Is Privalgo Safe?

Company size:

Privalgo is a new company in the money transfer space established February, 2018, by industry veterans who previously worked for Global Reach Partners (now Global Reach Group) in executive position, including Global Reach’s ex-CTO and ex-managing director. The company boasts 6 traders to date, and has started actively trading in November of 2018.

We have visited their offices in September 2019, and we can attest their offices are welcoming, and that the staff is friendly.

Regulated By:

FCA (UK) as an Electronic Money Institution. (Reference number: 900887)

Conclusion:

Privalgo has made a very good impression with us. The staff is highly professional and trained. Since the company has only been in operation since 2018 and less than 100 clients have left reviews about it, as well as lower trading volumes than its competitors and preliminary state of its online trading system, we can’t put it in the same line as Currencies Direct or OFX.

Privalgo Customer Reviews

Research:

200 reviews on Feefo from 2019, but only 10 from the past 12 months (2021). 5 reviews on their facebook page, as well as a few more scattered (6 on TrustPilot). On Feefo, Privalgo’s score is 4.5/5 but it’s only based on the past 12 months of reviews. On TrustPilot, true for May 2022, the company only boasts a score of 3.6/5.

Conclusion:

For us client reviews are the bread and butter of deciding whether a company is worth using. The initial feedback Privalgo has received (almost overwhelmingly positive from 77 users) is a great start and certainly means this is an up and coming company that should be on your radar when it comes to high value transfers. Still, we would optimally want 1000s of reviews that will give a better perspective of how the company operates over time. 

Privalgo Exchange Rate & Fees

Fees: No fees.

Exchange Rates: Rates are dynamically applied on a per-deal basis. Unlike most other currency brokers, the actual margin which is applied to each deal is visible on the platform, and the client can know precisely how much he is paying in margin fees.

We have spoken to the company’s representative in regards to their average margins which seem in line with industry leaders.

Privalgo promises to beat any other company for any deal for clients that came through MoneyTransferComparison.

Limits: Min £4,000 per transfer, which is extremely high (higher than any other company we have reviewed).

Conclusion:

No fee transfers are pretty much the standard in the money transfer industry, and so are “dynamic margins”. The fact Privalgo makes a conscious effort to inform its clients about the actual margins that were applied to each deal is noble and appreciated by us. The very high minimum transfer is problematic, as many clients require transfers below the £4,000 mark.

Privalgo Global Reach & Service

Research:

• Dedicated Dealer: Yes.
• Offices: UK.
• Ways to approach: Email, Telephone and Online Platform.
• Translations: No.
• Accepts clients: Internationally, other than the USA.
• Currencies Handled: 55.
• Client reviews: None.

Conclusion:

Pretty much what you would expect from any currency broker nowadays.

Additional Functionalities

Hedging

1. Forward Contracts (for both private and corporate clients)
2. Non-deliverable forwards for exotic currencies (both corporate and private)

Online trading system

1. Easy access to view past deals.
2. Easy to fill in the details of the payee’s account and re-use it without having to re-insert it.
3. Innovative UI for the system (still requires improvements to be up to par with the best online money transfer websites).