Find the best way to send money from Cyprus

On our 22 October 2026 price check, sending €1,000 from Cyprus through Bank of Cyprus online banking cost about €30 to €37 once its fees and exchange rate were counted, depending on whether the money went to the UK, the US or India. Wise sent the same €1,000 to six different currencies for €6 to €14.

Cyprus is home to more than 175,000 legally resident non-EU nationals, and many of them send part of every pay packet home: domestic workers to Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, workers and students to India. British residents move money in pounds, and Cypriot families pay fees for children studying abroad.

This guide prices every common way to send money from Cyprus: the banks, the online specialists, PayPal's Xoom service and cash. It covers what each one costs in euros, how long it takes, what you need before you start and the checks Cypriot banks run on larger transfers.

Who Sends Money From Cyprus

Most money that leaves Cyprus leaves as wages sent home. Cyprus had 175,677 legally resident non-EU nationals in late 2025, and Eurostat put its net remittance outflow at 0.9 percent of GDP in 2024, the second largest deficit in the EU after Malta. Expats, students' families and property buyers make up the rest.

Who is sending matters, because each group loses money to a different part of the price. A domestic worker sending €300 a month feels every flat fee. A British retiree moving €20,000 for a house barely notices the fee and loses hundreds to the exchange rate. A family paying university fees needs the money to land before a deadline. The cheapest way to send money from Cyprus for one of them is often not the cheapest for the others.

Domestic and migrant workers sending money home

This is the biggest group of regular senders. Domestic work permits for non-EU nationals rose from 22,252 to 29,476 after 2022, and 95.4 percent of them are held by women, according to figures reported by the Cyprus Mail in December 2025. Nepal accounts for 10,034 of those permits, Sri Lanka for 6,908, the Philippines for 6,106, India for 4,152 and Vietnam for 1,511.

These transfers are small and frequent, usually a few hundred euros after each payday. Many recipients collect cash or use a mobile wallet rather than a bank account, especially in the Philippines. On amounts this size a €15 bank charge takes 5 percent of the transfer before the exchange rate is even counted, which is why delivery options and flat fees matter more here than anywhere else.

Expats, retirees and property buyers

The deputy ministry of migration counted 16,279 British residents in Cyprus in November 2025, the largest non-EU group after Russians. Many draw UK pensions, pay UK bills or keep property in Britain, so money moves both ways between euros and pounds. Buyers and sellers of property in Cyprus move the largest single amounts, often €20,000 or more in one transfer.

For this group the exchange rate is the whole story. A 1 percent margin on €20,000 is €200, far more than any wire fee a Cypriot bank charges, and a bank's own conversion commission comes on top of that.

Students, families and small businesses

Cypriot families pay tuition and rent for children studying abroad, mostly in Greece and the UK. Greece is inside the euro area, so a SEPA transfer there costs little or nothing. The UK needs a conversion to pounds, and that is where the bank's rate starts to cost real money. Freelancers and small firms paying suppliers outside the euro area face the same split: euros inside Europe are cheap, everything else is not.

What Cyprus Banks Charge to Send Money Abroad

Cypriot banks charge little for euro transfers inside Europe, often nothing online up to €1,000. A transfer in another currency costs €15 to €21 in fees on a typical amount at Bank of Cyprus, Eurobank and Cyprus Development Bank, before the exchange rate margin, which was 1.0 to 1.7 percent at Bank of Cyprus on 22 October 2026.

Every Cypriot bank prices two kinds of transfer. A SEPA transfer sends euros to an IBAN in the EU or another SEPA country, and costs between nothing and a few euros online. Everything else goes by SWIFT: euros sent outside Europe, and any transfer that changes currency. That carries a transfer commission, often a processing fee, a currency conversion commission and the margin built into the bank's own exchange rate. Our guide to opening a bank account in Cyprus covers the account fees that sit on top.

Fees from each bank's published tariff for individuals. Bank of Cyprus margin measured on its indicative rates of 22 October 2026 against the mid-market rate the same day. AstroBank publishes a tariff guide too, but its current edition would not open for us, so it is not priced here.

