service covers more than 30 currencies, and over 70% of transfers arrive in seconds rather than days.
Sending From the App, Step by Step
From the Monzo home screen, tap the Payments icon in the menu bar, then Pay someone, then Transfer internationally. You choose the destination currency first rather than the country, which trips people up, then enter the recipient's details.
What you need depends on the destination. Europe needs an IBAN. Most other countries need a SWIFT or BIC code with a local account number, and the United States adds a routing number. Get the recipient's legal name exactly right, because a mismatch is the most common cause of a returned payment, and returned payments come back short. The full list is in the guide to what bank details you need to transfer money.
Before you confirm, Monzo shows the exchange rate, the fee broken out, the amount the recipient will receive and a personalised arrival estimate. That last figure is the one worth reading, because it is specific to your route rather than a generic range.
Why You Cannot Send Pounds Abroad
This catches people out regularly and there is no way around it. You cannot send GBP internationally from a Monzo account. Every international transfer has to be converted into the destination currency before it leaves.
In most cases this is a feature rather than a limitation. Sending pounds to a foreign account means the receiving bank converts at a rate it chooses and never quotes you, which is almost always worse than converting before the money leaves. Monzo is forcing the better option.
It becomes a real problem in one situation: paying a foreign account that is denominated in sterling, such as an offshore GBP account or an overseas landlord who banks in pounds. For that, Monzo is simply the wrong tool. Wise sends sterling internationally, which is the straightforward answer if this is your situation.
You Also Need to Be 18
Monzo restricts international payments to customers aged 18 and over, so the feature is not available on 16 and 17 year old accounts even though the current account itself is.
Worth knowing if you were planning to have a teenager send money to family abroad, or if you manage a joint arrangement for a student living overseas.
The Wise Connection and What It Means
When Monzo relaunched international transfers, it announced the service as powered by Wise, and the pricing model it uses now is the same shape: a variable percentage plus a small fixed fee, applied on top of a live rate with no margin buried inside it.
Monzo's current pages no longer name a provider, so treat the partnership as the origin of the product rather than a confirmed present arrangement. What is not in doubt is the structure, which is the specialist model rather than the bank model, and that is why the numbers land where they do.
It also means that if you already use Monzo for transfers, going direct to a specialist is a smaller step than it feels, because you are already comfortable with how that pricing reads. The full picture is in the Wise review.
Monzo Against the High Street Banks
On a like for like £1,000 payment to a non-euro country, Monzo costs about £7 against £27 at HSBC, £45 at Lloyds and £55 at Santander. The difference is entirely in how the exchange rate is priced.
The Cost Gap on the Same Payment
A high street bank quotes you a rate that already has a margin inside it, typically 2.2 to 3.55% on amounts under £10,000. Because it is inside the rate rather than shown as a charge, it never appears on your statement and most senders never learn it is there.
Provider | Fee on £1,000 to USD | What you pay for |
|---|---|---|
Monzo | About £7.41 | 0.68% plus £0.61, no rate margin |
HSBC | About £27 | £5 fee plus a 2.2% rate margin |
Lloyds | About £45 | £9.50 fee plus a 3.55% rate margin |
Santander | About £55 | £25 fee plus a 3% rate margin |
Multiply that by twelve if you send monthly. A £1,000 payment every month costs about £89 a year through Monzo and about £540 through Lloyds. The wider comparison across every major UK bank sits in the guide to UK bank international transfer fees.
Where the Banks Still Win
Being honest about this matters, because Monzo does not win everything. A bank will send sterling abroad and Monzo will not. A bank will handle a six figure transfer with a branch appointment and a named person, where Monzo requires you to ask for a limit increase through the app.
Some legal and mortgage processes also require funds to arrive from a named account at a recognised institution, and while Monzo is a fully licensed UK bank with FSCS protection, solicitors occasionally have their own rules. For property purchases in particular, read the guide to transferring large sums internationally before assuming any single method will work.
Monzo International Transfer Limits
Monzo sets limits by currency rather than one flat ceiling, and it does not publish the figures because they vary. If you need more than your limit allows, you ask in the app and Monzo reviews it.
Why the Limits Vary by Currency
Limits reflect the payment rails behind each currency and the compliance requirements of the destination. A euro payment on a local European network and a rupee payment into India are different risk and infrastructure propositions, so they carry different ceilings.
The practical consequence is that you cannot plan a large transfer on an assumption. Enter the amount in the app first and see whether it goes through, well before the money is actually needed. Wise publishes its limits per currency route, so if a deadline is involved it is the easier one to plan around.
