Dataset current to Oct 2026

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Business FX

What is the cheapest way for a UK business to pay a US supplier?

On a £10,000 payment, Wise Business and Revolut Business Grow tie at £35.00 for the month by opposite routes: Wise charges 0.35% with no plan fee, Revolut Grow's plan fee covers the payment. Starling costs £45.50; the dearest, £332.50. Checked September 2026.

Revised against the dataset Sep 2026. Every figure below is dated where it stands, and the dataset behind it is rechecked at least every 90 days.

Go straight to

Go to Wise (opens wise.com in a new tab)Go to Revolut (opens revolut.com in a new tab)Go to Starling (opens starlingbank.com in a new tab)

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Wise Business, £10,000
£35.00
Calculated from attributes verified Sep 2026
Revolut Business Grow, month
£35.00
Calculated from attributes verified Sep 2026
Starling Business, £10,000
£45.50
Calculated from attributes verified Sep 2026
Dearest: Santander Business
£332.50
Calculated from attributes verified Oct 2026

What a payment to the US actually costs

A business account charges for an international payment in up to three ways: a margin or fee on converting the pounds, a fixed fee for sending the payment, and a monthly plan fee that is due whether or not you send anything. Some plans also include an allowance that is converted with no margin. Only the total is comparable, so the table adds them up for one defined payment.

On £10,000 into dollars, Wise Business charges 0.35% at the mid-market rate, with no plan fee and no fee per payment: £35.00. (It charges a one-time £50.00 to open the account.) Starling Business charges 0.40% plus £5.50 to send by SWIFT: £45.50. Revolut Business Grow's allowance covers the whole payment, so the payment is free and the month costs its plan fee: £35.00.

Every figure here was checked against the provider’s own page in Oct 2026, except where a date is shown against the figure. Figures are rechecked at least every 90 days; one past that is marked “Recheck due”.

date checked against the provider’s own pagecalculated; oldest date among its inputspast its recheck window

Segments show the tier reached, not the score:BasicStandardStrongExcellent

Which one depends on how often you pay

A percentage and a plan fee cross over. Wise Business's cost rises with every pound sent; Revolut Business Grow's stays at its plan fee until the monthly allowance of £15,000 is used, then adds 0.60%. The two cost the same at £10,000 a month. Below that, the percentage is cheaper; between that and the allowance, the plan is; above the allowance, the plan adds its own fee and the comparison shifts again.

For a business that pays a US supplier a few times a year, the plan fee is paid in every month nothing is sent, which is why the no-plan accounts suit occasional payments. Wise Business is the cheapest of those on this scenario.

What is not in the comparison

FX brokers that advertise transfers with no fee but do not publish the margin in their exchange rate are absent, because the margin is the price and cannot be compared if it is not stated. Your supplier's US bank may also charge to receive a wire; that is set by their bank, not yours.

Related questions

Is my high-street bank cheaper?
Almost certainly not. Of the high-street banks, only Lloyds and Santander publish their margin, and on this payment they cost £285.00 and £332.50 for the month. The others build their charge into a rate they do not publish; ask yours for the rate and fee on the exact payment and compare it with the totals here.
Should I pay in pounds or in dollars?
In dollars, from your side. If you send pounds, the conversion happens at the supplier's bank at its own rate, and you lose sight of what it cost.
SWIFT or local transfer?
Where an account offers a local US transfer it is usually cheaper and the recipient's bank is less likely to charge. Starling Business publishes local-network payments from 30p for some currencies against £5.50 for SWIFT; the table prices SWIFT, as the option available for every currency.

Sources

Rules and deadlines above are read from these primary sources. Prices come from the comparison dataset and are dated where they stand.

  1. Wise: fees for sending money (GBP to USD)Read Sep 2026
  2. Revolut Business: plan comparisonRead Sep 2026
  3. Starling: cost of an international payment (business)Read Sep 2026
  4. Airwallex: UK pricingRead Sep 2026

The data behind this guide