Send money to Chile
See today's live rates — and exactly what your recipient receives, after every fee.
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Today's best rates to Chile
As of 22 September 2026, sending £1,000 to Chile, your recipient gets the most with Currencies Direct: 1,260,779.90 CLP, the best of 4 providers compared.
| Provider | Rate | Fee | Recipient gets | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1260.78 0.55% worse | £0 | 1,260,779.90 CLP | 1–3 days | Send | |
1260.78 0.55% worse | £0 | 1,260,779.90 CLP | 1–3 days | Send | |
1254.80 1.02% worse | £0 | 1,254,802.10 CLP | Within 2 days | Send | |
1261.89 0.46% worse | £8.36 | 1,251,340.60 CLP | Within 2 days | Send |
When you send money home to Chile, the cheapest route is almost always a specialist money-transfer app or company rather than your bank. The cost that matters most is hidden in the exchange rate: a bank typically keeps 2% to 5% in the rate, on top of any fee — so always judge a provider by the amount that actually arrives, not by a "no fee" claim. Below is exactly how the money reaches Chile, what it really costs, and how to sidestep the most expensive mistakes.
Chile is the steadiest of the big South American economies, and money sent home tends to be for the calm, everyday reasons - supporting parents, helping with rent, a student's costs - rather than emergency cash.
The peso floats freely, so the headline rate genuinely moves day to day; but on most ordinary transfers the bigger slice of the cost is still the spread a provider tucks inside that rate, not the market itself.
How the money reaches Chile
How your recipient gets paid
Chile does not use an IBAN.
To pay into a Chilean account you need four things: the bank name, the account number, the account type (cuenta corriente / current account, cuenta vista / sight account, or the basic CuentaRUT), and the recipient's RUT (Rol Único Tributario) - the national ID-and-tax number that every Chilean has.
The RUT is the key that ties the money to the right person, and on a CuentaRUT account from BancoEstado the account number is simply the RUT itself minus its final check digit. For the international leg a provider will also use the receiving bank's SWIFT/BIC behind the scenes.
If a form asks for an IBAN, it is not built for Chile - look for the account-number and RUT fields instead.
How the money is delivered
Once your pounds are converted, the money is delivered locally inside Chile. You don't choose the network — the provider does — but here is what is used.
Ways your recipient can receive it
Most providers can pay into a bank account: by account number + RUT + account type at any Chilean bank (Banco de Chile, BancoEstado, Santander, BCI, Scotiabank and the rest), including a basic BancoEstado CuentaRUT or cash pickup: collected with a national ID card (cédula) at an agent such as Western Union or a partnered network. The right choice is usually whichever is cheapest and fastest for your recipient. Cash pickup is the fallback where a bank account or wallet isn't available.
What you actually pay to send money to Chile
The price of a transfer is not really the upfront fee — it is mostly hidden in the exchange rate. None of it is obvious, so each is worth knowing before you send.
The exchange-rate mark-up
The big one. Banks and some apps quote a rate a little worse than the real mid-market rate and keep the difference — often 2% to 5%. Because it is a slice of the whole amount, it usually dwarfs any upfront fee.
Correspondent-bank fees
An ordinary bank wire can pass through one or two intermediary banks, each able to take a small cut before the money arrives. Specialists using local payment networks usually avoid this entirely.
"No fee" hiding a poor rate
A headline "zero fee" means little if the rate is weak. Judge an offer by the money that actually arrives, not by whether a fee is shown — the comparison above ranks providers exactly that way.
A floating peso means the rate genuinely moves
Chile's peso is free-floating, so unlike a pegged currency the mid-market rate really does shift day to day with copper and the dollar. Two providers quoting hours apart can differ partly because the market moved - but most of the gap is still the margin each one adds on top.
Judge them on the pesos actually delivered for your pounds today, in one comparison, rather than chasing yesterday's rate.
Your UK bank is almost always the dear option
Send Chilean pesos through your UK high-street bank and you usually pay twice: a flat international-transfer fee plus a poor exchange rate with a margin of roughly 2% to 5% baked in. A specialist provider typically shows a tighter rate and a clearer fee.
Because Chile's peso floats, two quotes can also differ simply because the market moved - so compare on the pesos delivered for your pounds at the moment you send.
The RUT is the key, not just the account number
The RUT is the key, not just the account number
The thing that catches people sending to Chile is that an account number on its own is not enough.
Every Chilean account is tied to the holder's RUT (Rol Único Tributario) - the national ID-and-tax number - and a transfer is matched against it, so you almost always have to supply the recipient's RUT alongside the account number, the bank name and the account type.
