Do you need to send money abroad from France? Or transfer money to a friend living abroad in the City of Love? Sending money abroad can be costly, with hidden fees and fluctuating exchange rates that impact how much you spend to transfer money internationally. Many online money transfer companies claim to offer attractive exchange rates, but once you break down the cost you may be spending more than you expect. This article will explain the key terms and fees you should be aware of when transferring money abroad, and compare the main money transfer providers available in France. For a more detailed look at sending money abroad, check out our guide:

Sending money abroad: a guide to international money transfers.

The first thing to note is that money transfer companies operate by charging an additional margin to the mid-market exchange rate, transfer fees or a combination of both. Typically, banks add a margin of between 3% and 6% on top of the interbank rate. CurrencyFair, on the other hand, charges an average margin of 0.45%. You can access great FX rates in France from any device, at any time, and send and receive international money transfers in over 20 currencies with a CurrencyFair account.
Some providers hide fees and charges in their exchange rate or make the information difficult to find on their websites. Others use complicated terms and conditions around their fees. Many of the money transfer providers we researched offer introductory rates and “fee-free” exchanges for first-time customers, then charge high fees for future transactions.

At CurrencyFair, our fee is always just £2.50 (or €3), regardless of the amount you're sending. We also empower our customers to choose their own exchange rates on our marketplace.

We've broken down the true cost of transferring money from France with money providers like moneycorp, PayPal, Small World, Western Union, World Remit, XE, and CurrencyFair by comparing how much it would cost to send and convert 1,000 EUR from France to GBP.

When it comes down to it, CurrencyFair's transparent fees and exchange rates will end up costing you less, as seen in our comparison assessment below.

Using moneycorp for money transfers from France

Moneycorp is a foreign exchange and payment services company headquartered in London, that has been in business since 1962. It offers money transfer services to 190 countries and supports 33 currencies.

If you're sending money online with moneycorp or using its app, it charges a £5 fee for standard transfers, which take two to four days, and £9 for express transfers, which take up to two days. You can also arrange money transfers by phone, sent within moneycorp's express time frame, which are charged a £15 fee. CurrencyFair's £2.50/€3 fee applies to our standard transfer time of one to two days.

Moneycorp's exchange rates are based on a combination of factors and vary depending on the amount you're exchanging and in which currency. To get an estimate of how much your money transfer will cost, you have to sign up for a moneycorp account. Even then, to exchange 1,000 EUR into British pounds it offered an exchange rate of 1 EUR = 0.8227 EUR (17:29, 1 September), with no specified fees or estimated delivery time. At this rate, your recipient would get 822.70 GBP.

However, this doesn't take into account the additional margin or fees moneycorp would charge to your final transaction. If you'd like to compare the same amount using CurrencyFair yourself, our fees and exchange rates are available up-front using the calculator here.

Exchange rate and fee accurate as of 17:29 1 September 2021

Using PayPal for money transfers from France

PayPal is a popular digital payment platform that offers money transfers and international payments. Despite its popularity, PayPal is one of the more expensive ways to transfer money abroad.

The PayPal fee structure calculates a currency conversion fee of up to 4% that is adjusted and retained by PayPal in its exchange rates. Then, there is a personal payment fee followed by an unspecified fixed fee for the money transfer. The PayPal personal payment fee depends not only on the country of the recipient but also the country of the sender. Learn more with our guide: Avoiding PayPal's Currency Conversion Fees.

To transfer 1,000 EUR from France to British pounds it offered an exchange rate of 1 EUR = 0.8307 GBP (17:01, 1 September), meaning the recipient will receive 830.71 GBP.

Exchange rate and fee accurate as of 17:01, 1 September 2021

Using Small World for money transfers from France

Small World Financial Services provides online money transfers and in-person transfers from its worldwide agent network of 250,000 locations in 90 countries.

