We have been moving households out of the UK since 2013. In that time the thing that costs our customers most has almost never been the removal. It has been the money, and occasionally the property they were sending it to.

So we help with all three. We move the house, anywhere in the world. We introduce you to a currency firm for the transfer. And we have a property side for people buying at the other end. One reason for putting the three together is convenience. The bigger reason is that all three are places where somebody moving abroad can hand a large sum to the wrong person, and we would rather that did not happen to a customer of ours.

This page covers the money. It explains where the cost of a transfer actually sits, how people lose life-changing amounts on an overseas purchase, and who we work with.

Why the rate matters more than the removal

Take a £300,000 property purchase in Spain.

High street banks commonly price personal international transfers three to four per cent away from the mid-market rate, which is the rate quoted on Google and in the financial pages. A currency broker's margin is usually a fraction of a per cent.

Three per cent of £300,000 is £9,000. A full household removal to Spain, packing included, will not come to a tenth of that. It is the largest avoidable cost in moving abroad and the one people look at last.

The same applies coming back. If you sell a property abroad and bring the money home, the margin is taken on the return leg too.

Where the money actually goes

Nobody moves money for nothing, and it helps to know how the charge is made, because the way it is presented is not the same as the cost.

There are two ways to charge for a currency transfer. One is a fee, itemised on the confirmation. The other is the margin, which is the gap between the rate the provider buys at and the rate it gives you. The margin is where almost all of the money is made, by banks and brokers alike.

A provider can therefore say, accurately, that it charges no fee and no commission, and still earn on every transfer. That is not a trick. It is how the industry prices. The question to ask is not "is there a fee" but "how far is your rate from the mid-market rate today", and you can put that question to anybody and compare the answers.

How people actually lose money on an overseas purchase

In ten years the losses we have seen have almost never come from a bad exchange rate. They came from paying the wrong person, and the patterns repeat.

The payment that goes to the wrong account

This is the one that costs the most and it is not sophisticated. Somebody reads the email traffic between a buyer, an agent and a lawyer, waits until completion is close, then sends an email that appears to come from the lawyer saying the bank details have changed. The buyer pays. The money is gone the same day and it is very rarely recovered.

The defence takes two minutes. Before any transfer, telephone the recipient on a number you already had, from their letterhead or from the number you first called them on, and read the account details back to them. Never use a number or a link from the email containing the details. Bank details do not change days before a completion. When somebody tells you they have, assume they have not.

The lawyer who is not your lawyer

An agent or a developer recommends a lawyer. The lawyer is paid by, or connected to, the person selling you the property. The searches are done lightly or not at all, and the problems surface after completion.

Appoint your own lawyer, independent of the seller, the agent and the developer, and ask them directly what other work they do for any of those parties. A lawyer with no connection will answer that question without hesitating.

The debt that comes with the house

In several countries debt attaches to the property rather than to the person who ran it up. Unpaid community charges, an undischarged mortgage or outstanding local taxes can become yours on completion. A full charges search is what finds them, and it is the search most often skipped when the lawyer was chosen by the seller.

The building that was never legal

Property built without permission, or sold off plan by a developer who then stops building, accounts for a large share of the money British buyers have lost abroad. The paperwork that proves a building is legal differs by country. Knowing which document to ask for is the whole of the skill, and it is the reason to have somebody independent looking.

Fixing a rate before you complete

The gap between agreeing a price abroad and completing on it is usually weeks and sometimes months. The rate moves throughout, and a two per cent swing on a £300,000 purchase is £6,000 you had not budgeted for.

A forward contract fixes today's rate for a settlement date in the future, usually against a deposit. You know what the property costs in sterling from the day you agree it. If the rate improves you do not benefit, and that is the trade. You are buying certainty rather than taking a position.

For most people moving abroad, certainty is the right purchase. A budget that cannot move is more use than the chance of a slightly better one.

Payments that carry on after you move

The currency question does not stop at completion. A pension paid in sterling into a euro account, a mortgage abroad paid from a UK income, school fees, or the upkeep of a property you still own here are all recurring conversions. A margin taken twelve times a year adds up quietly.

Regular transfer arrangements handle these at an agreed margin rather than at whatever the retail rate happens to be that month.