It is also worth knowing that a limit is not a judgement on you. It reflects what Monzo can move on that particular corridor without additional checks, so the same customer can have a high ceiling in euros and a low one somewhere else on the same day.
How to Raise a Limit
Monzo handles increases through in-app chat rather than a form. Expect to explain what the payment is for and to provide evidence of where the money came from, which is a standard regulatory requirement rather than Monzo being difficult.
Have This Ready Before You Ask
A limit increase request moves faster when the answers are already in front of you. Everything here is something a UK bank is required to establish for a large payment.
- Source of funds: a completion statement, an inheritance letter, an investment sale confirmation or recent payslips.
- Purpose of payment: the contract, invoice or deposit request, with the recipient named on it.
- Who the recipient is: your relationship to them, particularly if the account name is not obviously connected to you.
- Timing: ask days before you need to send, not on the day.
Never break a large payment into several smaller ones to stay under a ceiling. That pattern is exactly what monitoring systems are built to flag, and it slows everything down rather than speeding it up.
How Long a Monzo International Transfer Takes
More than 70% of Monzo international transfers arrive in seconds. The remainder, which are the ones routed over SWIFT, take three to five working days. Which one you get depends on the destination, not on anything you can choose.
When It Arrives in Seconds
Where Monzo can reach a local payment network in the destination country, the money does not cross a border at all. It is paid out from an account already held in that country, which is why it lands almost immediately and why there are no intermediary bank deductions on the way.
This covers most of Europe, the United States and the other major corridors. If your recipient is on a mainstream bank in a mainstream market, this is almost certainly what happens. Wise runs on the same local rails, which is why both are fast where a high street SWIFT payment is not.
When It Takes Three to Five Days
For destinations without a local network, the payment goes onto SWIFT and joins the correspondent bank chain, which is where the extra SWIFT fee in the table comes from. Three to five working days is Monzo's own quoted range and it is realistic. The mechanics of why that chain is slow are covered in the guide to how long an international money transfer takes.
Seconds or Days, and How to Tell Which
Monzo gives you a personalised arrival estimate on the confirmation screen before you send. That estimate is route specific and it is the only reliable signal available to you.
- Seconds: a local payment network exists in the destination country, so nothing crosses a border.
- Three to five working days: the payment travels on SWIFT through correspondent banks.
- The tell: if the fee breakdown includes a SWIFT fee, you are on the slow route.
Read the estimate before you promise anyone a date. It costs nothing and it is more accurate than any general rule.
Receiving Money Into Monzo From Abroad
This is where Monzo is at its weakest and where most customers get caught. Money arriving in pounds is free. Money arriving in any other currency is converted by Monzo at a 1% fee, capped at £1,000 per transaction.
The 1% Conversion Fee
A payment worth £100 arriving in euros costs you £1. A payment worth £2,000 costs £20. The fee is deducted as part of the conversion, so it does not arrive as a separate line and most people never notice it happened.
For an occasional payment from a relative, 1% is not worth losing sleep over. For anyone paid from abroad regularly, it compounds quickly and quietly, and it is the single strongest reason to hold a Wise account alongside Monzo rather than instead of it.
Why the Cap Matters
The £1,000 cap only binds on very large payments, at which point you are converting £100,000 in a single transaction. Below that, the full 1% applies with no relief, which means the cap protects the largest transfers and does nothing for ordinary ones.
If you are a freelancer invoicing a client in dollars every month, or receiving rent from a property abroad, 1% of every payment for a service you did not choose is a real annual cost. The wider picture on inbound charges across UK providers is in the guide to receiving money from abroad.
How to Avoid the 1% Fee With a Wise Account
The fix is to receive in the currency rather than converting on arrival. An account that gives you local details in dollars or euros lets the money land without any conversion at all, and you decide when and whether to convert it. That is exactly what a multi-currency account is for, and the options are compared in the guides to a USD bank account in the UK and a euro account in the UK.
The Receiving Fee Nobody Checks Before Giving Out Their Details
People compare sending costs carefully and hand over their account details without a second thought. On regular inbound payments the second one is usually the bigger number.
- £2,000 a month in euros into Monzo: 1% is £20 a month, £240 a year.
- The same into a multi-currency account with local euro details: no conversion, so no fee.
- The difference: you choose the moment you convert, instead of it happening automatically at arrival.
If money reaches you from abroad more than a few times a year, this is worth ten minutes of setup.
Monzo Against Starling and Revolut
The three UK digital banks price international transfers completely differently, and which is cheapest depends entirely on how much you send and how often. Monzo sits in the middle on headline rate and wins on predictability.
