Financing and paying

Paying for a French property from another currency: rates, timing, source of funds

A French property is paid in euros, into the notaire’s account, on a date set weeks in advance. When the money starts in another currency, three questions arise: the rate, the lead time and the proof of where the funds come from. This guide takes them in order, and says what Home Select organises with a regulated payment institution.

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The Anglet coastline seen from the heights, the beach below the cliffs — Anglet, Basque Country

By Jean Mascla, founder of Home Select Updated 24 October 2026 · 14 min read

Key takeaways

Transferring the price of a property from another currency raises three distinct questions, and the costliest is almost never the advertised fees.
The first is the rate: the real cost of a transfer is read in the gap between the rate applied to you and the interbank rate, not in a commission announced at zero.
The second is time: two to four months pass between the preliminary contract and the deed, during which a currency move of a few points shifts a six-figure sum, and that exposure is hedged by a forward contract.
The third is traceability: the notary is bound by the vigilance duties of article L561-2 of the Monetary and Financial Code, funds must come from an account in your name, and a transfer sent by a third party suspends the signature that very day.
Specialist payment institutions are authorised under the European payment services directive and segregate client funds.

What are we talking about when transferring a property price?

Two operations almost always conflated, though their costs and risks differ: converting a currency into euros, and moving euros to the notary’s account. The first carries the exchange risk and most of the cost, the second is only a transfer.

The two operations, and what they really cost
The operation	Its real cost	Its risk
Converting your currency into euros	The margin taken on the rate, rarely shown as a fee	Currency movement between contract and deed
Transferring the euros to the notary’s practice	Fixed fees, low and displayed	The timing, and the name on the sending account

This separation has an immediate practical consequence: you can convert early and transfer late. Many buyers do the opposite, holding their currency until the last day and converting in a hurry, at whatever rate applies. That is the one moment when you have no bargaining power at all.

How does a transfer unfold, from contract to deed?

In four stages, the first of which comes well before any money moves: opening the account that will receive the euros and the provider who will do the conversion. Opening each takes days, sometimes weeks, and nothing can happen until they exist.

Before the preliminary contract: open the French account and the account with an authorised currency provider, both in your name, and complete identity verification with each.
On signing the contract: decide the currency strategy, immediate conversion, staged conversion or forward contract, and put it in place the same day.
During the investigation: gather the source-of-funds evidence the notary will ask for, and send it without waiting to be chased.
A few days before the deed: transfer the euros to the practice’s account, from an account in your name, with a reference that clearly identifies the transaction.

Who can be trusted with a conversion, and under what authorisation?

To a bank or an authorised payment institution, and the second category deserves understanding rather than suspicion: a payment institution is authorised by a national supervisor under the second European payment services directive, and it operates across the Union by passporting. This is not an informal intermediary.

The three routes, and what separates them
The route	Its framework	What it is worth on a property price
Your home bank	Full banking licence, deposits guaranteed	Simple, but the exchange margin is rarely the best
A specialist payment institution	Authorised under the directive, client funds segregated	Finer margin, and hedging tools available
An unauthorised intermediary	None: no licence, no segregation, no remedy	To be ruled out without discussion on a sum of this order

Where does the real cost of a transfer hide?

In the rate, almost always, which is why a commission announced at zero says nothing about the price paid. The cost of a conversion is the gap between the interbank rate, public and viewable at any moment, and the rate applied to you. That gap is a margin, it appears on no line, and on a property price it weighs more than all the fixed fees combined.

The items of a transfer, and which one decides the total
The item	How it shows	Its real weight
The margin on the rate	Nowhere: it is inside the rate itself	The main item, by far, on a six-figure sum
The advertised commission	Displayed, sometimes at zero	Marginal, and often offset by the margin
The transfer fees	Displayed, fixed	Low, and capped within the European Economic Area
Correspondent fees	Sometimes deducted along the way	Variable, and avoidable by staying inside the euro area

What lead times should you plan for, and which is underestimated?