Bank of Cyprus

Bank of Cyprus is the largest bank on the island, and most people send through its 1bank online service. Euro transfers inside SEPA are free online up to €1,000 and cost €3 up to €5,000. A transfer in any other currency costs 0.15 percent with a €5 minimum, plus a €10 processing fee, plus an exchange commission of 0.40 percent with a €5 minimum. On €1,000 that adds up to €20 in fees, before the rate.

Then comes the rate itself. On 22 October 2026 its indicative selling rate for electronic transfers was 0.8288 pounds, 1.1075 dollars and 104.4833 rupees per euro, between 1.0 and 1.7 percent below the mid-market rate. The total on €1,000 came to €29.97 to the UK, €32.70 to the US and €36.84 to India. Its rates page lists no Philippine peso, Sri Lankan rupee or Nepali rupee, so for those routes you send euros or dollars and the receiving bank converts at its own rate.

Eurobank, which now includes Hellenic Bank

Hellenic Bank and Eurobank Cyprus merged in September 2025 into Eurobank Limited, and both sets of customers have been on one tariff since 3 November 2025. SEPA and SEPA Instant transfers are free up to €1,000 and €2 up to €3,000. A foreign currency transfer costs 0.15 percent with a €15 minimum, plus 0.30 percent with a €6 minimum when the money is converted, so €21 on a typical €1,000 transfer before the rate margin, which the tariff does not publish.

Two details are worth knowing. Euros sent by SWIFT outside Europe cost a flat €10 up to €1,000, so sending euros to a bank in Nepal or the Philippines is cheaper than converting in Cyprus, but the receiving bank then sets the rate. And the OUR option, where you pay every bank's charges, costs €15 up to €10,000 and €100 when the beneficiary is in Russia or Belarus.

Cyprus Development Bank

Cyprus Development Bank is a smaller bank whose tariff covers personal and business customers alike, and its eBanking prices were the lowest of the three banks we priced. A SWIFT transfer costs €5 processing plus 0.10 percent with a €5 minimum, and a conversion adds 0.40 percent with a €5 minimum, so €15 on €1,000. Its tariff also lists a transaction due diligence fee of 0.50 percent, minimum €50, where it applies, and OUR charges start at €25.

The exchange rate margin they do not show

The mid-market rate is the midpoint between what buyers and sellers pay for a currency, the rate you see on Google or Reuters. Banks convert at a worse rate and keep the difference, and in Cyprus they also add a separate conversion commission. You can check it yourself: divide what the recipient will get by what you send, then compare it with the mid-market exchange rate at the same moment.

Here is what that looked like on 22 October 2026 for €1,000 sent through Bank of Cyprus. At the mid-market rate the recipient would have had £837.15 in the UK, $1,121.75 in the US or ₹106,273 in India. At the bank's rate they got £828.80, $1,107.50 or ₹104,483. That gap, between €10 and €17, is charged on top of the €20 in listed fees, and nothing on the fee page shows it.

Hidden extras on a SWIFT transfer from Cyprus

With the standard SHA option you pay your bank's charges and the recipient pays theirs, so a correspondent bank on the way can deduct its own fee before the money lands. Paying OUR to cover everything costs €12 to €25 extra up to around €10,000. Same-day value adds 0.05 percent with a €20 minimum at Bank of Cyprus, a missing or wrong IBAN costs €25 at Eurobank, and the receiving bank abroad may charge its own incoming fee. Our guide to international wire transfer fees explains each layer.

PayPal sits in a category of its own. Xoom, its international transfer service, priced €1,000 between 1.3 and 7.3 percent below the mid-market rate on our quotes, so the same transfer cost €75.02 to the UK and €47.29 to the US. Paying for a transfer with a credit card can also trigger a cash advance fee and interest from the card issuer.

