Sending Money to Poland from the UK in 2023

If you want to transfer money to Poland, banks are not the ideal choice due to high fees and poor FX rates.  Sending money to Poland from the UK via specialist money transfer services could help you get the best deals.

Whether you are sending money to Poland for your family, as a gift or to pay for a hotel or leisure activity, it is important that you get the best exchange rates and know that your money will arrive securely. 

This guide will help you to choose which of the many services are available to transfer money to Poland from the UK. We will also explain how to save money on transfer fees and exchange rates, and find the best way to send money to Poland from the UK.

While the most obvious method to send money to Poland from the UK would be to use a bank. But there are other services available, such as money transfer services, that can help you to save on fees and get more competitive GBP to PLN exchange rates.

You can also use the Wise (TransferWise) cost calculator below to find how much it would cost to transfer money to Poland from the UK.

How to Transfer Money to Poland from the UK?

There are three main options of sending money to Poland from the UK, and all have advantages and disadvantages.

• High-street UK banks
• Cash transfer
• Money transfer services (such as XE.com, TransferWise, and CurrencyFair)

High-street UK Banks [Not Recommended]

You can initiate a bank transfer from your UK bank account to a Polish bank account. This might look like a convenient and secure way to transfer money, but UK banks could take several days to transfer the funds to Poland and can be quite expensive.

Therefore, banks may NOT be the best way to send money to Poland from the UK due to the high fixed fee, and UK banks may not give you the best possible exchange rate for your money.

It is because banks add a hidden markup on the ‘real’ exchange rate to earn profits from the customers. This is why UK banks offer different exchange rates than what you see on Google and other credible places.

This means that when sending money to Poland, the recipient in Poland would get fewer Polish złoty than you expected (based on the current exchange rate).

We would explain bank fees and exchange rates later in this post.

Cash Transfers

Cash transfer services are available in many places, including on the high street. While they are very quick, and do not require you to open an account, they can also be expensive and may not offer the best rates. Therefore, cash transfer may not the cheapest way to send money to Poland.

Money Transfer Services

Online money transfer services, such as Wise (TransferWise), XE.com, and CurrencyFair are often a cheaper alternative to both the previous options.

XE.com is the cheapest way to send money to Poland from the UK. XE Money Transfer is a credible money transfer provider and has been in the business for more than 20 years. With over £115 billion in transfers worldwide every year, it is one of the safest, cheapest and fastest ways to send money overseas.

Wise (formerly) TransferWise guarantees that you will get the mid-market rate – the midpoint between the buy and sell rates on global currency markets. You also have the option to choose the speed of your transfer. TransferWise is regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority, meaning your money is secure.

The next section explains how to send money abroad cheaply.

---

The Best Way to Send Money to Poland from the UK

XE Money Transfer

With over £115 billion worth of international transfers, XE is quite a credible money transfer company, apart from being one of the most trusted sources to find exchange rates on the internet. 

XE is the cheapest way to send money to Poland based on the top 10 providers that we have analysed. XE doesn’t offer any fee on international transfers, however, they add a very small makeup on the exchange rate to earn profits from the margins. 

Sending money to Poland via XE is quite simple, all you need is to create a free account, add the bank details of the recipient in Poland, and set up the international transfer. 

XE can take around 1 business day to transfer money to Poland from the UK.

How much does money transfer to Poland cost with XE money transfer?

Transfer Fee: Zero fee.
Exchange Rate: A very small markup on the exchange rate (0.55%).

Wise (formerly TransferWise)

If you want to send money to Poland from the UK online, Wise is one of the easiest and fastest option. You can simply create a Wise account online. You can also use the Wise app to make international transfers. 

Wise offers mid-market exchange rate (the real exchange rates that you see on Google and XE) and charge a very small fee when sending money to Poland from the UK (or anywhere in the world)

Wise is a very transparent provider that has no hidden fees or hidden makeup or profit margin on the exchange rate. Wise is also one of the safest providers in the market with over 150K 5-star ratings on Trustpilot. 

Read our full Wise review

How much does money transfer to Poland cost with Wise?

Transfer Fee: 0.6% of the total transfer amount.
Exchange Rate: Wise offers the real possible rate without margins (google rate).

Wise top features:

• Quick online set-up
• Low and transparent fees
• Fast international transfers
• Mid-market exchange rates

CurrencyFair

CurrencyFair is another online money transfer service that offers low fees and competitive exchange rates. They allow you to set your own exchange rate, and they match you with other users who want to exchange currency, thus cutting out the middleman.

If you are sending money to Poland from the UK via CurrencyFair, there is a chance that you may get a better GBP to PLN exchange rate than the “actual” exchange rate that you see on Google. It is because you can negotiate the rates with other users on the CurrencyFair P2P marketplace.

You can also choose the regular money transfer services to transfer money to Poland, but this method would have a small fee along with the exchange rate offered by CurrencyFair. However, it is still one of the cheapest ways to send money to Poland from the UK (up to 5x times cheaper than the UK banks).

What is the Cheapest Way to Send Money to Poland from the UK?