It offered an exchange rate of 1 EUR = 0.8068 GBP (16:38, 1 September), with a 5.00 EUR fee. To transfer 1,000 EUR from France to British pounds using a bank transfer, it adds the fee to the send cost. So for a total cost of 1,005.00 EUR, the recipient would get 806.84 GBP.

Exchange rate and fee accurate as of 16:38 1 September 2021

Using Western Union for money transfers from France

Western Union is one of the largest remittance companies in the world, with over 500,000 agent locations dotted across the globe. Its exchange rate changes depending on the delivery and payment method you choose.

To send 1,000 EUR from France to British pounds it offered an exchange rate of 1 EUR = 0.8506 GBP (16:35, 1 September). If you'd like to pay online by bank transfer and send it to the recipient's bank account, there is a €0.90 fee. So for 1,000.90 EUR, the recipient will get £850.60, with an estimated delivery time of one to three business days.

Exchange rate and fee accurate as of 16:35 1 September 2021

With Western Union, you are limited to sending 50,000 EUR per day from France. When paying for the bigger things in life, such as buying property overseas, paying for education abroad or transferring your savings, this can be at best inconvenient and at worst, unworkable. Breaking up a large transaction over several days is not only annoying, it can also end up a lot more expensive thanks to fees getting incurred every time. With CurrencyFair, you can send up to 97,000,000 EUR per transfer from France.

Using WorldRemit for money transfers from France

WorldRemit is a remittance company founded in 2010. It's headquartered in London and operates globally in over 150 countries. Its transfer fees and mid-market margin markup vary depending on the country you're sending to, the amount you're sending and the delivery method you choose. It also has a daily transaction limit of 8,000 EUR, so for large transactions, those fees add up quickly. At CurrencyFair, our daily transaction limit is 97,000,000 EUR — so unless you're buying a few small islands, you'll never encounter it.

To transfer 1,000 EUR from France to British pounds, WorldRemit offered an exchange rate of 1 EUR = 0.84823 GBP (16:29, 1 September). If you pay by bank transfer and send money into the recipient's bank account, it adds 3.99 EUR in fees, so for 1,003.99 EUR, and an estimated delivery time of one working day, the recipient will receive 848.23 GBP.

Exchange rate and fee accurate as of 16:29 1 September 2021

Using XE for money transfers from France

XE is part of the Euronet Worldwide group and forms the third largest money transfer business in the world. To transfer 1,000 EUR to British pounds it offered 1 EUR = 0.8468 GBP (16:27, 1 September), so sending 1,000 EUR from France converts to 846.80 GBP.

Rate and fees accurate as of 16:27 1 September 2021

Under its FAQs, it states that: “Your money will reach its destination quickly, securely, and with no hidden fees”. However, it also states that: “Some money transfers are subject to a small fee”, without specification as to what transfers are subject to them, and how much they might be. CurrencyFair's transparent fees are fixed at £2.50/€3 for transfers from France.

Using CurrencyFair for money from France

CurrencyFair was founded in 2009 and offers secure money transfers to over 150 countries and over 20 currencies. Our exchange rate of 1 EUR = 0.8565 GBP includes our £2.50 fee, meaning when you send 1,000 EUR to British pounds the recipient will get 854.00 GBP (16:24, 1 September).

Exchange rate and fee accurate as of 16:24 1 September 2021

You can choose to send money immediately with our quick, low-cost money transfers, or set your own rate on our marketplace, and wait for the market to meet it — meaning you could even beat the currency market rate that you see on Google.

If you're sending money abroad from somewhere else in the world, compare the money transfer providers available in the following countries below:

• Money transfer companies compared: Germany
• Money transfer companies compared: Switzerland
• Money transfer companies compared: Thailand
• Money transfer companies compared: Australia
• Money transfer companies compared: India
• Money transfer companies compared: Singapore
• Money transfer companies compared: United Kingdom

For a more detailed look at sending money abroad, check out our guide: Sending money abroad: a guide to international money transfers.