Send money to New Zealand
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Today's best rates to New Zealand
As of 24 August 2026, sending £1,000 to New Zealand, your recipient gets the most with Instarem: 2,283.40 NZD, the best of 5 providers compared.
| Provider | Rate | Fee | Recipient gets | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2.2834 0.04% worse | £0 | 2,283.40 NZD | Within 2 days | Send | |
2.2816 0.12% worse | £0 | 2,281.57 NZD | Within 2 days | Send | |
2.2843 0.01% worse | £4.28 | 2,274.50 NZD | Within 2 days | Send | |
2.2742 0.45% worse | £0 | 2,274.20 NZD | 1–2 days | Send | |
2.2231 2.69% worse | £0 | 2,223.06 NZD | Up to 4 days | Send |
New Zealand is one of the UK's enduring emigration corridors — skilled migrants, families joining relatives, and retirees drawn to Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch — so the transfers are often life-changing sums: savings following a move, a house deposit, or support for family who've settled. On amounts that size the exchange rate dwarfs any fee: between a UK high-street bank and a currency specialist the gap is routinely 2–5% of the whole transfer, so on £50,000 heading to New Zealand that's the difference between losing a few hundred pounds and losing well over £1,500 to the rate alone. New Zealand doesn't use the European IBAN — it runs on a single long account number — but the payment is straightforward; keeping the most New Zealand dollars is the skill.
How to send money to New Zealand from the UK
Three practical routes move money from a UK account to a New Zealand one. They nearly all arrive — the difference that matters is how many New Zealand dollars are left once the exchange rate has taken its share.
Bank transfer
The familiar option, and consistently the most expensive. UK banks typically build a margin of 2–5% above the mid-market rate into the conversion, add a fee, and send by slow SWIFT wire — an intermediary "agent" bank may skim roughly £8.50 more. On £10,000, a 3% margin alone is about £300.
Money-transfer provider
Specialists — Wise, OFX, Currencies Direct, TorFX, Moneycorp — are built for this corridor. Margins run 0.4–1.5%, or effectively zero on Wise's model, and brokers offer forward contracts. On £10,000 the all-in cost is often £40–£60 rather than several hundred.
App or prepaid card
Apps such as Wise, Revolut and Starling can be very competitive for smaller, digital transfers and double as spending tools once you land. But for moving a deposit or savings into a New Zealand account, a specialist broker's rate and rate-lock tools usually win.
What you need to send money to New Zealand
New Zealand bank details (no IBAN)
New Zealand doesn't use the European IBAN system. To pay into a New Zealand account you need the recipient's full name and their account number — 15 or 16 digits, written as four parts: a 2-digit bank code, a 4-digit branch code, a 7-digit account number and a 2–3-digit suffix (for example, 12-3456-7890123-45). For an international transfer you'll also give the receiving bank's SWIFT/BIC code. Check every digit against something the recipient sent in writing.
ID checks and verification
Before processing a payment, a UK provider must confirm who you are (Know Your Customer, under the Money Laundering Regulations). For a first or modest transfer, expect to give your name, address and date of birth, plus a photo ID and proof of address. On the larger sums typical of an emigration move — above roughly £8,000–£10,000 — expect a source-of-funds check too. Incoming transfers over NZ$10,000 are also reported to the authorities in New Zealand.
How long does it take to send money to New Zealand?
New Zealand isn't on Europe's SEPA network, so a UK-to-NZ transfer crosses currencies and, usually, the SWIFT network. How fast it lands depends far more on the provider than on the distance.
Delays usually come down to one of: missing the provider's daily cut-off, a first-time identity check, the large UK–NZ time difference and weekends, or an incorrect account number.
Fees and exchange rates for UK to New Zealand
Fees range from £0 (many specialists on a standard transfer) to £25+ (a bank wire, plus a possible agent-bank fee). A flat fee is easy to compare; the exchange-rate margin usually isn't — which is exactly why it costs you more, especially on the large sums this corridor sees. Here's where the money leaks.
The exchange-rate margin
The real cost of most transfers. Banks: 2–5% above the mid-market rate. Specialists: often 0.4–1.5%, tighter still on larger amounts. On a £50,000 emigration transfer that gap can be well over £1,500.
Correspondent-bank fees
A SWIFT wire can pass through intermediary banks, each taking a cut, so the recipient gets less than the screen promised. Specialists paying by local NZD rails usually avoid this entirely.
Card & weekend markups
Watch for ~3% foreign-transaction fees on ordinary UK debit and credit cards, and weekend markups on some apps. On a big transfer, judge an offer by the New Zealand dollars that arrive, not the headline fee.
Sending money to New Zealand to buy property
Be warned before you plan a purchase: under the Overseas Investment Act, a non-resident foreigner generally cannot buy an existing residential home in New Zealand. To buy one you usually need a New Zealand residence-class visa and to be "ordinarily resident" — broadly, having lived there the past 12 months and been present at least 183 days. In practice this is an emigration corridor: you buy once you've settled, not before. There's no property-based golden visa either. If you do qualify, one thing works in your favour — New Zealand has no stamp duty.
