Barclays is a British bank whose history dates back to the 17th century! They have around 4,750 branches around the world, and as a bank they offer a number of services. You can get a mortgage with Barclays, manage an investment portfolio, do your day-to-day banking and, if you want to move funds to someone internationally with Barclays, send money abroad.

This blog will give you some essential information about international money transfers with Barclays, including some of the pros and cons of using Barclays to send money abroad, so that you can decide whether Barclays is right for you!

How to send money abroad with Barclays

With Barclays, you can choose to either go in-branch to make an offline international transfer, or use Barclays’ online banking service to transfer the funds. You should bear in mind that in order to send money abroad with Barclays you’ll need to have a bank account with them.

If you choose to go in-store, you'll need to fill out a money transfer form, and you’ll be guided through the process by the cashier. Alternatively, if you choose the online service, you can do it independently from the Barclays smartphone app or web browser platform.

What are the pros and cons of sending money with Barclays?

There are lots of different options when you come to choose a service for your international transfers, and they vary on cost, speed and simplicity.

Here are some of the pros and cons of using Barclays for your money transfers:

Pros:

• Can be useful if you already bank with Barclays - you won’t need to set up a new account
• Low transfer fees when you send money using Barclays’ online service
• Wide international reach - you can send money to over 200 countries globally 

Cons:

• Transfer fees are higher when you go in-branch - they start from £15
• You can’t send money directly to a card, only a bank account
• There’s a £25 base fee for sending to countries outside of Europe and the USA when sending over the phone or in-branch
• Barclays’ exchange rates may not be as good as with other money transfer providers
• Overseas payments may cost £6 to receive
• You need to be a Barclays bank account holder to use the service

Is there another option to Barclays?

When sending money internationally, Barclays may not be the best option if you’re looking to reduce fees for both yourself and your recipient. For this reason, it’s wise to look at other money transfer options to make sure you’re getting the best deal.

Paysend is a fast and simple money transfer platform that lets users send money directly to bank accounts or straight to cards - all you need is the recipient’s name and card number!

Money transfers to bank accounts with Paysend have zero transfer fees, and to cards cost just £1, €1.5 or $2 (or equivalent amount). Paysend uses excellent, competitive exchange rates, so if you send money with Paysend you might save yourself some money!

On the Paysend homepage you can find a useful tool to help you find out if your money transfers with Paysend are cheaper than with Barclays. Click here to visit the homepage and get started.

Download Paysend App