first direct International Payments Review 2026: Fees, Exchange Rates and Is It Good for Sending Money Abroad?

The fixed fee is low, even free for euros

We checked where the charges fall. A euro payment sent within Europe costs nothing, and any other international payment is a flat £5, so the upfront fee is small and easy to read.

Transfers to another HSBC account are free too. Because first direct sits inside HSBC, an HSBC-to-HSBC global transfer carries no fee, which suits family accounts held across the group.

The real cost is the exchange rate

This is where a bank quietly earns its money. first direct does not give the mid-market rate; it builds in a margin we estimate at about 2.5%, and on a larger transfer that dwarfs the £5 fee.

We put that in context. A 2.5% markup is the least steep of the high-street banks we have reviewed, yet it still costs far more than the fixed fee, so the rate decides your total.

You cannot see the margin in advance

This is the real catch. first direct only shows the exchange rate at the point you confirm the payment, and it never publishes the margin, so the true cost stays hidden until the money moves.

We flag it plainly. A rate you cannot compare before sending is a rate you cannot shop around, which is the opposite of how a transparent specialist prices a transfer.

We model sending £10,000 to euros, a realistic size where the FX margin really bites. On 30 June 2026 the pounds to euros market rate was about 1.1604, so £10,000 is worth roughly €11,604. Rates move daily, so figures are illustrative.

Read it like this. Even with no upfront fee on the euro route, first direct's hidden margin means £10,000 lands as about €11,314, roughly €243 behind what the same amount buys through a market-rate app such as Wise.

We find the pattern holds at every size. The bank is safe and its service is strong, but it is a costly way to move money abroad, and the gap grows the more you send.

How sending works

first direct sends money straight to a recipient's overseas bank account, by SEPA for euro payments and by SWIFT for the rest. You set it up in the app, online banking or by phone, entering the recipient's IBAN and BIC.

It is bank-to-bank only. No cash pickup and no mobile-wallet payout, so the recipient needs a bank account. Euro payments usually arrive the next working day, while other SWIFT payments can take up to four.

The high app limit helps

The digital limit is generous. The app and online banking let you send up to £50,000 a day, so a £10,000 transfer goes through without a phone call.

Above that ceiling you pick up the phone. The 24/7 line handles larger payments with security checks, which is slower but rarely an issue for everyday transfers.

Your deposits are covered

This is the genuine upside of using a bank. As part of HSBC UK Bank plc, first direct is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which protects eligible deposits up to £120,000 per person if the bank were to fail. That limit rose from £85,000 on 1 December 2025.

We stress the distinction. The money-transfer specialists safeguard your funds by ring-fencing them, but that is not the same as FSCS deposit protection, so a bank balance carries a layer of cover a transfer app cannot match.

But the £120,000 is shared with HSBC

A caveat matters here. Because first direct trades under the same licence as HSBC UK, the £120,000 limit is shared across the two brands, so money split between them is not protected to £120,000 at each.

It does not make transfers cheap, either. FSCS cover does nothing to narrow the FX margin, so a safe home for your savings and a cheap way to send them abroad are two separate questions.

Who runs it

We read the FCA Register. first direct is not a separate bank; it is a trading division of HSBC UK Bank plc, which is authorised under firm reference number 765112 by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by both the PRA and the FCA.

That backing is reassuring. first direct runs its own brand, app and service culture, but it sits on HSBC UK's banking licence and balance sheet, one of the largest in the country.

How your money is protected

The protection here is the strong part. Eligible deposits are covered by the FSCS up to £120,000 per person, though that limit is shared with HSBC UK, and complaints can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Fraud rules apply industry-wide now. Since October 2024 banks must reimburse most authorised-push-payment scam victims, and first direct runs tight checks that can hold a payment for verification.

The service reputation

This is first direct's calling card. It rates top three in the industry service-quality survey and holds an "Excellent" 4.5 on Trustpilot across nearly 40,000 reviews, a record no other bank in this series matches.

We keep it honest, though. Great service does not lower the cost of a transfer, so the warm reviews and the poor exchange rate sit side by side in the same account.

The reviews worth weighing

We looked at the customer view. Alongside the praise for phone support, reviewers single out poor exchange rates on international payments and the odd frozen-account complaint from automated fraud checks.

The theme is consistent. Everyday banking and service draw warm words, while sending money abroad is the area customers rate first direct hardest on value.

Getting started. International payments are open to current-account customers through the app, online banking or the phone. You need the recipient's IBAN and BIC, plus their bank details.

Authorising it. Payments are confirmed with the app or your Digital Secure Key, and a new payee can trigger extra checks. Amounts above the £50,000 daily app limit need a phone call.

Support. first direct offers 24/7 UK phone lines and in-app help, the human backup an app-only service does not match, though none of it lowers the transfer cost.

We rate first direct against the services people weigh it against. A low-cost specialist handles overseas payments far more cheaply, and our money transfer reviews are the place to start. You can also sense-check today's costs with a live comparison of today's rates and fees.

For cost, a specialist wins clearly. Our Wise review covers a service at the mid-market rate with a low, clear fee, which beats a bank's margin on every overseas transfer we model.

Among banks the picture is closer. Our TSB Bank review shows a fellow FSCS-protected high-street bank, though on a worse exchange rate. If you are sending euros for a property abroad, weigh it on our send money to Spain page. Its parent and peers land in much the same place, so our HSBC (which owns First Direct), Barclays, Metro Bank and Virgin Money reviews are worth comparing.

As a bank, first direct does the safety and service job well. Deposits carry FSCS protection, the app takes large payments, and the phone lines are among the best rated in the country.

What holds it back is value. The hidden FX margin makes overseas payments dear, and the fact you cannot see the rate before sending is a real mark against it.

We land it at 3 out of 5. first direct is the strongest high-street bank we have reviewed for sending money abroad, helped by free euro payments and top service, but a low-cost app is still the cheaper tool.