Post Office International Money Transfer: Sending Money Abroad, Fees and Limits

Post Office International Money Transfer is a service for sending money from the UK to someone abroad, either by walking into a branch or by doing it online. It is provided by Western Union, not by the Post Office itself, and it is open to individual and business customers alike¹. You can send money to a bank account or for cash pickup, and the money can be ready in minutes¹.

The two things that decide what the transfer costs you are the fee and the exchange rate. Fees and rates are subject to change without notice, and online rates are indicative until you confirm the transfer, at which point the final fee and rate are shown¹. There is no single published price list, because the cost depends on where you are sending, how you pay and how much you send. The provider's site has today's figures.

How much you can send depends on whether your identity has been verified and how you pay. Without verification you can send up to £799.99 per transfer from the United Kingdom. Once verified, that rises to £4,000 every three days by credit card and £50,000 through your bank³.

How the charges and exchange rates work

There are two separate costs in a Post Office international money transfer, and they behave differently. The first is the transfer fee, which is a charge for moving the money. The second is the exchange rate, which decides how much foreign currency the receiver actually gets. Exchange rates apply, and fees and rates are subject to change without notice¹. A currency exchange rate may also apply to in-branch payments².

Online, the rate you see while you are setting up the transfer is indicative. The final transfer fee and exchange rate are shown before you confirm the transfer, so the moment that matters is the confirmation screen, not the headline rate on the website¹. Once confirmed, the rate is locked for that transfer.

There can be costs beyond the Post Office's own. Additional third-party fees may apply to card payments made in branch, and some card issuers charge additional fees for using their services¹. That means the same transfer can cost different amounts depending on which card is in your wallet, before you get to the exchange rate at all.

That is a different product and a different transaction, but it gives a sense of the scale at which currency conversion charges are typically set in UK banking. The Post Office's own travel money service publishes its rates separately, and its exchange rate guide was last updated on 14 September 2026⁵.

Ways to pay: cash, card or bank account

In branch you can pay by cash, debit card or credit card¹. Cash is accepted for international money transfers made in branch⁴. Online you can pay with a debit card, credit card or a bank account using Faster Payments, and the supported cards are Visa, MasterCard, Maestro and Visa Electron¹.

Paying by credit card is the option with the most strings attached. The credit card issuer may charge an advance fee and other associated interest charges, and Western Union's own guidance is to use a debit card to avoid these fees and charges³. That is a statement about the card issuer's charges, not about the transfer fee itself, and it is the reason the same transfer can cost more on credit than on debit.

Paying from a bank account online works differently again. After you have entered your transfer details you are redirected to your online banking through Klarna, and in the United Kingdom you can send money from your bank account either with Faster Payments or SOFORT banking³. This route avoids card issuer charges entirely, which is why it is the method that pairs with the highest transfer limit.

Sending in branch or online

The service runs both ways. It is an online or in-branch service for individual and business customers who want to transfer money abroad⁴. In branch you can send from around 4,000 Post Office locations across the UK, and the money can be collected from hundreds of thousands of agent locations worldwide, a count valid as of 31 March 2026¹.

The two routes suit different situations. A branch visit gives you a counter to ask questions at and the option of paying in cash, which matters if you do not want to use a card or a bank account for the transfer. Sending online gives you the ability to do it at any hour, and Western Union's own guidance notes that you can send and receive large amount money transfers online on wu.com or the Western Union app at your convenience 24/7³.

If you are sending to family abroad and want to understand how the different routes compare, ways to send abroad sets out banks, specialists, brokers and cash collection side by side, and cash pickup services explains how collection works in practice.

ID you need and how verification works

In branch, the identification accepted is a passport, a valid driving licence from the UK, EU or EEA, or an EU or EEA national identity card¹. For sending money online, Western Union accepts a wider list: your passport, a UK, EU or EEA driver's licence, an EU or EEA residence card, an EU national ID card other than a UK one, emergency travel documents, a shipping passport and a UK application registration card. Temporary or emergency passports are also accepted, and front and back copies are required³.

There is a threshold that triggers a photo upload. To send £800 or more you must upload a photo of your ID, and you only have to do this once. The same rule applies to receiving £800 or more¹. Once the required documents are received they are processed within 30 minutes³.

Verification is not just a formality, because it changes what you are allowed to do. A customer can only send a large amount money transfer if they have already been verified by Western Union³. If you expect to send more than £799.99 in a single transfer, the verification step is what unlocks it.

Transfer limits depend on verification and payment method

The limits are set by verification status first and payment method second. Without verification, you can send up to £799.99 per transfer from the United Kingdom³. After your identity has been verified, you can send up to £4,000 every three days with your credit card and £50,000 through your bank³. You can transfer up to £50,000 when sending from your bank account directly to the receiver's bank account³.

