Send money to Italy
See today's live rates — and exactly what your recipient receives, after every fee.
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Today's best rates to Italy
As of 5 August 2026, sending £1,000 to Italy, your recipient gets the most with Instarem: 1,166.30 EUR, the best of 7 providers compared.
| Provider | Rate | Fee | Recipient gets | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1.1663 mid-market | £0 | 1,166.30 EUR | Within 2 days | Send | |
1.1660 0.03% worse | £0 | 1,166.00 EUR | 1–3 days | Send | |
1.1660 0.03% worse | £0 | 1,166.00 EUR | 1–3 days | Send | |
1.1645 0.15% worse | £0 | 1,164.55 EUR | Within 2 days | Send | |
1.1665 0.02% better | £3.88 | 1,161.99 EUR | Within 2 days | Send | |
1.1615 0.41% worse | £0 | 1,161.50 EUR | 1–2 days | Send | |
1.1354 2.65% worse | £0 | 1,135.38 EUR | Up to 4 days | Send |
Italy draws a steady stream of UK money — a farmhouse in Tuscany or Umbria, a trullo in Puglia, an apartment on Lake Como, a retirement move, or supporting family and paying local bills. Both countries are in the SEPA zone, so the euros move easily; what actually decides how much arrives is which provider you convert your pounds with. The gap between a UK high-street bank and a specialist is typically 2–4% of the whole transfer — on £10,000 that's the difference between losing around £50 and losing £300+ to the exchange rate alone, before any fee. And yes, Italy uses the IBAN, so paying into an Italian account is straightforward.
How to send money to Italy from the UK
There are three practical ways to move money from the UK into an Italian bank account. They rarely differ in whether the money arrives — it almost always does — but they differ a lot in how many euros survive the exchange rate.
Bank transfer
The obvious choice, and usually the dearest. High-street banks typically build a 2–4% margin into the exchange rate on top of a £0–£25+ fee. On a £10,000 transfer, a 3% margin alone is about £300 gone before the fee.
Money-transfer provider
Specialists — Wise, Currencies Direct, TorFX, OFX, Revolut — are built to beat bank rates. Margins run 0.5–2%, often under 1% on larger sums, and brokers will price a big transfer keenly. On £10,000 a 0.5% margin is around £50.
App or prepaid card
Apps like Wise and Revolut double as travel-spending tools; prepaid cards fix the rate when you load them. For actually paying euros into an Italian bank account — rather than spending on the ground — a dedicated transfer provider usually wins.
What you need to send money to Italy
Italian bank details and IBANs
Italy is part of SEPA, so every Italian account has an IBAN — 27 characters, starting "IT". You'll need the recipient's full name as it appears on the account, plus the IBAN; some providers also ask for the bank's BIC/SWIFT code. Check the IBAN digit-by-digit against something the recipient sent you in writing — and note that from late 2025 Italian banks verify that the account name matches the IBAN, which helps catch errors and fraud before the money leaves.
ID checks and verification
UK providers must verify who you are before sending (Know Your Customer, under the Money Laundering Regulations). A first or modest transfer needs your name, address and date of birth, plus a photo ID and proof of address. Anything above roughly £8,000–£10,000 usually triggers extra checks — the source-of-funds request covered further down.
How long does it take to send money to Italy?
Once your pounds are converted to euros, the payment travels on the SEPA network inside Europe. You don't pick the rail — the provider does — but it's worth knowing what the labels mean.
Hold-ups usually come down to one thing: a missed daily cut-off, first-time identity checks, a UK or Italian bank holiday, or a mistyped IBAN. On a large purchase, the checks before the money leaves take longer than the transfer itself.
Fees and exchange rates for UK to Italy
Fees run from £0 (many specialists on standard transfers) to £25+ (a bank branch payment). But the flat fee is the part that's easy to see — the exchange-rate margin is the part that isn't, and it's usually the bigger cost. Here's where it hides.
The exchange-rate margin
The real cost of most transfers. Banks: 2–4% above the mid-market rate. Specialists: typically 0.5–2%, often under 1% on larger amounts. On £10,000+ that gap is routinely £200–£300.
Correspondent-bank fees
An old-fashioned SWIFT wire can hop through intermediary banks that each take a slice, so less arrives than you sent. Specialists paying by local euro transfer usually avoid this altogether.
Card & weekend markups
Watch for ~3% foreign-transaction fees on a normal UK debit or credit card, and weekend/out-of-hours markups on some apps. Judge any offer by the euros that land, not the headline fee.
Sending money to Italy to buy property
British buyers are a resilient part of the Italian market — long drawn to Tuscany (Florence, Lucca, Siena), the greener and cheaper Umbria, the trulli and coast of Puglia, and the premium Lakes (Como, Garda, Maggiore). An Italian purchase runs through a Notaio — a public official who certifies the sale — and money moves at set stages.
Preliminary contract
Contratto preliminare (the compromesso) — the binding contract. You pay a deposit (caparra confirmatoria), typically 10–30% of the price. Default and you forfeit it; if the seller defaults they owe you double.
