FX payments licence in Spain (online currency exchange): do you need one for transfers?

The case, in five lines

What is brought

Application to the Banco de España (Spain's central bank) for authorisation as a payment institution (procedure P212; article 11 of Royal Decree-Law 19/2018, RDL 19/2018) or for registration as an exempt institution (procedure P223; article 14 of RDL 19/2018 and article 4 of Royal Decree 736/2019), with currency exchange as a service ancillary to payments (article 20.1.a of RDL 19/2018). If you will also sell banknotes over a counter, authorisation to buy and sell foreign currency (procedure P30; Royal Decree 2660/1998) for the same company. If refused, a recurso de alzada (administrative appeal) to the Minister for the Economy and, after that, a judicial review claim.

Before which court

The payment institution is authorised by the Comisión Ejecutiva (Executive Committee) of the Banco de España, after a report from SEPBLAC (Spain's financial intelligence unit) (article 11.2 of RDL 19/2018 and article 23.1.b of Law 13/1994); registration as an exempt institution and authorisation as a bureau de change are decided by the Secretary General under delegated powers (Banco de España Resolution of 23 March 2026). The Banco de España's decisions do not exhaust administrative remedies: a recurso de alzada lies to the Minister for the Economy, today the head of the Ministerio de Economía, Comercio y Empresa (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business) (article 2.2 of Law 13/1994 and article 26.7 of RDL 19/2018), and then to the Audiencia Nacional (National High Court) in sole instance (article 2.3 of Law 13/1994), without the prior attempt at negotiation that Organic Law 1/2025 requires only in civil and commercial cases.

Deadline

Payment institution: three months from receipt or from the date the documentation is complete, with silence meaning refusal (article 11.2 of RDL 19/2018). Exempt institution: after the pre-application and the preliminary meeting, registration is deemed to have taken place twenty days after the complete documentation is filed (article 4.1 of Royal Decree 736/2019); if the threshold is exceeded, 30 calendar days to apply for authorisation (article 14.2.d of RDL 19/2018). Bureau de change: three months from receipt, with silence meaning refusal, and six months from notification to register the sociedad anónima (public limited company) (articles 3.2 and 4.2.a of Royal Decree 2660/1998). The recurso de alzada must be filed within one month of notification, or at any time against silence (article 122.1 of Law 39/2015, the Administrative Procedure Act, LPAC); judicial review within two months from the day after notification of the decision on the alzada (article 46.1 of the LJCA, the Contentious-Administrative Jurisdiction Act), with no time limit if the Minister does not decide it.

Who can bring it

The applicant is the company that will provide the service, or its promoters if it is still in formation. A payment institution is a commercial company (normally a private or public limited company) which may be authorised while still in formation, with its head office, registered office and part of its business in Spain (articles 11.3 and 13.1 of RDL 19/2018). An exempt institution may be a natural or legal person with its head office or residence in Spain (article 14.2.a); the rules do not say whether it must already be incorporated, and the prudent course is to apply once incorporated. To sell banknotes, a sociedad anónima formed by simultaneous incorporation is required (article 4.2.a of Royal Decree 2660/1998). Any appeal is brought by the applicant.

Financial risk

Providing payment services repeatedly and on a professional basis without authorisation or registration is a very serious infringement (article 92.aa of Law 10/2014), punishable with a fine on the company of three to five times the profit obtained, or of up to 10% of its turnover or 10,000,000 euros (article 97.1.a) and, for each responsible director, up to 5,000,000 euros and disqualification for up to ten years (article 100.1). Selling currency forwards that are neither spot nor a means of payment encroaches on investment services, which are a reserved activity (article 129 of Law 6/2023). A refusal costs months, although you may reapply.

When currency exchange becomes a payment service

Royal Decree 2660/1998 regulates one thing only: the professional purchase and sale of foreign banknotes and traveller's cheques in establishments open to the public (article 1.1). Since the reform made by Royal Decree 84/2015 it no longer covers transfers, because handling transfers is a payment service under Royal Decree-Law 19/2018. Those services may be provided on a professional basis only by the providers listed in the law, essentially credit institutions, electronic money institutions and payment institutions, including exempt ones (article 5.1), and anyone else not expressly excluded is prohibited from providing them (article 5.3).

The exclusion that protects currency exchange is narrow: only cash-to-cash exchange operations in which the funds are not held on a payment account fall outside the rules (article 4.f). As soon as the client hands over euros by transfer and you pay the currency into a third party's account, such as its supplier in the United States, the operation fits, on the wording, within money remittance: receiving funds without opening a payment account in anyone's name for the sole purpose of transferring them to a payee (article 3.36). This is our reading of the definition, consistent with a general answer from the European Banking Authority that receiving and forwarding funds is a payment service; it is not a published position of the Banco de España.

