Should I use Smart Currency?
Cons:
Pros:
Services Offered by Smart Currency
Official Website:
Smart Currency Exchange Review: Executive Summary
Smart Currency Exchange is mid-size currency brokerage with strong presence in Spain. It is mainly used by British expats in Spain and has been doing so successfully for the past 18+ years. It is not particularly large in terms of staff or trading volumes compared to its primary rivals such as Currencies Direct, has a somewhat less attractive website, no app, and no multi-currency function. Smart Currency money transfer has good reviews from past clients, but so does its main - and more recognisable - competitors.
1462
12Not Top 10 Ranked
Where is Smart Currency Available?
Smart Currency Exchange Alternatives:
Smart Currency Exchange competitors are abundant. There are a lot of top UK currency brokerages offering the same service as Smart, and sometimes with added value in comparison to Smart Currency – for example OFX‘s online system is far superior, Currencies Direct have bigger trading volumes, customers reviews and ultimately reputation, and XE money transfer is able to onboard customers from North America (whereas Smart Currency Exchange can’t).
View our best Smart Currency Exchange alternatives below:
Currencies Direct: Best Overall for International Money Transfers
Why Choose Currencies Direct?
- 96% Positive Feedback from Customers, Since 1996
- Service Oriented - Specialising in Large Transfers - Friendly Dealers
- Very Competitive Rates, No Wire Fees
- Global Leader in International Money Transfers - £10bn in Annual Turnover
- 20+ Global Offices
TorFX: Strong Guidance and Staff - Property Specialists
Why Choose TorFX?
- Headquarters Outside of London - Lower Staff Costs Rolled Over to the Client
- Quick Onboarding Process and Highly Professional
- Trading Desk with 100+ Years of Experience
- Excellent Online System
- Competitive Exchange Rates
Key Currency: Up and Coming Currency Broker with Local Presence UK/Spain
Why Choose Key Currency?
- Fastest Growing UK Currency Transfer Provider
- Strong Onboard Team, Get an Immediate Callback
- Recipient of Multiple Industry Awards
- Close and Personal Touch, Excellent Support
- Specialists in the UK-Spain Corridor with Local Offices
Xe: Biggest Name in Currency Exchange Since 1993
Why Choose Xe?
- Easy to Register With - Less Than a 2 Minute Process
- Global Company, Conglomerate Owned, Running Since 1993
- A Very Familiar Name (xe.com used to the biggest foreign exchange hub)
- A Combination of a Work-Of-Art Online System with Brokerage for Large Transfers
- Superb Customer Reviews
moneycorp: Oldest and Most Reputable Foreign Exchange Service
Why Choose moneycorp?
- Providing FX Services since 1979
- Very Recognisable Brand with Excellent Reputation - £36.9bn Transfers Annually with Offices in Every Continent
- Business Specialists
- Long-Term Forward Contracts Available, With Many Other Hedging Tools
- Sophisticated Payment Solutions
OFX: Known Provider - Specialising in eCommerce Customers
Why Choose OFX?
- Traded Publicly
- £20bn Turnover per Year
- Multi-Currency Collection Account for eCommerce Customers
- Global Presence
We have an additional selection of the best way to transfer money from Spain to UK
Is Smart Currency Exchange Safe?
Company size:
Established in 2004 by Charles Purdy, an engineer, and Kim Brown, an accountant and director in the company until 2011, when she left to pursue her dream of becoming a travel blogger. It is still privately owned by Charles Purdy (who also issues the daily currency newsletter of the company) and Carl Hasty (Director and Founder of Smart Currency Business, a subsidiary).
From information provided to us by the company, Smart Currency Exchange trades a tad shy of £1bn per annum, and has 100 employees, of which 22 are traders or account managers. The company has 40,000 active clients which it has steadily built since it started operating in 2004 (an active client is someone who registered and made at least one deal with them).
As well as its retail offering, Smart Currency also own Smart Currency Business, a business FX subsidiary. Smart also own Smart Currency Options Ltd where business customers can also enter into option contacts (which requires a higher level of regulation with different capital reserve requirements and thus, a separate company).
Regulated By:
Financial Conduct Authority (UK)
Awards:
Smart has won their first award (that we heard about anyway) with Finance Business of the Year at the West London Business Awards 2022. Congrats!
Conclusion:
SmartCurrencyExchange have been in business for over a decade and have tremendous client feedback, and a very transparent approach clearly stating dealers are not being paid commission (so there is no conflict of interest when it comes to pricing). In addition, they have a fairly active Facebook presence, and a generally positive appraisal from media.
On the other hand it is not one of the largest companies of its kind. At £1 billion transferred annually and a staff of 22 traders, they are above average in size, but not comparable to companies like World First or Moneycorp (who transfer £10 billion + a year respectively).
