In short
Send purchase funds to Spain by bank transfer from an account in your own name and keep every statement: under Law 10/2010, lenders, notaries and agents must check where the money comes from. Cash of €10,000 or more crossing the border must be declared, and every 1% of exchange margin on €150,000 costs about €1,500.
The short answer
Buying in Spain from abroad means moving a large sum across borders, usually in two or three payments, and converting it into euros. Two things decide whether that goes smoothly: a paper trail that shows where every euro came from, and an exchange rate you have actually compared.
Spanish anti-money-laundering law requires lenders, notaries, estate agents and lawyers to check the origin of funds. Plan the evidence before you plan the transfer. Then compare the all-in cost of converting the money, not the headline fee.
Why every euro needs a paper trail
Law 10/2010 on the prevention of money laundering lists the professionals who must identify their clients and understand their transactions. The list includes credit institutions, payment institutions, currency exchange businesses, credit intermediaries, estate agents, notaries, property registrars and lawyers who act in property purchases.
Its article 6 requires ongoing scrutiny of transactions, including the origin of the funds. In practice, that means several parties in your purchase will ask the same question in different ways:
- the lender, before issuing a mortgage offer;
- the notary, before authorising the deed;
- the estate agent and your lawyer, under their own obligations;
- the payment provider that receives and converts the money.
The evidence usually needed is straightforward if you gather it early:
- statements for the account the money leaves from, in your own name;
- the source of that balance: salary, a property sale, an inheritance, a gift, a business distribution or investments;
- supporting documents for that source, such as payslips, a completion statement, a will or a gift letter;
- for a gift from a relative, the giver’s identity and their own evidence of funds.
Money that moves through several accounts in a short time, or arrives from a third party, will generate questions. Each extra question can add days to the timetable.
Transfers, not cash
Article 24 of the Spanish Notaries Act requires every property deed to identify how the price was paid: before or at signing, the amount, and whether by cash, cheque or bank transfer. If a cash movement had to be declared, the notary must attach that declaration to the deed.
The declaration itself comes from article 34 of Law 10/2010:
| Movement | Threshold | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Cash entering or leaving Spain | €10,000 or more | Declare in advance: form E1 to or from outside the EU, form S1 within the EU (E2/S2 if the cash travels unaccompanied) |
| Cash moved within Spain | €100,000 or more | Declare in advance on form S1 |
| Bank transfer | No declaration | Traceable by design |
The Spanish Tax Agency confirms that bank transfers are not subject to this declaration, whatever the amount. Moving cash is legal when declared, but it complicates the notarial deed, the lender’s review and your own records. For a property purchase, a transfer from an account in your name is the normal route.
If a spouse, a relative or a company pays part of the price, tell the lender and the notary in advance. A payment from a third party needs its own explanation, and it can affect who the deed records as paying. Keep the confirmation of every transfer, because the notary will record each payment in the deed.
What the exchange rate really costs
When you convert pounds, dollars or Swiss francs into euros, the cost has two parts: any transfer fee, and the margin between the rate you receive and the market rate. The margin can be the larger part, and it is the less visible one.
A useful benchmark is the euro reference rate published each working day by the European Central Bank. The ECB publishes it for information only, so you will not trade at it, but it lets you measure how far a quote sits from the market.
If your account is with a payment provider in the EU and that provider converts the money itself, Regulation (EU) 2019/518 requires it to show you, before an online transfer, the estimated currency conversion charges, the estimated total in your account currency and the estimated amount the payee will receive. The rule does not cover transfers from a UK, Swiss or US account, so there you have to ask for the same figures yourself.
The margin matters because of the size of the sums involved. Take a buyer converting €150,000 of deposit and costs:
| Margin over the market rate | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| 0.5% | €750 |
| 1% | €1,500 |
| 2% | €3,000 |
| 3% | €4,500 |
These are illustrative percentages, not quotes. A specialist currency provider can often cost less than a standard bank transfer; compare the all-in rate, meaning the euros that actually arrive for the same amount sent, after every fee.