There is a grey area worth knowing about. No rule or official guidance classifies the case where the bureau, acting as counterparty to the exchange, collects the countervalue in its own account or pays the proceeds into the client's own account. The Court of Justice of the European Union, in Case C-51/25 (judgment of 16 July 2026), held that the service of an intermediary whose transfers were executed by the banks was not a payment service, but the case concerned guarantees in building works and is useful only by analogy. And buying and selling currency on your own account, without providing a service to third parties, is not a regulated activity, according to a decision of the Dirección General de Seguridad Jurídica y Fe Pública (the Directorate-General for Legal Certainty and Public Faith) of 16 December 2021. The grey area is resolved before filing, not afterwards.

Online currency exchange platform: which service it provides and what capital it needs

A platform where the business transfers euros and the platform pays the foreign supplier in its currency, without the client holding an account with it, fits within money remittance (article 1.2.f): if that is its only service, initial capital is 20,000 euros (article 19.1.a). If it holds payment accounts in the client's name, with balances in several currencies from which the client orders transfers, it provides execution of payment transactions (article 1.2.c) and capital rises to 125,000 euros (article 19.1.c). This is the classification that follows from the definitions; there is no published official position on online currency exchange.

In both cases, currency exchange is provided as an ancillary service closely related to the payment, which a payment institution is entitled by law to provide (article 20.1.a). What it cannot do is take deposits or issue e-money: the funds it receives in order to pay are not deposits (article 10.2), and its payment accounts may be used only for payment transactions (article 20.2). A prepaid balance that the client keeps and later spends with third parties may be e-money, which requires a different licence, as we explain in our case on the payment institution or e-money institution licence.

The Banco de España does not guess the business model: the programme of operations states the type of payment service and the ancillary services (article 2.1.a of Royal Decree 736/2019), and the authorisation specifies the activities that may be carried on under that programme (article 1.1). That is why we describe the flow of funds account by account: who gives the order, which account each euro enters, how long it stays there, who executes the transfer and in whose name it leaves. And if the platform is already an authorised payment institution in another Member State, it may operate in Spain on notification by its home supervisor to the Banco de España (article 22.2 of RDL 19/2018), without a Spanish licence.

Payment institution or exempt institution: the 3 million a month threshold decides

A payment institution is authorised by the Comisión Ejecutiva of the Banco de España, after a report from SEPBLAC, within three months of receipt or of the date the documentation is complete; if no decision is notified, the application is deemed refused (article 11.2). It may take any commercial company form (in practice, a private or public limited company), is authorised while in formation and, after entry in the Registro Mercantil (the Companies Registry), is entered in the special register before it starts operating (article 13.1). On top of its capital, it holds own funds calculated by one of the three methods in Royal Decree 736/2019 (articles 17 and 18) and safeguards client funds in a segregated account, in secure assets or through insurance or a guarantee (article 21). In return, it has an EU passport and a right of access to bank accounts on objective and proportionate terms (article 9), which matters when the bank resists, as we explain in our case on the bank that refuses or closes your bureau de change's account.

An exempt institution is registered instead of authorised if the monthly average of its payment transactions over the previous twelve months, including its agents, does not exceed 3,000,000 euros; at the outset, this is measured against its business plan (article 14.1.a). It may provide only the services in letters a) to f), none of the persons responsible for its management may have been convicted of money laundering, terrorist financing or other financial crimes, it needs no minimum capital and its registration is deemed to have taken place twenty days after the complete documentation is filed (article 4.1 of Royal Decree 736/2019). The rules do not impose safeguarding on it, but the Banco de España may require it (article 4.3) and its guide asks for it from exempt institutions providing services other than money remittance. It has no passport (article 14.2.b).

What nobody tells you: on a platform for businesses the threshold is used up quickly, because what counts is the value of each payment, not your margin. Nine importers at 2.4 million a month leave little headroom, and if the average exceeds the threshold you have 30 calendar days to apply for authorisation if you want to keep operating (article 14.2.d). Moreover, the exempt route is lighter, not faster: the Banco de España's electronic office requires a pre-application (form FDU-167) and a preliminary meeting on motivation, maturity, resources and services, with a demonstration, before the formal application (FDU-059 with FDU-163). If you need to start sooner, the quick route is to become the agent of an institution that is already authorised, which notifies the Banco de España; the Banco de España has two months to register you and you may not operate until registered (article 23 of RDL 19/2018), as we explain in our case on setting up a money remittance business as an agent or with your own licence.