The Best Ways to Send Money From Cyprus

The cheapest way to send money from Cyprus to a country outside the euro area is an online specialist paid by SEPA transfer or card. Wise, Remitly and Xe all accept customers living in Cyprus, and on our 22 October quotes Wise sent €1,000 to six currencies for €6 to €14, against €30 to €37 at Bank of Cyprus.

All three serve Cyprus under EU licences, so the choice comes down to the job. Wise is the strongest for bank-to-bank transfers and larger amounts, and the only one of the three in the public comparison data for Cyprus. Remitly is built for sending money home, with cash pickup and mobile wallets. Xe suits people who want to watch the rate before a big one-off transfer.

Wise

Wise converts at the mid-market rate and charges one fee, shown before you pay. On €1,000 that fee was €5.76 to the UK, €6.21 to the US, €6.69 to India, €7.32 to the Philippines, €8.56 to Sri Lanka and €13.76 to Nepal, and that fee is the entire cost of the transfer. On €10,000 to the UK it was €48.75, or 0.49 percent, because the percentage part of the fee falls as the amount grows.

You fund a transfer by SEPA transfer from any Cypriot bank or by card. Delivery estimates on our quotes were about 2 minutes to the UK, India and Sri Lanka, 32 minutes to Nepal and up to 24 hours to the Philippines and the US on €1,000. Wise also gives you an account that holds pounds, dollars and other currencies, useful if you pay bills abroad every month. Our full Wise review covers limits and the account in detail.

Remitly

Remitly sends from Cyprus through Remitly Europe Limited, which is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. It was built for remittances: to the Philippines you can send to a bank account, to a GCash wallet, for cash pickup or for home delivery, with BDO and BPI among the named payout partners. Senders in Cyprus pay by Visa or Mastercard debit or credit card, prepaid card or Apple Pay.

New customers pay no fee on their first transfer. When we checked on 22 October 2026, Remitly's Cyprus page showed a welcome rate of 70.27 pesos per euro, about 1.3 percent below the mid-market rate that day, so compare the amount that arrives on repeat transfers too. Remitly was not in the comparison data we used, so get a quote on the day. Read our Remitly review and the Remitly vs Wise comparison for the full picture.

Xe

Xe lists Cyprus among the countries you can register from, and it sends to a long list of currencies. Its tools suit larger one-off transfers: you can set a rate alert and send when the rate moves your way. Xe builds its margin into the rate, so compare the amount that arrives rather than the fee. It was not in the comparison data we used, so get a live quote and set it against the figures in this guide. See our Xe review and the Xe vs Wise comparison for how its pricing works.

Which option for which transfer

The right provider depends on how the money needs to arrive and how much you are sending. This is how the three line up on the jobs people actually do when they transfer money from Cyprus.

How Much Does It Cost to Send Money From Cyprus?

Sending €1,000 from Cyprus cost €5.76 to €13.76 with Wise across the UK, the US, India, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Nepal on 22 October 2026, and €29.97 to €36.84 through Bank of Cyprus online banking on the routes it quotes. Xoom, PayPal's transfer service, cost €13.59 to €75.02 on the same six routes.

The table below prices the same €1,000 to six destinations on every option we could quote. Total cost is the fee plus whatever the exchange rate took, measured against the mid-market rate at the time of each quote. Instarem appears because it was in the comparison data for Cyprus, and on several routes it came in slightly under Wise.

Total cost of sending €1,000. Provider quotes from Wise's public comparison data for Cyprus, collected 22 October 2026 (Instarem's US quote 20 October). Bank of Cyprus fees from its June 2026 tariff and its indicative rates of 22 October 2026. Remitly and Xe were not in the data. Rates move by the minute, so treat small gaps as noise and large ones as the real story.

A typical transfer: €300 home after payday

Small transfers show the damage a flat fee does. Sending €300 to the Philippines, Sri Lanka or Nepal cost €2.88, €4.32 and €5.40 with Wise, €1.59 to €1.89 with Instarem and €9.56 to €11.12 with Xoom. Through a Cypriot bank the fees alone are €10 to €15 if you send euros and let the receiving bank convert, and €20 or more if you convert in Cyprus.

