Other charges: transfers, withdrawals, payments and closing an account

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Moving your own money between accounts, providers or countries is not always free. Firms across banking, investing, pensions and savings can make one-off charges for transferring out, withdrawing urgently, sending certain payments and sometimes for closing an account. The amounts vary widely: most stocks and shares Isa providers charge nothing to leave, but some charge exit fees of £15 to £30 per holding¹, while broadband customers have reported accepting exit fees of over £200 to leave a contract². A same-day CHAPS payment, often used for a house deposit, usually carries a fee set by your bank³.

These charges are one-off costs, separate from the ongoing fees an account charges. They catch people out because they appear at the moment of moving, when the money is already committed, and because they are often buried in terms and conditions rather than headline pricing. This page explains where each type of charge arises, what the rules allow, what protections exist, and what to do if you think a charge was unfair.

Exit and transfer fees when you move to another provider

The clearest exit fees in financial services sit in investing. You might be charged if you transfer investments from one platform to another, though many platforms have scrapped these fees, and others will offer to cover switching fees as an incentive to join them⁸. Among stocks and shares Isa providers, most charge nothing to leave, but some charge exit fees ranging from £15 to £30 per holding¹. The "per holding" point matters: an Isa with ten funds or shares could attract ten separate charges at the top of that range, which is a very different sum from a single flat fee.

Exit fees are not unique to investing. In broadband, customers have reported accepting exit fees of over £200 to leave a contract early². The common thread is that the charge is triggered by the decision to leave, not by any service received, which is why regulators and consumer groups have pressed firms to scrap them and why many platforms have done so⁸.

Before moving, the practical steps are to ask the old provider for its full exit cost in writing, to ask the new provider whether it will cover any of it, and to weigh that total against the ongoing savings from the move. A transfer that saves money each month can still cost more in exit fees than it delivers if the holdings are numerous or the intended stay is short.

Transferring in: who pays and what gets covered

When you transfer an account in, the question is who bears the cost, and the answer depends on the type of account and the rules that govern it.

For pensions, an overseas transfer charge can apply, and the persons liable for a recognised transfer are the scheme administrator of the transferring registered pension scheme and the member, jointly and severally⁹. That means the cost can fall on you even when the administrator arranges the transfer, so it should be confirmed before the transfer begins.

For government savings accounts, the rules are firmer. Where a Help-to-Save account matures and money moves to a successor account, no charge for the transfer may be imposed on the individual for whom the matured account was opened⁷. The same rule appears in the legislation's detailed provisions for matured Director of Savings accounts¹⁰. If a charge is proposed for such a transfer, it is worth querying it, because the legislation says none may be imposed.

Elsewhere, liability can be shared. If you transfer a package holiday booking to another person, you and the person you transfer it to are jointly liable to pay the transfer costs, though the fees should not be excessive and the organiser must provide proof of the costs incurred¹¹. For child maintenance paid through a money transfer service, some services may charge a fee, so check with the service provider¹².

New providers sometimes sweeten the deal. Many investment platforms offer to cover switching fees as an incentive to join them⁸, and for current accounts the switching process itself is designed to be free, as the next sections explain.

Withdrawal charges and how they are applied

Withdrawal charges are the fees some accounts apply when you take money out, and they range from zero to a few pounds depending on the account.

For current accounts, using your debit card abroad typically attracts a spending or cash machine charge of £1 to £3 each time you use your card, except for Euros in the EU⁴. Specialist accounts can charge more often: Sibstar, a card designed to help people living with dementia manage money, applies a 99p charge per cash withdrawal alongside a £4.99 monthly charge¹³. Neither figure is universal, but both show that the terms of the specific account, not a market-wide rule, set what a withdrawal costs.

Where a transfer between banks is arranged under the official process, the position on charges is protective. The bank must transfer any account balance and make arrangements for direct debits and standing orders, and if there are mistakes or delays in the transfer process which lead to bank charges, you shouldn't have to pay for them¹⁴. That protection applies where there is an arrangement between the old and new bank, which is how the Current Account Switch Service works.

