If you’re paying for Romania property, a supplier, or supporting family, where you convert your pounds decides how many lei arrive. The visible fee is the small part; the exchange-rate margin is where the money usually goes.
You can rely on the figures below: we checked them against provider pricing, the mid-market GBP/RON rate, and the Romanian rules in June 2026.
Sending Money to Romania at a Glance
Pick by what you’re sending and how fast you need it: lowest clear cost on a small transfer, or a tighter rate on a large one. For a £1,000 transfer we rate Revolut the cheapest in-app option and Wise the cheapest fully transparent one.
| Key point | Details |
|---|---|
| Destination currency | Romanian leu (RON) |
| Cheapest on £1,000 (June 2026) | Revolut (£1.29) and Wise (£4.75 transparent) |
| Fastest way | Bank deposit, often minutes to a few hours; the local Plati Instant leg settles in seconds |
| What the recipient needs | Full name and a 24-character Romanian IBAN starting RO |
| Typical UK bank charge | £35 or more on £1,000 (2.5% to 4% margin plus a fee), per comparison-service estimates |
| Romanian rules | Romanian transfer rules |
If you just want the cheapest reliable route for a one-off payment, a mid-market provider wins every time. The bank counter costs you more, not less.
On a £1,000 transfer the gap between the cheapest provider and a bank is more than £30. Scale that to a large property payment and the bank spread alone can cost you well into four figures. The spread costs you, not the visible fee.
Picture your supplier waiting on an invoice at month-end while a bank quietly widens its spread. That’s the catch with a margin you can’t see.
Best Providers for Sending Money to Romania
When you pay a supplier or send family their money, the cheapest name changes with the amount and how you want to send. We’d match the options below to common situations on this corridor.
Wise for most transfers
Choose Wise when you want the fairest rate with nothing hidden. It uses the mid-market rate and shows its fee upfront, so you see exactly how many lei land, and it’s usually the cheapest fully transparent route on this corridor.
Revolut for small in-app transfers
Use Revolut if you already bank in the app: on £1,000 to Romania the fee is £1.29 on a weekday, the cheapest route here, though it adds 1% if you convert at the weekend.
OFX for large transfers
Consider OFX when your amount is large and you want a dealer on the phone. It charges no upfront fee and earns a margin in the rate that tightens on bigger sums, so on a property payment compare its quote against Wise before you commit.
How GBP Compares to RON Right Now
You should check the live mid-market GBP/RON rate before you commit, then compare what each provider would deposit. On 4 June 2026 the rate sat at 6.06, so £1,000 buys about RON 6,060 before any margin.
You can’t time the rate, and we don’t try to: the leu is a managed EU float, so GBP/RON largely tracks the GBP/EUR rate. The honest move is to compare the lei you receive on the day and send when you need to.
How Long It Takes to Send Money to Romania
You should expect a transfer to a Romanian bank account to land within minutes to a few hours, and the domestic Plati Instant leg settles in seconds once it reaches the recipient bank. Wise and Revolut both route lei this way.
Picture your supplier emailing the invoice on a Friday, with the funds due by Monday: a transfer funded early clears comfortably in time. A late-Friday send can settle the following week, so start it early if the deadline is tight.
Your transfer can also get held for a source-of-funds check above £10,000, or a recipient bank querying an unfamiliar incoming payment. Those are the usual reasons a clean transfer slows down.
What You Need to Send Money to Romania
You should gather the recipient’s details before you start, because a wrong account number is the usual reason a RON transfer bounces. Get these right and the payment goes through cleanly.
- Recipient full name exactly as it appears on their Romanian bank account.
- Romanian IBAN, which is 24 characters long and starts with the country code RO.
- BIC (the bank’s SWIFT code), which some providers generate for you and others ask for.
You’ll also need your own ID to verify your account, and for a business payment your company details. Above £10,000 expect a source-of-funds question, so have proof of where the money came from ready.
Romanian Rules and Reporting on Money From the UK
When you pay a supplier in Romania or send family a gift, it’s the Romanian rules at the receiving end that decide what happens next.
