Is MultiPass Safe?

Company size:

Founded in 2017, MultiPass (formerly known as DynaPay) is a UK based provider of intelligent and flexible FinTech solutions for business (classified as business foreign exchange provider).

MultiPass is part of the DYNINNO Group that provides in-house IT solutions, lead generation and sales to brands operating in more than 50 markets worldwide. Experts in business process optimisation, DYNINNO Group is an international tech company with more than 15 years in continuous development.

MultiPass has a team of young and progressively thinking individuals that follow the ultimate goal of sharing its know-how in the FinTech industry. MultiPass runs efficient risk management and continuous fraud prevention and focuses on an individual approach to business clients. Their payment solution is based on Payment Acceptance Services (via business bank accounts), outbound payments and an open API which allows third parties to create value added services on top of their Legal, Technical and Banking infrastructure.

Product development continues at a fast pace at MultiPass with the firm continually looking at ways to enhance its offering. In 2021 alone, the firm has enhanced its solution by teaming up with CurrencyCloud to launch an additional 30 currency accounts which run under one IBAN based out of the UK and has become a direct member of SWIFT. Currency Cloud provides payment tech and liquidity to many of the smaller brokerages currently.

*In March 2022, DynaPay rebranded as the bank challenger MultiPass.

Regulated By:

Financial Conduct Authority (UK)

Awards:

N/A

Conclusion:

Recently founded in 2017, MultiPass is still a relatively young payments technology firm. It’s part of a much wider tech group operating in over 50 markets, with over 3,5000 employees and a track record which dates back to 2004. The firm does have other experience in financial services, though this has largely been in the small business loan sector. The group’s move into payments with MultiPass in 2017 is very much its first in the area of transactions and banking.

The firm is regulated by the FCA and is authorised to offer its services in the UK, EU, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada, UAE, Australia, Switzerland & Israel. A look through the FCA register verifies that MultiPass has been an Authorised Electronic Money Institution since 10/12/2018, though it isn’t clear how MultiPass has licenses in the EU and rest of world.

We get the impression this is indeed a credible payment provider but one thing we don’t like is the ‘100% safeguarded funds’ the firm advertises on its homepage. It looks to be an error in terminology because as they clearly state in their T&C’s, they provide digital bank accounts which are not safeguarded by the financial services compensation scheme. This is in line with FCA procedures and it’s how many companies in this sector provide electronic bank accounts but the correct terminology here is ‘segregated accounts’. Though it might simply be an error, it’s wrong to advertise these accounts as safeguarded as this suggests funds are protected in the case of insolvency.

MultiPass Customer Reviews

Research:

It’s a very limited sample of reviews with just 47 found on TrustPilot. It’s quite common for firms operating in the B2B space to have less customer reviews but it does make it hard to recommend the firm from such a small sample.

Of the 47 reviews, four rate the service as ‘bad’, three rate it as ‘great’ and the remaining 40 rate the service as ‘excellent’. Leading to a review score of 4.4 / 5. Which is certainly not bad but is based on small sample.\

Conclusion:

Limited sample of reviews to make a judgement based on existing client experience. One thing that does come out strongly is the quality of the account management provided. There are numerous reviews either specifically highlighting a MultiPass team member who has been meticulous in answering questions or praising the overall level of customer service provided.

One of the negative reviews mentions the long and arduous process to open an account. MultiPass advertise doing this in 24hours or under and in this instance it certainly didn’t seem to be met. But given the firm is FCA regulated, it is required to complete the necessary Know Your Customer checks and there may be instances where more enhanced due diligence is required. The account opening process is also reliant on strong synergy between both the provider and the applicant providing timely response. It’s not uncommon to see complaints around KYC procedures and every firm in the industry will have at least one complaint relating to this.

MultiPass Exchange Rates & Fees

Fees:

MultiPass has a complex fee structure that can be found here. Payment fees are split depending on the account the payment is being made from.

Payments from EUR account:

SEPA = 1 EUR

TARGET2 = 15 EUR

Payments from GBP account:

Faster Payments = 1 GBP

CHAPS = 18 GBP

Payments from USD account:

ACH Transfers = 0.15% + 0.6 EUR

SWIFT = 0.15% + 35 EUR

Other costly fees include a £185 onboarding fee for EU-based companies (UK onboarding is free) and an ongoing monthly fee of £8.90 for UK-based businesses / £45 for EU-based businesses. There are also very expensive fees for requesting a SWIFT proof of payment (25 EUR) and seeking a chaps remediation (£35).

Exchange Rates:

It’s not clear what exchange rate MultiPass provides, though they advertise “currency exchange at wholesale rates” which are determined on a case-by-case basis. I.e the more a client transfers, the better the rate they can negotiate.

Limits:

No reference to minimum or maximum transfer limits.

Conclusion:

A very detailed and precise fee structure that covers payments across a number of different payment networks. Small transfers in GBP that can be processed on the faster payment network and clients happy to use the SEPA network for EUR payments are charged a reasonable £1/€1 fee. The issue is for larger GBP transfers on the CHAPS network which are charged at £18 and SWIFT transfers charged at 35 EUR + 0.15%. This is expensive, perhaps even more so than banks.

For companies who have requirements to send money to more remote destinations, SWIFT might be the only transfer option, so it might prove best to swerve MultiPass given the fees charged. For business providers with cheaper payment fees, see Currencies Direct and WorldFirst. Both provide dedicated account management but do not charge a monthly service fee for this.

MultiPass Global Reach & Service

Research:

• Dedicated Dealer: Yes
• Offices: London, UK (DYNINNO Group with many more across the globe).
• Ways to approach: E-mail, telephone
• Translations: English only
• Accepts clients: UK, EU, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada, UAE, Australia, Switzerland & Israel
• Currencies Handled: 38
• Client reviews: 92% positive, 4.4/5 TrustScore per TrustPilot.com (just 25 reviews)

Conclusion:

By MultiPass own admission, they are a predominantly UK & European payment solution. They provide local bank accounts in the UK (GBP), Europe (EUR) and USA (USD). The remaining 30 currency accounts are run out of the UK, meaning transfers to these accounts are likely to be international if your customers are based in other countries (for example a customer sending AUD from Australia to an AUD currency account in London). This could still work for UK-based businesses but businesses from Hong Kong, Singapore and Canada etc are likely to be much more hindered by currency accounts based out of London. Providers such as WorldFirst offer less currencies (10) but each currency account is held locally in the country it represents. Making it much easier to do business as a local.

Additional Functionalities

Currency accounts and both local and international transfers are MultiPass’s bread & butter. This is the core focus of the firm and there are little additional functions added on top of this. The main thing to highlight is the MultiPass API.

API

MultiPass’s API allows third parties to create value added services on top of their Legal, Technical and Banking infrastructure. As an added service, MultiPass provides API clients with bulk payments functionality.

Conclusion:

MultiPass is a business account specialist. Three local accounts can be opened in GBP, EUR & USD. The remaining currency accounts are run out of one single IBAN in London. This can help to keep invoices and account settlement simple but could cause issues for payments received from outside of the UK. Very little offered in terms of FX hedging solutions provided by the likes of Currencies Direct and Global Reach, or any of our most recommended currency brokers.