On the very common BancoEstado CuentaRUT (a basic account millions of Chileans use), the account number is literally the RUT with its final check digit removed, which trips up senders who think they are two different numbers.
Get the RUT, the account type and the bank right, copy them from something your recipient sent you in writing, and the payment routes cleanly. Chile has no IBAN, so do not waste time hunting for one - the RUT-plus-account-number combination is its equivalent.
How to avoid fraud when sending money to Chile
On any large transfer the biggest risk is rarely the exchange rate — it is criminals getting between you and the money. These simple rules are worth knowing before you send.
Advance-fee / "release fee" scam
Rule: no Chilean bank, no transfer company and no cash-pickup agent charges your recipient an upfront fee to release an incoming transfer - the payout is automatic once the sender has paid. Anyone in Chile asking your family to pay a 'tax', a 'release fee' or an 'unblocking' charge to free money that is supposedly waiting is a fraudster. A regulated provider takes its fee from the sender at the start, never from the recipient at the end.
Fake-transfer screenshot scam
Rule: never accept a screenshot or photo as proof that money has reached you. Fraudsters send a doctored bank-app or transfer-confirmation image to make you hand over goods or cash for a payment that never actually arrives. Only ever trust money you can see in your own bank movements or banking app - if it is not in your account history, it is not real, no matter how convincing the picture looks.
Better-rate WhatsApp / 'cambio' scam
Rule: ignore offers on WhatsApp, Facebook Marketplace or Instagram promising a far better peso rate if you hand cash to an individual or an unlicensed money-changer. The legitimate market sits in a known range, so a rate that looks far too good is bait to take your money and vanish. Use a regulated provider so the transfer is traceable and your money is protected.
Wrong-account / fake-refund scam
Rule: if you ever need to send money back, make a fresh transfer yourself to an account number and RUT you have confirmed in writing. Never use a 'refund' link, a reversal button or a payment request the other person sends you, and always double-check the RUT and account type before you send, because a transfer to the wrong Chilean account is very hard to recover.
If you are a victim of fraud, in the UK, report it to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040; in Chile, your recipient can raise a complaint with the financial-market regulator, the Comisión para el Mercado Financiero (CMF).
Is money sent to Chile taxed?
What the rules say
an ordinary family remittance sent home to Chile is not income tax for the person receiving it.
Chile taxes income that is earned - salary, business profit, investment returns - not money a relative abroad sends you to live on, which the tax authority (the Servicio de Impuestos Internos, SII) treats as a transfer rather than earnings.
It only becomes a tax question if the money is really undeclared business income, or for genuinely large one-off sums (a gift or inheritance can fall under separate gift-and-inheritance rules).
This is general information, not tax advice; for anything substantial the recipient should check with a qualified Chilean adviser or the SII
Keep your paperwork
On a large transfer the UK firm must run a source-of-funds check — that is a compliance step, not a tax. Keep evidence of where the money came from (a sale statement, pension or investment paperwork, or bank statements) and a big transfer moves through far more smoothly.
When is the best time to send money to Chile?
For a one-off transfer the rate on the day is what counts — and it moves constantly. The aim is less about guessing the perfect moment and more about removing risk on payments you already know are coming. As a guide, once the money is sent a payout to a Chilean bank account by account number and RUT usually lands the same working day to one working day once the money has cleared, using the banks' electronic-transfer (TEF) rails; cash pickup at an agent such as Western Union is typically available within minutes. The slower part of an international transfer is normally the compliance checks on the UK sending side before the money even leaves.
Unlike Chile's managed-currency neighbours, the Chilean peso floats freely - the Banco Central de Chile lets the market set it - so the rate really does swing with global copper prices and the dollar.
That means timing can matter more here than on a pegged corridor, but it cuts both ways and trying to call the market rarely beats simply sending when your family needs it.
Demand also climbs around Christmas and the September Fiestas Patrias (Chile's national-day holidays), when transfer volumes rise and some providers quietly widen their margins, so for those dates send a few days early.
Lock the rate for a known date. If a payment is weeks away, many specialists let you fix today's rate now (a forward contract), so a sudden market move can't blow a hole in your budget before the money is due.
Set a target with a rate alert. For flexible transfers, you can set the rate you want and be notified (or trade automatically) when the market reaches it — useful when you have time on your side and no fixed deadline.
The costliest mistakes when sending to Chile
A handful of avoidable slips account for most of the money people lose. Each is easy to sidestep once you know to look.
