Last updated on August 30th, 2023 at 10:00 am
Moving from Poland to live and work in a new country brings enough challenges without having to worry about the best way to send money back home. If you have loved ones depending on you for financial support, you’ll want to know that your transfer method won’t hit you with too-high fees or a less-than-fair exchange rate.
Before converting pounds, dollars or any other currency into Polish zloty, it’s good to have a general awareness of the various factors at play. That’s what this guide is for, so read on to learn the ins and outs of sending money to Poland.
Currency exchange explained
An exchange rate tells you how a pair of currencies compare with each other, in terms of value, at a particular moment in time. By checking the exchange rate, you’ll immediately see how many zloty you’ll get for your money.
Let’s imagine you’ve moved to the UK and see that the exchange rate is 1 GBP = 5.20 PLN. This tells you that one pound will buy you 5.20 zloty. But remember, this is only the exchange rate right now. The relationship between the currencies is always changing, and around the same time last year you may have only got 4.93 zloty with that same pound. Indeed, fluctuations can happen so frequently that different transfers in a given day may result in different amounts of zloty being received.
Some of the influences on shifting rates include:
- Inflation
- Interest rates
- Government debt
- Political/economic stability
- How much a country exports and imports
- Currency demand by speculators
An economic downturn, a rise in inflation, a national election – all of these things can have a big impact on exchange rates, while a given day’s currency trading on the markets can cause smaller changes up and down. Ultimately, sending money to Poland will cost you different amounts depending on when you make the transfer.
The good news is that making savvy remittance decisions doesn’t mean having to keep track of the dealings of the National Bank of Poland, or the policies of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s government. Instead, you can focus on factors you can control – like which bank transfer service will give you the most cost-effective deals.
Sending money to Poland: converting to zloty
When converting EUR, USD, GBP or any other currency to PLN, it’s up to you whether you want to send through your bank or a money transfer service.
Bank: Many people may still look to their bank as the most obvious way to make a transfer, whether you’re looking to turn euros, dollars, pounds or any other currency into zloty. After all, banks have been doing this kind of thing for generations, and your money’s already conveniently sitting right there in your account, waiting to be sent.
Money transfer service: If value for money is crucial, you might want to consider a money transfer service when sending money to Poland. A digital remittance company which doesn’t have brick-and-mortar outlets will naturally have lower running costs, which can mean they’re able to offer lower fees to their customers.
Using Remitly to send money to Poland
With Remitly, you’ll have a wide array of ways to support your loved ones in Poland. We’re proud to partner with some of the best-known and most trusted financial institutions in Poland, so you can quickly send money straight to bank accounts back home.
Getting started is simple. Just create your account through the Remitly app or website – you’ll just have to enter some basic information like your name, phone number and preferred payment details. Then, you just put in your recipient’s Polish bank account information, and you’ll be all set to make the transfer. We may ask for additional documentation depending on the amount sent or if we are unable to verify your identity.
What’s more, Remitly lets you send funds to your loved one’s bank account if that’s more convenient. You even have the cash pick up option, so that your recipient can head to a designated location to collect the transfer as zloty banknotes.
You can check out Remitly’s current exchange rates by looking here for EUR to PLN, here for GBP to PLN and here for USD to PLN.
Sending money from Poland: converting zloty to another currency
How about converting zloty to pounds, zloty to dollars, zloty to euros, or zloty to any other currency? It works in the same way as sending money to Poland. You can take the bank transfer route, or shop around for the most cost-effective service from money transfer companies. It pays to spend a bit of time looking into this – for example, comparing not only the various transfer fees, but also checking for the sometimes subtle variations in exchange rates offered at different places.
What about exchanging PLN outside Poland?
If you’re outside Poland and would like to convert zloty into the local currency, there are a number of options open to you. These include:
- Using a high street currency exchange
- Purchasing currency in a bank
- Withdrawing cash from ATM machines
- Bank wire transfers
- Money transfer apps
Making use of currency exchange desks is still an automatic choice for many people who travel abroad. After all, they’re conveniently placed and ideal if you’re in a hurry. The same goes for using banks. However, you may find these options may not offer the best exchange rates or friendliest fee structures.
Withdrawing cash at ATMs may be fast and easy, but it can also rack up fees in short order. Meanwhile, sending zloty using bank transfers or remittance companies can be more cost effective, but we’d suggest setting up a local bank account if you’re intending to stay in the country to work or study for a protracted period.
Read our guides to opening a bank account in the US, the UK, in France, and in Spain.
Finding the best Polish zloty exchange rate
Regardless of which method you use when sending money to Poland, it’s useful to have a firm understanding of what the currency exchange actually entails. It’s actually pretty simple, with the conversion formula looking like this:
Send Currency x Exchange Rate = Receive Amount
To put this into context, let’s consider three scenarios involving different currencies.
How to find dollar to zloty rates
Imagine you’re in the States and want to send 100 USD back home. Based on the exchange rate, the calculation goes like this:
100 USD x 3.82 PLN = 382 PLN
So, based on the hypothetical exchange rate of 1 USD = 3.82 PLN, your 100 dollars would give you 382 zloty. But that’s not the end of the story. You should now subtract any relevant fees to get the final figure. If, for example, your bank or remittance service applies a 10 dollar fee per transfer, that would equate to 38.2 zloty. So, the calculation for seeing what your loved one in Poland would actually receive goes like this:
382 PLN – 38.2 PLN = 343.8 PLN
As of this writing, making this transaction with Remitly would come with a $3.99USD fee when you choose our fast Express option and pay using your debit or credit card. This would amount to a substantial saving for your transaction, compared to the hypothetical 10 dollar fee mentioned above.
How to find euro to zloty rates
Let’s now switch scenarios and imagine transferring 100 EUR. The calculation for this would be:
100 EUR x 4.58 PLN = 458 PLN
So, based on that hypothetical exchange rate of 1 EUR = 4.58 PLN you’d get 458 zloty. You’d then subtract the fees to see what the final tally is.
How to find pound to zloty rates
Finally, let’s consider how much you’d get for sending 100 GBP (using the hypothetical exchange rate of 1 GBP = 5.20 PLN).
100 GBP x 5.20 PLN = 520 PLN
As we know by now, you just have to take away any extra fees and you’ll know exactly what will end up being collected in Poland.
Getting the best deal
As we’ve seen, there’s more than a few ways to ensure your family and friends in Poland continue to receive your financial support. The key thing to keep in mind is that not all remittance methods are created equal. Doing a bit of online research can help you make an informed decision on which option will be kindest to your bank balance, and leave your loved ones with the maximum amount of money relative to how much you send.
Visit the homepage, download our app, or check out our Help Center to get started.