CurrencyFair : How it works and reviews

If you need to transfer money abroad but want to avoid paying high fees with your bank, we recommend you use a platform specifically designed for international transfers. Indeed, going through a platform like CurrencyFair will allow you to make great savings on your transfers (up to 8 times cheaper than going through a bank). Why? These sites offer advantageous exchange rates and fixed fees compared to those applied by banks.
In this article, we will explain the international money transfer platform CurrencyFair. Find out more about its operating principle as well as our opinion having tried it out for you.

CurrencyFair: About the company

CurrencyFair is a company established in 2009, headquartered in Ireland. It also has offices in the Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong.

The company is recognized as a payment institution by the Central Bank of Ireland under the regulation of the European Commission. It is also regulated by the Australian Safety and Investment Commission. CurrencyFair has all the necessary accreditations to make money transfers safely and wherever you are. It currently offers transfers in 20 different currencies and across more than 150 countries worldwide.

The web user interface is very complete and offers many features. A mobile app is also available for Android and iOS.

With CurrencyFair, there are no nasty surprises. You know the exchange rate applied, the fees charged and know exactly how much you will receive on your account. You only have one $4 commission applied on the amount transferred.

Benefit from 5 Free Transfers

Thanks to our partnership, we can offer 5 free transfers to our readers. To benefit from this, just click on the button below and create an online account. Once completed, you will see this credit of 5 free transfers in your profile. Log in to your account, go to the top right on your name, then select “my profile”.

How does it work?

One might think that the money is going directly to another country, but in reality, the money will pass through a local CurrencyFair account, thus limiting fees. Once your money is transferred to your CurrencyFair account, you will be able to exchange your currencies instantly at a much more attractive rate than those charged by banks. Once your currencies are converted, you can transfer to your bank account abroad (or vice versa).

How much does it cost?

 In terms of fees, CurrencyFair uses a flat fee of $4 per transfer, which is better than the competition that either uses higher fees or percentages on the amount transferred. Thus, by going through CurrencyFair, you pay 4 AUD, regardless of the amount transferred.

Comparison between CurrencyFair and a Bank

For a transfer of 1000£ (November 2023)

That’s a difference of almost AUD 85! The advantage of using such a service is all the more obvious when the rate is higher.

CurrencyFair features

CurrencyFair offers two types of accounts: a Personal Account and a Business Account.

Personal Account

1. International Transfer

CurrencyFair’s main feature for individuals.
You can make an instant transfer by bank transfer. You will need to create a free account on CurrencyFair website. Once done, you design the amount to be exchanged, the desired currency and you exchange it. Once you have added CurrencyFair’s bank details to your bank account (adding a beneficiary), the transfer takes 1-2 days. In practice, CurrencyFair will receive the money, exchange your currencies and then transfer the money to your account. It is the most used and fastest tool for a money transfer.

2. CurrencyFair Wallet (multi-currency account)

This option allows you to create your free multi-currency wallet. This way, your funds are always ready to be exchanged, in the currency of your choice. You top up anytime and transfer when you’re ready. This feature is very useful if you need to make transfers in multiple currencies, or if you simply have several accounts in different countries and/or currencies.

3. Exchange rate alert

CurrencyFair also offers an exchange rate alert feature. Just set up your alerts in your account and CurrencyFair sends you a notification when the rate is up, down or hits a certain threshold. Perfect if you want to follow the evolution of the rate of a currency and take advantage of the most favorable exchange rate for your transfer (especially if it involves large amounts).

Business Account

CurrencyFair has also developed a solution for professionals. For companies operating internationally, fluctuating exchange rates can quickly become a headache and a source of risk. To make their daily life easier, CurrencyFair therefore offers a business account to manage financial transactions abroad more easily.

The business account allows you to facilitate money transfers abroad, to make international payments (transmitters or receivers), while always guaranteeing advantageous exchange rates. It also offers multi-user access, an accounting tool for small businesses, a two-person approval function… all aimed at minimizing the risks associated with overseas operations.

Our experience with CurrencyFair

The reviews of the user interface of CurrencyFair is almost perfect. In addition to being ergonomic, it is a full management application.

As for the other platforms, to make your first bank transfer, there are three parameters to take into account for the time needed:

• The time imposed by your bank to add a beneficiary to your transfers. This can take between 24 and 72 hours depending on the bank.
• The time required for your bank to make your transfer. For example, if you make the transfer on the weekend you will have to wait until Monday.
• The time it takes CurrencyFair to transfer the money to your other account.

Our first Bank transfer took us 5 days starting with registering on a Monday, the money was on our Australian account on the Friday of the same week.

Personally, we always use the bank transfer. We simply tested the transfer via Market Place. We found it quite entertaining to be able to set our rate by doing a “call for tenders”. But we believe that this system is more suitable for people who want to act like they’re on Wall Street and make profits.

CurrencyFair Reviews & Comments

Based on the other comments we have read, the main advantages of CurrencyFair are speed, the ability to choose the transfer method, fixed fees and its competitive rates with banks.

In terms of drawbacks, some users have had delays in their transfer for less used currencies. Others have had problems with the verification of their identity, which is very strict.

Why do we recommend CurrencyFair?

CurrencyFair has been a reliable, secure and internationally recognized service for more than ten years. CurrencyFair is above all the fast and safe way to send money abroad, while enjoying advantageous rates. It would be crazy to do without it and to continue to go through our banks, which tend to increase their margins on operations abroad.

Traveling to the other side of the world already involves enough preparation and questions. Let’s not add the stress of financial risks. So don’t worry about your money, CurrencyFair takes care of everything and in no time, your money will be available in your account in your new currency. Finally, in case of doubt or delay, know that CurrencyFair offers a super efficient customer service, in several languages.

FAQs

Email: theteam@currencyfair.com or through their contact page.

We hope you enjoyed our CurrencyFair reviews!

Related Articles:

• Get 5 free money transfers with CurrencyFair
• How to transfer money to Australia