Rules also require transparency. Where a current account agreement allows the account holder to overdraw without a pre-arranged overdraft, information about the charges applicable must be included in the agreement, and information on the cost must be updated at least annually¹⁵. So the charges that can be applied to an account, including withdrawal-related ones, should be set out in the agreement you hold, not invented later.

Payment charges: sending money, CHAPS and international transfers

Sending money can carry its own charges, and the fastest methods are usually the most expensive.

CHAPS is a system used for high-value transactions, where money is transferred from one bank to another on the same day¹⁶. It is the same-day payment system often used for large transfers such as paying a deposit for a property, and it often involves a fee¹⁷. The amount is set by your bank, so check with it before instructing the payment³. The speed is the point: HMRC lists bank transfer using Faster Payments or CHAPS among the ways to pay a Self Assessment penalty with same or next day processing¹⁸, which shows why people choose these routes despite the cost.

International transfers are slower and can be expensive. A cross-border transfer takes three to five days, and up to 6% of the amount is chewed up in fees⁵. For larger sums, that percentage is a substantial amount of money, and it is the reason the Payment Systems Regulator has opened a market review into cross-border interchange fees, which consumers can contact the review team about¹⁹.

Not every payment charge is treated the same way in the rules. Under the FCA's mortgage conduct rules on the total charge for credit, charges for money transmission services relating to an arrangement for a current account are excluded from the total charge for credit, as are charges for the transfer of funds and charges for keeping an account intended to receive payments towards repayment of the credit, except where the customer does not have reasonable freedom of choice and such charges are abnormally high²⁰. In plain terms, ordinary payment charges sit outside the headline cost of credit, but if a lender forces you to use a costly transfer route with no reasonable alternative, those charges can count.

Closing an account: what you may be charged

Closing a current account is normally free when done through switching. You can ask your new provider to transfer your balance and all incoming and outgoing payments over²¹, and under the Current Account Switch Service payments are redirected from the closed account, with a guarantee that if anything goes wrong you will be refunded any charges or interest⁶. The service closes the old account as part of the switch.

Charges around closure more often come from the products linked to the account. A balance transfer of credit card debt may require a fee to complete the transfer²², with some cards charging up to 2.75% for each transfer while others charge nothing²³. Fees may mean you save less than you expect from a transfer²⁴, so the fee has to be weighed against the interest saved. Personal pensions carry their own costs, including an annual management fee and a switching charge if you change funds²⁵.

For dormant accounts specifically, the rules on closure charges are set by the account terms rather than any standard fee, and the reclaim process is covered separately on the page about dormant bank accounts. If a provider proposes a closure charge, ask it to point to the term in the agreement that allows it, since the agreement must contain the applicable charges¹⁵.

Cash or in-specie: how the transfer method changes the cost

For a stocks and shares Isa, you'll either do an "in-specie" transfer, which keeps you invested throughout, or a cash transfer²⁶. The choice affects both cost and risk.

An in-specie transfer moves your holdings as they are, so you never leave the market. A cash transfer means your investments are sold, the cash moves to the new provider, and new investments are bought. That process can take longer, and while you are in cash you are not invested, so you can miss market movements in either direction. Transfers can also go wrong: cases have been reported of stocks and shares Isa transfers where problems arose during the process²⁶.

The cost side differs too. Exit fees of £15 to £30 per holding apply at some providers whichever method is used¹, but a cash transfer can add dealing costs at the new platform, since every holding has to be repurchased. Before choosing, ask both providers what the total cost of each method would be, including exit fees, dealing charges and any period out of the market.

Where charges are not allowed or are capped

Some charges are banned outright by legislation, and knowing where the line sits is useful when a provider proposes a fee.

The clearest example is the Saving Gateway, a now-closed government savings scheme, whose rules state that the account provider shall not levy charges against the balance of the account²⁷. The rules go further: no deductions or withdrawals from the account, by way of charges or otherwise, shall be made by the account provider, and no right of set-off or lien applies against the money in the account²⁷. The same prohibition appears in the scheme's later regulations²⁸.

