Currencyfair.com Review 2021 – Pros & Cons Of The Money Sending Service

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CurrencyFair: Send money in a cheap and safe way

About the Company

CurrencyFair began as a company created to solve one problem: expensive and slow cross-border money transfers. Since the beginning, this simple idea grew into a massive operation, with the total amount transacted exceeding $8 billion. That alone resulted in over $200 million saved and tens of thousands of satisfied customers.

The company operates worldwide, with offices located in Ireland, Singapore, United Kingdom, Australia, and Hong Kong. Even after achieving great success, the company consists only of six people with a combined experience of over 50 years in fintech and financial services. Today the company enables you not only to send money but also deposit it into your account, exchange, transfer out, and set recurring transactions.

CurrencyFair Licenses

CurrencyFair is a fully registered and licensed company operating under the laws of Ireland. The company is also a regulated Payment institution, fully authorized by the Central Bank of Ireland. Under those laws, the company is obligated to protect customer’s funds, maintain the highest standard while minimizing the fraud and poor administration that might lead to any loss of funds. Other than the Irish license, the company has a subsidiary – CurrencyFair Australia Pty Ltd, regulated and licensed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

Products And Services Offered By CurrencyFair

The core products offered by CurrencyFair are fast, easy, and low-cost money transfers across borders. CurrencyFair smart platform can reduce the cost of transferring funds up to eight times, with one, small, and transparent fee. By using the service, not only you will be able to exchange and send currency on almost perfect rates, but also request a specific rate and wait for the market to change. As of now, you will be able to exchange 20 currencies and send them to over 150 countries worldwide.

The FinTech company enables you also to top up your online account by sending any of the supported currencies. You will not only be able to send the money directly via a bank transfer but also by using a debit card (for Irish debit card owners). For Australian residents it’s also possible to make use of BPAY to top up their CurrencyFair account.

After your payment arrives, you can send it anywhere you want, exchange or set up a recurring transaction. Although CurrencyFiar is not a bank, by performing a full KYC procedure, you will be able to request a bank account, which will allow you to send and receive money easily. Please keep in mind that the company is focused mostly on the European market. US citizens and US persons are not allowed to open an account unless they can prove a residency from one of the supported countries.

Still, CurrencyFair supports the US Dollar. So you can make transfers in USD as long as you are not a United States resident.

The described above services can be accessed not only via CurrencyFiar functional website platform but also through a mobile app available on both Android and iOS. The mobile app offers the same functionality as the website. You will be able to freely send and receive money, exchange, or set up recurring transactions. The app is available in English, French, German, and you can access it using the same login and password.

For Whom Are The Services Offered By CurrencyFair?

Services offered by the FinTech company will be perfect for people who want to save on international money transfers: both for individuals and businesses. The company enables you to send money to over 150 countries with one transparent fee. Unlike banks, CurrencyFair can charge you as little as 0.1% and a fixed, €3 fee for each transfer. The service will also be suitable for people who want to send money fast, as the majority of the transfers are arriving on the next business day. What is more, because the company offers a mobile app, you will be able to transfer funds on the go, even abroad. That can save you a lot in fees, especially if you would have to use location-based services, such as Western Union.

Sign Up

CurrencyFair focuses on the European market, accepting only customers that reside within the European Union and a few other countries, such as United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Norway, South Africa, and Singapore. The whole registration process is straightforward, requiring you at the beginning to submit only essential information:

First name, last name, country of residence, email;
What will be the purpose of using the platform;

Additionally, you will be required to create a password and agree to the Terms and Conditions. After successful registration and before depositing or sending the first transfer, you will also be asked to:

Create a Two Factor Authenticator. That can be achieved either by using SMS or Voice codes or by Google Authenticator;
Verification of Identity. All you need to do is upload a picture of your Passport, Driver’s license or government ID card and submit a proof of address (bank statement, utility bill, etc.)

By performing a full KYC procedure, you will be able not only to send and receive money but also create banking accounts for every supported currency. Because CurrencyFair is a fully regulated company, the procedure is mandatory, and you need to be at least 18 years old to complete the process successfully.

International Money Transfers Through CurrencyFair

After successful KYC verification on the FinTech service platform, you will be able to open an online banking account with just a few simple steps. Because of that, customers can easily send money without having a dedicated bank account. All you need to do is deposit a sum you want to send and use it to schedule a transfer within the app. The deposit itself can be made using any regional bank or other services and sent as a regular wire transfer.

CurrencyFair is offering its services worldwide, enabling you to send money to over 150 countries without any restrictions. Please keep in mind that to send the money, you need to be a resident of one of the supported countries, located mostly within the European Union. Unfortunately, because of the regulations, you won’t be able to send and receive funds if you are a citizen or a resident of the United States unless you can prove that you are also a resident of one of the supported countries. As of now, CurrencyFair only supports direct transfers to bank accounts with the ability to set-up recurring deposits. The company supports transfers to every major bank, and as long as the system will be able to accept the IBAN of the recipient and the amount sent exceeds $10, your transfer will be successful.

