Cheapest Way to Send Money to Pakistan from the UK (2026 Data)
In short: six providers on this corridor deliver more rupees than the mid-market rate. Remitly, WorldRemit, Ria, LemFi, TalkRemit and TapTapSend all finished below zero cost over 147 days of tracking.
Xoom, Skrill and OFX sit at the other end, between 1.68% and 2.26%. For someone sending £500 a month, the gap between best and worst is £154 a year.
And one number stands out above everything else: Western Union's first transfer is worth 3.16 percentage points more than every transfer after it.
In a hurry? Compare live GBP to PKR rates — updated every two hours.
The UK is the third largest source of money sent to Pakistan, behind only Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Pakistanis in Britain sent $6.33 billion in the 2025-26 financial year, part of a record $41.6 billion total that exceeded everything the country exported in goods.
We tracked the rates and fees published by fifteen providers on the GBP/PKR corridor every two hours between 22 April and 27 September 2026 — 26,369 observations across 147 days, each compared against the mid-market rate on the same day.
The full ranking
Total cost as a percentage of the amount sent, including both fees and exchange-rate margin. Negative values mean the provider delivered more rupees than the mid-market rate. Averages over 147 days.
Total cost of sending £1,000 to Pakistan, average over the period
| Rank | Provider | Total cost | On £1,000 | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Remitly | −0.31% | −£3.06 | £0 |
| 2 | WorldRemit | −0.22% | −£2.18 | £0 |
| 3 | Ria | −0.18% | −£1.82 | £1.50 |
| 4 | LemFi | −0.17% | −£1.69 | £0 |
| 5 | TalkRemit | −0.15% | −£1.45 | £0 |
| 6 | TapTapSend | −0.09% | −£0.88 | £0 |
| 7 | Sendwave | 0.08% | £0.81 | £0 |
| 8 | PandaRemit | 0.10% | £1.04 | £0 |
| 9 | Profee | 0.25% | £2.48 | £0 |
| 10 | Western Union | 0.27% | £2.74 | £0 |
| 11 | XE | 0.32% | £3.16 | £0 |
| 12 | Paysend | 0.94% | £9.35 | £1.00 |
| 13 | OFX | 1.68% | £16.84 | £0 |
| 14 | Skrill | 1.85% | £18.46 | £0 |
| 15 | Xoom | 2.26% | £22.57 | £0 |
Six providers below zero is unusual. UK–Pakistan is one of the most contested remittance corridors in the world, and providers price accordingly — several appear to run the route at or below cost to win recurring customers.
Fees are again almost beside the point. Thirteen of fifteen charge nothing, and the two that do — Ria at £1.50 and Paysend at £1.00 — finish third and twelfth respectively. What separates them is the margin inside the exchange rate, not the fee.
Western Union's welcome rate is the largest we have measured
Eight of the fifteen providers quote a better rate on a first transfer. Two of them do so dramatically.
First transfer compared with every transfer after it
| Provider | First transfer | Thereafter | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Union | −2.89% | 0.27% | 3.16 pts |
| Ria | −2.77% | −0.18% | 2.59 pts |
| Remitly | −0.90% | −0.31% | 0.60 pts |
| Sendwave | −0.44% | 0.08% | 0.53 pts |
| WorldRemit | −0.71% | −0.22% | 0.49 pts |
| Profee | −0.18% | 0.25% | 0.42 pts |
| TalkRemit | −0.38% | −0.15% | 0.24 pts |
| Paysend | 0.73% | 0.94% | 0.21 pts |
| LemFi, TapTapSend, PandaRemit, XE, OFX, Xoom | Same rate every time | none | |
On a single £1,000 transfer, Western Union's welcome rate is worth £31.60 more than its standard rate. That makes it the cheapest option in the sample for one transfer — and tenth of fifteen for every transfer after.
For someone sending £500 a month, the difference between what the first transfer implied and what the next eleven actually cost is £190 a year with Western Union and £155 with Ria.
This pattern is not unique to Pakistan. The same three providers — Western Union, Ria and Remitly — run first-transfer promotions on the UK–India corridor too.