For Help-to-Save and successor accounts, no charge for the transfer may be imposed on the individual for whom the matured account was opened⁷. And for current account switching, the rules cap what can be charged: any fee charged to a consumer by a participating payment service provider for any service provided in connection with switching a payment account under the alternative arrangements switching service must be no more than the actual costs to the provider of providing the relevant service²⁹. A provider cannot make a profit on such a switch fee.

Cross-border account switching within the EU has its own protections: where a consumer wishes to open a payment account with an EU payment service provider, the UK provider must, free of charge, provide lists of standing orders and direct debit mandates, information on recurring incoming credit transfers for the previous 13 months, transfer any positive balance, and close the UK account³⁰.

Checking the charges before you move money

The consistent advice from consumer bodies is to check the full cost before committing to any move, not after.

For balance transfers, the guidance is to check you will not pay more than you need to once the offer expires, to ask questions so you understand the deal, and to check for any hidden fees, including on 0% balance transfers³¹. A 0% offer with a transfer fee can still cost more than expected, and fees may mean you save less than you think²⁴.

A practical checklist before any transfer:

• Ask the old provider for the total exit cost in writing, including per-holding fees¹
• Ask the new provider whether it covers switching fees, as many platforms do⁸
• Check the transfer method, in-specie or cash, and what each costs²⁶
• For international transfers, compare the total fee, since up to 6% can be lost⁵
• For same-day payments, confirm the CHAPS fee with your bank first³
• Read the account agreement, which must set out the applicable charges¹⁵

For savings held with NS&I, the clearing timescales are published: an electronic transfer deposit received by 18:30 on a banking day will normally clear no later than the next banking day, and debit card and cheque deposits clear no later than the seventh banking day after being received³². Knowing when money will actually arrive helps avoid charges triggered by missed payment dates elsewhere.

Disputing a charge and where to get help

If a charge looks wrong, the route to redress is well established and free.

Start with the firm itself. If you see a payment from your account that you didn't authorise, contact your bank as soon as possible and claim a refund³⁸. If the firm does not resolve the complaint, the Financial Ombudsman Service can help. It resolves complaints about issues such as account closures, disputed transactions, IT failures, and problems with switching services³⁴, and it covers complaints about stocks and shares, including transactions, transfers between firms or share-dealing platforms or charges³⁵. The ombudsman also handles complaints where a lender has applied unfair charges to an account, such as arrears fees, legal costs and field agent visit fees³⁹, and where a credit broker has charged unfair or unauthorised fees, it will usually tell the broker to refund the fee, sometimes with interest, refund additional costs incurred, and pay compensation for distress or inconvenience³⁷.

The outcomes can be concrete. In one ombudsman decision on a current account, the complaint was upheld and the bank was told to refund all the charges and interest it had deducted from the customer's account, and also to pay £150 for distress and inconvenience³⁶. In a pension case study, a complaint about transfers was considered by the Pensions Ombudsman⁴⁰. And in a payday lending case, the borrower sought a refund of the interest and charges, which had increased the cost of his loan⁴¹.

These complaints are common. In the first quarter of 2026/27, the Financial Ombudsman Service opened 8,945 complaints about current accounts, 5,783 about credit cards, 2,103 about personal loans, 993 about business current accounts, 77 about money remittance, 56 about balance transfers and 33 about credit broking⁴². Earlier data showed 150 new complaints about international transfers in a single quarter⁴³, and 101 in another⁴⁴, with 4,553 complaints about first charge mortgages across 2025/26⁴⁵.

Where an application for a basic bank account is refused, the institution must advise the consumer of the complaint procedure and the right to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service⁴⁶. For claims management companies, the Claims Management Ombudsman can look at unjustified or unclear fees, delays and poor service⁴⁷. Free help with writing a complaint is covered in our guide to writing an effective complaint, and if a firm stalls, free consumer advice is available; in Northern Ireland, the Consumer Council can help. The steps for switching itself are covered in switching your bank account.