If you also sell banknotes over a counter: two applications for the same company

A payment licence does not authorise you to sell banknotes over a counter. For that you also need authorisation to buy and sell foreign currency under Royal Decree 2660/1998 (procedure P30) for the same company. This is possible because a bureau that sells currency must have an exclusive corporate purpose unless it is a payment or e-money institution (article 4.2.b), but that exemption reaches only the corporate purpose: you still need a sociedad anónima formed by simultaneous incorporation, 60,000 euros of capital fully subscribed and paid up in cash, in registered shares, and anti-money laundering procedures in line with articles 31 to 40 of Royal Decree 304/2014 (article 4.2.a, c and d). Your private limited company cannot sell banknotes; if it only bought banknotes from travellers and paid in euros, any legal form would do, including yours (articles 2.1 and 4.1).

P30 has no pre-application stage. The Banco de España authorises, after a report from SEPBLAC, within three months of receipt; if there is no decision, the application is deemed refused (article 3.2). After that there are six months from notification to execute the deed and register the sociedad anónima in the Registro Mercantil, and only after entry in the Banco de España's register of currency exchange establishments may you operate (articles 4.2.a and 3.3). No rule sets the order of the two applications. If the company wants to be an exempt institution, whether an exempt institution can also be a bureau selling currency without an exclusive corporate purpose is unresolved, although the rules suggest it can because it is treated as a payment institution (article 14.2.b of RDL 19/2018): this is settled with the Banco de España at the preliminary meeting. We cover the counter in detail in our case on opening a bureau de change and obtaining Banco de España authorisation.

At the counter, the cash payment limit applies: transactions of 1,000 euros or more may not be paid in cash where a business or professional is involved, or 10,000 euros where the payer is an individual without a tax residence in Spain (article 7.One.1 of Law 7/2012). The limit does not apply to cash currency exchange by establishments under Royal Decree 2660/1998 or to transactions carried out through payment institutions, provided they are subject to Banco de España supervision and to anti-money laundering rules (article 7.One.5, which still refers to the repealed Law 16/2009). The exception presupposes authorisation and supervision: a business that is not yet registered cannot rely on it.

Fixing today the rate for a March payment: the boundary with financial instruments

Currency derivative contracts, such as forwards, options and swaps, are financial instruments (article 2.1.d of Law 6/2023), and providing investment services on them is reserved to authorised firms such as investment firms or credit institutions (article 129). A payment institution has no such authorisation. Selling an importer a rate fixed today for a March payment can take your company outside what the payment licence allows, without anyone noticing until the first request for information.

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/565 provides two carve-outs. A spot contract is not a financial instrument: delivery scheduled within two trading days for pairs of major currencies, including the US dollar and the Mexican peso; for other pairs, such as the euro against the Turkish lira, two trading days or the market's standard delivery period if longer; and it stops being spot if the parties agree to postpone delivery (article 10.2 and 10.3). Nor is a contract entered into as a means of payment, which must meet four conditions at once: settlement by physical delivery, save for default or another termination event; at least one party that is not a financial counterparty; the purpose of facilitating payment for identifiable goods, services or direct investment; and no trading on a trading venue (article 10.1.b).

Whether a payment institution may offer those payment forwards as an ancillary activity is our reading of the rules, without any official position confirming it. That is why the contract is drafted so that the fit is visible: each forward tied to a specific invoice or order, physical delivery of the currency to the supplier and never cash settlement of differences. A client who wants to bet on the dollar with no payment behind it is not a client for a payment institution, and the Banco de España will see it in the programme of operations.

What the Banco de España and SEPBLAC look at, and what to do if they ask for more or refuse

Payment institutions and exempt institutions are obliged entities under anti-money laundering law (article 2.1.h of Law 10/2010). For an authorised institution, SEPBLAC reports on the adequacy of its internal controls; for an exempt one there is no prior report, but the system must be described. In money remittance the client is always identified, whatever the amount (article 4.1 of Royal Decree 304/2014); enhanced due diligence is mandatory for remittances above 3,000 euros and for exchanges above 6,000, per transaction or aggregated over the calendar quarter (article 19.2), and remittances above 1,500 euros are reported to SEPBLAC every month (article 27). A payment institution is not exempt from the annual external review, carried out by an external expert (article 28 of Law 10/2010). And from 28 October 2026, non-face-to-face identification no longer needs SEPBLAC's prior approval for each procedure if it follows the general authorisations published (article 21.1.d of Royal Decree 304/2014). We cover the full manual in our case on anti-money laundering for bureaux de change and remittance businesses.