Who we work with

We are not a currency firm and we do not hold anybody's money. We introduce customers to Regency FX, a UK currency transfer business founded in 2020 and based in Cornwall, and they take it from there. They will go through the detail with you properly, which is their job rather than ours.

What we checked before introducing anybody:

  • Rating. 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 530 reviews, 94% of them five star, as at September 2026. Ratings move, so look up the current score rather than taking ours.
  • Regulation. Payments are executed through FCA-regulated partners. Sciopay Ltd is registered in England and Wales as company 12352935, is an FCA Authorised Payment Institution under firm reference 927951, and is licensed by HMRC as a Money Service Business under licence XCML00000151326. The Currency Cloud Limited, company 06323311 and firm reference 900199, handles UK clients. Both numbers can be checked on the FCA register.
  • Client money. Funds sit in safeguarded, segregated accounts at regulated institutions, kept apart from the firm's own money from the moment they arrive, and protected if the firm or its partners fail.
  • Reach. Over 150 countries, same day for most currencies.
  • A named person. Not a call queue. On a completion day that is the difference between a problem being solved and a problem being logged.

One thing to be clear about, because it is the most misunderstood point in this area. Safeguarding is not the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Payment and e-money firms are not banks, and FSCS deposit protection does not apply to them. Safeguarding means your money is ring-fenced from the firm's creditors, which is real protection and a different protection. Move money through a currency account, not into one.

Where we move people

We move households anywhere in the world, and how that works by road, sea and air is set out on our international moving services page.

We move households anywhere in the world. These are the destinations we write about most, and each guide covers what the move itself involves:

Common questions

Should I use my bank or a currency broker?

For a few hundred pounds, your bank or an app is fine and the difference is small. For the sums involved in buying a property or moving a household, the gap between a bank rate and a broker rate is usually thousands, and that is what makes the comparison worth ten minutes.

Ask both for the rate on the same amount on the same day, and compare the sterling figure that lands, not the fee.

Is a currency broker safe?

Check three things and you will know. Is the firm executing the payment authorised by the FCA, and does its firm reference number match on the FCA register? Are client funds safeguarded in segregated accounts? Will they give you a named contact? Any firm that answers all three plainly has nothing to hide, and any firm that does not is one to leave.

How do I know the bank details I have been given are genuine?

Telephone the recipient on a number you already had, not one from the email, and read the details back. This single step prevents the most expensive fraud in property buying. Treat any late change of bank details as false until you have confirmed it by voice.

When is the best time to transfer?

Nobody knows, including anybody who tells you they do. What you can control is certainty. If a price is agreed and you need that sum on a date, fixing the rate forward removes the risk. Trying to time the market with money you have already committed is speculation with your house deposit.

Do I pay a fee?

Regency FX charges no transfer fee and no commission, and registration is free. The cost is in the exchange rate, as set out above. A receiving or intermediary bank at the far end may apply its own charge, which no UK provider controls.

What is a forward contract?

An agreement to buy currency at today's rate for delivery on a future date, usually secured with a deposit. It fixes what a purchase abroad costs you in sterling. You give up any gain if the rate improves, which is the price of knowing your budget.

How long does a transfer take?

Same day for most major currencies once funds have cleared and a rate is agreed. Less common currencies and some destinations take longer. Cleared funds is the phrase that matters, because a same-day transfer still waits on your own bank releasing the money.

Do I need my own lawyer when buying abroad?

Yes, and independent of the seller, the agent and the developer. Ask any lawyer you are offered what other work they do for those parties. The answer tells you whether they are acting for you.

Can I set up regular payments?

Yes. Regular transfers cover pensions, a mortgage abroad, school fees and anything else that recurs, at an agreed margin rather than the retail rate of the day.

Which countries can you send money to?

Over 150, which covers every destination we move households to and a good many we do not.

Getting a quote

Ask for a rate on the amount you are actually moving, on the day you are actually moving it. A rate quoted on a different sum or a different day tells you very little.

Get a currency quote. It takes about thirty seconds, and there is no obligation to go ahead.

Moving as well? Say so on the removals quote form and we will handle the currency side alongside the move rather than asking you the same questions twice.