CurrencyFair Country List:

Here is the entire list of countries to which you can send money:

Cote D’Ivoire, Cape Verde, Thailand, Bulgaria, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Mauritius, Palau, Mauritania, Maldives, Gabon, Australia, Nauru, Uzbekistan, South Africa, Bahrain, Niue, Croatia, Slovakia, Qatar, Guernsey, Bermuda, Netherlands Antilles, Madagascar, Burkina Faso, Mexico, Spain, Uruguay, Cayman Islands, New Zealand, Sao Tome and Principe, Faroe Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, Kiribati, Jersey, Philippines, Italy, Taiwan, Greece, Barbados, Niger, Luxembourg, Tonga, Grenada, Ireland, Solomon Islands, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Vietnam, Togo, Montserrat, Brazil, Ghana, French Polynesia, Sweden, Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Andorra, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saudi Arabia, Monaco, Wallis and Futuna, Isle of Man, Mozambique, Oman, Slovenia, Guadeloupe, Zambia, Sint Maarten (NL), Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Guam, Malaysia, Seychelles, Senegal, Latvia, Costa Rica, Reunion, Macao, Saint Martin (FR), Cameroon, Czech Republic, Samoa, Mayotte, Liechtenstein, French Guiana, Botswana, Equatorial Guinea, United States, Iceland, Bhutan, Armenia, Belgium, Portugal, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Estonia, Austria, Aruba, New Caledonia, China, Colombia, Greenland, Tokelau, Lithuania, Poland, Peru, Singapore, Hungary, Japan, Micronesia, India, Saint Barthelemy, Curacao, Gibraltar, Belize, Swaziland, Cyprus, Finland, Jamaica, Israel, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mali, San Marino, Gambia, Saint Lucia, Holy See, Pitcairn, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Anguilla, Timor Leste, Jordan, Djibouti, Chad, Honduras, Virgin Islands (US), Papua New Guinea, American Samoa, Georgia, Lesotho, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Saint Helena, Canada, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Romania, Norway, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Puerto Rico, Germany, Rwanda, Malta

CurrencyFair Account Top Up Possibilities at a Glance:

• Bank transfer
• Debit Card (Ireland only)
• PAY (Australia only)

CurrencyFair Mobile App

The company also supports a mobile app that is available on the two biggest platforms: iOS and Android. The app offers the same functionality as the website, enabling you to send money, top up your account, exchange currency, set-up recurring transactions, and new banking accounts. For those who don’t want to download anything on their mobile device, CurrencyFair offers a mobile version of the website. A smartphone or tablet can access the app from any location with an internet connection.

Supported Debit Cards Or Any Membership Plans?

As of now, the service supports only direct money transfers to any of the supported countries. Although the company offers the possibility to open a banking account in over ten currencies, at this moment, you won’t be able to request a banking card to your account. The company also doesn’t offer any membership plans – the transfers are always based on a small, one-time fee. On the other hand, as a CurrencyFair customer, you will be able to invite your friends and family to use the service, and the company will grant you 30 EUR for every successful referral.

CurrencyFair Fee Structure

The company offers a simple and competitive fee structure on all offered services. When it comes to the currency exchange fee, on average, you will be charged only 0.4% of the total amount exchanged plus a 3 EUR transfer fee. On the other hand, if you plan to send money abroad, the company will charge you 0.25% or 0.30% – the final fee will depend on the currency pair being exchanged. Please keep in mind that if CurrencyFair will not able to find a customer with a competitive rate, the company will be able to offer you a 0.4% or 0.5% fee of the total amount exchanged. What is more, you can use an online calculator to get an idea of the costs.

CurrencyFair And Perpetual Travelers

Services offered by CurrencyFair will be an almost perfect match for people who travel. Because of the app, you will be able to send and receive money no matter your location. Please keep in mind that to be able to set up an account, you will have to present a valid, government-issued ID that can prove your residency. Because the company is a fully-licensed financial institution, you will have to go through a KYC procedure. Without residency or proof of address, you won’t be able to use and of the provided services.

Customer Support

Unfortunately, the company doesn’t provide person-to-person customer support, which is limited only to the frequently asked questions and basic troubleshooting. What is more, although you will be able to use their live support, it only comes in the form of an automated ChatBot. If you aren’t able to solve your issue, you can submit a query. In that case, the average response time is 24 hours.

Customer Opinions On The Services Provided

Based on the most popular opinions, CurrencyFair offers an honest, quick, and what is most important – reliable service. The great majority of the customers rate the services offered as excellent or great. Although there is no live customer support, the FinTech company did a great job on the platform and overall design, which results in only a few technical problems.