Requests for information are the rule, not the exception. A request to remedy defects is answered within ten days, extendable by five, with a warning that the application will otherwise be treated as withdrawn (article 68 LPAC); when it asks for information, the Banco de España may suspend the time limit for deciding until the request is met, and SEPBLAC's report suspends it for up to three months (article 22.1 LPAC). No rule limits the number of requests. We file as the company's representatives, with a duly evidenced power of attorney, without using your electronic certificate; the fit and proper and good repute forms are signed by each declarant.

A refusal of authorisation or registration does not exhaust administrative remedies: it is appealed by recurso de alzada to the Minister for the Economy within one month of notification, or at any time against silence (article 2.2 of Law 13/1994; article 26.7 of RDL 19/2018; article 122.1 LPAC). A recurso de reposición (request for reconsideration) is not available. Against the Minister's decision, judicial review lies in sole instance before the Audiencia Nacional, not before the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid (High Court of Justice of Madrid), within two months (article 2.3 of Law 13/1994; article 46.1 LJCA). It is often faster to fix the defect and reapply while the appeal runs, as we explain in our case on what to do when the Banco de España asks for more information or refuses the licence.

How we run the case, step by step

1. 1

   We map the flow of funds

   Account by account: who gives the order, where each euro goes in, how long it stays, who executes the transfer and in whose name it leaves. That shows which payment service you provide and which part is a grey area.

2. 2

   We choose the route and the structure

   Payment institution or exempt institution depending on your three-year business plan and whether you need a passport; if there will be a counter, a sociedad anónima with 60,000 euros and the two applications coordinated.

3. 3

   We adjust the forward contracts

   Framework contract and terms so that each transaction is spot or a means of payment tied to an invoice, with physical delivery; whatever does not fit comes out of the programme of operations.

4. 4

   We prepare and file the application

   Programme of operations, business plan, safeguarding, governance, security and AML manual. We file as the company's representatives, under a power of attorney, without using your certificate; each declarant signs their own forms.

5. 5

   We handle the pre-application, the meeting and the requests

   We prepare the preliminary meeting and the demonstration, answer every request on time and with evidence, and log the date of every filing so we know when the decision period is running.

6. 6

   We complete registration or appeal

   Registro Mercantil, the special register and the Registro de Altos Cargos (register of senior officers) before the first real client; if refused, a recurso de alzada within one month and the Audiencia Nacional within two, or a fresh application that fixes the defect.

The law that applies

• Arts. 1.2, 3.36, 4.f, 5 y 20.1.a RDL 19/2018. Eight payment services, including money remittance; only cash-to-cash exchange without a payment account is excluded; the activity is reserved; a payment institution may exchange currency as an ancillary service. BOE-A-2018-16036
• Arts. 11, 13, 14, 19 y 21 RDL 19/2018. Authorisation within three months, with silence meaning refusal; registration before operating; exemption up to a monthly average of 3,000,000 euros, without a passport; capital of 20,000, 50,000 or 125,000 euros; safeguarding of funds. BOE-A-2018-16036
• Arts. 1, 2, 4, 17, 18 y 23 RD 736/2019. Contents of the application and of the programme of operations; registration of an exempt institution twenty days after complete documentation; own funds by one of three methods; rules for hybrid institutions. BOE-A-2019-18425
• Arts. 1, 2 y 4 RD 2660/1998. Regulates only the purchase and sale of foreign banknotes and traveller's cheques in establishments open to the public; selling requires a public limited company, 60,000 euros and an exclusive purpose; the last of these does not apply to payment or e-money institutions. BOE-A-1998-28816
• Art. 10 Reglamento Delegado (UE) 2017/565. Spot currency contracts, with delivery within two trading days for major pairs, and contracts that are a means of payment meeting its four conditions are not financial instruments. 32017R0565
• Arts. 2 y 129 Ley 6/2023, de los Mercados de Valores. Currency derivatives are financial instruments, and providing investment services on them is reserved to authorised firms. BOE-A-2023-7053
• Art. 7 Ley 7/2012. A 1,000 euro limit on cash payments where a business or professional is involved; it does not apply to cash exchange by authorised establishments or to transactions through supervised payment institutions. BOE-A-2012-13416
• Art. 2 Ley 13/1994, de Autonomía del Banco de España. Acts of the Banco de España outside its monetary functions are appealed to the Minister for the Economy, and the Audiencia Nacional hears, in sole instance, challenges to the Minister's decision. BOE-A-1994-12553

Each article checked against the consolidated text published in the BOE (the Spanish official gazette).

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