WorldRemit's card penalty is severe
Cost by payment method, where it differs
| Provider | Bank transfer | Debit card | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| WorldRemit | −0.22% | 1.96% | +2.18 pts |
| Xoom | 2.26% | 2.66% | +0.40 pts |
| Western Union | 0.27% | 0.51% | +0.23 pts |
| XE | 0.32% | 0.44% | +0.12 pts |
| Ria | −0.18% | −0.09% | +0.09 pts |
| TalkRemit | −0.15% | −0.40% | −0.25 pts |
WorldRemit goes from second-cheapest by bank transfer to near the bottom of the table by card — a swing of £21.78 on a £1,000 transfer. If you use WorldRemit, the payment method matters more than the provider choice.
TalkRemit is the only provider in the sample where paying by card was cheaper.
No provider dominates this corridor
On the Morocco and India corridors, one provider led on most days. Here, six did:
Days each provider offered the best deal, out of 147
| Provider | Days in front | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Remitly | 37 | 25% |
| LemFi | 31 | 21% |
| WorldRemit | 27 | 18% |
| Profee | 21 | 14% |
| TalkRemit | 18 | 12% |
| Ria | 13 | 9% |
The best overall provider led on one day in four. On 75% of days, somebody else was cheaper.
The average daily gap between best and worst was 3.11 percentage points, or £31.05 per £1,000. On 24 September, the widest day, it reached 5.12 points — £51 on a £1,000 transfer.
On no corridor we track does checking before each transfer pay off more than this one. See today's rates →
What to do
Look at the rupees, not the fee. Thirteen of fifteen providers charge nothing. The entire difference is the exchange rate.
Pay by bank transfer. Especially with WorldRemit, where the card option costs 2.18 points more.
Treat your first transfer as a one-off. Western Union and Ria both price the first transfer far below what follows.
Compare every time. Six providers took turns leading over 147 days. Loyalty is expensive here.
Sending elsewhere from the UK? We track the same data for India, Bangladesh and the Philippines.
Method and limitations
Rates and fees were collected automatically every two hours between 22 April and 27 September 2026 from fifteen providers on the GBP/PKR corridor: LemFi, OFX, PandaRemit, Paysend, Profee, Remitly, Ria, Sendwave, Skrill, TalkRemit, TapTapSend, Western Union, WorldRemit, XE and Xoom. Total: 26,369 observations across 147 days.
Total cost is the gap between the rupees actually received — after fees and at the rate actually applied — and the rupees the mid-market rate would deliver on the same day. Calculations use a £1,000 reference transfer. Over the period the mid-market GBP/PKR rate moved between 366.45 and 379.37, averaging 373.19.
Two rates are recorded per provider: the promotional rate offered on a first transfer, and the standard rate applied afterwards.
Limitations. The window starts on 22 April because that is when all fifteen providers were being tracked, so every provider is measured on the same days. Wise is not included — our collection covers 98 days for it, too sparse to rank fairly. MoneyGram, Instarem and TransferGo are excluded for the same reason. Seventy-nine observations were discarded as outliers deviating more than 5% from the market rate, 77 of them from Paysend. Skrill publishes no separate first-transfer rate.
The mid-market reference is a published market rate rather than an interbank fix. Because six providers price at or slightly above it, negative values should be read as "at or marginally better than market", not as guaranteed profit.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest way to send money to Pakistan from the UK?
Remitly had the lowest average cost at −0.31%, followed by WorldRemit, Ria, LemFi, TalkRemit and TapTapSend — all below zero. But no provider led on more than a quarter of days, so check before each transfer.
How much does it cost to send £1,000 to Pakistan?
From a £3.06 gain with Remitly to a £22.57 cost with Xoom. The average daily gap between best and worst was £31.05 per £1,000.
Why was my first transfer so much cheaper?
Western Union's first transfer is worth 3.16 percentage points more than its standard rate — £31.60 on £1,000. Ria's gap is 2.59 points. Eight of fifteen providers run some form of first-transfer promotion.
Bank transfer or debit card?
Bank transfer. With WorldRemit the gap is 2.18 percentage points. TalkRemit is the only provider where card was cheaper.
Which is cheaper, sending to Pakistan or to India?
Pakistan, marginally. Six providers beat the mid-market rate on GBP/PKR against four on GBP/INR, and the best Pakistan rate (−0.31%) is lower than the best India rate (−0.07%). See our UK to India analysis.
IdealRemit study — UK to Pakistan corridor. Raw data available on request.