Send money to Portugal
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Today's best rates to Portugal
As of 5 August 2026, sending £1,000 to Portugal, your recipient gets the most with Instarem: 1,166.30 EUR, the best of 7 providers compared.
| Provider | Rate | Fee | Recipient gets | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1.1663 mid-market | £0 | 1,166.30 EUR | Within 2 days | Send | |
1.1660 0.03% worse | £0 | 1,166.00 EUR | 1–3 days | Send | |
1.1660 0.03% worse | £0 | 1,166.00 EUR | 1–3 days | Send | |
1.1645 0.15% worse | £0 | 1,164.55 EUR | Within 2 days | Send | |
1.1665 0.02% better | £3.88 | 1,161.99 EUR | Within 2 days | Send | |
1.1615 0.41% worse | £0 | 1,161.50 EUR | 1–2 days | Send | |
1.1354 2.65% worse | £0 | 1,135.38 EUR | Up to 4 days | Send |
Portugal is one of the most popular places Brits send money — a villa in the Algarve, an apartment in Lisbon or Porto, a retirement move, or supporting family and paying local bills. Both countries are in the SEPA zone, so the euros move easily; what actually decides how much arrives is which provider you convert your pounds with. The gap between a UK high-street bank and a specialist is typically 2–4% of the whole transfer — on £10,000 that's the difference between losing around £50 and losing £300+ to the exchange rate alone, before any fee. And yes, Portugal uses the IBAN, so paying into a Portuguese account is straightforward.
How to send money to Portugal from the UK
There are three practical ways to move money from the UK into a Portuguese bank account. They rarely differ in whether the money arrives — it almost always does — but they differ a lot in how many euros survive the exchange rate.
Bank transfer
The obvious choice, and usually the dearest. High-street banks typically build a 2–4% margin into the exchange rate on top of a £0–£25+ fee. On a £10,000 transfer, a 3% margin alone is about £300 gone before the fee.
Money-transfer provider
Specialists — Wise, Currencies Direct, TorFX, OFX, Revolut — are built to beat bank rates. Margins run 0.5–2%, often under 1% on larger sums, and brokers will price a big transfer keenly. On £10,000 a 0.5% margin is around £50.
App or prepaid card
Apps like Wise and Revolut double as travel-spending tools; prepaid cards fix the rate when you load them. For actually paying euros into a Portuguese bank account — rather than spending on the ground — a dedicated transfer provider usually wins.
What you need to send money to Portugal
Portuguese bank details and IBANs
Portugal is part of SEPA, so every Portuguese account has an IBAN — 25 characters, starting "PT". You'll need the recipient's full name exactly as it appears on the account, plus the IBAN; some providers also ask for the bank's BIC/SWIFT code. Check the IBAN digit-by-digit against something the recipient sent you in writing — a single wrong character is one of the most common causes of a bounced or delayed transfer.
ID checks and verification
UK providers must verify who you are before sending (Know Your Customer, under the Money Laundering Regulations). A first or modest transfer needs your name, address and date of birth, plus a photo ID and proof of address. Anything above roughly £8,000–£10,000 usually triggers extra checks — the source-of-funds request covered further down.
How long does it take to send money to Portugal?
Once your pounds are converted to euros, the payment travels on the SEPA network inside Europe. You don't pick the rail — the provider does — but it's worth knowing what the labels mean.
Hold-ups usually come down to one thing: a missed daily cut-off, first-time identity checks, a UK or Portuguese bank holiday, or a mistyped IBAN. On a large purchase, the checks before the money leaves take longer than the transfer itself.
Fees and exchange rates for UK to Portugal
Fees run from £0 (many specialists on standard transfers) to £25+ (a bank branch payment). But the flat fee is the part that's easy to see — the exchange-rate margin is the part that isn't, and it's usually the bigger cost. Here's where it hides.
The exchange-rate margin
The real cost of most transfers. Banks: 2–4% above the mid-market rate. Specialists: typically 0.5–2%, often under 1% on larger amounts. On £10,000+ that gap is routinely £200–£300.
Correspondent-bank fees
An old-fashioned SWIFT wire can hop through intermediary banks that each take a slice, so less arrives than you sent. Specialists paying by local euro transfer usually avoid this altogether.
Card & weekend markups
Watch for ~3% foreign-transaction fees on a normal UK debit or credit card, and weekend/out-of-hours markups on some apps. Judge any offer by the euros that land, not the headline fee.
Sending money to Portugal to buy property
An estimated 60,000 Portuguese properties are British-owned, most heavily in the Algarve (Loulé, Lagos, Albufeira, Tavira), with Lisbon, Cascais and Porto the other big draws. A Portuguese purchase runs through a lawyer and a Notário, and money moves at set stages — with one quirk UK buyers should know about.
Promissory contract (CPCV)
Contrato de Promessa de Compra e Venda — the binding contract. You pay a deposit (the Sinal), typically 10% but often 20–30% for non-residents. Default and you forfeit it; if the seller defaults they owe you double.
Your NIF and bank account
A Portuguese tax number (NIF) is mandatory before you can buy — your lawyer arranges it, often remotely, as your fiscal representative. A Portuguese bank account is a practical must for the deposit, balance and taxes.
