Send Money to UK from India

What each bank charges to send GBP to UK

Line items reflect the bank's published fee schedule. GST at 18% is charged on commission (and on Swift / correspondent charges where the bank explicitly applies it).

How to send money to UK from India

1. Get the beneficiary's bank details. Full name and address as held by their bank, bank name and address in UK, plus the sort code, account number, and SWIFT/BIC code.
2. Pick the purpose code and fill Form A2. The A2 form is the LRS declaration; the most common codes for UK are S0202 (education), S1301 (gift), S0305 (maintenance of relative), S0202 (living expenses of students). Your PAN is mandatory and the bank checks your LRS usage for the financial year against the USD 250,000 cap.
3. Check TCS before you send. Above ₹10 lakh in a financial year most non-education purposes attract 20% TCS, collected by the bank and claimable in your ITR; education and medical purposes have lower rates. The calculator on this page applies it when you enter your year-to-date LRS amount.
4. Choose the channel. HDFC, ICICI, Kotak and Axis accept outward remittance in GBP through NetBanking or their apps; SBI routes select currencies through YONO and the rest through a branch; IOB is branch-led. Branch channels usually cost more — the bank pages list the difference.
5. Decide who pays the SWIFT and correspondent charges. OUR means you pay them upfront in rupees and the beneficiary gets the full amount; SHA and BEN shift them downstream, where they are deducted from what arrives. SBI's Payee, Remitter and Guaranteed modes are the same choice under different names.
6. The bank applies the TT Selling rate and its charges. Your INR is converted at the bank's published TT Selling rate for GBP at the moment of debit, then commission, SWIFT / correspondent charges and 18% GST are added — exactly the lines shown above.
7. Track it and expect 1–3 working days. Ask the bank for the SWIFT reference (UETR) so the beneficiary's bank can trace the payment. The UK is 4.5 hours behind IST in summer (5.5 in winter); GBP wires sent before the Indian bank's cut-off often credit the same working day in the UK, otherwise the next.

LRS cap: USD 250,000 per resident per financial year (across all corridors combined). TCS at 20% applies above ₹10 lakh per year for most non-education purposes and is claimable in your ITR.

Sending to UK: what's different

The UK corridor is dominated by students — tuition, CAS deposits and monthly maintenance — and by family support to one of the largest Indian diasporas, with a steady flow of gifts under LRS.

On the receiving side

• UK accounts are identified by a 6-digit sort code and an 8-digit account number; the SWIFT/BIC code (UK banks also publish an IBAN) routes the international leg.
• Some UK banks charge a small fee for receiving an international payment; check the beneficiary's tariff. Send in GBP rather than USD so the receiving bank does not convert a second time at its own rate.
• Universities and student-housing providers often accept card or platform payments (Flywire, Convera); a bank wire is usually cheaper for a full year's tuition, but compare the platform's quoted rate with the TT Selling rates above.

About GBP

GBP is the most expensive major currency per unit on Indian rate sheets, so the same rupee amount buys fewer units and a 1% rate margin costs more in absolute rupees — compare TT Selling rates across banks, not just the visible fees.

Timing

The UK is 4.5 hours behind IST in summer (5.5 in winter); GBP wires sent before the Indian bank's cut-off often credit the same working day in the UK, otherwise the next.

FAQ — Sending money to UK from India