Need to send some money to your loved ones in Sri Lanka? Are you looking for a reliable service with good Exchange rates? read this guide on how to send money from UK to Sri Lanka to make sure you don’t get ripped off
The number of online money-transfer services and banks offering cash remittance is numerous. .They all claim That they are reliable, fast, secure and promise the best exchange rates. . Do they all tell you the truth. What is the secret formula to finding the best service for your requirement?
when it comes to cash remittance from UK to Sri Lanka You are left with three main options
- Money transfer through banks
- money transfer through transfer firms
- Transfering through a forex brokers
Each Cash transfer method has there own advantages and disadvantages. The best choice for you depends on what you expect from the transfer service and your money transfer behaviour and not to forget the amount GBP you are planning to send.
When look from a broad view
- banks are safe secure and best for the regular payments
- Forex brokers are the best if you are sending large sums of money as they give the best exchange rates
- If you need rapid money transfer money transfer firms have a better edge and they will give a better rate than the banks
Before making up your mind to select a money transfer service there are a few things that you should know about international money transfer
Cost Involved In International Money Transfer
There are two cost involved
The obvious charge – These are the different charges and fees applied to the sender and receiver which is the fee of the transfer service
Hidden charge – Which is the exchange rate. Almost all transfer services and banks earn money through the exchange rates.
So don’t get preoccupied with the idea that transfer services without a fee are the best because Many transfer services claimed to be commission-free but damped your exchange rates so You ultimately you will be in a loss after converting pounds into Sri Lankan Rupees
How To Compare Money Transfer Services
Wide range of fees and different exchange rates can make comparison tricky but it is not rocket science.
Best way to compare is calculating the ultimate amount of foreign currency you get for the total amount you spend. when you do the comparison do it in a short period of time as foreign exchange rates fluctuate rapidly. You can add the speed and convenience to the equation depending on your requirements.
How Safe Is The International Money Transfer
The last thing You want is losing your hard-earned money in the transfer process.
In the UK financial service compensation scheme (FSCS) protects banks and building societies. Depositors get a compensation up to deposit of £85000 if the provider collapse.
But this is quite different when it comes to international money transfers International cash remittance not protected by FSCS and you have the risk of losing your money but unlikely to happen if you take sufficient precautions.
There are two main ways you can lose money when transferring internationally.
- money transfer scams
- Money transfer firm goes out of business while they have your money
Money transfer scams
where ever there is money there are scammers. So BEWARE. If a deal is too good to be true it certainly is.
Don’t go for small firms you have never heard of.
Select a one who is in the market for a reasonable amount of time and make sure it is authorized in Financial conduct authority (FCA ).
Money Transfer Service Goes Bust
Money safety is different depending on whether you are using an authorized money transfer service or a registered money transfer service
If the company is larger and trading more than £2.5 million a month it should be authorized by the financial conduct authority (FCA). As per the FCA regulations, these firms should separate the customer’s money from their own money in the accounts every day. In case the company goes busted or goes into financial difficulty your money is safe
But smaller firms can function as registered companies. There is no proper safety process and they don’t have to keep your money separately from customers money. If the company collapse, you will lose your money.
Before sending money check the company is registered or authorized in the FCA register
In a situation where the company has not lost business but it loses you money during transfer, You are not completely alone. you can claim your money back after making a complaint to financial ombudsmen service. An Impartial Investigation will be carried out and if the firm is at fault your money will be paid back.
However, the most important thing is preventing going into such a situation by picking a reliable transfer service who is Authorized in financial conduct authority and backed by good customer reviews.
What Are The Reliable Methods Available To Send Money From UK To Sri Lanka
A number of banks, money transfer firms and forex brokers offer cash remittances to Sri Lanka from UK, Not everyone is cheap and reliability and efficiency also differ from each other. Above all the most suitable service to you depends on your requirements.
1. Sending money to Sri Lanka through money Transfer firms
Money transfer firms are convenient to use and offer competitive exchange rates. There are loads of firms offer money transfer from the UK to Sri Lanka. Not all are good choices. Here we review a few stable companies with good customer reviews.
TransferWise
Transferwise is a London based company founded 20ll. Within 9 years after its establishment, TransferWise reached 9 million customers and now function across more than 70 countries and deals with more than 50 currencies. Every month TransferWise sent $5 billion across its more than 1000 money roots.
According to Monito Transferwise is 83% cheaper than the big four UK banks for major currencies.