Sale & Purchase Agreement
Your offer goes on a binding Sale and Purchase Agreement, usually "conditional" on finance, a building inspection, the council LIM report and your lawyer approving the title.
Going unconditional
Once conditions are met and waived in writing, the deal is unconditional — no cooling-off — and you pay the 10% deposit into a solicitor's or agent's trust account.
Settlement
On settlement day (typically 30–90 days later) your lawyer pays the 90% balance to the seller's lawyer and registers the transfer with LINZ.
You'll need a New Zealand IRD number (and a local bank account) to complete, and money moves through a regulated solicitor's trust account, never direct to the seller. There's no stamp duty and no general capital-gains tax, though a "bright-line test" taxes gains on a home sold within two years, and rented property is taxed on its income. Budget NZ$5,000–NZ$8,000 of upfront costs (legal, LIM, inspection).
Lock in today's rate with a forward contract
The 30–90 days between going unconditional and settlement is long enough for GBP/NZD to move several percent, changing the sterling cost of a New Zealand home by thousands. A forward contract lets you fix today's rate now and pay for the New Zealand dollars at settlement, usually against a small deposit, so you know the sterling cost from the day the deal goes unconditional. Many buyers use a spot transfer for the deposit and a forward contract for the larger balance.
So once your purchase is unconditional and you have a settlement date, ask about a forward contract before you convert.
Is it safe to send money to New Zealand?
Any UK company that handles money transfers must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and must keep customer money in accounts fully segregated from its own ("safeguarding"). Checking an unfamiliar provider on the FCA Register takes about thirty seconds. On the large sums this corridor sees, these are the traps worth knowing.
Settlement-day payment diversion
Rule: New Zealand authorities warn specifically about this — criminals hack a lawyer's email, watch for an upcoming settlement, and send altered bank details at the last moment. Confirm the trust account by phone on a number you already held before you send the balance.
Rental & relocation scams
Rule: NZ Police warn of fake-landlord scams targeting people moving over — deposits taken for homes that are occupied or don't exist. Only deal with licensed agents, and never pay a deposit to an unverified individual.
FCA-impersonation "recovery" scams
Rule: the NZ FMA has warned of fraudsters posing as the UK's FCA to target past victims. The real FCA never cold-calls asking you to move money. Verify any firm yourself on register.fca.org.uk.
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 a penny.
Report fraud: Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or at actionfraud.police.uk (in Scotland, Police Scotland on 101).
Tax on money sent to New Zealand
Moving your own money
Sending your own, already-taxed money from the UK to New Zealand is not a UK taxable event — there's no tax simply for moving it. There's no fixed reporting threshold for a personal transfer, but a larger one commonly triggers a source-of-funds check, and incoming transfers over NZ$10,000 are reported in New Zealand. Keep the paperwork that shows where the money came from.
Watch-out: gifts, pensions and NZ taxes
If it's a gift, it can affect UK Inheritance Tax on your estate if you die within seven years. Transferring a UK pension is a specialist area — take advice first. New Zealand has no stamp duty and no general capital-gains tax, but the bright-line test and rental-income tax can apply to property you own there — separate from the transfer itself.
How do most people move money to New Zealand?
For most emigrants, families and retirees, the cheapest route is a specialist currency company paying New Zealand dollars straight into a local bank account — not a high-street bank on a SWIFT wire. For a one-off move a spot deal is fine; for a property settlement (once you're eligible to buy) or a staged emigration budget, a forward contract to lock the rate is what sets the specialists apart, and on these sums it can save thousands. Whatever you pick, judge it on the New Zealand dollars that actually arrive — and confirm the receiving account by phone before you send.
Frequently asked questions about sending money to New Zealand
Almost all of the cost is the exchange-rate margin, not the flat fee. A UK bank typically takes 2–5% of your transfer in a worse rate; a specialist typically takes 0.4–1.5% (or effectively 0% on Wise's model). On £10,000 that's roughly £200–£500 with a bank versus around £40–£60 with a specialist — and the gap only grows on an emigration-sized transfer.
A specialist money-transfer provider using or close to the mid-market rate and paying by local NZD rails, rather than a UK high-street bank on a SWIFT wire. Compare the total cost — fee plus exchange-rate margin — for your exact amount using the table above.
No — New Zealand doesn't use IBANs. You need the recipient's account number (15–16 digits, in the format bank-branch-account-suffix) plus the bank's SWIFT/BIC code for an international transfer. Always check it against details the recipient sent you in writing.
Often the same or next business day with a specialist paying by local rails, and minutes for some card-funded app transfers. A high-street bank wire over SWIFT typically takes 2–5 business days. The large time difference and weekends can add a day.
Generally not while you're a non-resident — the Overseas Investment Act largely bars foreigners from buying existing homes unless you hold a residence visa and are "ordinarily resident" (roughly, lived there 12 months, present 183 days). It's an emigration corridor: most people buy after they've settled. There's no property-based golden visa, but there's also no stamp duty.
Not for sending your own money — that isn't a taxable event in the UK. Gifting can have UK Inheritance Tax implications, and transferring a UK pension has its own rules, so take advice. New Zealand has no stamp duty and no general CGT, though the bright-line test and rental-income tax can apply to property there.
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.