You should know how Romania records inbound transfers before you send a large sum, because the rules log the payment under EU anti-money-laundering law rather than blocking it. A legitimate transfer clears once the details are complete.
Romanian transfer rules
When you send money to Romania, it clears under EU anti-money-laundering rules overseen by the National Bank of Romania and the financial-intelligence unit. The bank verifies the sender and recipient, so make sure the name on the account matches exactly.
Cash and what you need in Romania
Carry €10,000 or more in cash across the EU border and you must declare it, though a bank transfer avoids that. For the transfer you’ll need the recipient’s 24-character Romanian IBAN, which starts with RO, and the bank’s BIC.
Common Reasons People Send Money to Romania
Match your provider to your reason, because most GBP to RON transfers fall into a few buckets and the right pick follows from why you’re sending. Knowing your category points you straight to the cost-versus-speed trade-off.
- Family support: regular help to relatives, where a low fee and an instant local payout matter most.
- Property: a deposit or running costs on a home, where the rate matters on a large sum.
- Tuition: covering fees and living costs for a student, often on a fixed deadline.
- Supplier invoices: paying a Romanian supplier, where clean records help your bookkeeping.
Step by Step: Sending Money to Romania
- Open and verify an account. Sign up with your chosen provider and upload ID; personal verification usually takes minutes, a business account one to two days.
- Get a live quote on the corridor. Enter your GBP amount, check the rate against the mid-market GBP/RON figure, and confirm the lei the recipient will get.
- Fund and send. Pay by Faster Payments for the lowest cost, or by debit card for instant funding, then track delivery in the app.
Final Verdict: Best Way to Send Money to Romania
For the typical sender we’d use Revolut or Wise: Revolut’s £1.29 is the cheapest on £1,000 if you bank in the app, while Wise gives the fairest rate with everything shown upfront at £4.75. Compare the lei that land and the choice is clear.
Picture yourself sending a property deposit on a Friday with completion due the same week: the provider you choose decides whether the lei land in time.
If you send a large one-off, compare OFX’s quote, since its margin tightens on bigger sums, and avoid Revolut’s weekend surcharge. The bank counter is the one route we’d avoid.
Send Money to Romania FAQs
What’s the cheapest way to send money to Romania from the UK?
Compare the lei that land, not the headline rate, because most of the cost hides in the exchange-rate margin. On a £1,000 transfer (June 2026) Revolut is the cheapest at £1.29 on a weekday, with Wise close behind at £4.75 and fully transparent. A high-street bank can take £35 or more.
How long does a transfer to Romania take?
A transfer to a Romanian bank account usually lands within minutes to a few hours, and the domestic Plati Instant leg settles in seconds. A weekend conversion on Revolut adds a 1% surcharge.
Is there a limit on how much I can send to Romania?
There’s no limit on a bank transfer into Romania, though banks apply standard EU anti-money-laundering checks on larger sums and report suspicious activity. That’s a record-keeping step, not a block on the payment.
Do I need to pay tax on money I send to Romania?
A normal transfer isn’t taxed in the UK, and business payments get standard expense treatment. Romania may apply its own rules at the recipient’s end, so for large or business transfers get professional tax advice.
What details do I need to send money to a Romanian bank account?
You need the recipient’s full name and their Romanian IBAN, which is 24 characters long and starts with RO. Some providers also ask for the BIC, the bank’s SWIFT code.
Methodology and Disclosure
How we reviewed this
Sources: We verified provider pricing against each provider’s own pages, the GBP/RON mid-market rate, and the Romanian rules against National Bank of Romania and EU anti-money-laundering guidance, in June 2026.
FX margins: High-street bank GBP to RON margins aren’t published by the banks; the 2.5% to 4% range reflects independent comparison-service estimates, not a bank-published figure. Broker margins move with the amount and the day, so confirm the live quote before you send.
Not advice: This is editorial guidance, not regulated financial or tax advice.
Affiliate disclosure: BusinessExpert may receive referral fees from some providers mentioned on this page. This doesn’t affect our editorial assessments.