International Payment Services

You can send money abroad by electronic transfer either in branch, over the telephone or online.

Sending money by International Electronic Funds Transfer is the quickets and most secure way to transfer money from your Bank of Scotland account to another bank account - anywhere in the world.

For more information on International Payment Services timescales and processes click here.

Send any amount to any destination and pay £19.50* via branch or telephone banking and just £9.50 via online banking.

• Euro payments: The BIC and IBAN are required for Euro transfers to an EU/EEA country*
• Rest of the world: Beneficiary Name and Bank details.

Sending money abroad by post - Foreign Drafts
There may be a time when you'll need to send money abroad by post - and that's where a foreign draft is both a convenient and easy option.

The drafts are available in all major currencies and the cost of the draft depends on the amount involved.  Our current draft fees range from £6 to £15.

Receiving money from abroad
Transfers to your Bank of Scotland account can be received in foreign currency or sterling. Payments received in foreign currency are converted into sterling and credited to your account. To ensure your funds are received as quickly as possible you must instruct the overseas bank to send funds via SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) quoting the following details:

• Euro payments: Your BIC and IBAN are required for Euro transfers to an EU/EEA country*
• Rest of the world: Beneficiary Name and Bank details.

You can find the BIC and IBAN numbers on the top right hand corner of your bank account statement or alternatively, call 0870 850 0856.
Banco Halifax Hispania
If you're already in Spain or spending a lot of time there, then Banco Halifax Hispania can help .You'll benefit from a current account which allows free Electronic Funds Transfers between Bank of Scotland bank accounts to Banco Halifax Hispania bank accounts. The free transfer service only applies to transfers from your own Bank of Scotland account to your own Banco Halifax Hispania.
To find out more call our UK Customer Services Team on 0845 600 3603 or visit our Banco Halifax Hispania website.

• If you're registered for Telephone Banking, you can call:
  08457 21 31 41 in the UK
  +44 (0) 1133 80 95 75 from outside the UK
• Branch Finder Call into your nearest branch - your branch will be happy to give you any information on our International Payment Services, including exchange rate and fees.
• If you're registered for online banking and have a Bank of Scotland current account:
  
  Sign in and from 'My accounts', select the current account you would like to transfer money from. On the next screen select 'International payments' from the left hand menu and follow the on-screen instructions.
  
  If you're not registered for online banking : Register today

Before we can carry out your instruction to send an International Electronic Funds Transfer, you will need to complete and sign an application form if in branch or online electronically or if you request this service using our telephone banking service, you will need to complete this form over the telephone, before we send your money.  Completed forms in Euro need to be received by us by 2.45pm for payments on a Monday to a Friday.  Applications in Euro received after this time will be processed on the next bank working day.  Other cut off times apply for other currencies and are available on request.  Once your application has been processed, it can not be changed or cancelled by yourself.  if you request an International Electronic Funds Transfer, we will debit your account on the day that we send the payment.

All exchange rates provided by Bank of Scotland will be applicable to the type of transaction. Payments made and received on your behalf will be converted using the prevailing rate at the time of the transaction. For an indication of our current exchange rates, please call Telephone Banking on 08457 21 31 41 or ask at your local branch.

If we are unable to process an incoming payment due to incorrect or incomplete details we will return the payment to the sending bank, less our fee of £20. The person sending the payment must take care to quote the correct numbers, otherwise the payment could be delayed, returned or be paid into the wrong account.  We will not be responsible for any loss that results.

*EU: European Union. EEA: European Economic Area.

EU/EEA countries: Austria, Belgium,  Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,  Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands,  Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom.

Additionally, the following countries have also adopted the use of IBAN and it is strongly recommended to quote IBAN and BIC when sending payment to these countries: Andorra, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Greenland, Macedonia, Monaco, Romania, San Marino, Serbia and Montenegro, Tunisia, Turkey.

All information correct at December 2009.