Source of funds (SoF) is the origin of the specific money used in a transaction — distinct from source of wealth, which covers overall accumulated wealth — and is a core AML/KYC check carried out before or during a regulated business relationship.
When a regulated firm — a bank, solicitor, estate agent or financial intermediary — enters a significant transaction, it must satisfy itself that the money involved is legitimate. Source of funds addresses the immediate question: where did this particular sum come from? Acceptable answers might be a property sale, an inheritance, a business disposal, a loan facility, or accumulated savings — each capable of documentary support.
The check is not merely procedural. Illicit funds are most vulnerable to detection at the point of entry into the financial system. If the origin of a payment cannot be credibly explained and evidenced, the transaction carries material red flags that must be escalated under anti-money laundering obligations.
The distinction is important and often confused. Source of funds is transaction-level: it asks where the money in this deal came from. Source of wealth is biographical: it asks how the individual built their net worth overall. For a politically exposed person or a high-value client, both checks are typically required — a credible source of wealth does not automatically validate the source of funds for any given payment.
One confidential message is enough. Tell us only what you are comfortable sharing — we take it from there.
Make a confidential enquiry