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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.

Our exchange rates

We’ll convert international transfers to and from your account using our standard exchange rate. We can give you an estimated rate at the time when you contact us to make the payment. This rate is affected by market movements, so it may change by the time your transfer is processed.

For payments up to £20,000 we’ll apply a margin of up to 4%, this is included in the currency exchange rate. Over £20,000 our margin will be less than 4%, and you can book a rate in advance by calling us.

You can check our current exchange rates by calling 0345 721 3213. Mon to Fri 8am - 6pm, Sat 9am – 12pm. Call charges apply.

For currencies the Co-operative Bank does not deal in, the currency conversion will be made by a third party.

Example transfer costs

Depending on the transaction type we’ll also charge a fixed or variable processing fee. Here are some numbers using example exchange rates, so you can see how it all adds up.

You want to send £100 to a bank account abroad, in dollars.

Our fee for this is 0.25% of the value of the transaction – with a minimum of £13 or maximum of £35. So, for this transfer, you’ll pay £13.

The amount will be converted at our current exchange rate, for example, 1 pound to 1.26 dollars.

So, you’d pay £113 and they would receive $126.

You can find out more about SWIFT payments here.

You want to send £100 to a bank account in pound sterling (GBP).

Our basic fee for this is 0.25% of the value of the transaction – with a minimum of £13 or maximum of £35. For this transfer amount, you’ll pay £13.

As this is a GBP transfer there’s no exchange rate.

Instead, in this example, you’d pay an intermediary fee of £15.

Your total charges are £28.

So, you’d pay £128 and they would receive £100.

What is an intermediary fee?

If you are making a SWIFT payment in GBP you may incur fees from intermediary banks for processing this transaction. These fees can either be paid by you or the beneficiary depending on what you have agreed with the recipient of your payment. If you’re unsure we recommend that you consult with the payment recipient before completing this transaction as the fees can differ across different currencies and intermediary banks.

You can find out more about SWIFT payments here.

You want to send £100 to a US bank account abroad, in dollars.

There’s a fixed fee for this transaction of £8.

The amount will be converted at our current exchange rate, for example 1 pound to 1.3 dollars.

So, you’d pay £108 and they would receive $130.

You can find out more about US structured payments here.

You want to transfer £100 to a bank account in the European Economic Area (EEA), in euros.

The EEA covers transactions between all 27 EU Member States as well as Iceland, Lichtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Switzerland and the UK.

We don’t charge a processing fee for SEPA payments.

The amount will be converted at our current exchange rate, for example 1 pound to 1.13 euros.

So you’d send £100 and they would receive €113 euros.

You can find out more about SEPA payments here.

There may also be other external costs like postage, transmission and agent’s fees to pay. The person you’re transferring to would pay these fees. They’d be deducted from the final amount they receive. View more information on charges.

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.

Related pages

What are IBAN, SWIFT and BIC?
Exchange rates
What is SEPA?
US structured payments

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