If you are looking for the cheapest and the best way to transfer money to Poland from the United Kingdom, the first thing you need to look at is the cost to transfer money to Poland. 

To find the cheapest way to send money to Poland from the UK, you’ll need to look at two important factors

• International transfer fee (the upfront fee)
• GBP to PLN exchange rate

This would help you understand how much the receiver gets on their end. The higher the amount is (in Polish zloty) the better deal you have secured.

Based on our research, XE is the cheapest option when sending money to Poland from the UK. XE offer no fixed fee on the transfer, but a small markup on the exchange rate. The overall cost to make international transfers is much cheaper than all the other options to transfer money to Poland.

Here is a quick comparison of all the providers and how much it cost to send money to Poland

	XE	Wise	CurrencyFair
🇬🇧 1000 GBP	🇵🇱 5,309 PLN 🏆	🇵🇱 5,307 PLN	🇵🇱 5,297 PLN
🇬🇧 5000 GBP	🇵🇱 26,525 PLN 🏆	🇵🇱 26,524 PLN	🇵🇱 26,513 PLN
🇬🇧 10,000 GBP	🇵🇱 53,066 PLN 🏆	🇵🇱 53,065 PLN	🇵🇱 53,035 PLN
🇬🇧 20,000 GBP	🇵🇱 107,128 PLN	🇵🇱 107,130 PLN 🏆	🇵🇱 107,120 PLN

Wise (formerly TransferWise) is the cheapest options if you are sending more than 20,000 GBP to Poland. Wise offers mid-market exchange rate (the real rates that you see on Google) with a small transfer fee.

We recommend doing your own research to find the best option because the exchange rate fluctuated, and the providers regularly update their fee structures.

How long will it take to send money to Poland?

The speed of your money transfer will depend on which option you use pick to transfer money to Poland from the UK. Cash transfer companies offer very quick times, but can be expensive, while banks may need to transfer through several correspondent banks, so can take longer and still cost you considerably more.

If time is of the essence, shop around to find the quickest processing time for your specific transaction.

There are many ways of sending money to Poland from the UK, and although banks are the first option that comes to mind. But it may take several business days for the fund to reach the recipient’s Polish account, if you use a bank to transfer money to Poland.

Banks also often have high fees and poor exchange rates. This means it is important to consider all payment options.

If you need to get your money to Poland urgently, you need to consider the speed of the different delivery methods as well as the value you will receive.

Based on our research, Wise (formerly TransferWise) is the fast option available. It takes only a few minutes up to a couple of hours to send money to Poland. The speed of the transfer also depends on the payment option you choose.

TransferWise also has great customer service. That can be reassuring if you have never used a money transfer service before. TransferWise will give you as much information as possible on the fees and the time to transfer.

Step-by-step guide on how to make an international money transfer to Poland

Here is a step-by-step guide to how to transfer money to Poland with your online banking service

1. Login to your internet banking
2. Go to your account and the international transfers option
3. Enter your recipient’s name
4. Add the sum you want to send to Poland
5. Confirm the money transfer to Poland
6. Wait for the bank to transfer money to the receipt’s bank account

Here is a step-by-step guide to how to transfer money to Poland with TransferWise

1. Create a free Wise account
2. Set up your money transfer to Poland
3. Enter your recipient’s Polish bank details
4. Confirm transfer
5. Select the payments option (such as bank transfer, credit card, or debit card)
6. Once Wise gets your payment, it will send the money to your recipient in Poland

How to secure the best GBP to PLN exchange rate when I transfer money?

Many money transfer services advertise that they are fee-free. But the fact that they do not charge a fee is irrelevant, since most of the profit that companies make on money transfers is down to the exchange rate.

The exchange rate is the rate at which you receive złoty for your pounds or pounds for your złoty. While there is an official exchange rate on the currency markets, foreign exchange companies can charge what they like. You need to pay attention to this rate as it will affect the cost of your money transfer

The example below, of £1,000 being sent to Poland, demonstrates that a service charging a small upfront fee and with a strong exchange rate can result in more money being sent to Poland than a fee-free service with a worse exchange rate.

The £3 fee and better exchange rate from TransferWise (Option 2 in this example) result in 65 more złoty being sent to Poland.

TransferWise uses the mid-market exchange rate, which is the one that is available on Google, and charges a small upfront fee for sending your money.

Sending Money to Poland from the UK – The verdict

If you want to find the cheapest way to send money to Poland and save money on high fees and poor exchange rates, you have to avoid using the bank to make international transfers,

Banks charge a high fixed fee that can go up to 50 GBP, plus they offer you a really poor exchange rate by adding hidden markups on the “real” exchange rate.  

However, the best way to transfer money to Poland from the UK is by using a money transfer provider. There can be several factors to finding the best money transfer for your needs. 

If you want to find the cheapest way to send money to Poland, then XE money transfer is the cheapest provider. 

If you want to send money instantly to Poland, then use Wise (TransferWise) which can transfer money to Poland in just a couple of hours. 

If you are more concerned about safety, you don’t have to worry because all the providers that we have listed above are well-regulated by various regulatory body in the UK and the US.

---

Send Money to Poland from the UK: FAQs