Defaulting to your bank without comparing. The bank's rate mark-up usually costs far more than any fee, and it is easy to miss because it is built into the rate rather than shown separately.
Judging by the fee, not the amount delivered. A "no fee" offer can still be the worst deal if the rate is poor. Always compare on what actually arrives.
Mistyping the account or bank code. If the account details are wrong the transfer can bounce back after a delay, or reach the wrong account. Always check them against details your recipient sent in writing.
Trusting bank details that arrived by email. Payment-diversion fraud is a real risk — always confirm the receiving account by phone on a trusted number first.
Using an unregulated or cold-calling firm. Check the company on the FCA Register before you move any money, and never act on an out-of-the-blue offer.
Leaving out the recipient's RUT or getting it wrong. Chilean transfers are tied to the recipient's RUT, the national ID-and-tax number, not just the account number. Skip it, mistype it, or use someone else's and the payment can be rejected or delayed while it is checked. Copy the RUT - including its final check digit - exactly as your recipient sends it to you in writing.
Sending to the wrong account type. Chileans hold different account types - cuenta corriente, cuenta vista, and the basic BancoEstado CuentaRUT - and a transfer form usually asks which one. Pick the wrong type and the payment can bounce back. Confirm with your recipient exactly which account type to use as well as the number and their RUT.
How do most people send money to Chile?
For most people sending money home, the simplest and cheapest route is a specialist money-transfer app or company paying straight into the recipient's bank account: by account number + RUT + account type at any Chilean bank (Banco de Chile, BancoEstado, Santander, BCI, Scotiabank and the rest), including a basic BancoEstado CuentaRUT. Judge every provider by the amount that actually arrives — and confirm the receiving details before you send.
Frequently asked questions about sending money to Chile
No. Chile does not use an IBAN. To pay into a Chilean account you need the bank name, the account number, the account type (cuenta corriente, cuenta vista or CuentaRUT) and the recipient's RUT - the national ID-and-tax number that ties the account to the right person.
If a form asks for an IBAN it simply is not built for Chile, so look for the account-number and RUT fields instead. For the international leg the receiving bank's SWIFT/BIC may also be used behind the scenes.
The RUT (Rol Único Tributario) is the national identification-and-tax number every Chilean person and company has, and Chilean bank transfers are matched against it as well as the account number. You need the recipient's RUT, their bank, the account number and the account type to pay them.
On the very common BancoEstado CuentaRUT account the account number is actually the RUT with its final check digit removed - so the two are closely linked. Always copy the RUT, including its check digit, exactly as your recipient sends it.
Almost always a specialist money-transfer company rather than your bank. Compare providers by the number of pesos that actually arrive, counting both the exchange rate and any upfront fee together.
Banks typically hide a margin of around 2% to 5% inside a poorer exchange rate, which on a normal transfer usually costs more than a transparent fee would. Use the live comparison above to judge providers on the Chilean pesos actually delivered for your pounds today, not on the headline rate.
A payout to a Chilean bank account by account number and RUT usually lands the same working day to one working day once the money has cleared, using the banks' electronic-transfer (TEF) rails. Cash pickup at an agent such as Western Union is typically available within minutes.
The slower part of an international transfer is normally the compliance checks on the UK sending side before the money even leaves the country.
Generally no. An ordinary family remittance is not income tax for the person receiving it in Chile - the tax authority (the Servicio de Impuestos Internos, SII) taxes income that is earned, such as salary or business profit, not money a relative abroad sends you to live on.
It only becomes a tax question if the money is really undeclared business income, or for genuinely large one-off gifts or inheritances, which fall under separate rules. This is general information, not tax advice - check with a qualified Chilean adviser for anything substantial.
Chilean pesos. The Chilean peso (CLP) is a free-floating currency set by the market, so a transfer is converted and paid out in pesos locally - into a Chilean bank account or collected as cash at an agent.
Because the peso floats, the mid-market rate genuinely moves day to day with copper prices and the dollar, but most of the cost difference between providers is still the spread each adds on top. Compare providers on the pesos actually delivered, not on the headline rate.
Often yes, as a fallback. Most transfers to Chile go straight into a bank account by account number and RUT, which is usually cheapest and simplest.
But if your recipient does not have a suitable account, several providers offer cash pickup at an agent such as Western Union, collected with the recipient's national ID card (cédula) and a transfer reference.
Confirm cash pickup is available with your chosen provider before you send, since coverage varies by location.
Our sources & how we keep this current
Last updated: June 2026. The live rates above refresh automatically, and we review the rest of this guide every month — updating it whenever the rules on payments, tax or regulation change.