International payments
An international payment is a payment made to an individual or company outside of the UK.
Make an international payment
Methods of payment
Timescales
Cancel an international payment
Receive an international payment
Make an international payment
To make an international payment, call us on 03457 212 212. Lines are open 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Saturday and Sunday. Call charges
You can't arrange for a payment to be made for a future date.
What information do I need to set up an international payment?
To set up an international payment, you'll need the following:
- The transfer amount
- The IBAN (International Bank Account Number) or account number of the recipient
- The BIC (Bank Identifier Code) or SWIFT code for the bank the recipient uses
- Name of the recipient.
We may ask you for further information such as the overseas bank name and address, when sending payments to some countries, or when sending a payment in GBP.
Please note: If you have to query a foreign payment you have authorised this can only be conducted 10 days after the payment was sent due to international banking agreements. If this causes you hardship issues please contact us.
Methods of payment
If your selected payment is out of scope for a SEPA or US Structured payment, then the money will be sent by SWIFT.
Payments sent outside of the EEA and USA require the use of an agent or correspondent bank to forward money to the recipient's bank. The charge for this can vary depending on the destination, currency and complexity of the transfer.
Where a payment gives you a full range of charging options like shared, sender or beneficiary, agent fees are usually applicable. The additional charging options allow you to specify who pays the two sets of charges. Please note that when making a SEPA payment the payment must have shared charges.
Timescales
- Euro payment to a recipient within the EU/EEA will reach the recipient by the end of the next working day
- Other EEA currencies will reach the recipient by the end of the fourth business day after you tell us to make the payment
- Payments to non-EU/EEA countries may take up to 4 business days.
All times mentioned relating to international payments are given in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
Cancel an international payment
Once your transfer has been sent, we are unable to stop it. We can't guarantee that funds can be recalled or payment instructions be amended, as the beneficiary bank is not obliged to return the funds.
If you would like to proceed with a cancellation or amendment, charges will be applied by us, as well as any further charges from the beneficiary bank. If the transfer was sent in a foreign currency, you may be subject to an exchange rate loss if the payment is recalled and paid back into your account. Please call us on 03457 212 212 call charges. Lines are open 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Saturday and Sunday.
Receive an international payment
The fastest way to receive a payment from outside the UK is through an electronic transfer.
To receive an international payment, you'll need to provide the sender with the following information:
- Our registered address which is The Co-operative Bank plc, 1 Balloon Street, Manchester, M4 4BE.
- Our BIC/SWIFT code CPBKGB22
- The IBAN or International Bank Account Number for your account - this can be found on your statement, when you log into online banking or via our mobile banking app
- You may also need to give the sender your sort code and account number if they're sending money from a country that doesn't use IBAN.
We'll send you a letter confirming receipt of any payments made through our cross-border payments system, showing the amount received and any deductions made from the original amount requested.
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