Starling, Lower Percentage but a Fixed Delivery Fee
Starling charges a 0.4% conversion fee, lower than Monzo on every currency, then adds a delivery fee on top: £5.50 for a SWIFT payment, or between £0.30 and £0.90 on a local network. That structure flips the answer depending on the amount.
On £200 to euros, Starling's £5.50 SWIFT fee swamps the percentage and Monzo is cheaper. On £5,000, Starling's 0.4% is £20 against Monzo's 0.65% at £32.50, so Starling wins comfortably. The crossover sits somewhere around £1,500, and the detail is in the guide to Starling international transfer fees.
Revolut, Free Until It Is Not
Revolut works on an allowance rather than a per transfer fee. Standard customers get £1,000 of currency exchange a month at no charge, after which a 1% fair usage fee applies. Inside the allowance it is free and nothing here beats it.
Two things catch people out. The allowance is monthly and covers all exchange rather than transfers alone, so card spending abroad eats into it. And Revolut applies an out of hours markup at weekends, which Monzo does not. The plan tiers change the numbers, and the breakdown is in the guide to Revolut international transfer fees.
Which One for Which Job
There is no single winner, which is why this comparison is worth doing against your own pattern rather than in the abstract. Amount and frequency decide it, not brand.
Digital Bank Transfers, Side by Side
All three beat the high street comfortably. The differences between them only start to matter once you know your own numbers.
- Small transfers under about £500: Monzo, because there is no meaningful fixed fee to absorb.
- Larger transfers over about £1,500: Starling, where the 0.4% conversion fee pulls ahead.
- Under £1,000 of exchange a month in total: Revolut Standard, which is free inside the allowance.
- Weekend senders: Monzo, which adds nothing out of hours.
- Receiving from abroad: none of the three, for the reasons in the section above.
To see how all of them sit against the specialists on the same payment, the best apps for international money transfers puts them side by side.
The Realistic Alternative: A Wise Account Alongside Monzo
Monzo is genuinely good at sending and genuinely weak at receiving, and it cannot send pounds at all. A Wise account addresses all three, which is why it is the natural companion rather than a straight replacement.
What a Wise Account Gives You That Monzo Does Not
Wise gives you local account details in a range of currencies, including US dollars, euros and pounds. Someone paying you in dollars pays into what behaves like a US account, so the money arrives without conversion and without Monzo's 1%. You hold it as dollars and convert when you want to, at the mid-market rate.
It also sends sterling internationally, which Monzo does not, and it applies an automatic volume discount once you send more than 20,000 GBP or the equivalent in a calendar month. On larger or more frequent transfers that discount compounds in a way a flat percentage cannot.
The third difference is holding. Wise lets you keep balances in more than forty currencies, so if you are paid in one currency and spend in another, you stop paying a conversion on every single movement and start converting on your own schedule.
Where Each One Fits
These are not competing for the same job, and using both is a perfectly sensible answer.
- Monzo: your everyday UK current account, and a cheap way to send abroad in a supported currency.
- Wise: receiving from abroad without conversion, holding several currencies, sending sterling, and larger transfers where the volume discount applies.
- The overlap: on a straightforward one off send in a major currency, the difference is small enough that convenience decides it.
- The gap: on receiving, it is not close.
The mid-market rate, the fee shown before you confirm, and FCA safeguarding of customer funds apply on every transfer rather than as an introductory offer.
Stop Paying Monzo's 1% to Get Paid: Open a Wise Account
If money reaches you from abroad more than a handful of times a year, this is the change worth making today. Opening takes about ten minutes and costs nothing.
- Get local account details: in US dollars, euros, pounds and more, so payments arrive without a conversion.
- Hold the currency: convert on your own schedule at the mid-market rate rather than automatically on arrival.
- Keep Monzo for sending: nothing here requires you to move your current account.
Wise is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and safeguards customer funds separately from company money.
How to Open a Wise Account, and When Monzo Is Still Enough
Opening a Wise account takes about ten minutes, needs ID verification and costs nothing to hold, and you can run it alongside Monzo rather than replacing anything. That said, if you bank with Monzo, the payment is in a currency it supports, the amount is inside your limit and the money is going out rather than coming in, Monzo is a good answer and switching gains you very little. Under 1% is genuinely competitive, and the wider comparison in the guide to whether banks charge for money transfers shows how far ahead of the high street that already is. There is also a direct provider comparison in PayPal versus Wise.
Other Options Worth Knowing
Two more are worth a mention because they beat both Monzo and Wise in specific situations rather than generally.
Remitly
Remitly is built around remittance corridors, so it suits regular payments to family in South Asia, the Philippines, Latin America and much of Africa. It offers cash pickup at agent locations and mobile wallet delivery, neither of which Monzo supports, and an express option that arrives within minutes.