It may not be available for all receiver countries and is subject to restrictions based on various factors³. There are no limits to sending multiple large amount money transfers over any time frame, though monitoring thresholds may apply depending on your country of residence and the destination³.

If you are planning a transfer at the top of these ranges, sending a large sum overseas covers source of funds checks and the ways costs can be reduced, and payment limits looks at daily and per-payment caps more generally.

How long transfers take and how to track them

Speed depends on how the money is being paid out. If you are sending money for someone to pick up in cash, it can be ready in as little as 15 to 30 minutes, later the same day or the next day, depending on the destination, the amount and the opening hours of the pickup location¹. If you are sending to a bank account, it usually takes up to two working days, depending on the receiving country¹.

Western Union's own support guidance gives a slightly wider window: it typically takes up to one to two business days after the transfer is processed for the money to be ready for pickup at an agent location or credited to a bank account, credit or debit card, and this varies by receiving country and transfer amount. For bank deposits, money is usually deposited within one or two working days, though it may be deposited the same day or take up to three working days depending on when and where it is sent⁷.

Tracking runs on the MTCN, a unique 10-digit tracking number assigned to your transfer³. In branch, you are given the reference number at the counter to share with the recipient¹. Transfer status is typically updated within two hours, and the statuses you will see are In progress, Available, Received, Paid, Delivered, On hold, Cancelled and Refunded³. If your transfer status shows In Progress for more than 48 hours, contact Western Union³.

For a wider view of cut-off times and delays, how long an international payment takes covers the timings across different payment routes.

Cancelling, refunds and where Post Office transfers do not apply

You can cancel a money transfer only if it has not been picked up by your receiver. If you sent money to a bank account, you can cancel it if the transfer has not been completed by your receiver's bank³. Once the money has been collected or deposited, cancellation is no longer available.

If the receiver never collects, the transfer is cancelled after 42 days³. Refunds are done in the original form of payment and within five to seven business days from the date they are processed³. So a transfer paid for in cash is refunded in cash, and one paid by card goes back to the card.

Name changes are tightly limited. You can only make minor typographical corrections to the receiver's name on a regular money transfer as long as the money has not yet been picked up or deposited, and this is not available on money order, bill payment or prepaid transfers³. Anything more than a small spelling correction means cancelling and sending again, at a new rate.

Payouts will only be made in the local currency³. You cannot specify sterling or a third currency for the receiver.

What protects you, and where it stops

The Financial Ombudsman Service can look at complaints about sending money abroad. The businesses it covers include high street banks, specialist money transfer and remittance businesses, online payment services and foreign exchange specialists¹¹. If a complaint about a Post Office international money transfer is not resolved, that is the route to take.

The protection that does not travel with the money is the one most people assume applies. The UK's authorised push payment reimbursement rules, which require banks to reimburse victims of certain scams, exclude payments to accounts outside the United Kingdom, transactions not made in GBP, and payments made using cash, cheque or cards⁸. Since a Post Office international transfer is by definition a payment abroad, and can be made in cash or by card, it sits outside that framework.

That makes the checks you do before sending the important ones. MoneyHelper publishes guidance on the types of scam consumers encounter, which is worth reading before sending money to someone you have not dealt with before¹². If you are sending to a mobile wallet rather than a bank account, sending to a mobile wallet abroad explains how that route works, and scams involving payments abroad covers fee demands, fake providers and refund limits.

Who provides the service

Post Office International Money Transfer is provided by Western Union⁴. The Post Office's own travel money service is separate: Travel Money Online is the provision of foreign currency which is provided by First Rate Exchange Services Ltd¹³. The Post Office also operates banking hubs, which provide face-to-face banking services¹⁴.

The Post Office brand covers a much wider range of products than transfers, including savings, insurance, credit cards and loans, and the Post Office Money page sets out the full picture. For the regulatory detail, Post Office Management Services Limited holds firm reference number 630318 and trades as Post Office Money, Post Office Insurance and Post Office, with company number 08459718¹⁵.

If something goes wrong

The first step is Western Union, since it runs the transfer. If the transfer status shows In Progress for more than 48 hours, contact Western Union³. For a large amount transfer, you can expect a call or an email from Western Union within 30 minutes of initiating it³.

If the response does not resolve the problem, the Financial Ombudsman Service covers complaints about sending money abroad, including those about specialist money transfer businesses and online payment services¹¹. That service is free to the consumer.

For general help with money problems, MoneyHelper offers free and impartial guidance, including on how to open, switch or close a bank account¹⁷ and on the types of scam to watch for¹². If you are sending money regularly to family abroad, sending support to family abroad covers remittance costs and what to check.