Completion (Escritura)
Escritura Pública — the final deed, signed before the Notário once IMT transfer tax and stamp duty are paid. You transfer the remaining balance, ownership passes, and keys change hands.
The quirk: unlike some countries, the Sinal deposit is often paid directly to the seller rather than held in a neutral escrow account — so verifying who you're paying matters even more here. Budget an extra 6–10% on top of the price for costs: IMT transfer tax (progressive, up to ~7.5% on a second home), stamp duty (Imposto do Selo) at 0.8%, notary and registry fees, and an independent lawyer at 1–2% plus VAT. One thing that has changed: since October 2023, buying property no longer qualifies for Portugal's Golden Visa — the property route was abolished, so a purchase is now entirely separate from residency.
Lock in today's euro rate with a forward contract
One to three months typically pass between signing the CPCV (and paying the deposit) and the Escritura (and paying the balance) — long enough for GBP/EUR to move against you by thousands. On a €350,000 villa, a 2% swing is over £6,000. A forward contract lets you fix today's rate now and pay for the euros later, usually against a small deposit. And because a Portuguese purchase means at least two payments — the Sinal, then the balance — some buyers convert in stages rather than all at once.
So if a big euro completion is a month or two off, ask about a forward contract before you exchange.
Is it safe to send money to Portugal?
Any UK firm handling money transfers must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and keep customer money segregated from its own ("safeguarding") — thirty seconds on the FCA Register confirms it. The bigger danger on a property purchase is fraud, and it's sharper in Portugal because the deposit can go straight to the seller.
Completion-day payment diversion
Rule: criminals hack the email chain between you, the agent and the lawyer and, right before payment, send a fake "our bank details have changed" message pointing at their own account. Always confirm the account by phone on a number you already had — never one from an email.
Verify the seller before the Sinal
Rule: because the deposit is often paid directly to the seller rather than into escrow, have your independent lawyer confirm the seller's identity and clean title at the Land Registry before you send a penny.
"Better rate" cold-call / clone firm
Rule: a firm that rings out of the blue with an unbeatable rate may be a clone of a real one. Check it on the FCA Register and call back on the number listed there, not the one you were given.
Check the firm is regulated
Rule: FCA-authorised firms must keep your money separate from their own, so it's protected if the firm fails. Look the firm up on register.fca.org.uk before you commit.
Report fraud: Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or at actionfraud.police.uk (in Scotland, Police Scotland on 101).
Tax on money sent to Portugal
Moving your own money
Sending your own, already-taxed money from the UK to Portugal is not a UK taxable event — there's no tax just for transferring it. There's no fixed UK reporting threshold for electronic transfers, though a large one usually prompts a source-of-funds check. Keep the paperwork that shows where the money came from.
Watch-out: gifts and Portuguese taxes
A gift can affect UK Inheritance Tax on your estate if you die within seven years. Separately, owning Portuguese property brings its own annual taxes — the IMI council tax and, on higher-value holdings, the AIMI wealth tax above a €600,000 allowance — none of which relate to the transfer itself. If you're buying, take Portuguese tax advice.
How do most people move money to Portugal?
For most second-home owners, retirees and families, the cheapest route is a specialist currency company paying euros straight into a Portuguese account by SEPA transfer — not a high-street bank. For a one-off move a spot deal is fine; for a purchase completion or another known future payment, a forward contract to lock the rate is what sets the specialists apart. Whichever you pick, judge it by the euros that actually arrive — and, especially in Portugal where the deposit can go straight to the seller, confirm the receiving account by phone before you send.
Frequently asked questions about sending money to Portugal
Mostly the exchange-rate margin, not the flat fee. A UK bank typically costs 2–4% of your transfer in a worse rate; a specialist typically costs 0.5–2%. On £10,000, that's roughly £200–£300 with a bank versus £50–£150 with a specialist provider.
A specialist money-transfer provider using or close to the mid-market rate, rather than a UK high-street bank. Compare the total cost — fee plus exchange-rate margin — for your specific amount using the table above, since some providers are cheaper on smaller amounts and others on larger ones.
Yes. Every Portuguese account uses an IBAN — 25 characters, starting "PT" — and it's mandatory for any SEPA transfer into Portugal. Providers usually also ask for the bank's BIC/SWIFT code. Always check the IBAN against details the recipient sent you in writing.
As little as under 10 seconds by SEPA Instant between supporting banks, or 1–2 business days for a standard SEPA transfer. Older bank wires outside SEPA can take 2–5 business days. On large sums, the checks before the money leaves are usually the slowest part.
Yes — and it's big enough to do properly. You'll need a Portuguese tax number (NIF) before buying and, in practice, a Portuguese bank account. Use an FCA-authorised provider and consider a forward contract to lock your rate once you have a completion date. Note the deposit is often paid directly to the seller, so verify who you're paying with your lawyer first.
Not for sending your own money — that's not a taxable event in the UK. Gifting money can have UK Inheritance Tax implications if you die within seven years. Portugal's own property taxes (IMI, and the AIMI wealth tax on higher-value holdings) are separate and apply to owning the property, not to the transfer.
Our sources & how we keep this current
Last updated: July 2026. The live rates above refresh automatically, and we review the rest of this guide every month — updating it whenever the rules on payments, tax or regulation change.