Bank of Cyprus shows the problem clearly. Its minimum charges apply in full however small the transfer is, so €300 to the UK, the US or India cost €23 to €25 once the rate was counted, between 7.7 and 8.4 percent of the money sent. The same minimums are why the banks look far better on large amounts than on the transfers most people actually make.

A large transfer: €10,000 to the UK or the US

On bigger amounts the exchange rate does most of the damage. Sending €10,000, Wise cost €48.75 to the UK and €48.31 to the US. OFX cost €92.51 and €90.03, and Xoom €129.81 and €161.40. Bank of Cyprus came to about €169 to the UK and €193 to the US: €65 in commissions and fees plus a margin of around 1.0 to 1.3 percent on the rate.

That is the case for never sending a large sum through a bank by default. On a €40,000 property payment, the gap between a bank charging its commission plus a 1 percent margin and a specialist charging about half a percent is several hundred euros. Our guide to sending large sums internationally covers the extra checks that come with amounts like these.

What the gap adds up to over a year

Take €300 a month home to the Philippines, Sri Lanka or Nepal, a common pattern for domestic workers in Cyprus. With Wise that costs €35 to €65 a year, and with Xoom €115 to €133. A bank SWIFT transfer in euros costs €120 to €180 a year in fees alone, before the receiving bank converts. Sending €1,000 a month to the UK through Bank of Cyprus costs about €360 a year against €69 with Wise, a saving of roughly €290 a year.

How Long Does It Take to Send Money From Cyprus?

A euro transfer inside Europe from a Cypriot bank usually arrives the same or next business day, and SEPA Instant in seconds. A SWIFT transfer in another currency takes 1 to 4 business days. Wise estimated about 2 minutes to the UK, India and Sri Lanka, 32 minutes to Nepal and up to a day to the Philippines and the US.

Wise times are its own estimates on our 22 October 2026 quotes for €1,000. Bank times are the usual SEPA and SWIFT ranges.

How long each option takes

A SWIFT transfer passes through your bank, sometimes one or more correspondent banks, then the recipient's bank, and each hop adds time. A transfer ordered late on a Friday may not move until Monday. Our guide on how long a wire transfer takes breaks down each stage.

Specialists are faster on most routes because they hold money in each country and pay out locally. Your euros go into their European account by SEPA, and the recipient is paid from a local account in their own currency. That is why a transfer from Cyprus to a bank in Sri Lanka can land in minutes while a SWIFT transfer to the same account takes days. Speeds vary by route even with one provider: the same €1,000 with Wise was quoted at about 2 minutes to India and up to a day to the Philippines.

What slows a transfer from Cyprus down

Most delays come from a handful of causes. Banks have daily cut-off times for SWIFT transfers, and orders after the cut-off go the next business day. Weekends and Cypriot public holidays stop bank processing, and holidays at the other end can hold the payout, such as Dashain and Tihar in Nepal or Diwali in India. Your first transfer with a new provider can take longer while it checks your identity.

Large amounts get extra checks. Cypriot banks are thorough about where money came from, and a request for documents on a large transfer can add days if you do not have them ready. How you pay matters too: a SEPA payment to a provider usually arrives within a business day, while a card payment is often faster.

How to Send Money From Cyprus, Step by Step

To send money from Cyprus, open an account with a provider, verify your passport or ID card and your address in Cyprus, add the recipient's bank, wallet or pickup details, then pay by SEPA transfer from your Cypriot account or by card. A bank transfer works the same way through online banking, but needs a SWIFT code and costs more.

What you need before you start

You need a valid passport or EU identity card and proof of your address in Cyprus, such as a utility bill or a bank statement. Non-EU residents should have their residence permit to hand, because providers and banks check your right to live in Cyprus. Banks may also ask for your Cyprus tax identification number, and on large transfers expect to show where the money came from, such as payslips, a sale contract or a pension statement.

