Send money from the UK to Sierra Leone
See today's GBP→SLE rate, compare every service on fees, speed and delivery, and see what your recipient keeps after cash-out fees and taxes — before you send.
Today's GBP→SLE exchange rate
This is the reference interbank rate — the starting point before each service's fee and margin.
Interbank rate updated 5 Jul 00:00 UTC (4h ago)
Calculate for your amount:
The UK→Sierra Leone corridor rests on a long-established Sierra Leonean diaspora in the UK. Rule out Wise: it does not serve it (SLL is offered only by USD wire, "not quite there yet"). On the receive side, money lands on Orange Money or Afrimoney (Africell), the two dominant mobile services. Remitly, WorldRemit, Ria, MoneyGram and Western Union serve this route; the leone (SLE) floats, so compare the final amount received.
Sending from the UK: funding, speed & rules
From the UK, transfers are funded over Faster Payments — a bank push that usually settles in seconds — or by debit card. Open-banking "pay by bank" is increasingly the default in UK remittance apps, cutting card fees. Because Faster Payments is near-instant and free to the app, UK-funded sends are often both quick and cheap.
UK payment firms are authorised by the FCA as e-money or payment institutions and must safeguard customer funds. The UK–Africa route is one of the most established in the world; LemFi and Lemonade Finance were built around it. Sierra Leone senders in London, Birmingham and Manchester typically move money several times a month.
Our verdict: the best way to send the UK to Sierra Leone
Best for the lowest total cost to Sierra Leone
LemFi and Sendwave: paying from your bank here is both free and instant, so the cheapest apps are also among the fastest. The apps that waive the up-front fee and keep the tightest rate margin net the most, especially as it lands on the local mobile-money wallet or a bank account, usually within minutes; receiving is free.
Best for speed to an Orange Money or Afrimoney wallet
Sendwave, LemFi and Remitly's Express tier: every funded send clears in seconds, and it lands on the local mobile-money wallet or a bank account, usually within minutes; receiving is free — so a send can complete end to end in minutes.
Best for large transfers and rate transparency
Wise: even a large transfer settles instantly, so the only variable left is the exchange-rate margin.
Best for cash pickup / a recipient without a wallet
WorldRemit and Western Union: the main recipient-side cost is agent cash-out; keeping the money on the wallet to pay directly avoids it, but their agent networks pay out cash if your recipient has no wallet.
Best for Sierra Leone wallet support
The listed services deliver to the local mobile-money wallet or a bank account; some add cash pickup — compare the final amount received.
In plain terms: Because paying from your bank here is both free and instant, the right pick from the UK to Sierra Leone mostly comes down to your amount: LemFi and Sendwave for the lowest cost, Wise when the FX margin dominates on a large send, WorldRemit and Western Union if your family has no wallet. Either way, it lands on the local mobile-money wallet or a bank account, usually within minutes; receiving is free, and receiving on Orange Money or Afrimoney is free; the cost is banded agent cash-out.
Comparing the services: fees, rates, speed & delivery
| Service | Fee model | Rate | Speed | Delivery | Best for | Official site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Remitly | Low or zero fee by speed tier | Competitive; promo rates for new users | Instant (Express) to a few days (Economy) | Bank, cash pickup, mobile money | Flexible delivery and cash pickup | Go to Remitly → |
| WorldRemit | Very low; often free to some destinations | Competitive margin over mid-market | Instant to about an hour | Bank, cash, mobile money, airtime | Multi-route reach and an established network | Go to WorldRemit → |
| Sendwave | Usually zero up-front fee | Earns on the rate margin (~1-3% over mid-market) | Instant to minutes | Mobile money focused | Ultra-fast mobile money delivery | Go to Sendwave → |
| LemFi | Typically $0 on core African routes | Small markup over mid-market | Instant to minutes | Bank and mobile money | Fast zero-fee app-to-app, African focus | Go to LemFi → |
| Taptap Send | Small flat or percentage fee by route | Solid rates | Minutes | Bank and mobile money | Low-cost app transfers | Go to Taptap Send → |
| Western Union | Higher and variable fee | Wider rate margin | Flexible, including instant cash | Huge agent network: cash, bank, mobile | Cash pickup reach | Go to Western Union → |
Some provider links are referral links, marked sponsored. They never change the figures or the order shown.
Who actually serves this corridor — and why Wise doesn't
Wise does not serve this corridor from the UK (an exclusion). This is not "coming soon" — it's no. Other services do deliver — here are the verified ones.
The verified services on this corridor (from the operators' own sites) — click to open the official site:
Small World ceased trading in June 2024 — don't use it. Exact fees and rates change daily: open the service's site or app for today's quote before sending, and compare the final amount received (fee + FX margin + the receive-side cash-out).
Which services reach Sierra Leone's mobile wallets
In Sierra Leone, mobile money means Orange Money or Afrimoney — the table shows what each service actually reaches: wallet, bank account or cash pickup.
| Service | Mobile money Orange Money / Afrimoney | Bank | Cash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Remitly | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| WorldRemit | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sendwave | ✓ | — | — |
| LemFi | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Taptap Send | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Western Union | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
What your recipient actually gets in Sierra Leone
Cash-out / withdrawal cost
On the receive side, money lands on Orange Money or Afrimoney. Receiving is free; the recipient's cost is cash-out, charged by amount band per operator. The leone (SLE) was redenominated in 2022 (a thousand to one), so beware older figures quoted in "old leones".
Receiving to a bank vs a wallet
In Sierra Leone, Orange Money and Afrimoney are the dominant wallets. Receiving into the wallet is free; agent cash-out has a banded cost.
The leone floats: compare the final amount received, not just the app's fee.
How to send: methods, limits & safety
Funding and delivering the send
From the UK, Faster Payments funding is free and settles in seconds, so most sends are quick AND cheap — open-banking "pay by bank" even removes card fees. The leg into Sierra Leone follows immediately on mobile-first apps; bank deposit stays for larger sums.
Transfer limits & KYC
In the UK, signup needs photo ID and address, and apps are FCA-authorised with safeguarded customer funds. Caps rise with verification. For a first large send to Sierra Leone, expect an extra verification step.
Other routes to Sierra Leone
Frequently asked questions
How do I fund it and which app from the UK to Sierra Leone?
How long does a transfer to Sierra Leone take?
Is money received taxed in Sierra Leone?
Bottom line
Bottom line: every funded send clears in seconds and it lands on the local mobile-money wallet or a bank account, usually within minutes; receiving is free. Compare LemFi and Sendwave first on the final amount received, switch to Wise for large sums, and WorldRemit and Western Union if cash pickup is needed. With Faster Payments, funding from the UK is rarely the bottleneck.
We describe each service's published model (fees, rates, speed, delivery) from public information, without reproducing live quotes or marketing copy. Always check the final fee and rate in the app before sending.