This review for Foreign Currency Direct (Currencies.co.uk) is intended to explain the pros and cons of using it for your money transfer needs. We focus on the important aspects like fees and exchange rates, regulation, feedback from customers, and the level of service provided. To view other companies like Currencies.co.uk, check our top money transfer companies list.
| Logo |  |
| Established | 2000 |
| Clients | ✗ All besides Americans |
| Currencies Offered | 35 |
| Minimum Transfer | No limit (but high fees below the £50,000) |
| Trading via | Telephone |
| Offices In | UK |
| Regulation | ✓ FCA, HM Revenue & Customs (UK) |
| Fees | £15 Per Transfer below £50,000 |
| Promotional Code | None |
| Client Reviews | Less than 50 reviews on ReviewCentre, over 3,000 on Feefo |
| Client Rating | 4.8/ 5 on Feefo, 4.2 / 5 on ReviewCentre |
| Website | www.currencies.co.uk |
| Advantages | Long track record Friendly website Collaborative |
| Disadvantages | Smaller in size than competitors No online platform No unique selling point compared to other companies |
View Recommended Alternatives:
- Supported Currencies: 120.
- Offices: UK, USA, France, Spain, Ireland, Australia, HK, UAE, Brazil, Gibraltar and Romania
- Execution of Orders: Online, via Telephone, or In App.
- Strong Point: Reputation, Liquidity, Service, Credit Rating
- Operating Since 1979. Highest Credit Rating Across the Industry.
- Rating:
4.6 /5 on Feefo
Editorial: 93.4%
- Supported Currencies: 121.
- Offices: All 5 Continents, but not accepting USA based businesses.
- Execution of Orders: Via Telephone, Online or In Person.
- Strong Point: Exchange Rate Margins of 0.25%-0.15% for Large Clients and Excellent Service.
- Trading more than $7bn each year.
- Rating:
9.8 /10 on Feefo
Editorial: 95.4%
- Supported Currencies: 59.
- Offices: UK, Australia.
- Execution of Orders: Online, via Telephone, or In Person.
- Strong Point: Online Platform, Dealers Experience, Employee Retention
- FastTrack 100 Listed.
- Rating:
9.4 / 10 on TrustPilot
Editorial: 93.2%
Our Rating: 70%
Read More:
Company Information and Credibility
Company size:
With a staff of less than 40, Foreign Currency Direct is a small to medium sized operation run out of a single UK office. They are nowhere near as big or well-known as their competitors lik Currencies Direct (who Foreign Currency Direct’s founder worked for prior to establishing the firm), but not the smallest, and have been trading for more than 16 years now.
Like many other firms in this vertical, Foreign Currency Direct (Currencies.co.uk) claim to be focused on service. As a standard procedure, each client is assigned with his own dedicated account manager. They have more than 1,000 reviews by verified clients who seem to be happy with the service they receive.
What sets them apart from most operations is the fact they levy quite high fees for all transfers below £50,000, where most other companies have already completely neglected that revenue stream.
Regulated By:
FCA, HM Revenue & Customs (UK)
Conclusion:
Foreign Currency Direct appears to be a trustworthy service. It does not strike as anything ingenious and operates in the same fashion as almost all of its competitors, with the exception of charging higher fixed fees, and being a bit smaller than most companies we recommend.
Client Feedback
Research:
When we first conducted the search for client feedback there were very few reviews to be located online. Back in the day, ReviewCentre held about 30 client reviews of which 25% were negative.
Recently, the firm started working with Feefo, and were even awarded a golden star for the constant good feedback received by clients 3 years on the trot. The vast majority of these 3,000 reviews on Feefo are positive, with an average score of 4.8/5.
In addition to that, we discovered a few sporadic reviews over forums and discussion boards, some were good and some were bad.
Conclusion:
Even though there are some gruesome complaints, the vast majority of feedback is overwhelmingly positive. The firm has definitely took a leap forward from where it was a few years ago when we first reviewed them. Clients are almost unanimously satisfied.
Exchange Rate & Fees
Fees: £15 fee per transfer is one of the highest fixed fees have encountered among commercial FX companies. Not as expensive as banks, but expensive enough.
*If you want to make money transfers with no fees, be sure to check alternatives like Global Reach, MoneyCorp or OFX.
Exchange rates: As with the rest of the bunch, all quotes are individual, and more money transferred equals better exchange rates. It’s really difficult to say whether the rates they are offering are better or worse than the ones you’ll get somewhere else. They have reported to us that they have multiple liquidity providers, similar to some of the larger companies, so we believe they can match these. Many client reviews claim they do offer superb rates.
Limits: No advertised limits.
Conclusion:
High fixed fees make it unnecessarily more expensive than other companies for smaller transfers. When it comes to larger transfers we cannot say for sure, but based on client reviews they might be able to match or beat rates.
Global Reach & Service
Research:
- Dedicated Dealer: Yes.
- Offices: UK.
- Ways to approach: Email, Telephone, Call-bank form.
- Translations: No, but the staff does speak a few languages.
- Accepts clients: All besides American.
- Currencies Handled: 35
- Client reviews: 1,000 on Feefo, positive
Conclusion:
Currencies.co.uk is not as global as other currency firms are. With offices only in the UK (Buckinghamshire), limited number of currencies traded, a relatively small staff, and mixed opinions from clients – we consider their service and global reach to be sub-par in comparison with other companies.
Additional Functionalities
Business Hedging tools:
- Sport
- Forward
- Limit
- Stop Loss
- Combo
App:
No, but the site is mobile friendly.
Conclusion:
The 4 staple hedging tools, and a mobile-friendly site. Nothing unique compared to the services provided by better competitors, but not a bad offering and definitely satisfying for most.
Review Summary
- Credibility Score - 70%70%
- Client Feedback - 90%90%
- Fees, Exchange Rates - 70%70%
- Global Reach, Availability, Service - 50%50%
- Added Values - 60%60%
Bottom Line
Currencies.co.uk (Foreign Currency Direct) can be a decent choice if you were referred to them by anyone. The firm isn’t particularly large or global, but has good client reviews and appears to be trustworthy. They showed a good level of transparency by collaborating with us, as well. One thing you should be aware of is high fees of £15 for all transfers (besides really large £50,000+ transfers). All in all – it’s OK.
not enough currencies but good rates
This company helped me with my money transfer to France, extremely competitive exchange rates and excellent guidance through the whole process. Highly recommended!
Trying to set up an account with them, but they ask for so much very confidential information and once it is given, they ask for still more. I am concerned that their database may not be secure, and can their staff be trusted with such information? I have twice asked for confirmation that this information will be deleted once their compliance dept are satisfied, but have yet to receive it. I am worried that I may not be dealing with an honest company.
Without a telephone land line, I can’t register.
I read carefully through the long terms and conditions and found cases where they gave themselves a particular right but denied the client exactly the same right. They seemed to have thought about everything and then some more as regards ways of protecting themselves.
I decided to give them a miss.