Rates checked 7 Jul 2026
Rates and fees checked 7 July 2026; open the app and check the number for yourself before you press send.
If you are sending 200 pounds from the UK to a family Turkish bank account, the cheapest way to send it, for most senders on most days, is Wise. On 200 pounds today, the Wise fee is about six pounds fifty, at the real exchange rate, and it usually lands in seconds. Revolut is close on a weekday, if you are on it already, and can be free inside your monthly allowance. WorldRemit or Remitly work if the recipient does not have a bank account and needs cash from a counter.
What you should not do without checking is open your high-street bank app. Some, like Barclays online, will say “no fee” and put the whole cost inside a worse exchange rate. HSBC shows a small fee, about five pounds, and hides the rest of the cost in the rate on top. Santander is worse still: a flat twenty-five pounds fee on a standard international payment, before the rate margin even starts. Either way, the number that matters is the number of lira that lands on his end.
Why the rate matters more than the fee
The lira is falling. In 2021, one pound bought about twelve lira. Today it buys about sixty two. Same pound, five times more lira for the person receiving it, over five years.
That is the background to every send. It also changes what the sender should worry about. A “free” transfer that quietly shaves three percent off the exchange rate looks tidier on the screen than a six pound fee at the real rate, but it is not cheaper. On 200 pounds, three percent hidden in the rate is about six pounds. HSBC adds a visible fee of about five pounds on top of that hidden margin. Santander adds a flat twenty-five pounds, before the rate. On 200 pounds a Santander send costs the sender close to thirty pounds all in, against Wise’s six pounds fifty at the real rate. That is not a small gap, and on a bigger send it only widens.
The rate to watch is the one Google shows you when you search what the pound is worth in Turkish lira. That is the real exchange rate. Any app that lands you close to that is a good one. Any app that lands you far below it is quietly keeping the difference.
The apps that use the real exchange rate
Wise. On 200 pounds today the fee is about six pounds fifty, at the real exchange rate, and the money lands in seconds. Wise pays it into your recipient’s Turkish bank account directly. Wise’s send screen will ask for your recipient’s full name, their occupation, and their 26-character Turkish IBAN, which starts with TR. Ask him for the IBAN before you open the app; it is the piece Wise will not autofill for you.
Revolut. On the free Standard plan, you get 1,000 pounds of currency conversion per month at close to the real rate; above that Revolut adds about one percent. There is also a weekend widen: from late Friday evening UK time until late Sunday evening UK time, Revolut Standard adds one percent on Turkish lira conversion. If you can, send Monday to Friday. Sunday night is the worst possible moment to open Revolut on the Standard plan. Paid plans (Premium, Metal, Ultra) do not have the weekend widen; if you are on one of those, it is fine any day.
WorldRemit. Use this if your recipient does not have a Turkish bank account, or wants cash from a PTT branch counter. WorldRemit sends the money to a partner in Turkey called UPT, which pays out at PTT branches and other pickup points. Ninety percent of transfers reach the payout partner within minutes; how long from there to the recipient depends on the pickup point or the receiving bank. The fee is not shown up front; type the amount into the app to see the total before you send.
Remitly. New customers get a promotional exchange rate on the first send, which usually beats the others on that one transfer. After that, the standard rate settles back, and it is worth checking against Wise. Two tiers: Economy is cheaper and slower, Express is faster and dearer. On 200 pounds to a Turkish bank account, Economy is usually fine.
What to watch for
The type of Turkish account. Wise cannot pay into a Turkish savings account. It must be a current account that accepts EFT, the domestic Turkish transfer system. Every major bank offers one: Ziraat, Isbank, Garanti BBVA, Yapi Kredi, Akbank. If your first transfer bounces back, this is usually why. Ask him to double check the account type.
When it actually lands. From Wise, most transfers land in seconds, at any hour, because Wise pays out of a local Turkish account. From a UK bank on the international bank system, the money queues until Turkish banks open, roughly 09:00 to 17:00 Turkey time, and lands during those hours. Sent from London Sunday evening on a bank wire, it usually shows up in his account Monday morning Turkey time, which is about 06:00 to 14:00 UK time.
“Free” that is not free. If your high-street bank app quotes zero fee on an international transfer but does not show you the exchange rate it is using, the fee is honest and the rate is where the cost lives. To check, open the bank app and Wise side by side, enter 200 pounds on the same day, and compare how many lira land at the other end. That is the only number that matters.
Waiting for a better rate. The lira has fallen against the pound in every one of the last five years. Waiting a week has, on average, meant slightly more lira for your money, but only slightly. Waiting a month has been a coin flip. Waiting six months usually cost the sender, because sterling gained. If the money is needed on Tuesday, send on Sunday and stop watching the rate.
For bigger one-off sends
For rent, a school payment, or a medical bill, the same apps still work. Wise and WorldRemit both handle single sends up to several thousand pounds, and the fee per pound is slightly lower on bigger amounts.
Two extra points on larger sends. Turkey introduced a rule in January 2026 that requires a purpose declaration on transfers above 200,000 lira, which is roughly 3,200 pounds at today’s rate. Below that, nothing changes for the sender. Above it, expect the app to ask what the money is for, and answer plainly. It is a documentation step, not a block.
For very large one-off sends, over about 5,000 pounds, it is worth running the same amount through both Wise and Revolut on a weekday, and choosing on the number of lira that would arrive. On a small send the difference is pennies. On a large one it can be tens of pounds.
What to open
For a routine send to family in Turkey on a weekday, use Wise in almost every case. The fee on 200 pounds is about six pounds fifty, at the real exchange rate, and the money usually lands in seconds.
If you are already on Revolut and it is a weekday: Revolut is fine, up to your monthly free amount.
If it is Sunday evening and you are on Revolut Standard: wait until Monday morning, or open Wise now. The Revolut weekend widen is live and it costs about two pounds on 200 pounds.
If your recipient does not have a Turkish bank account: WorldRemit to a PTT branch pickup.
If you were about to open your high-street bank app: check the lira number against Wise first. Barclays online can be close on 200 pounds. HSBC is usually worse, closer to eleven pounds all in. Santander is worse still: a flat twenty-five pound fee before the rate margin even starts, close to thirty pounds all in on 200 pounds. On bigger sends the gap grows.