Your codice fiscale
An Italian tax code (codice fiscale) is mandatory for the purchase — get it free from an Italian consulate in the UK (form AA4/8 + passport) or the Agenzia delle Entrate. You'll want an Italian bank account too.
Completion (rogito)
Rogito — the final deed, signed before the Notaio. The balance is transferred, ownership passes, and the Notaio registers the sale. For safety, funds go via the Notaio's client account.
Budget an extra 6–15% on top of the price for costs. The big one is imposta di registro (registration tax): on a resale from a private seller a non-resident pays 9% — but of the property's cadastral value, a notional land-registry figure usually well below the market price, which softens the blow. A new-build from a developer is charged IVA (VAT) at 10% (or 22% on a luxury home) on the full price instead. Add the Notaio's fee (around 1–2%). Note that Italy has no simple "buy-a-house, get-residency" route — its investor visa is aimed at large financial investments, not a property purchase.
Lock in today's euro rate with a forward contract
Weeks or months typically pass between signing the compromesso (and paying the caparra) and the rogito (and paying the balance) — long enough for GBP/EUR to move against you by thousands. On a €300,000 purchase, a 2–3% swing is £6,000–£9,000. A forward contract lets you fix today's rate now and pay for the euros later, usually against a small deposit. And because an Italian purchase means at least two payments — the deposit, then the balance — some buyers convert in stages rather than all at once.
So if a big euro completion is a month or two off, ask about a forward contract before you exchange.
Is it safe to send money to Italy?
Any UK firm handling money transfers must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and keep customer money segregated from its own ("safeguarding") — thirty seconds on the FCA Register confirms it. The bigger danger on a property purchase is fraud, so these rules are worth knowing before you move a large sum.
Completion-day payment diversion
Rule: criminals hack the email chain between you, the agent and the Notaio and, right before payment, send a fake "our bank details have changed" message pointing at their own account. Always confirm the account by phone on a number you already had — never one from an email.
Pay through the Notaio's account
Rule: paying into the Notaio's dedicated client account (protected by Italian law) is safer than paying the seller direct, and the Notaio only releases funds on completion. Insist on it for the balance.
"Better rate" cold-call / clone firm
Rule: a firm that rings out of the blue with an unbeatable rate may be a clone of a real one. Check it on the FCA Register and call back on the number listed there, not the one you were given.
Check the firm is regulated
Rule: FCA-authorised firms must keep your money separate from their own, so it's protected if the firm fails. Look the firm up on register.fca.org.uk before you commit.
Report fraud: Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or at actionfraud.police.uk (in Scotland, Police Scotland on 101).
Tax on money sent to Italy
Moving your own money
Sending your own, already-taxed money from the UK to Italy is not a UK taxable event — there's no tax just for transferring it. There's no fixed UK reporting threshold for electronic transfers, though a large one usually prompts a source-of-funds check. Keep the paperwork that shows where the money came from.
Watch-out: gifts and Italian taxes
A gift can affect UK Inheritance Tax on your estate if you die within seven years. Separately, owning an Italian property brings the annual IMU tax — a non-resident's Italian home is automatically a "second home", so IMU is due (roughly 0.76–1.06% of the cadastral value, in two instalments). None of this relates to the transfer itself. If you're buying, take Italian tax advice.
How do most people move money to Italy?
For most second-home owners, retirees and families, the cheapest route is a specialist currency company paying euros straight into an Italian account by SEPA transfer — not a high-street bank. For a one-off move a spot deal is fine; for a rogito completion or another known future payment, a forward contract to lock the rate is what sets the specialists apart. Whichever you pick, judge it by the euros that actually arrive — and confirm the receiving account by phone before you send.
Frequently asked questions about sending money to Italy
Mostly the exchange-rate margin, not the flat fee. A UK bank typically costs 2–4% of your transfer in a worse rate; a specialist typically costs 0.5–2%. On £10,000, that's roughly £200–£300 with a bank versus £50–£150 with a specialist provider.
A specialist money-transfer provider using or close to the mid-market rate, rather than a UK high-street bank. Compare the total cost — fee plus exchange-rate margin — for your specific amount using the table above, since some providers are cheaper on smaller amounts and others on larger ones.
Yes. Every Italian account uses an IBAN — 27 characters, starting "IT" — and it's mandatory for any SEPA transfer into Italy. Providers usually also ask for the bank's BIC/SWIFT code. Always check the IBAN against details the recipient sent you in writing.
As little as under 10 seconds by SEPA Instant between supporting banks, or 1–2 business days for a standard SEPA transfer. Older bank wires outside SEPA can take 2–5 business days. On large sums, the checks before the money leaves are usually the slowest part.
Yes — and it's big enough to do properly. You'll need an Italian tax code (codice fiscale) before buying and, in practice, an Italian bank account. Pay the balance through the Notaio's client account, use an FCA-authorised provider, and consider a forward contract to lock your rate once you have a completion date.
Not for sending your own money — that's not a taxable event in the UK. Gifting money can have UK Inheritance Tax implications if you die within seven years. Italy's own property tax (IMU, due on a non-resident's home as a second home) is separate and applies to owning the property, not to the transfer.
Our sources & how we keep this current
Last updated: July 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.