#AppArrives asBehind the top
1InstaremCNY 2,666.56Most arrivesBest on today's table. No fee, rate about 0.6 percent below the real one.
2Wise to AlipayCNY 2,636.56CNY 30.00The real exchange rate and a £5.04 fee. This is Wise's lowest price, not its price to a bank card. £3.36 behind Instarem.
3RemitlyCNY 2,632.92CNY 33.64£2.99 fee, rate about 0.8 percent below the real one. Almost the same as Wise to Alipay.
4NatWestCNY 2,619.97CNY 46.59No fee, but a rate about 2.3 percent below the real one. About £5 behind the top.
5Western UnionCNY 2,594.08CNY 72.48£1.99 fee and a rate about 2.6 percent below the real one. About £8 behind the top.
6OFXCNY 2,542.42CNY 124.14£7 fee plus a rate about 2.9 percent below the real one. About £14 behind the top.
What to actually open
If you already have InstaremUse Instarem.On £300 this morning it paid 2,666.56 yuan into a Chinese bank account, with no fee. The rate sits about 0.6 percent below the real exchange rate, the one you see if you search "1 GBP to CNY" on Google. On £300 that is about £1.68 the app keeps in the rate.
If you already use WiseCheck where the money is going.Wise gives you the real rate and shows its cost as a fee. £5.04 on £300 is its lowest price, the one for Alipay. Pay Wise by bank transfer. If you pay by debit card, that fee goes up to £5.95 and 2,628.42 yuan arrive instead of 2,636.56. Wise's price to a Chinese bank card is higher. On 5 November 2026 the fee on £300 was £6.08, against £5.03 to Alipay, so less arrives. That can put Wise behind Remitly on a bank account.
If you are new to RemitlyIts first transfer to China is cheaper than anything on the table.Until 31 December 2026, new customers get a special rate on their first transfer, on up to £750. That transfer also has no fee, unless they pay by credit card. On £300 paid by bank transfer this morning, that was 2,680.62 yuan. The £2.99 fee comes back from the second transfer. The normal price this morning was 2,632.92 yuan, with the £2.99 fee taken out of the £300. Instarem also has a lower first-transfer price: 2,672.16 yuan on £300 on its own site this morning.
Do not use OFX for a £300 send.It charged a £7 fee and gave a rate about 2.9 percent below the real one, so 2,542.42 yuan arrived, about £14 less than Instarem. NatWest charges no fee on this route, but its rate sits about 2.3 percent below the real one. On £300 that is about £6.90 the bank keeps inside the rate, not as a fee.
For the whole route in one place, see how to send money to China.
Catches
The name must match. The name you type for the person in China must match the name their bank has on file, in Pinyin (Chinese written in Latin letters). A nickname or a different English spelling can stop the transfer. Ask your relative for the exact spelling before you send.
The prices above are for money paid into a Chinese bank account, with two exceptions. Wise's price is for Alipay. Remitly's price does not say if it is for a bank account, Alipay or WeChat. Sending to Alipay or WeChat can show a different price. Check the amount on the app's last screen before you pay.
A UK bank sends the money through the old bank-to-bank system. A middle bank, or the bank in China, can take a fee on the way, so less can arrive than the bank's screen shows. It can also take several working days.
Wise's own quote this morning said the money should arrive in seconds after Wise gets your payment. A send that Wise checks can take longer.
Some apps are missing from the table. HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, Santander UK, Revolut and Monzo did not give a price on the Wise price comparison for China this morning. They are missing, not judged. Xoom showed a rate above the real one, but that price was nearly a day old, so we left it out. If one of these is your usual app, check its amount for £300 before you send.
How we checked
The check ran Friday 23 October 2026, morning UK time. Prices come from the Wise price comparison for £300 to China: Wise 04:04 GMT, Remitly 03:40, NatWest 03:30, Instarem 02:34, Western Union 02:20, OFX 02:18. Each amount on this page has the fee taken out of the £300. Three other rate sources were within 0.25 percent of Wise's rate. First-transfer offers were checked on each app's own site. Wise's fees to a bank card and to Alipay, and Remitly's terms on the second transfer, were read on Thursday 5 November 2026. Remitly's offer was read again on Wednesday 11 November 2026.
Corrections
- 2026-11-11: Earlier on 11 November this page said new customers get Remitly's special rate on the first £750 they send. The special rate is for the first transfer only, on up to £750.
- 2026-11-11: On 5 November this page said Remitly's terms give the special rate on the first two transfers, and only the £2.99 fee comes back. The same terms say the special rate does not apply to later transfers when you send below the £750 cap, so that line is gone.
- 2026-11-11: This page tied Remitly's £750 limit to the fee. The limit is on the special rate. The page also did not say that the no-fee first transfer does not cover payment by credit card.
- 2026-11-11: This page did not say how the fee is counted. Each amount has the fee taken out of the £300. No amount changed.
- 2026-11-11: This page said a first send with Wise can take longer. We found no source for that, so the line now says only that a send Wise checks can take longer.
- 2026-11-05: An earlier version of this page gave Wise's £5.04 fee, 2,636.56 yuan and the £5.95 debit card fee as prices to a bank account. Those figures are Wise's lowest price, the one for Alipay.
- 2026-11-05: This page said Wise came second, Remitly was £0.41 behind Wise, and the two were almost the same. Wise's price to a Chinese bank card is higher, and that can put it behind Remitly.
- 2026-11-05: This page said all its prices were for a Chinese bank account. Wise's is for Alipay, and Remitly's does not say which.
- 2026-11-05: This page said Remitly's normal price applies after the first send. It now says only that the £2.99 fee comes back from the second transfer.
- 2026-11-05: This page said NatWest keeps about £6.90 without showing it. NatWest shows the rate and the full cost before you confirm, and the cost sits inside the rate, not as a fee.
- 2026-11-05: This page said a rate as high as Xoom's is almost always a first-transfer offer. We have no source for that, so the line is gone.
- 2026-11-04: An earlier version of this page said a nickname or a different English spelling can make the transfer come back after a day or two. We found no source for that time, and it changes by channel, so the line now says only that it can stop the transfer.