If your recipient does not have a bank account, this is the difference between a transfer working and not working at all.
Xe
Xe is set up for larger amounts, with rate alerts and the ability to fix a rate ahead of a payment. If you are buying property abroad and completing in three months, locking a rate now removes a risk that no percentage fee comparison captures.
Compare This Specific Transfer
Published fees tell you the rules. What actually decides it is how many pounds reach the other end on your route, at your amount, today.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a Monzo international transfer cost?
Monzo charges a variable percentage plus a small fixed fee, with no mark-up added to the exchange rate. Euros cost 0.65% plus £0.31, US dollars 0.68% plus £0.61, Australian dollars 0.64% plus £0.49 and Indian rupees 0.82% plus £0.41. The ceiling across all supported currencies is 1.8%. On £1,000 to euros that works out at about £6.81 in total.
Are Monzo international transfer fees cheaper than a bank?
Considerably. On £1,000 to a US dollar account Monzo costs about £7.41 against roughly £27 at HSBC, £45 at Lloyds and £55 at Santander. The gap is not the transfer fee, it is the exchange rate margin the banks add inside the rate they quote, which runs from 2.2 to 3.55%. Monzo does not add one, so the percentage you see is the whole cost.
Can I send pounds abroad with Monzo?
No. Monzo does not allow GBP to be sent internationally, so every transfer is converted into the destination currency before it leaves. In most cases this works in your favour, because sending pounds means the receiving bank converts at a rate it chooses and never quotes you. It is only a genuine problem if you need to pay an account that is actually denominated in sterling, such as an offshore GBP account.
How long does a Monzo international transfer take?
Over 70% arrive in seconds, because Monzo pays out through a local payment network in the destination country rather than sending money across a border. Transfers that have to travel on the SWIFT network take three to five working days. Monzo shows a personalised arrival estimate before you confirm, and if the fee breakdown includes a SWIFT fee you are on the slower route.
What does Monzo charge to receive an international transfer?
Money arriving in pounds is free. Anything arriving in another currency is converted by Monzo at a 1% fee, capped at £1,000 per transaction, so a payment worth £2,000 in euros costs £20. The fee comes out of the conversion rather than appearing as a separate charge, which is why most people never notice it. Receiving into an account with local currency details avoids it entirely.
What are the Monzo international transfer limits?
Monzo sets limits per currency rather than one flat ceiling and does not publish them, because they vary with the payment rails and compliance requirements of each destination. If you need to send more, you request an increase through in-app chat and Monzo reviews it. Expect to show source of funds and explain the purpose of the payment, and ask several days before you actually need to send.
Does Monzo use Wise for international transfers?
Monzo launched its current international transfer service as powered by Wise, and the pricing model it uses is the same structure: a variable percentage plus a small fixed fee applied on top of a live rate, with no margin hidden inside the rate. Monzo's current pages no longer name a provider, so treat the partnership as the origin of the product rather than a confirmed present arrangement.
Does Monzo charge extra at weekends?
No. Currency markets close at the weekend and some providers add an out of hours surcharge to cover the risk of holding a rate, with Revolut the best known example. Monzo states that it does not do this, so a transfer sent on a Sunday costs the same as one sent midweek. It is a small thing that matters if you usually send money at the weekend.
Is Monzo safe for sending money abroad?
Yes. Monzo is a fully licensed UK bank, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, and eligible deposits are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to the standard limit. That is a stronger protection model than the safeguarding arrangements non bank providers operate under, though safeguarding is itself a real protection rather than an absence of one.
Should I use Monzo or Wise to send money abroad?
For sending in a currency Monzo supports, within your limit, the difference is small and Monzo is convenient because the money is already there. Wise is the better answer if you need to receive money from abroad without a conversion fee, hold several currencies, send sterling internationally, or send more than 20,000 GBP a month where the volume discount applies. Many people sensibly use both.
The Bottom Line on Monzo International Transfers
Monzo is one of the cheapest ways to send money out of the UK, at well under 1% on the routes most people use, and it does it without the exchange rate margin that makes a high street transfer quietly expensive. On sending, it is a genuinely strong product.
The weakness is the other direction. 1% on every inbound conversion, no sterling sending, and limits you cannot look up before you need them. None of those matter for an occasional payment abroad, and all of them matter if money moves both ways in your life.
Send with Monzo. Receive with Wise, where local account details mean the money arrives without a conversion at all, and stop paying 1% on every payment for a service you never chose. The two together cost less than either one alone, and neither requires you to move your salary.
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.