The secret of Transferwises good exchange rates and rapid transfer of money is their method of sending money which is different to SWIFT. In most transactions, Transferwise doesn’t really transfer the money. They have pools of money in destinations where they deal with and pays the customers directly from these pools. they maintain the funds by balancing the amount from the money sending the other way by the customers.
Your money is safe with Transferwise. It is fully licenced, authorized and regulated by FCA and HMRC in the UK.
Transferwise has excellent customer reviews as well, In Trustpilot it has 4.6/5 stars from over 90000 customer reviews. Their mobile app is Highly rated in the google app store and with 4.4/5 and 4.7/5 stars respectively
There are no hidden fees with Transferwise. You will no what exactly you are going to get after the transfer, They charge a small fee starting as low as £1.and all transfers occur in mid-market exchange rates so you will get good rates.
Azimo
azimo is a safe and fast way to send money across more than 200 countries worldwide in more than 80 currencies. It was founded in 2012 and now has more than 1 million customers connected to their platform. It is fully FCA authorized and verified by VISA and MASTER cards. According to their web site, all transfers are protected by the latest anti-fraud and encryption technology.
With Azimo You have the option of sending money directly to bank accounts, mobile phones or one of their cash pick up points. when it comes to Sri Lanka you can send money to any Sri Lankan bank account or you can select one of the pick-up points (BOC, HNB, Sampath bank)
Azimo offers Competitive rates and first two transfers are fee-free for new customers. If you are a business customer you have five free transfers. Bank transfers complete within 24 hours and money can be collected from pick up points on the same day. Moreover, You can monitor your money step by step from email and push notifications
Azimo has an excellent customer review. In Trustpilot, it has 4.7/5 stars from over 40000 reviews. Up to now, their android and ios apps have 1 million downloads and 4.5/5 stars in google AppStore and apple app store
Wordremit
Wordremit is one of the leading online money transfer services you can use to transfer money to Sri Lanka. It was founded In 2010 and currently dealing with 90 different currencies across 150 countries
It has over 4 million customers worldwide and 90% of their transfers authorized within minutes.
To send money with word remit first you have to register your self. You can add the funds by means of credit or debit cards, bank transfers, Ppli, interact, deal Klana Apple pay or Trusty.
Depending on the country the recipient can collect the money as Bank transfers, Cash picks up, mobile money World remit Wallet or Air time Top-up.
For Sri Lanka Bank transfer is available fo all the bank’s Cash pick up points available in HNB, Sampath, NDB.Cargill’s bank and BOC banks Mobile money can be sent to EZ cash or Dialog, Air Time top-ups available for Airtel Dialog and Mobiltel networks.
Sending money with Wordremit is secure and credible. It is fully licensed and authorised. Wordremit’s headquarters are in London and has regional hubs in the US, Nigeria Polland and Cameroon. It has more than 1000 employers and has already transferred more than 5 billion dollars
Wordremit has very good customer reviews. monitor has given an overall score of 8.3/10. In Trustpilot, it has 4.5/5 stars. In Apple App store 4.8/5 from over 50000 and In google play 4.4/5 from over 55000 reviews
Bank transfers Occur within minutes to selected banks and for others depends on the bank and the day of the week
Money is ready in cash pick up poins instantly and mobile and air time top-ups available in minutes.
With Wordremit the Maximum amount you can send from UK is £50 000 per 24 hours.
2.Cash Remittance From UK To Sri Lanka through banks
If you are willing to sacrifice speed and the best rate for extra security and reliability banks are the best option
In fact, if you need to send money regularly as a payment none of the services can beat banks.
Banks tend to offer the lower exchange rates and their fees are significantly higher
Standered transfer through banks take 4-6 days. You can select the express service with a extra fee which will take 1-2 days.
When I come to transfer money through banks, sending money to and for to an overseas branch of the same bank is the best option. This is the cheapest and usually, there is no transfer fee.
HCBC Money Transfer to Sri lanka
HCBC is a good option for international bank transfers.
IF you have an advanced or premier HCBC account and you are transferring through their online system to any other HSBC account you will not have to pay a fee
However, if you are transferring to another bank they will charge £4 for a single transfer. In branch or telephone transfers will cost you £9
Like any other bank exchange rates may not be the best so compare with other services before sending money.
