Sending money to Ghana for a relative's healthcare from the UK, US or Canada: what it costs

What does it cost to send money to Ghana from the UK, US or Canada?

Sending about £120 from the UK to Ghana cost 4.24% on average in the World Bank's survey of August 2025; about $200 from the US cost 4.37%.

The World Bank's Remittance Prices Worldwide survey prices the same small transfer across many services in each corridor. In the UK to Ghana corridor the cheapest service in the survey cost -0.03% and the dearest 18.85%. In the US to Ghana corridor the cheapest service cost -0.13% and the dearest 11.87%.

A total cost below zero means the exchange rate offered was slightly better than the survey's reference rate on the day. The World Bank also surveys transfers from Canada to Ghana, but its corridor page could not be opened when this page was checked in November 2026, so no Canadian figure is given here.

For comparison, the global average cost of sending money was 6.36%, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals aim to cut remittance costs to less than 3% by 2030.

Why do services charge such different amounts?

The total cost is the fee plus the margin built into the exchange rate, and in the UK to Ghana corridor most of the average cost was in the exchange rate.

In the World Bank's August 2025 survey, the average fee on £120 from the UK to Ghana was £1.20, while the average exchange-rate margin was 3.24%. On $200 from the US to Ghana, the average fee was $5.14 and the average exchange-rate margin was 1.80%.

This means a service that advertises a low or zero fee can still cost more overall if its exchange rate is less favourable. The useful comparison is how many cedis will arrive for the amount you pay.

How can money reach a relative's care in Ghana?

Under Bank of Ghana rules, money sent from abroad through a payment service provider is paid into a bank account, a mobile money wallet or another approved electronic account, in cedis.

In the World Bank's UK to Ghana survey of August 2025, the cheapest listing paid into a mobile wallet. Money can also go straight to a hospital, clinic or pharmacy bill, or towards keeping a relative's National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) membership active.

What are Ghana's rules on remittances and mobile money?

The Bank of Ghana's updated guidelines of August 2025 set how inward remittances are paid out: through licensed payment service providers, in cedis, into accounts or wallets.

• Inward remittances are paid into beneficiaries' bank accounts, mobile money wallets or other electronic accounts approved by the Bank of Ghana, and payouts are recorded in cedis (Bank of Ghana, August 2025).
• A payment service provider in Ghana may only work with money transfer operators licensed in their home country (Bank of Ghana, August 2025).
• The Bank of Ghana publishes a list of licensed payment service providers; it showed 71 when checked in November 2026.
• Mobile money wallets have limits by tier. From 1 March 2024 a minimum KYC wallet could hold up to GH₵5,000 with a daily limit of GH₵3,000 and a monthly limit of GH₵10,000; a medium KYC wallet up to GH₵40,000 with GH₵15,000 a day; an enhanced KYC wallet up to GH₵75,000 with GH₵25,000 a day (as reported in February 2024).
• The Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) on mobile money and electronic transfers was repealed by the Electronic Transfer Levy (Repeal) Act, 2025 (Act 1128), effective 2 April 2025.

What rules apply where you send from?

Each sending country has its own rules: the UK regulates money transfer firms through the FCA, the US taxes some cash-funded transfers, and Canada requires reports on large transfers.

• UK: the FCA says to check that a provider is authorised and has permission for the service. Money held with a non-bank provider is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, though e-money and authorised payment institutions must safeguard customer money. Complaints go to the provider first, then the Financial Ombudsman Service.
• US: a 1% federal excise tax applies from 1 January 2026 to remittance transfers paid for with cash, a money order, a cashier's cheque or a similar physical instrument (IRS, April 2026).
• US: the tax does not apply to transfers withdrawn from an account at a US financial institution or funded with a debit or credit card issued in the United States (26 U.S. Code section 4475(d)).
• US: under federal rules a sender can usually cancel a remittance transfer free of charge within 30 minutes, and has 180 days to report an error (CFPB).
• Canada: banks and money services businesses report international transfers of C$10,000 or more to FINTRAC, including two or more transfers within 24 hours that add up to that amount and that the institution knows share the same sender or beneficiary. The report is the institution's duty, not the sender's.
• This is general information; a tax or financial adviser can say how the rules apply to you.

What should you check before sending money for care?

Before sending money for a relative's treatment, compare the amount that will arrive in cedis, confirm who will receive it, and keep the paperwork that shows what it paid for.

Kinship works in Nigeria today, with Kinship Visits by qualified nurses in Lagos and doctor calls and check-ins anywhere in Nigeria. Ghana is coming soon.

• Compare the cedi amount that will arrive, not only the fee
• Check the provider is authorised where you live
• Confirm the recipient's name exactly as registered on the account or wallet
• Check the wallet's tier limit before sending a large sum
• Ask the hospital for a written invoice before paying
• Use the hospital's official account details, not a personal number
• In the US, check whether paying in cash or by money order adds the 1% federal tax
• Keep receipts for every transfer and every bill paid

Questions people ask

Related

• Sending money to Nigeria for healthcare
• Healthcare in Ghana for families abroad
• NHIS in Ghana for someone over 70
• Hospitals in Accra for families abroad