The transfer itself is fast, often one business day inside the euro area. What takes time is what comes before: opening the accounts and completing identity verification with each provider, counted in days and sometimes weeks for a file from far away.

The lead times, from first contact to payment
Step	Usual lead time	What stretches it
Opening an account with a currency provider	A few days to three weeks	The country of residence, and the quality of documents
Enhanced checks on a large amount	A few more days	The absence of source-of-funds evidence
Conversion	Immediate at the prevailing rate	Nothing, but the rate itself cannot be recovered
Euro transfer to the practice	1 to 2 business days inside the euro area	An unclear reference, or a sending account in a third party’s name

What do your currency and your country change about the operation?

Two things, and the second surprises more than the first. The currency decides liquidity and therefore the margin: a heavily traded currency converts at a narrow spread, a thinly traded one mechanically costs more. The country decides the length of the checks and sometimes the very existence of exchange controls at home.

What the country of departure triggers
Your situation	What applies
Account inside the euro area	No conversion and no margin: a simple transfer, capped at the domestic tariff
Account in the EEA outside the euro	Conversion, but a common regulatory framework and short lead times
Account outside the EEA	Enhanced checks, longer lead times, more supporting documents
Country applying exchange controls	An outward capital authorisation may be required at home

What should be checked before launching a large transfer?

Five points, four of which take minutes to check and only one requires some preparation. None concerns the rate: that is compared at the moment of the operation, not when choosing the provider.

The five checks, and what they avoid
To check	What forgetting produces
The provider’s authorisation, on the supervisor’s public register	Funds entrusted with no segregation and no remedy
That the sending account is in your name	A rejected transfer or a suspended signature on deed day
The net euro amount quoted, not the fee schedule	An invisible margin, often larger than all displayed fees
The exact details of the notary’s account	The risk of transfer fraud, the costliest of all
Source-of-funds evidence, gathered in advance	An enhanced check delaying the transfer by several days

Anglet, Pays basque

What risks weigh on a transfer of this size?

Three, of very different magnitudes. Currency risk is certain in its existence and uncertain in its direction: it is managed. Blocking risk is frequent and is prevented. Fraud risk is rare and irreversible, and it is the only one with no recovery.

The three risks, their nature and what holds them
The risk	Its nature	What holds it
Currency movement between contract and deed	Certain in existence, unknown in direction	A forward contract, or a staged conversion
Transfer blocked for checking	Frequent on large amounts from far away	Source-of-funds evidence gathered in advance
Bank-details fraud	Rare, but final: the funds do not come back	A phone confirmation on a number you dialled yourself

How do you read a rate, and how do you compare two offers?

With one single question, asked to both providers in the same minute: how many euros will I receive exactly for this amount in my currency? Everything else is decoration. A rate cannot be compared with another rate quoted at another hour, and a fee schedule says nothing about what will land on the account.

The interbank rate is public and viewable at any moment: it is the benchmark, and no individual obtains it.
The gap between that rate and the one applied to you is the margin, expressed in percentage points: it is the real price.
A margin is negotiable on large amounts, and a property price is a large amount: ask explicitly.
A commission advertised at zero indicates nothing until the margin is known, and it is sometimes dearer than a displayed commission.
Always compare at the same instant: fifteen minutes apart is enough to make two quotes incomparable.

Should you lock your rate in advance, and how?

Yes in almost every case, and for a reason unrelated to any market forecast: you have a firm commitment in euros and resources in another currency. That gap is a currency position you carry without having chosen it, and hedging does not seek to win, it seeks to remove it.

The three strategies, and who each suits
The strategy	What it does	Who it suits
Converting immediately	Removes the risk, and the potential gain with it	Someone holding the funds from the contract onwards
The forward contract	Locks today the rate of a future conversion, against a deposit	Someone whose funds arrive later, which is the common case
Staged conversion	Spreads the exposure across several dates	Someone wanting neither to lock everything nor to bear everything

Why does the notary want to know the source of your funds?