Bank Of Ceylon UK Money Transfer
BOC is probably the most familiar name to the Sri Lankans regardless of where you live. It is no doubt BOC E-Cash remittance is a secure and reliable way to send money from UK to Sri Lanka. But is it the cheapest and fastest?
To send money through BOC E remittance first you have to register in bankofceylon.co.uk. If you already have an account in BOC UK you don’t need to register. Once registration is successful they will E-mail you, your E-cash reference number
You can forward funds in mean of
- bank to bank transfer- any amount
- Cash deposit – up to 700 pounds
- By cheque – any amount
BOC E remittance fee depends on the amount you transfer
| Amount | fee |
| <£500 | £5 |
| £500 – £1000 | £7.5 |
| £1000 – £5000 | £10 |
| £5000 – £10000 | £15 |
| £10000 – £20000 | £20 |
| >£20000 | 0.1% max £50 |
BOC exchange rates are not the best you can check their rates from BOC remittance calculator
Funds can be transfer to BOC or any other Sri Lankan bank
The money will be available for withdrawal in 1 hour from any BOC branch and will take one working day for other banks.
Visit BOC UK E Remittance for more details
Barclay Bank Money Transfer
With barcllays bank you can send money to over 200 countries and sri lanka is one of them .
Even though the bank allows free money transfer through their mobile app this option is not available to Sri Lanka. So you have to visit a branch before sending money.
Barclays bank charge £25 for a transaction and you have the option of sending money as Srilank rupees, GBP, or USD. The money will be sent on the same day or next-day depending on the currency you choose.
Like any other transfer method, You might have to pay an additional fee to the receiving bank. If you need the receiver to get the full amount you send you can pay the receiving bank charge to the Barclays at the time of transfer.
3.Transfer using foreign exchange brokers
Transfering with foreign exchange brokers is the best if you are sending a large sum of money. They usually offer the best exchange rates compared to banks and money transfer firms.
If you are transferring more than 3000 they usually don’t charge you a fee.
To transfer with a forex broker you need to open an account and fund the account first. This process can take one to two days. Exchange rates will not be great if you are transferring small amounts of money and biggest disadvantage of fx broker companies is that financial service compensation does not cover these if these go bust so you have the risk of losing money.
TorFX
TorFX is an award-winning foreign exchange LTD based in UK and Australia. The company was founded in 2004 has particular expertise in corporate fx and Large international transfers. Up to date, it has more than 32500 happy clients.
To send money with Torfx first you need to open an account which can be done in minutes online or over the phone. You will have a dedicated account manager and you can secure an exchange rate online or with your account manager. You can fund your account and send money to the desired recipient.
TorFX is authorized in the Financial Conduct Authority and has the highest level of creditworthiness from Dun and Bradstreet.
Opening Torfx account is free and they will offer you competitive exchange rates .further more they have no transfer fees. If you are not in a hurry you can get best out of Torfex by closely following the currency market and making the transfer when exchange rates are better. TorFX will constantly update you about this
Instant money from Uk to Sri Lanka
Almost all these services described above take at least one day until the recipient gets the money. But in a situation where you need to send instant cash to Sri Lanka from Uk such as a family emergency. There Are services like, Money gram and Western union who offer instant cash transfer to Sri Lanka. these are generally expensive especially if you are sending a small, amount of money.
with those services, you can send money online or you can meet one of their agents (newsagents, post office, banks).and hand overt the money. cash will be instantly transferred to Sri Lanka and the recipient can collect it from the local agent after proving the identity.
Both of these services are expensive and not suitable for non-urgent money transfers.
FAQ in money transfer
What is IBAN
IBAN or International bank account number is an internationally agreed system to identify bank account across countries. his is initially started in Europe and currently, more than 75 countries use IBAN. Sri Lanka and many Asian countries don’t use IBAN yet.
What are BIC/SWIFT codes?
Bank identifier code (BIC)or SWIFT code is a unique identifier code use to identify a specific bank internationally. If you are transferring money across borders you will almost always need to provide the BIC of the recipient bank. It consists of 8-11 characters and You can ask this from your bank. Alternatively, you can use SWIFT code finder to find the SWIFT code. Always double-check the BIC before the money transfer
What is mid market exchange rates?
The currency market is formed from buying and selling of the currencies. So buying rate and selling rate is set naturally. Mid-market price is the price between these two. This is the rate Bank and Major currency brokers use for their internal deals.
When it comes to customers an extra margin is added to this mid-market range and come to you and me as a hidden fee.