Is Fexco Safe?

Company size:

Founded in 1981 by current Chairman Brian McCarthy, Fexco is a multifaceted financial services company that offers a variety of different financial products. From humble beginnings, the firm originally started as bureau de change before launching Fexco International Payments and a range of other currency solutions such as Dynamic Currency Conversion. A product which offers instant FX at point-of-sale for merchants and online businesses alike. Fexco has since diversified into even more financial products like business loans, asset finance, card acquiring and more. Fexco processes upwards of €17bn in transactions per annum across FX, treasury, digital tax and government-backed financing sectors.

The firm doesn’t just rely on organic growth and has made some very sound acquisitions in its time. In 2010, Fexco acquired 75% of Goodbody Stockbrokers for a reported price of €24 million – a period when Ireland’s oldest stockbroker and the Irish economy was struggling. In 2016, Fexco International Payments acquired The Currency Exchange Corporation. In 2021, AIB completed a €138 million acquisition of Goodbody Stockbrokers, representing a massive markup on what Fexco paid for it 10 years earlier.

Former Tánaiste Dick Spring was appointed as an executive vice-chairman of Fexco in 2002 and continues to hold the role today. Current CEO Denis McCarthy was appointed in 2015 and is in charge of the 2,500 staff, with 1,200 of these based in Ireland and the rest of the team spread across a whopping 29 countries around the world.

As of 2020, Fexco had a solid balance sheet with net assets of over €300m. This proved necessary as the firm encountered its first loss in 40 years as a result of the covid pandemic. Largely reliant on retail FX, Fexco was hugely impacted by the reduction in international travel.

Whilst we’ve looked into the history of the wider Fexco group, this review will focus solely on the products of Fexco International Payments.

Regulated By:

Authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland to provide payment services in EEA countries.

Authorised by the FCA, similar to other currency brokerages, to offer FX services in the UK.

Partnership with Western Union to offer money transfers throughout the pacific.

Awards:

Some of the most recent awards include:

• RDS Gold Medal for Enterprise – Brian McCarthy (2021)
• Best Leader – Denis McCarthy – Deloitte Financial Services Innovation Awards (2019)
• Employer of the Year – European Women Payments Network (2019)
• Best Customer Experience Centre – Global Contact Centre Association Awards (2018)

Conclusion:

Fexco International Payments is a long-standing FX technology company that generally helps individuals and businesses with large FX flows. Over the years it has certainly gained a credible reputation, winning multiple awards for its leadership and customer service. The firm has a strong balance sheet but readers should be aware the group encountered its first loss in 40 years as a result of lockdowns and disruption to international travel. The firm has restructured, and with normality resuming, should be set for growth once again. We would, however, recommend checking in with their financial standing ahead of placing a trade with Fexco International Payments.

Fexco Customer Reviews

Research:

Surprisingly, there are absolutely no Fexco International Payment reviews to be found online. At least no reviews which relate specifically to Fexco International Payments that is. Considering it’s a 40-year old business, transacting upwards of €17bn per annum, we find this a little odd.

We think this has to be down to the fact Fexco International Payments generally helps large corporate customers who are unlikely to leave an online review because the Fexco-owned retail travel money company, no.1 currency, has over 6,400 reviews on TrustPilot with a review score of 4.7 / 5.

Whilst there are no reviews of Fexco International Payments, there are a number of testimonials available on fexco.com. We can’t trust testimonials as much as Fexco International Payment reviews (as only clients who have a favourable experience will be asked to write a testimonial) but they still provide good insight into the positive elements of the service.

Conclusion:

The testimonials of Fexco International Payments bring to light the benefits we normally see across the board with the best-rated currency brokers in the UK. Clients can save on FX costs, receive sound advice from a dedicated team and can access a number of FX hedging products like forward contracts and firm orders. The testimonials are mostly left by large businesses, such as Dublin City University. This largely explains why there are no Fexco International Payment reviews to be found online as large businesses just don’t tend to leave reviews.

However, companies like Currencies Direct and Moneycorp also help large businesses but have thousands of reviews each on trusted review platforms like Trustpilot. As Fexco International Payments is available to private users we would have at least expected some reviews from users who used the service for their own personal currency requirements. We aren’t able to recommend Fexco International Payments based on reviews alone.

Fexco Exchange Rate & Fees

Fees:

It’s free to open an account but customers will have to go through the onboarding process before payment fees are disclosed. There are “no hidden fees or charges” meaning Fexco International Payment fees will be clearly displayed before agreeing to a transfer. We presume corporations who are sending frequent payments will be able to negotiate lower payment fees , the same way they’d be able to with a bank.

Exchange Rates:

Very little by way of information on exchange rates. Fexco International Payments takes the most common approach in the industry which is not to reveal the FX spreads it applies to exchange rates. The greater the amount a client transfers, the better the exchange rate they will achieve. For those with significant volumes, chances are they can negotiate the rate. Fexco simply states “we offer bank-beating foreign exchange rates”.

Fexco International Payments is likely to be more expensive for small business customers with low FX volumes compared to a business provider like WorldFirst who cap their exchange rate margin at 0.75%.

Limits:

No maximum limits with Fexco – they are very much used to handling large corporate customers.

Conclusion:

Very little information available to the public but this is commonplace for currency brokers that provide hedging capabilities. The fact Fexco International Payments offer bank-beating exchange rates is definitely a plus but this still leaves room for them to be quite high as banks are known to charge wide margins. We’re more interested in how they fare vs other currency brokers and we recommended comparing the rates on offer with Fexco with at least two other competitors.

Business customers will want to establish their fee schedule before making any payments. It’s worth understanding what payment networks your payments will travel on, if payments are from the UK to Europe then payment would be made via SEPA and fees should be pretty low, if payments have to go by SWIFT to a more remote destination then fees will be higher.

Fexco Offices & Global Reach

Research:

• Dedicated Dealer: Yes
• Offices: 29, including; UK, Ireland , New Zealand, Hong Kong and Dubai.
• Ways to approach: Online, phone, email
• Translations: English only
• Accepts clients: UK, Europe, Pacific (including Australia & NZ)
• Currencies Handled: 130
• Client reviews: None

Conclusion:

Fexco International Payments handles a huge number of both major and exotic currencies. The majority of its clients are in Ireland but its presence in the Pacific is definitely unique. One thing to look out for is that its international payment business in the Pacific is run in partnership with Western Union. It means the service can be offered in unique Pacific Islands like Vanuatu, Tonga and Samoa, however Western Union is notorious for high fees and wide exchange rate margins. Whether users approach Western Union directly or work with Fexco Pacific, we’d anticipate exchange rates and the level of service to be very similar.

Additional Functionalities

Fexco International Payments offers all the functionality one would expect from a leading currency broker that focuses on business clients.

ERP Integration

Businesses can initiate international payments with Fexco straight from their ERP software once it’s been integrated.

Batch Payments

For businesses with the requirement to make multiple international payments in a variety of currencies, they can choose the batch payments facility on PayDirect and pay multiple beneficiaries in one click.

FX Risk Management

Fexco will work with clients to design a currency hedging strategy that suits their business needs and risk appetite. There are various hedging options, such as forwards, rate alerts and firm orders.

Conclusion:

The functionality is what we would expect of an international payment company that has been serving corporate customers for over 40 years. These businesses will need access to a wide range of hedging tools in order to successfully manage their international currency exposure and the inherent exchange rate risk that comes from operating internationally. The offering is perhaps somewhat limited for private individuals as there is no app to allow individuals to make transfers on the move.