Overall, we deem Smart Currency Exchange to be trustworthy.
Smart Currency Exchange Customer Reviews
Research:
Smart Currency Exchange has a great score on TrustPilot (4.8 / 5) from a total of 1,864 reviews (as of September 2024). Not a large numbers of ratings but overall, for those that used their service, it seems they provide quality.
We could hardly find anything negative about the company. The only thing we did read was about one delayed transfer, and we can’t really take a single complaint into consideration.
We now have a highly detailed negative complaint about them in our comment section. They have responded to it explaining it is an isolated incident in which the client had demonstrated abnormal behavior and thus, their account was discontinued. We tend to take Smart Currency’s word on it.
Conclusion:
The vast majority of clients are extremely content with the service they have received at Smart. In fact, it would be difficult to find a company which boasts a higher percentage of satisfied clients than Smart Currency Exchange. The only concern we have, is the relatively small amount of feedback compared to some of the competing companies in this field who have as much as 20,000 different reviews.
Smart Currency Exchange Rates & Fees
Research:
Fees: Incurred on transfers below the £3,000 mark, but it’s not clearly stated on the website how much, which is a big fault. From information delivered to us by the company, they only charge a flat £5 fee on transfers below £3,000 , but we have one review by a client claiming to pay as much as 20 Euros per transfer, comparable to bank charges. Although we suspect this may have been due to intermediary bank fees.
In any case, in the brave new world of currency transfers, where the vast majority of competitors offer a no-fee-policy, it is just not “smart” to charge it.
Exchange Rates: As client reviews are highly positive we assume the rates offered by SCE are much better than the ones offered by banks. It is extremely difficult to compare between their rates and their competitors rate. As with most good companies, their margins hover around 1%, that’s all we can say.
Limits: No minimum or maximum transfer amount.
Conclusion:
Really unnecessary fee for small transfers, and lack of transparency on the site in regards to these fees, but other than that – just around average.
Smart Currency Exchange Customer Reviews
Global Reach & Service
Research:
- Dedicated Dealer: Yes.
- Offices: UK, Spain (Costa Blanca), Portugal (Vilamoura, Algarve).
- Ways to approach: Email, Telephone, Callback.
- Translations: None.
- Accepts clients: All countries
- Currencies Handled: All currency pairings available with the exception of .
- Client reviews: Very positive reviews stating service is of superb quality
Conclusion:
The service and global reach is extremely strong with Smart Currency Exchange. It’s true that they don’t have the same volumes as some of their biggest competitors, nor a comparable number of worldwide offices as them, but they specialise in tailored services and deal with almost every currency on the planet.
It is evident through reading client reviews, that customers are happy with the level of professionalism demonstrated by Smart Currency Exchange’s dealers. In addition to that, the company told us that they keep their service friendly and non-pushy by not offering an incentive for the dealers; that means the dealers are not “chasing” clients, and have no interest of taking excessive margins.
In terms of currency availability – we have been handed a brochure by the company, which states which currencies are dealt and not dealt. It appears to us that they would deal with any currency as long as it is not legally forbidden from them to do so.
Additional Functionalities
SmartCurrencyBusiness, the B2B version of SmartCurrencyExchange, offers a variety of hedging tools and payment options.
Hedging:
- Forward Contract
- Semi-Forward Contract
- Limit Order
- Stop Loss
- Combination between all types
- FX Options (subject to approval and held with Smart Currency Options Ltd)
The hedging offering from SmartCurrencyExchange is quite good. They offer all the normal contracts as other companies, but in addition to that:
- They offer a Semi-Forward (Flexi-Forward) which is a unique derivative.
- They enable clients to buy FX options (Call / Put) via their subsidiary company.
On the private client side – regular transfers are not enabled on their trading platform, which is a big con.
App:
The site is now mobile responsive and generally speaking, much improved in terms of its friendliness for users. They offer an app which is nothing short of a placeholder which doesn’t enable clients to do anything but check the currency rates.
For better alternatives, check out our top international money transfer apps list.
Conclusion:
Solid offering for businesses, and being mobile-friendly for private clients is a big improvement from when we previously updated our review.
Smart Currency Exchange Review Summary
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Credibility Score - 80%
80%
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Client Feedback - 90%
90%
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Fees, Exchange Rates - 80%
80%
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Global Reach, Availability, Service - 80%
80%
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Added Values - 60%
60%
Bottom Line
Though it isn’t the most global or sophisticated service, Smart Currency Exchange has some perks. Professional dealers who are not getting paid in commission to stretch out the margins. Strong hedging service for businesses. Overall good client satisfaction. On the other hand, there are transfer fees for smaller transactions. Most importantly . they don’t have an online money transfer platform for private clients that enables clients to send regularly timed transfers. Overall, it’s a professional firm with many advantages and two main disadvantages – a solid choice.
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