Send money to Switzerland
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Today's best rates to Switzerland
As of 12 October 2026, sending £1,000 to Switzerland, your recipient gets the most with Revolut: 1,101.44 CHF, the best of 4 providers compared.
| Provider | Rate | Fee | Recipient gets | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1.1014 0.24% better | £0 | 1,101.44 CHF | Within 2 days | Send | |
1.1023 0.32% better | £4.34 | 1,097.53 CHF | Within 2 days | Send | |
1.0761 2.07% worse | £0 | 1,076.10 CHF | 1–2 days | Send | |
1.0728 2.37% worse | £0 | 1,072.77 CHF | Up to 4 days | Send |
Money moving from the UK to Switzerland is rarely holiday spending — it's relocations and business. Switzerland draws British professionals into banking, pharma, watchmaking and the international bodies clustered around Geneva and Zug, and the transfers that follow tend to be large: salary and savings moving with the person, or firms paying Swiss suppliers. Because the sums are big, the exchange rate does the real damage: a UK high-street bank typically keeps 2–5% of the transfer in a marked-up rate, so on £10,000 you can lose £200–£500 without seeing an obvious fee. Switzerland isn't in the EU and doesn't use the euro — it uses the Swiss franc — so every transfer converts your pounds to francs, and getting that conversion right is where the money is won or lost.
How to send money to Switzerland from the UK
There are three practical ways to move money from the UK to a Swiss bank account. Nearly all get the money there — the difference is how many francs arrive after the pounds are converted, which matters most on the larger sums typical of a relocation.
Bank transfer
The most familiar option — and consistently the most expensive. UK banks mark up the exchange rate by roughly 2–5%, and because Switzerland sits outside the EU, a bank SWIFT wire can also pass through intermediary banks that each take a cut. On £10,000 the rate markup alone is £200–£500.
Money-transfer provider
Specialists — Wise, Currencies Direct, XE, Moneycorp — exist to beat bank rates. Wise uses the mid-market rate with a small upfront fee (around £4.44 to send £1,000); brokers for larger sums run margins of just 0.2–1.0% and will negotiate. On a large relocation transfer that's the difference of hundreds — sometimes thousands — of pounds.
App or prepaid card
Apps like Wise and Revolut are quick and competitive and can deliver in seconds. For a pure transfer into a Swiss bank account — rather than spending money on a trip — a dedicated provider usually beats a card, and watch weekend exchange markups on some app plans.
What you need to send money to Switzerland
Swiss bank details and IBANs
Every Swiss account uses an IBAN — 21 characters, starting "CH". You'll need the recipient's full name and their IBAN, plus the bank's BIC/SWIFT code (important here, because Switzerland is outside the EU's payment area and payments route by SWIFT). Check the IBAN character-by-character — a single wrong digit is one of the most common causes of a delayed or rejected transfer.
ID checks and verification
UK providers are legally required to verify who you are before processing a payment (Know Your Customer, under the Money Laundering Regulations). For a first transfer or a modest amount, expect to provide your name, address and date of birth, plus a photo ID and proof of address. The larger transfers common on a relocation — savings, or the proceeds of a UK property sale — trigger enhanced checks and a source-of-funds request, commonly above roughly £8,000.
How long does it take to send money to Switzerland?
Because Switzerland uses the franc and sits outside the EU, your provider converts your pounds and pays francs into the Swiss account. How fast that happens depends far more on the provider than on the destination.
Delays are usually caused by one of: missing the provider's daily cut-off, first-time identity verification, weekends or bank holidays in the UK or Switzerland, or an incorrect IBAN or recipient name.
Fees and exchange rates for UK to Switzerland
A flat fee is easy to compare — the exchange-rate margin usually isn't, which is why it matters more, especially on the larger sums typical of this corridor. Here's where the cost hides.
The exchange-rate margin
The real cost of most transfers. Banks: 2–5% above the mid-market rate. Specialists: typically 0.2–1.0%, and tighter still on large sums. On a big relocation transfer the gap runs into the hundreds or thousands.
