Santander Money Transfer
Santander is a Spanish bank with over 125 million customers worldwide. Many Santander account holders use the bank for international transfers.
But is it worth sending money abroad with Santander rather than with a dedicated online money transfer company that could be faster, cheaper and more convenient?
This blog will help you discover the pros and cons of sending money abroad with Santander, so you can decide whether it’s right for you.
How to send money abroad with Santander
With Santander, you can choose to either go in-branch to make a transfer with the help of a cashier, or you can use their online banking service to send money abroad. You should remember that you’ll need to have a bank account with Santander if you want to send money internationally with them.
What are the pros and cons of Santander Money Transfer?
There are plenty of money transfer options to choose from, so how do you know if Santander is right for you?
Here are some of the pros and cons of using Santander for your money transfers, based on cost, speed and simplicity:
Pros:
- It’s a useful service if you already bank with Santander, as you won’t need to set up a new account
- You can send money to either a person or company overseas
- Santander supports 147 different currencies
Cons:
- Santander charges an average of 5% above the mid-market rate for transfers involving a currency conversion - much higher than many money transfer providers
- Standard overseas transfers cost a flat fee of £25 (or equivalent) for non-SEPA transfers
- With transfers of less than £5,000, fees are calculated as a percentage - so you may end up paying a lot
- Transfers can take up to four working days to arrive
- You need to have a bank account with Santander to use the service
Is there another option to Santander?
Overall, costs for Santander transfers can often be much higher than using a specialist money transfer provider - although you can split the payment between yourself and the recipient.
Santander money transfers might not be the best option if you’re looking to reduce fees for you and your recipient. It’s a good idea to take a look at all of the options available before making your decision about which platform you use.
Paysend is a fast, affordable and hassle-free money transfer app and web browser platform that lets you send money abroad to over 100 countries.
Paysend transfers cost just £1, €1.5 or $2 (or equivalent amount), no matter how much you want to send. 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 Santander. Click here to visit the homepage and get started.
Останні дописи
Sending money abroad should feel simple, but if your international transfer is delayed or not received, it’s natural to wonder what went wrong.
International money transfers can be delayed, held, or returned for several reasons, most commonly due to compliance checks, missing information, processing cut-off times, or intermediary bank reviews. Industry reporting suggests that while the majority of transfers complete successfully, a small but meaningful share requires manual handling or additional processing, which can cause delays.
It’s important to understand that international money transfers involve multiple institutions, compliance checks, and settlement systems. Because of this, delays or exceptions are not unusual and are typically linked to process or regulatory requirements rather than technical failures or user mistakes.
With that in mind, this guide explains why international transfers may not be received as expected, how often this happens and what you can realistically do next.
Following the earthquakes that struck Venezuela on 24 June 2026, Paysend is waiving its transfer fee on money sent to Venezuela for two weeks, from 25 June to July 9 2026, so you can support family and friends without paying a fee. Exchange rates apply as normal, and you'll always see the full cost before you send.