A worked example: how much has to move
Consider a €350,000 resale property in the Valencian Community with a non-resident mortgage at 70%. Spanish lenders typically finance 60–70% for non-residents, and it is never guaranteed.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Price | €350,000 |
| Mortgage (70%) | €245,000 |
| Deposit you fund | €105,000 |
| Transfer tax (9%) | €31,500 |
| Notary, registry, valuation and other costs (~1.5%) | €5,250 |
| Cash to move to Spain | €141,750 |
The mortgage is paid out in euros by the Spanish lender at the notary. The €141,750 is what you convert and send. At 60% financing the deposit rises to €140,000 and the cash to €176,750. Run your own figures in our purchase costs calculator.
Timing: when the money must be in Spain
A purchase usually needs funds at three moments:
- Reservation, often a few thousand euros to take the property off the market.
- Deposit contract (arras), commonly around 10% of the price.
- Completion at the notary, where the rest of the price and the taxes fall due.
Each payment should arrive with its evidence already accepted. Build in time for compliance checks at both ends, and do not schedule the last transfer for the day before signing.
Between reservation and completion, the exchange rate moves, and on a six-figure sum a small move changes the euros that arrive. Some providers offer a forward contract that fixes the rate for a future date; weigh the certainty against the cost and the deposit it may require. A fixed rate removes the risk of the rate moving against you, and also the chance of it moving in your favour. It is usually a firm commitment: if the purchase is delayed or falls through, you may still have to complete the exchange or pay to close it. Ask how it works, in writing, before you rely on it.
How RCG coordinates it
RCG Finance is a real-estate credit intermediary registered with the Bank of Spain under number E760. We do not provide payment services, and we do not give legal or tax advice.
What we do is coordinate the three moving parts so they meet on the same day:
- the mortgage: we prepare the file once and present it to the lenders that finance non-residents;
- the legal side: our partner lawyer handles the NIE, the Spanish bank account, a power of attorney if you cannot travel, and the review of the contracts;
- the currency: a currency exchange partner converts and sends the funds, shows you the rate before you confirm and provides transfer confirmations that form part of the payment trail the lender and notary ask for.
Your lawyer or tax adviser will confirm any point about the origin of funds, gifts or taxes in your home country.
What to do next
Start with the numbers. Use the purchase costs calculator to see how much cash you will move, and the non-resident mortgage checklist to gather the evidence of funds before you reserve.
If you are still choosing where to buy, our areas guide compares prices and taxes along the coast. When you are ready, our non-resident mortgage service puts the mortgage, the lawyer and the transfer on one timetable.
Sources and review
Prepared by the RCG Finance editorial team (RCG 2026 S.L., Bank of Spain register of credit intermediaries no. E760) and reviewed by Rafael, founder of RCG Finance and former debt and M&A advisor at KPMG and PwC, under our editorial standards. Last source review: 22 September 2026.
- Spanish Official Gazette — Law 10/2010 on the prevention of money laundering
- Spanish Tax Agency — Declaring cash and other means of payment
- Spanish Official Gazette — Notaries Act, article 24 (means of payment)
- EUR-Lex — Regulation (EU) 2019/518 on currency conversion charges
- European Central Bank — Euro foreign exchange reference rates
Frequently asked questions
Can I pay for a Spanish property in cash?
Avoid it. The deed must record how the price was paid, and cash of €10,000 or more entering or leaving Spain must be declared in advance to Spanish customs. A traceable bank transfer is the normal route and the one lenders expect.
What counts as proof of funds?
Statements showing the money in an account in your name, plus the documents that explain how it got there: payslips, a completion statement from a previous sale, an inheritance or gift document, or investment statements. The exact list depends on the lender and the notary.
Is a currency exchange provider always cheaper than my bank?
Not always. A specialist provider can often cost less than a standard bank transfer, but the only fair test is the all-in rate: how many euros arrive for the same amount of pounds, dollars or francs, after every fee.
Does RCG move the money for me?
No. RCG Finance is a credit intermediary and does not provide payment services. We coordinate the timing with a currency exchange partner, who executes the transfer under its own authorisation.
