Global Reach Group Review: Taking the Extra Mile for Clients

Global Reach (officially: Global Reach Partners Limited) was originally established in 2001 as four separate brand names; Corporate FX, Private FX, Smart FX and Travel FX, which were merged into Global Reach in 2012.

That means the firm has now been helping clients move money internationally for over two decades. With an employee count of around 120, Global Reach is by no means the largest provider in the industry but it certainly isn’t one of the smallest either. The focus of global reach is very much as a currency broker as opposed to an online money transfer provider. Meaning a full suite of trading products are available, as well as an appointed currency dealer who can bring clients up to speed with different types of foreign exchange solutions and the foreign exchange market. Global Reach has built a team which has significant foreign exchange knowledge at its core and demonstrates highly valuable skills to its clients on a day-to-day basis.

Key developments for the firm have included:

• 2001: Global Reach Group founded (under the four previous brand names).
• 2005: Foreign Currency Exchange founded.
• 2006: First international office opened – Cyprus.
• 2011: Global Reach Markets gained FCA regulation for investment products (clients can trade options through Global Reach Markets still today).
• 2013: Global Reach Group acquired PSG FX.
• 2014: The firm became an FCA authorised E-Money Institution
• 2016: Global Reach bolstered its business with the backing of leading UK private equity firm, Inflexion Private Equity. Inflexion invests in high growth, entrepreneurial businesses with ambitious management teams and works in partnership with them to deliver growth. Later in the same year, Global Reach acquired FX Exchange too.
• 2018: Launched an overseas office in the Netherlands. Rebranded FX Exchange to Global Reach (private clients).
• 2019: Not long after opening an office in the Netherlands a Spanish office was established.
• 2020: Global Reach Canada founded with presence in seven locations (by acquiring Canadian firm EncoreFX).
• 2021: Partnered with Wolves Football Club as the team’s official payments partner.
• 2022: Became a feefo platinum trusted provider for the second year in a row.

Ever since inception, Global Reach has continued to grow its presence both organically and through acquisitions, helping to establish a large international footprint covering the UK, Europe and Canada. The company started off by focusing on corporate clients, and we assume this is still Global Reach’s largest audience as their numbers reflect high trading volumes per client (with just over 32,000 clients as of 2022 and roughly £7bn traded every year, each client is moving around £200,000 annually on average)

Who was FC Exchange?

London-headquartered FC Exchange (FC standing for “foreign currency”) was established in 2005, and held a 1A2 Credit Rating from D&B. Since the merger of FC Exchange, Global Reach FX has been trading more than £7bn annually with both companies combined. FC Exchange’s unique selling point was customer satisfaction. Unlike other companies in the industry who reward dealers and account managers based on how much profit they’ve turned for the company, FC Exchange took a different approach. FC Exchange chose to measure their employees by the level of satisfaction and retention of the clients they were handling. Throughout its time as a standalone operation, FC Exchange helped over 25,000 people move money between 2005 – 2016. Most of its staff were retained through the merger.

The integration of FC Exchange into the wider Global Reach Group has meant that, as well as being at the forefront of corporate foreign exchange, Global Reach is able to offer the same level of service to private individuals.

Merged Company – Global Reach Group – from October, 2018

After the merger in 2016, it was decided that FC Exchange would handle all private clients, whilst Global Reach would be fully dedicated to corporate clients. This had been the situation until October 2018, when FC Exchange rebranded itself as Global Reach Group UK private client desk. The two companies are now named simply Global Reach, and this Global Reach money transfer review entails both firms.

The current CEO of Global Reach, Nicholas Fullerton, was the previous CEO and co-founder of FC Exchange. Following the firm’s buyout by Inflexion and merger with Global Reach, Nicholas held the position of COO with the Global Reach Group from 2016 – 2019. Becoming CEO of the group in September 2019. The senior leadership team has significant experience in the international payments industry – some having made their way through the ranks at Global Reach and other key hires made from some of the industries largest providers.

Global Reach is one of the top 10 largest money transfer firms in the UK. Its recent merger with FC Exchange and launch in Canada only goes to cement this. It has gained a high level of recognition in various categories:

• Feefo 2022 Platinum Service Awards
• Electronic Money Award 2022 – Overall Payment Solution of the year
• Payments Awards 2022 – Best Cross-Border Payments Service
• Global Forex Awards B2B 2022 – Best Payments Solutions Provider
• Feefo 2021 Platinum Service Awards
• Department for International Trade Business Awards – Best New to Market Portugal
• Feefo 2019 Gold Service Award
• UK Forex Awards 2018 – Best Forex Payment Technology Solution
• Best Small Companies to Work For 2014 – The Sunday Times
• Sunday Times Profit Fast Track 100 (2012)
• Credit Level A2, Dun & Bradstreet
• Best Accreditation Standard (b.co.uk): Best Company To Work For 2016

Global Reach FX is a highly reliable money transfer company. In fact, it is undeniably one of the top 10 firms of its kind in the UK. It has been in business for longer than the vast majority of other currency brokerages on the market, moving large volumes abroad each year, while maintaining great feedback across the board.

With the acquisition of FC Exchange and EncoreFX in Canada , the company is growing at a staggering pace and increasing its presence in the private clients’ sector side. Bolstering its annual volumes from £5m to £7m. It is less internationalised than some of the industry titans, with fewer offices abroad, less regulatory authorities supervising them and unable to take on American clients, but they are still up there at the top when it comes to reliability.

As of 2022, the firm boasts more than 4,300 online reviews from its clients under the Global Reach Group brand. There are over 600 reviews of Global Reach Group on TrustPilot (last review Jan 2021) and over 3,600 Global Reach reviews on feefo. There are also an additional 600 legacy reviews of FC Exchange, though there have obviously been no new reviews for this brand since 2018.