For the recipient you need their full name exactly as their bank holds it, plus the local details: an IBAN in Europe, a sort code and account number in the UK, an account number and IFSC code in India, an account number and bank in Nepal or Sri Lanka, or a mobile number for a wallet such as GCash. Getting these right the first time is the best way to avoid a stuck transfer and a correction fee.

With an online provider

1. Create an account and verify your identity with your passport or ID card and proof of address.
2. Enter how much you want to send and check the amount your recipient will get.
3. Add the recipient's bank, wallet or cash pickup details.
4. Pay by SEPA transfer from your Cypriot bank, or by debit card.
5. Track the transfer and share the reference with your recipient.

With Wise, the cheapest way to fund a transfer is usually a SEPA payment from your own account, and a card is faster. Remitly takes cards and Apple Pay from Cyprus. Avoid a credit card where you can, because many issuers treat it as a cash advance with its own fee and interest.

From your own bank account

In 1bank or Eurobank online banking, add a new beneficiary with their name, address, IBAN or account number and the bank's SWIFT code. Choose the currency, choose SHA unless you want to pay every bank's charges, check the fee and the rate on the confirmation screen, and send before the cut-off time. For euros to another EU country this is the cheapest route there is. For anything that changes currency, it is usually the most expensive one.

With cash

Some money transfer agents in Cyprus still take cash over the counter, and for a sender without a bank account or a card that can be the only option. It is also the most expensive way to send money from Cyprus: agent prices are usually higher than the same company's online price, and you will be asked for ID every time. If you have a debit card linked to any account, paying online is cheaper even when your family collects cash at the other end.

Limits, Tax and Reporting When You Send Money From Cyprus

There is no legal limit and no tax on sending your own money abroad from Cyprus, but every bank and provider sets its own limits and asks where larger sums came from. Cash of €10,000 or more carried into or out of the EU must be declared to customs, and payments linked to Russia or Belarus face EU sanctions checks.

How much you can send

Your limit depends on the provider and how far you have verified your identity. Specialists usually start you on lower limits and raise them once you add documents. Banks set daily limits in online banking that vary by account, and some large transfers have to be ordered in a branch. For a large one-off payment, such as a property purchase, verify your account well in advance and ask about the upper limit before the deadline.

Is money sent abroad taxed in Cyprus?

Cyprus does not charge a tax on money you send abroad, and a transfer of your own savings or wages is not income. Gifts of property are a different matter: a gift counts as a disposal for capital gains tax, with exemptions for gifts between spouses and to children, and property transfer fees are nil from parents to children and 0.1 percent between spouses and close relatives, according to PwC's Cyprus tax summary. This is general information, not tax advice.

What triggers extra checks

Cypriot banks apply EU anti money laundering rules strictly. Expect questions about the source of funds on large transfers, on transfers that do not match your usual pattern and on payments to high-risk countries. Cyprus Development Bank's tariff even lists a due diligence fee of 0.50 percent, minimum €50, where a transaction needs one. Payments to people or banks in Russia or Belarus face EU sanctions screening, and many are refused outright.

None of this is a reason to split a transfer into smaller pieces. Doing that to stay under a bank's checks looks worse, not better. Keep records of where large sums came from, send them in one go, and answer the bank's questions quickly.

Is It Safe to Send Money From Cyprus?

Sending money from Cyprus through a licensed bank or an EU-authorised payment provider is safe. Cypriot banks are supervised by the Central Bank of Cyprus, the largest of them directly by the European Central Bank, and Wise, Remitly and Xe serve Cyprus under EU licences passported from other member states, which Cyprus must recognise.

Who regulates money transfers in Cyprus

Banks in Cyprus hold their licences from the Central Bank of Cyprus, and deposits are protected up to €100,000 per person per bank under the EU deposit guarantee rules. Payment providers authorised in another EU country can serve Cyprus without a separate local licence. Wise Europe SA is authorised by the National Bank of Belgium, Remitly Europe Limited by the Central Bank of Ireland, and Xe serves EU customers through an EU-authorised entity named in the terms you accept.

