Sending a large sum abroad? Check the margin before the fee.
Whether you are buying a home overseas, paying a mortgage abroad or bringing pension money home, the margin on the exchange rate decides how much arrives. Try your own figures in the calculator, then read the guide for your move.
The links to Currency Solutions are affiliate links: this site may be paid when you use them. How this site is paid
What the margin costs you
Put in the amount you are sending and a margin to see what it costs in pounds.
Type an amount in pounds, such as 250,000.
Type a margin between 0.01% and 20%.
That margin costs you
Two thousand five hundred pounds
| Margin | 0.5% | 1% | 2% | 3% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | £1,250 | £2,500 | £5,000 | £7,500 |
The margin is the gap between the mid-market rate and the rate you are given. Ask each provider for it as a percentage, so you can compare quotes like for like.
What changes when the sum is large
-
The margin is the cost you do not see
A provider earns on the gap between the mid-market rate and the rate it gives you, as well as on any fee. On a large sum, even a small gap can come to more than any fee, so compare what arrives.
-
The rate keeps moving
A purchase or a pension transfer can take weeks or months, and exchange rates move every day. The same pounds can buy noticeably more or less by the time you pay.
-
You can fix a rate for later
A forward contract fixes a rate today for money you send on a later date, usually with an initial payment up front. You know the cost in pounds from the day you sign.
Guides for the usual reasons
Most large transfers are one of these three. Each guide covers the payments, the timing and the questions to ask.
-
Buying a property overseas
A deposit now and the balance later, and how to stop the price in pounds moving in between.
-
Regular overseas payments
A mortgage, a pension or living costs paid abroad every month, at a cost in pounds you can plan around.
-
Transferring your pension to the UK
Pension money paid in another currency, as a lump sum or as income, turned into pounds at a good rate.
How a transfer with Currency Solutions works
Their own steps, as their website described them on 13 November 2026.
-
Register online
Opening an account is free and takes a few minutes. You set up a login with two-step verification.
-
Show who you are
Many UK residents are verified automatically. Otherwise you send ID and a proof of address from the last three months.
-
Get a quote
Ask for a rate for your amount and date, online or by phone. Every account has a dedicated dealer.
-
Pay in your pounds
Pay by bank transfer or debit card. They do not take cash or cheques.
-
The money is sent
They send the currency to the account you name. Online, a personal transfer can be up to £20,000; by phone there is no limit.
Latest news
All latest news-
How to convert a large sum of pounds to euros
Sending a large sum from pounds to euros: how the rate is quoted, the details a euro account needs, why to send euros rather than pounds, and fixing a rate.
-
AUD reaches a monthly high but USD is bouncing back
Australian Dollar (AUD) Continues to Weaken Against the US Dollar (USD) in August 2024
-
How to convert a large sum of pounds to dollars
Sending a large sum from pounds to US dollars, how the GBP/USD rate is quoted, what moves it, the bank details you need, and how to fix a rate.
Questions people ask first
What counts as a large currency transfer?
There is no official threshold. On this site it means any sum where the exchange rate makes a real difference to what arrives, such as a deposit or purchase price for a home, a pension or savings pot, or regular payments that add up over a year.
Is a currency broker safe to use?
In the UK, payment firms must be authorised or registered by the Financial Conduct Authority, and must keep customers' money apart from their own, which is called safeguarding. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme does not cover money held this way as it would a bank deposit, so check any firm on the FCA register before you send money. Currency Solutions is authorised as a payment institution, firm reference number 512130.
How is a broker different from my bank?
Both can convert your pounds and send them abroad. A specialist broker concentrates on currency, offers tools such as forward contracts and rate orders, and can give you a named dealer. Ask each for a quote on the same amount, on the same day, and compare what arrives.
Does Currency Solutions charge a fee?
Their fees page, checked on 13 November 2026, says personal online transfers under £3,000 cost £10 and larger online transfers have no fee. They also earn on the exchange rate, and banks along the way can take their own charges, so judge a quote by the amount that will arrive.
What is the mid-market rate?
The midpoint between the rates at which banks buy and sell a currency between themselves, the one you see in the news and on search engines. Nobody sending money gets it exactly; your margin is how far your rate is from it.