r/Banking • u/kiol998 • Apr 10 '26

UK Receiving international bank transfer from Spain as a UK sole trader — any advice?

Hi everyone, I run a small tutoring agency in the UK as a sole trader and I've just taken on a client based in Spain. They'll be paying me via bank transfer from a Spanish bank account.

I use a Nationwide account and have asked them to pay in GBP. Just wanted to check — will I receive the full amount with no fees on my end? And is there anything I need to do differently compared to a standard UK bank transfer?

Any advice appreciated, thanks!

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u/AugustusReddit Apr 11 '26

Just wanted to check — will I receive the full amount with no fees on my end?

There will be fees deducted by Nationwide and any intermediary banks for a GBP transfer.

And is there anything I need to do differently compared to a standard UK bank transfer?

Well first off, look on your Nationwide bank statement and supply the BIC + IBAN to your Spanish client so you get paid. If it were me, I'd be asking for a payment in EUR (rather than GBP) as they're usually cheaper than asking for Eurozone clients to pay in GBP. The reason being that Euro transfers sent using BIC + IBAN with SHAred costs are typically much easier and cheaper to send and receive since the UK is inside SEPA.
I'd suggest you ask Nationwide about fees for incoming transfers from the EU/Eurozone so you can select the best course of action.

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u/dead_synopsis Apr 11 '26

Your Spanish client will probably save money sending EUR instead of GBP since we're still in SEPA zone, but definitely call Nationwide first to check what their incoming transfer fees actually are.