Payment providers are not banks, so money held with them is not covered by the deposit guarantee. Instead, EU rules require them to safeguard customer money separately from their own. For a transfer that passes through in minutes or days, that protection is what matters. The real difference between the banks and the specialists is price, not safety.

Scams that target senders in Cyprus

The risk is rarely the provider. It is the person asking for the money. The scams that reach people in Cyprus include rental deposits for flats that do not exist, investment platforms promising high returns, fake calls from someone posing as your bank, and job or visa agents asking for fees sent abroad. Before sending money to any investment firm, check that it appears on the register of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Routes People Send on Most From Cyprus

Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and India take most of the wages sent home from Cyprus, and the UK is the main route for British residents and families with students there. Each route has its own payout details, from mobile wallets in the Philippines to IFSC codes in India, and its own price gap between banks and specialists.

Cyprus to Nepal

Nepalis are the largest group of domestic workers in Cyprus, with 10,034 permits, and the honorary consul puts the whole community at about 20,000. Cypriot banks do not quote the Nepali rupee, so a bank transfer goes in euros or dollars and is converted in Nepal. Wise priced €1,000 at €13.76 and €300 at €5.40, with an estimated 32 minutes to arrive. Compare today's prices on the Cyprus to Nepal page.

Cyprus to Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has 6,908 domestic work permits in Cyprus, the second largest group, and transfers are usually small and monthly. Recipients need an account number and their bank and branch. Wise priced €1,000 at €8.56 and €300 at €4.32, with an estimated 2 minutes to arrive. See the Cyprus to Sri Lanka page for live rates.

Cyprus to the Philippines

Filipinos hold 6,106 domestic work permits in Cyprus, and many of their families use GCash or collect cash rather than a bank account, so a provider that pays out to wallets and pickup points matters more here than on other routes. Remitly pays out through GCash, BDO and BPI, and Wise priced €1,000 at €7.32 and €300 at €2.88. Check prices on the Cyprus to Philippines page.

Cyprus to India

There were 14,237 Indian nationals living in Cyprus in November 2025, a mix of workers and students. Transfers to India need the recipient's account number and IFSC code, and can pay into NRE or NRO accounts held by Indians living abroad. Wise priced €1,000 at €6.69 against €36.84 through Bank of Cyprus. Compare today's rates on the Cyprus to India page.

Cyprus to the UK

With 16,279 British residents and strong family and study ties, the UK is the main route that needs a conversion to pounds. Recipients need a sort code and account number, and specialists pay out through Faster Payments, usually within minutes. Wise priced €1,000 at €5.76 against €29.97 through Bank of Cyprus. Start with the Cyprus to UK page.

Bottom Line

Inside the euro area, your Cypriot bank is the cheapest way to send money: SEPA transfers are free or close to it online. As soon as the money changes currency, the banks add a transfer commission, a processing fee, a conversion commission and a margin on the rate, which came to €30 to €37 on €1,000 at Bank of Cyprus. An online specialist did the same job for €6 to €14 on every route we priced. Convert with a specialist, check the amount that arrives rather than the fee, and keep the bank for euros.

Sources

• Wise public price comparison data for Cyprus, EUR to GBP, USD, INR, PHP, LKR and NPR, collected 20 to 22 October 2026
• Bank of Cyprus: Commissions and Charges for Physical Persons (June 2026)
• Bank of Cyprus: indicative exchange rates
• Eurobank Cyprus: Table of Commissions and Charges (from 3 November 2025)
• Cyprus Mail: Hellenic Bank and Eurobank merger brings new fees and charges policy
• Cyprus Development Bank: Commissions and Charges Table (May 2024)
• Remitly: Send money from Cyprus
• Remitly: Send money from Cyprus to the Philippines
• Xe Help Centre: countries you can register to send money from
• FFWD: Third-country nationals in Cyprus by nationality (November 2025)
• Cyprus Mail: A surge of Nepalis coming to help (domestic work permits)
• Dom.com.cy: Cyprus among EU leaders in personal transfer deficit (Eurostat 2024)
• PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Cyprus, other taxes
• Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission