Currencies.co.uk Money Transfer Review
Established: 2000. International Clients: ✗ All besides Americans. Currencies Offered: 35. Minimum Transfer: No limit (but high fees below the £50,000). Trading via: Telephone. Offices In: UK only. Regulation: ✓ FCA, HM Revenue & Customs (UK) Fees: £15 Per Transfer below £50,000. Promotional Code: None Client Reviews: Less than 50 reviews on ReviewCentre, Almost 1,000 on Feefo Client Rating: 4.8/ 5 on Feefo, 4.2 / 5 on ReviewCentre Website: www.currencies.co.uk 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 as big or well-known as their competitors like Currencies Direct (whose Foreign Currency Direct’s founder worked for prior to establish 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 the 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. 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. Vast majority of these 1,000 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. 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. 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, similarly to some of the larger companies, so we believe they can match. Many client reviews claim they do offer superb rates. Limits: No advertised limits. Conclusion: High fixed fees which makes it necessarily 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 up. Research: Conclusion: Currencies.co.uk is not as global as other currency firms are. With offices only in the UK (Buckinghamshire), limited number of currencies dealt with, 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. Business Hedging tools: 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. 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.
Our Rating: 70%
Our Rating: 70%
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Company Information and Credibility
Client Feedback
Exchange Rate & Fees
Global Reach & Service
Additional Functionalities
Review Summary
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.
Hey Bob,
It must be stated that Currencies.co.uk is properly registered with the Financial Conduct Authority, which supervises over Data Protection. We do not believe they’re dishonest.
We do, however, recommend using other companies. There are larger companies with higher trading volumes, larger staff, and a lot more client reviews to be found online (and also more positive than the one Currencies.co.uk have been receiving). In addition, our recommended companies charge no transfer fees at all, while Currencies.co.uk charges £15 per transfer for low-volume transfers. You can read about these companies using the reviews below:
A. World First
B. Currencies Direct
C. Moneycorp
We have personally visited their London offices (and you’re welcomed to do so too, if you sign up with them), and verified they provide what they claim to provide – top-notch client-focused service.
If you do decide to give them a try, we suggest you sign up through our website. Not only it’ll make us money, it will also grant you with special benefits, such as fee-free transfers with Moneycorp (normally charging £5 per transfer), or £50 free Amazon voucher with Currencies Direct if you transfer 10,000 or more by December 31st.
In regards to the documentation required from you – due to Anti Money Laundering laws in place, these companies are required to get quite a few documents from their clients. If you are UK-based or EU-based it should be quite a quick and easy process, and other regions tend to be a bit more time-consuming. In any case this should have been well communicated to you! There should be someone escorting you through the process and easing your mind in every aspect. If you haven’t received this kind of reassurance from Currencies.co.uk, it probably means you better off with other companies.
Good luck with your transfer,
The MTC Staff.
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.