Correspondent-bank fees
Because Switzerland is outside the EU, a bank SWIFT wire can pass through intermediary banks, each deducting a cut en route — so the recipient gets less than expected. Specialists that pay francs locally usually avoid this entirely.
Card & weekend markups
Watch for ~3% foreign-transaction fees on standard UK debit/credit cards, and weekend or out-of-hours markups on some apps. Judge an offer by the francs that arrive, not the headline fee.
Is it safe to send money to Switzerland?
Any UK company handling money transfers must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, and must keep customer money in accounts fully segregated from its own ("safeguarding"); on the Swiss side, banks are supervised by FINMA. One nuance worth knowing: some smaller firms are only registered as Small Payment Institutions, which aren't required to safeguard your money the same way — so a 30-second check on the FCA Register before sending an unfamiliar firm anything is time well spent, especially on a large transfer. (Worth knowing too: buying Swiss property as a non-resident is tightly restricted under a law known as Lex Koller, which is why this corridor is mostly relocation and business rather than holiday homes — take Swiss legal advice if a purchase is involved.)
Impersonation / "new bank details" fraud
Rule: criminals hack or spoof emails from an employer, bank or supplier and send bogus "our bank details have changed" instructions before a large payment. Always confirm the account by phone on a number you already had — never one from the email.
Investment & "too good to be true" offers
Rule: be wary of any unsolicited offer pressuring you to move money quickly for a high return. Legitimate firms don't rush you. Check the firm on the FCA Register first.
"Better rate" cold-call / clone firm
Rule: a firm that calls 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 Switzerland
Moving your own money
Sending your own, already-taxed money from the UK to Switzerland is not a UK taxable event — there's no tax simply for transferring it, and no requirement to report a personal transfer to HMRC. Providers do run their own anti-money-laundering checks, and larger transfers commonly prompt a source-of-funds request. Keep the paperwork showing where the money came from.
Watch-out: gifts and relocation
If it's a gift, it can affect UK Inheritance Tax on your estate if you die within seven years. If you're relocating, your UK tax residence and what you owe in Switzerland (federal, cantonal and communal taxes vary a lot by canton) are separate questions from the transfer itself — worth proper advice before a big move, but they don't make the transfer taxable.
How do most people send money to Switzerland?
For most relocations, freelancers and businesses, the cheapest route is a specialist currency company that converts your pounds to francs and pays straight into a Swiss account — not a UK high-street bank whose SWIFT wire adds a 2–5% rate markup and risks correspondent-bank deductions. For a one-off move, a spot deal is fine; for a large sum tied to a known future date, a forward contract to lock the rate is what sets the specialists apart. Whichever you choose, judge it by the francs that actually arrive, and confirm the receiving account by phone before you send.
Frequently asked questions about sending money to Switzerland
A specialist money-transfer provider that converts pounds to francs at or near the mid-market rate, rather than a UK high-street bank charging a 2–5% rate markup on a SWIFT wire. Compare the actual francs that arrive for your exact amount in the table above — on larger transfers a broker's tighter margin matters most.
No. Switzerland is outside the EU and uses the Swiss franc (CHF). Every UK-to-Switzerland transfer converts your pounds to francs, and the exchange rate — not just the fee — is where most of the cost sits. Because it's outside the EU's payment area, payments route by SWIFT, so the recipient's BIC/SWIFT code matters.
Yes. Every Swiss account uses an IBAN — 21 characters, starting "CH" — and you'll usually need the bank's BIC/SWIFT code too. Always check the IBAN against details your recipient sent in writing; a single wrong digit can bounce or delay the transfer.
With a specialist provider, often the same day and sometimes within seconds. A standard bank transfer takes 1–2 business days, and a full SWIFT wire routing through intermediary banks can take up to 5. First transfers can take a little longer while your identity is verified.
It's tightly restricted. A law known as Lex Koller limits property purchases by people who don't live in Switzerland, with only limited exceptions in certain tourist areas. That's why most UK-to-Switzerland transfers are relocations and business rather than holiday-home purchases. If a purchase is involved, take Swiss legal advice and expect enhanced source-of-funds checks.
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. Any tax you owe in Switzerland once you live there — which varies by canton — is separate from the transfer itself.
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.