Lumon Review (Lumonpay.com – Previously Foreign Currency Direct)

Company Information and Credibility

Company size:  

For a long time, Foreign Currency Direct used to be a small operation running out of a single UK office, with an estimated headcount of 40 staff. Customer service and a personal touch, provided by a small team of foreign exchange experts, was the foundation of Foreign Currency Direct and a major reason for its success.

Founded at the turn of the millenium, in the year 2000, the firm holds 20+ years of experience operating in the foreign exchange and international payment industry.

In 2018, Foreign Currency Direct received investment from Pollen Street Capital. An independent, alternative investment management company that specialises in driving digitally-led and high growth businesses in the financial services sector. It was this investment which supercharged the growth of Foreign Currency Direct in the coming years. In 2019, Pollen Street Capital drove acquisitions of Pure FX and Infinity International. The next year, the investment group added one final piece to its growing base of FX companies with the acquisition of Earthport FX, a subsidiary of the visa-owned Earthport payments business.

Michael England, Partner at Pollen Street Capital commented at the time: “Pollen Street first invested in Foreign Currency Direct in 2018 and in a short period of time has seen the business more than treble in scale.”

Now with four companies blended into one, the firm is estimated to have a headcount of 150 and offices in four countries – UK, Ireland, Spain and Portugal. Given the number of new companies that were merged together, a rebrand made perfect sense, and we have to say the Lumon brand looks much more slick than the outdated look of Foreign Currency Direct. Shamus Hodgson, CEO of the new-look Lumon brand is keen to ensure Lumon remains unashamedly customer-led and in touch with its Foreign Currency Direct roots, whilst also rapidly developing its digital offering.

With Foreign Currency Direct trading around £1.9billion in volume last year and Earthport FX trading £10billion alone, the merger of these businesses certainly helps to establish Lumon’s presence as one of the larger providers in the market. By comparison, this is still some way short of the £37bn traded annually by Moneycorp.

Regulated By: 

FCA, HM Revenue & Customs (UK)

Central Bank of Ireland (Europe)

Conclusion: 

Lumon  has been built upon the solid foundation of Foreign Currency Direct and its principle to always put the customer first. They offer a foreign exchange service which is naturally bespoke to each client they work with, as each client has its own set of FX requirements and approach to risk mitigation.

The concern for now is how well four different FX firms will integrate under the Lumon brand. The most recent acquisition, Earthport FX, is particularly likely to have different processes and structures in place having been part of the colossal Visa group. The move helps to establish Lumon as one of the bigger FX groups to be run out of the UK but it’s still very early days under the new structure, with the Lumon brand only being announced as recently as August 2021.

Client Feedback

Research:

Older reviews, the most recent of which was left in 2017, were left on the review platform ReviewCentre. Given the age of these reviews and the fact they relate to Foreign Currency Direct only (before the large-scale acquisitions and rebrand to Lumonpay) we feel these are outdated and no longer relevant. In any case the firm scored a 4.2 / 5 score from 47 reviews.

In recent years, Foreign Currency Direct/Lumon has been working with the review platform Feefo. Since working with Feefo, the vast majority of the almost 6,000 reviews on the review platform have been highly positive, with an average score of 4.8/5. Lumon holds a Platinum Trusted Service Provider Award from Feefo for 2021 for its outstanding customer reviews over the last 12 months,

In addition to these, we’ve 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. A number of the most recent reviews (including those left in Sep 2021 after the Aug 2021 rebrand) still refer to the firm as Foreign Currency Direct. This is positive in the sense that long-standing Foreign Currency Direct customers have not been impacted by the recent acquisitions. Though, we are still unable to get a feel for how the service is going for legacy customers of PureFX, Infinity International and Earthpoint FX. We’ll also have to closely monitor reviews to see how the new company is performing as Lumon Pay Ltd.

Exchange Rate & Fees

Fees: Fees are not immediately evident on the Lumonpay website, though they can be found in Lumon’s terms & conditions. The Lumn fee schedule is as follows:

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:

When it comes to larger transfers, we cannot say for sure, but based on client reviews their rates are competitive and definitely bank-beating. The fact there are no minimum or maximum payment limits is definitely a plus too.

Global Reach & Service

Research:

• Dedicated Dealer: Yes.
• Offices: UK. Ireland, Portugal and 3 offices in Spain (Murcia and x2 Alicante)
• Ways to approach: Email, Telephone, Call-back form, Online platform.
• Translations: No, but the staff does speak a few languages.
• Accepts clients: UK & EEA
• Currencies Handled: 35
• Client reviews: close to 6,000 on Feefo, positive

Conclusion:

Whilst it’s not evidently clear on the Lumonpay website, we can assume by the regulatory approvals that Luman has, it is able to offer its services throughout the UK & Europe (European Economic Area). This is by no means as international as many of the largest providers on the market, such as OFX, who offers money transfer services in the UK, Europe, US, Canada, Australia and NZ.

With offices in four countries throughout Europe, Lumon is a particularly good option for Brits relocating to Spain and Portugal or Europeans relocating to the UK. With Spanish and Portuguese speaking staff, Lumon can assist clients in these languages with telephone trading, Though with payment fees for telephone trading under £50,000, these clients will be unable to avoid fees on smaller transfers unless they are comfortable trading through the online platform which is presented in English.

Additional Functionalities

Business Hedging tools:

• Spot Transfers
• Forward Contracts
• Flexible Forward Contracts
• Limit Orders
• Stop Loss Orders
• Combo Orders
• Structured Options Available (through a separately regulated FCA registered investment firm)

App:

No, but the site is mobile friendly.

Mobile Wallet:

Whilst the Lumon website is yet to advertise mobile wallet functionality, the terms and conditions with Lumon allow for customers to hold funds with Lumon for an indefinite period of time. Customers can make payments from their balances held with Lumon and withdraw funds as necessary. Perhaps as this product evolves, Lumon will advertise it more heavily.

Conclusion:

Lumon remains one of the few non-bank providers offering structured products. Alongside the likes of Moneycorp, Currencies Direct and Global Reach Group. Like Global Reach, Lumon advertises specifically for institutional clients. Specific to institutions, Lumon can help to manage portfolio FX risk; they can  provide strategies around international investment valuations and optimise tenors on FX contracts to maximise yields on investments.

In addition to structured products, Lumon offers the usual functionality one would expect from a true currency broker – repeat transfers, forward contracts and limit orders. Customers have a wide range of payment options that can be tailored to their needs. Whether they’re an individual receiving an international pension, a business paying staff abroad, or an institution raising capital from investors overseas.