How to Send Money From the UK to India
Every remittance app advertises how cheap it is. The number that actually matters, how many rupees land on the other end for a given number of pounds sent, rarely matches the headline fee, because a lot of the real cost is hidden in the exchange rate rather than the fee line.
Some links on this page may be affiliate links, meaning we may earn a commission if you sign up through them, at no extra cost to you. Fees, exchange rates, and transfer limits below are described as of when this page was checked and change often. Always confirm the current numbers on the provider's own site before sending.
The one thing that actually determines cost
Total cost is the transfer fee plus the exchange rate markup, not the fee alone. A provider that advertises "no fee" can still be more expensive than one charging a small fee, if the no-fee provider quotes a worse exchange rate to make up the difference. The only honest way to compare two services is to check, for the exact amount you're sending, how many rupees the recipient actually gets from each. Wise is the one provider here that publicly commits to the real mid-market rate with no markup, recovering its revenue entirely through the disclosed fee instead, which makes it the easiest to reason about even when it isn't always the outright cheapest for every amount and speed combination.
| Provider | Fee | Exchange rate | Speed | Delivery to India |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wise | Small combined fixed + percentage fee, tiered by funding method, cheapest via Wise balance or Direct Debit | Real mid-market rate, no markup — Wise's core selling point | Wise states 74% of transfers arrive in under 20 seconds, 95% within a day | Bank deposit |
| Remitly | Flat fee that varies by amount and by the speed tier you choose | Includes a markup over mid-market — Remitly's own displayed rate, not the mid-market rate | Economy (cheaper, up to a few days) or Express (near-instant, worse rate) — your choice | Bank deposit, UPI, or cash pickup |
| WorldRemit | Fixed fee that varies by receive method, not by amount sent | Includes a markup over mid-market (not published as a mid-market rate like Wise) | Around 90% of transfers to India arrive within minutes, per WorldRemit's own figures | Bank deposit, cash pickup, mobile money |
| Xoom (PayPal) | Fee depends on funding method and amount, shown before you confirm | Above mid-market — the markup is where Xoom makes money on the lower-fee transfers | Cash pickup and smaller bank deposits often within minutes; UPI around 15 minutes | Bank deposit, UPI, cash pickup |
| Bank transfer (Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest, and similar) | A flat transfer fee, sometimes waived if you send in INR instead of GBP, since that is where the bank builds in its margin instead | The largest markup of this group, commonly well above 2% over mid-market | Typically 1–5 business days | Bank deposit only |
Cash pickup has an RBI limit that bank deposits don't
One detail worth knowing if you're choosing cash pickup over a bank deposit: RBI's Money Transfer Service Scheme caps cash-pickup-style inward remittances at USD 2,500 per transaction and 30 transactions per beneficiary per calendar year, with cash payouts above ₹50,000 required to go to a bank account instead. This cap applies specifically to the classic cash-pickup model. Ordinary bank-account-to-bank-account transfers, which is how most people actually use Wise, Remitly's bank option, or WorldRemit's bank option, move through normal banking channels and are not subject to it.
Practical picks
- Sending a large, planned amount and want the rate you can actually verify: Wise, since you can check the mid-market rate independently and know exactly what markup (none) is being applied.
- Need cash pickup in India rather than a bank deposit: WorldRemit or Xoom both support it, Wise generally does not.
- Sending small, frequent amounts and want it to just be fast: compare Remitly's Express tier against Xoom's UPI option for the specific amount and time of day, since both are near-instant but price the tradeoff differently.
- A one-off large transfer and you'd rather deal with your existing bank: a transfer will work, but expect to pay the largest markup of this group. Get a second-provider quote for the same amount before deciding it's not worth switching.
Frequently asked questions
Is the cheapest advertised fee always the best deal?
No. Compare the actual amount that lands in the recipient's account for the same amount sent, not the advertised fee, since the exchange rate markup is often the larger cost.
Do I need to report money I send to family in India?
Sending money as a personal gift to family does not trigger UK income tax. It can factor into UK Inheritance Tax if you were to pass away within seven years of a large gift, under the 'potentially exempt transfer' rules, but that's a separate topic from the transfer fees on this page and only relevant for genuinely large amounts.
Is there a UK tax on sending money abroad, like the new US remittance tax?
No. As of August 2026 the UK has no tax or duty on sending money out of the country. Don't confuse this with HMRC's 'remittance basis' rules, which are about non-doms bringing foreign income into the UK, an entirely different, unrelated use of the word.