Because the law requires it, not out of curiosity: article L561-2 of the Monetary and Financial Code subjects the notary to anti-money-laundering vigilance duties. They cannot receive a deed if they do not understand where the money comes from, and that requirement has nothing to do with the trust they place in you.

What evidences a source, according to where the funds come from
The source	The expected evidence
Accumulated savings	Account statements over several months, showing the build-up
The sale of a property abroad	The translated deed of sale, and the statement crediting the price
A family gift	The deed of gift or the gift declaration, and the matching transfer
A bank loan	The accepted loan offer, sent directly by the bank
The sale of a business or securities	The sale agreement, and the custodian’s transaction advice

Which mistakes cost the most on a transfer?

Only one, in five guises: having looked at the fees and not at the rate. The four others follow from it, and the sixth is of another nature, since it is irreversible.

Six mistakes, and what they cost
The mistake	What it costs
Choosing on the advertised commission rather than the net in euros	An invisible margin, larger than all the file’s fees
Waiting until the eve of the deed to convert	That day’s rate, whatever it is, with no alternative
Opening the accounts after signing the contract	Weeks of checks while the calendar runs
Having a relative send the funds	A suspended signature, even when everything is legitimate
Gathering source evidence when the notary asks	A block of several days, just before the deed date
Taking bank details from an email	The final loss of the funds, with no remedy

What Home Select organises for your currency transfer

Exchange is not a step of the search, but it decides the date the funds reach the notaire, and sometimes the price you really pay. Home Select asks the question from the briefing: which currency, which amount, which calendar.

We introduce you to a regulated payment institution used to non-resident buyers, which gives you a readable rate, can lock it in advance and documents the source of funds the way the notaire expects. The operation itself, the rate and the compliance checks are its responsibility.

Frequently asked questions

Where does the real cost of a currency transfer hide?

In the rate, almost always, which is why a commission advertised at zero says nothing about the price paid. The cost of a conversion is the gap between the interbank rate, public and viewable at any moment, and the rate applied to you. That gap is a margin, it appears on no line, and on a property price it weighs more than all the fixed fees combined. To compare two offers, ask one question in the same minute: how many euros will I receive exactly?

Can a relative transfer the funds to the notary for me?

No, and it suspends the signature that very day, even when everything is perfectly legitimate. The notary is subject to the vigilance duties of article L561-2 of the Monetary and Financial Code: funds must leave an account in your name. If a third party funds the purchase, that is prepared upstream by a deed of gift or loan received by the notary, never by an improvised transfer the day before.

Why not simply wire from my bank?

Retail banks apply exchange margins and fees on international transfers which, on a property purchase, can amount to several thousand euros. We connect you with a currency specialist dedicated to property transfers, whose margin is lower and whose rate is known in advance.

How do I protect against exchange-rate swings?

The partner specialist offers professional tools: a forward rate to lock in your purchase cost, limit orders to convert at your target rate, or staged conversions to smooth the risk over time. They explain each option against your buying calendar, without ever pretending to predict the market.

Is my money safe during the transfer?

Partner providers are licensed and supervised by the financial authorities of their country, with segregated client accounts and strict anti-money-laundering standards. Your funds travel on traced routes, documented for the notary and your bank alike.

How are transfers coordinated with the notary?

A purchase is paid in two stages: the deposit at the sale agreement, then the balance at the deed. The specialist schedules each conversion and each wire around these deadlines, so funds reach the notary on time, neither too early (idle money) nor too late (a delayed signing).

Which documents are needed to open a currency account?

An ID, a proof of address and, on property amounts, details on the origin of funds. It is the same regulatory requirement everywhere: the partner walks you through this formality step by step.

Is the service only for the purchase?

No. Once the account is open, it serves all your France flows: renovation fund calls, service charges, local taxes, or rents to repatriate if you let the property. Recurring conversions can be scheduled.

How long does a transfer take?

Once your account is active and the conversion done, funds reach France within one to three business days depending on the currency and the banks. Ahead of a notary deadline, the conversion is prepared in advance so nothing ever hinges on the last minute.

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