Best Way to Transfer Money from UK to Spain (Save on Fees)

By Sarah B. | Updated April 2026 | 9 min read

Transferring money between the UK and Spain is something you will do more times than you expect. The rental deposit. The first month’s rent. Setting up a Spanish direct debit. Sending your pension or salary across each month. Paying a Spanish tax bill.

If you use a UK high street bank for any of these, you are losing money on every transfer. When I moved to Spain, I worked out that using a dedicated transfer service instead of my UK bank saved me over £400 on a single deposit transfer alone. Across a year of regular transfers, the savings add up to something significant.

This guide covers the best options for transferring money from the UK to Spain in 2026, what to watch out for, and how to set up a regular transfer once you are living here.

Why your UK bank is not the right option

UK high street banks charge for international transfers in two ways: a flat fee per transfer (typically £5 to £25), and a hidden margin on the exchange rate. That exchange rate margin is where most of the money goes. Banks typically add 2 to 4% to the mid-market rate, which is the real rate you see on Google or XE.com.

On a £10,000 transfer, a 3% exchange rate margin costs you £300 before the transfer fee. On a £5,000 monthly income transfer, that is £150 per month, or £1,800 per year, going to your bank rather than your Spanish account.

Dedicated money transfer services use the mid-market rate (or very close to it) and charge a transparent, lower fee. The difference is meaningful.

The best options for transferring money from the UK to Spain

Wise (formerly TransferWise)

Wise is the go-to recommendation for most British expats transferring money to Spain. They use the mid-market exchange rate and charge a small transparent fee (typically 0.4 to 0.6% of the transfer amount). There are no hidden margins, no surprises.

For regular transfers – sending your UK pension or salary to Spain each month – Wise’s AutoConvert feature lets you set a target exchange rate and automatically transfers when the rate hits your target. This is genuinely useful if you want to average out currency fluctuations over time.

Wise also offers a multi-currency account with a UK sort code and account number, which is useful if you are still receiving UK income while living in Spain. You can hold GBP, EUR and other currencies in one account and convert between them when the rate suits you.

For most British expats in Spain, Wise covers 90% of what you need. Get started with Wise.

Revolut

Revolut offers mid-market exchange rates with no fee during weekdays on most plans, including the free tier. On weekends, a small markup applies. For occasional transfers or for people who already use Revolut as their main travel card, it is a perfectly good option.

Where Revolut pulls ahead of Wise is on the banking side – Revolut functions more as a full bank account with a card, contactless payments, and a wide range of features. Where it falls slightly behind is on large, regular transfers: Wise’s transparency and dedicated transfer focus makes it marginally better for the monthly income transfer use case.

Get started with Revolut.

CurrencyFair

CurrencyFair is a peer-to-peer currency exchange that can offer very competitive rates, particularly for larger transfers. Their marketplace model means you can often beat the mid-market rate by a small margin when liquidity is good. For transfers of £10,000 or more, it is worth comparing their rate against Wise on the day.

OFX

OFX is better suited to larger or less frequent transfers rather than small regular ones. Their rates are competitive on transfers over £5,000 and they offer forward contracts, which let you lock in today’s exchange rate for a transfer you plan to make in the future. This is useful if you have a large payment coming up – a property purchase, for example – and want certainty on what it will cost in sterling.

Quick comparison

Provider	Best for	Rate	Typical fee	Get started
Wise	Regular monthly transfers, expat income	Mid-market	0.4–0.6%	Start here
Revolut	Everyday banking + transfers	Mid-market (weekdays)	Free–0.5%	Start here
CurrencyFair	Larger transfers, best rate hunting	Near or better than mid-market	€3 + small margin	currencyfair.com
OFX	Large transfers, forward contracts	Competitive on £5k+	No fee, margin in rate	ofx.com
UK high street bank	Avoid for transfers	2–4% below mid-market	£5–25 + margin	–

How to set up a regular transfer

If you are living in Spain and receiving a UK pension, salary, or rental income, you will likely need to transfer money to your Spanish account every month. Here is the simplest setup:

• Open a Wise account and link your UK bank account as the funding source
• Add your Spanish IBAN as the recipient account
• Set up a recurring transfer for the same date each month
• Consider AutoConvert if you want to target a specific rate rather than taking the market rate on a fixed date

The whole setup takes about fifteen minutes. Once it is running, your UK income arrives in your Spanish account automatically each month with no bank fees eating into it.

What you need for your first transfer to Spain

To transfer money to a Spanish bank account, you need the recipient’s IBAN (International Bank Account Number). Spanish IBANs start with ES and are 24 characters long. You also need the bank’s BIC/SWIFT code for some transfers, though Wise usually finds this automatically from the IBAN.

If you do not have a Spanish bank account yet, you can send money to a Spanish bank account belonging to a landlord or estate agent to pay a deposit before you arrive. Once you are in Spain, you should open your own Spanish account as soon as possible. Our guide to opening a Spanish bank account as a UK expat covers this in detail.

Currency risk: what to be aware of

If you are living in Spain on a UK income, you carry currency risk. When the pound weakens against the euro, your Spanish spending power drops. This is a real issue for British retirees on fixed UK pensions – a 10% sterling depreciation effectively cuts your income by 10%.

Ways to manage this include holding a reserve in euros during periods of sterling strength, using forward contracts through OFX or a specialist broker to lock in rates for future payments, and diversifying where you hold savings over time.

For anyone living primarily on UK income in Spain, getting proper financial advice on currency risk is worth the cost. Wealth managers like Chase Buchanan who specialise in UK expats in Spain deal with this regularly.

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to transfer large amounts through Wise or Revolut?
Yes. Wise is regulated by the FCA in the UK and holds customer funds in segregated accounts. Revolut holds an e-money licence and is similarly regulated. Both are used by millions of people for large transfers. For very large transfers (property purchases, for example), some people prefer to use a specialist FX broker with a dedicated account manager.

How long does a transfer take?
Wise transfers to Spanish SEPA accounts typically arrive within a few hours on weekdays. Same-day transfers are common. Revolut is similarly fast. Weekend transfers may take until the following business day.

Do I need to declare money transferred to Spain to the Spanish tax authorities?
Transferring money between your own accounts is not a taxable event in itself. However, if you are a Spanish tax resident (spending more than 183 days per year in Spain), you may need to declare overseas assets above €50,000 via the Modelo 720 declaration. This is a declaration requirement, not a tax. Take proper tax advice on your specific situation.

What is the best rate: Wise or Revolut?
They are very similar on weekdays. Revolut adds a small margin at weekends. For a detailed comparison, see our Wise vs Revolut guide for expats in Spain.

What to read next

• How to Open a Spanish Bank Account as a UK Expat →
• Wise vs Revolut for Expats in Spain →
• Moving to Spain from the UK: Complete 2026 Guide →

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This guide is for informational purposes only. Exchange rates and fees change regularly – always check current rates before transferring. Some links in this article are affiliate links. If you use them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.