There are also more than 100 reviews on ReviewCentre, as well as more than two dozen reviews on Facebook. This is a very impressive amount which indicates it is indeed a large and respected foreign exchange company. In each of the review platforms, whether under Global Reach or under FC Exchange, there is a high level of client satisfaction.

Global Reach’s primary review platform is feefo, with a score of 4.8 / 5 (based on over 700 reviews in the last 12 months). Global Reach scores 4.3 / 5 on TrustPilot (Excellent) and FC Exchange scored 4.8 / 5 for its reviews received prior to 2018. Across all three platforms, only 2% of online feedback relates to complaints with the majority of users praising a quick and professional service. What’s pleasing to see is Global Reach’s TrustPilot score improving from 4 / 5 in 2020 vs 4.3 / 5 in 2021 and 2022 – this suggests the level of service has been of higher quality more recently.

Whilst these numbers are definitely impressive, it is important to remember that some companies, such as Wise, boast over 140,000 reviews just on TrustPilot’s platform. This puts these still very impressive numbers into perspective. We also have to consider that a large portion of Global Reach’s customers are businesses – review platforms are typically used by individuals.

There are more than 4,000 separate client reviews online praising and hailing a multitude of qualities that Global Reach has. Below are some examples: ‘ pros=’A Friendly and helpful currency dealer|Guaranteeing a smooth and trouble-free experience|Helps save a great deal of money in comparison to banks|Taking the extra mile for its clients|Effortless Trading’ cons=’Too much paperwork required for a single transfer|Not working with USA banks, impossible to repatriate funds to UK from USA.

The complaints are quite obsolete, as all foreign exchange firms are required to process a lot of paperwork before sending money for a client. It doesn’t matter if it’s Global Reach or another firm, these are regulatory requirements enforced by the Financial Conduct Authority. As far as not working with US banks, it is simply a case of a mismatch between the company’s capabilities and the client’s requirements. You can of course make payments in USD and to the US with Global Reach.

The positive reviews on Trustpilot speak for themselves with a huge amount of customers finding the service extremely positive and recommending them highly. Many of the customers have said they would use FC Exchange/Global Reach Partners FX again, or already utilise them for international money transfers on a regular basis.

Fees: Global Reach doesn’t charge any fees when transferring sums over £3,000, and clients who have been referred by MoneyTransferComparison.com can get a free quote and competitive rates of exchange. Transfer amounts below £3,000 may be subject to a small charge.

Exchange Rates: In its reviews, Global Reach is regularly praised by happy clients for its exchange rates as well as a straightforward process and friendly, helpful team.

The Global Reach website makes it easy for you to get in touch and request a quote for your currency. By entering your name, email address, currency pair, and transfer amount, you can request a call back and a relevant member of the team will be in touch.

Limits: Minimum £500 per transfer, or equivalent in other currency.

Offices in >

UK (two locations)

Cyprus

Spain

Netherlands

Canada (8 Branches)

Ways to approach:  Phone (domestic and international numbers), Email, Online Form, or Online System.

Translations:  None.

Accepts Clients:  Globally, aside from the USA (all states).

Currencies Handled: All major, and a wide range of exotic currencies (70+ currencies).

Client Reviews: Very content with the service throughout.

Global Reach is a service oriented firm which is glorified by 99% of the clients who left reviews about it online. It boasts a highly personalised service and highlights the fact they are happy to offer bespoke solutions to any enquiry. Since it acquired key EncoreFX assets to provide the foundation for its launch in Canada, an impressive 8 branches immediately catapulted Global Reach to one of the best offerings for local Canadian clients.

The downside to Global Reach Partners FX is the lack of offices in the US and Asia-Pacific and a lack of local bank accounts across the globe. Without the ability to provide in-country settlement it may mean transfers are slower and more expensive for clients outside the UK.

Vanilla Forward

Window Forward Extra

Participating Forward

Risk Reversal

Market Orders (Stop loss and limit orders available for trades above £10,000)

With some currency transfer providers, such as WorldFirst, closing their options business (given the significant capital reserves one must hold) Global Reach has chosen to invest more heavily in this area. With a dedicated markets and institutional team, Global Reach is required to be MiFiD 2 compliant following the introduction of this legislation in 2018.

From an institutional perspective Global Reach has experience working with funds of all sizes, tailoring products to suit clients across a number of asset classes, including; Real Estate, Private Equity, Private Debt and Infrastructure.

Global Reach excels in this regard, by offering all normal transfers you would expect from a brokerage, in addition to a number of FX options. Since they deal mainly with corporate clients, they have a suite of FX options which are unavailable anywhere else like the Window Forward Extra.

Through a partnership with TreasurySpring announced in February 2021, Global Reach Group has added even further treasury management functionality for its client base. Global Reach corporate customers will now be able to access a range of fixed term funds and generate interest on excess cash balances. Clients will be able to invest in GBP, USD, EUR, and ZAR. This is a first in the currency broker space and completely unique to Global Reach. Further cementing its place as one of the best non-bank currency solutions for business.

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Global Reach has recently launched a new-look website, making it one of the most aesthetically pleasing in all of the industry. Its readability is now perhaps somewhat trickier but navigation remains easy and readers can easily navigate between sections targeting individual, business and institutional customers.

There are also sections which will provide a complete overview of Global Reach’s products, technology and frequently asked questions. Its knowledge centre is also regularly updated with economic releases every working day.

Global Reach offers a wider variety of forex options than the vast majority of its competitors. This is a strong selling point for experts, treasury managers, and traders who require hedging and options functionality.