World First Money Transfer Review 2019
Online Platform
Email
Telephone
Pros and Cons
- Large and Trusted: 75,000+ Active Clients
- 98% Positive Client Feedback
- Best Rate Guarantee (UK)
- Largest Variety of Currencies
- Great Online System and App
- Easiest Sign-Up, Most Courteous Staff
- Unavailable in the USA, and in Quebec
- Minimum Transfer Amount is £1,000 or equivalent
Minimum transfer:
£1,000
€1,000
AU$1,000
UK
Netherland
Australia
Hong Kong
Singapore
Financial Conduct Authority
Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre
Australian Securities and Investments Commission
Customs and Excise Department
Review Table of Contents
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Signing up is easy! Chek your eligibility below.
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Is World First Reliable?
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Do Clients Like WorldFirst? Reviews From Across the Web
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World First Promotions
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World First’s Exchange Rate & Fees
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Global Reach & Service
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Additional Functionalities
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The Overall
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Comments
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Is World First Reliable?
Financial Conduct Authority
Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre
Australian Securities and Investments Commission
Customs and Excise Department
World First Limited, registered and headquartered in the UK, is a phenomenal foreign exchange company. It offers currency exchange and international payments to both private clients and corporate clients. Since its establishment in 2004, the company has grown rapidly, and today it has offices across four continents while employing more than 600 people in 2016.
WorldFirst is ranked among 2019’s top UK international money transfer companies in the UK in terms of revenue and boasts more than 75,000 “yearly active” customers.
Such rapid growth won the company an inclusion in the Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 in 2011, and earned it a position in the top 10 Sunday Times FastTrack – companies in 2015, 2016 and 2017 – more than any other financial services provider in the UK.
In addition to that, it has won several prestigious awards, such as the UK Customer Experience Awards in 2013, and the UK National Business Award in 2011.
In April 2016, the company has been announced as the winner of the Queen’s Award for International Trade , one of the most lucrative and prestigious awards in the UK.
The firm has recently been awarded the best payment solution for small businesses in the U.S FinTech Breakthrough Awards 2017.
On June 21, 2017, WorldFirst has changed its logo and overall website appearance towards a more colourful and less simplistic design than before. This re-brandinng process also included a lot more focus on a specific segment – online sellers, which has proved itself as commercially viable for the company and they believed could be further expanded. During the year to follow, the company has also entered an internal reorganisation process to adjust itself to its new future.
In January of 2019, as a part of its reorganization process, World First has decided to stop taking on USA-based clients and shut down its entire USA operation. Days later, it was discovered that WorldFirst has been bought by Ant Financial, the Chinese conglomerate behind AliPay and AliBaba, for a consideration of USD $700m.
Based on articles in the media, World First USA will reopen in the future under a new name, and will be a separately operating business named Omega money transfers with no relationship to Ant Financial’s World First.
Considering the evidence above, and the fact that the former deputy governor of the Bank of England, Sir David Clementi, serves as the chairman of the board, we conclude that World First is highly secure, credible and very safe. Moreover, it’s one of the fastest-growing businesses in the UK, which definitely attests to the level of satisfaction from clients.
Signing Up is Easy!
Check Your Eligibility Below
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World First serves both private and corporate clients. Corporate clients vary from small businesses to multi-million corporations.
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World First serves clients from 5 continents, and deals in 121 currencies. The service is particularly popular in the UK, EU, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and the rest of Western Europe.
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The minimum amount to transfer varies based on the currencies involved. In the UK the minimum transfer would be £1,000, EU is €1,000; Australia, Canada, and NZ are $1,000; and other locations would be the equivalent of £1,000. There are some exotic currencies that require a minimum of (equivalent to) £10,000.
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Once you sign up with World First, you gain access to an online system in which you can view the current rates. If you need to transfer £5,000 or more (or that equivalent in another currency), you will paired with a dedicated dealer whom you can speak with via email or phone.
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If you need to transfer money regularly you will be able to set it up through the online system or through your dedicated account manager. If you require a Forward Contract, World First is able to facilitate that.
Do Clients Like WorldFirst? Reviews From Across the Web
There are 7,100+ World First client reviews on Feefo, one of the largest, most credible user review companies on the planet. Major companies such as Expedia and Booking.com proudly present user experiences listed on Feefo.
There are approximately 200 WorldFirst reviews to be found on ReviewCentre, another of the largest client review engines. World First has 98% positive reviews on Feefo, and 95% on ReviewCentre.
Below is a genuine, verified, comment by a client we have referred to them:
Very good, speedy service. Staff I spoke with regarding opening the account were very friendly & knowledgeable. Setting up the transaction, beneficiary etc., was simple and straightforward, and the money arrived in the beneficiary’s account very quickly. To top it all, total transaction was £60 cheaper than my bank!
Clients praise World First on every aspect of its service. There is a multitude of client reviews describing:
- Easy sign up process.
- Happy with the rates they are given.
- Dedicated dealers are often mentioned by name, and described using the following adjectives: Professional, Knowledgeable, Polite, Customer Oriented, and Helpful
- Satisfaction with the prompt execution of a transfer. Often completed overnight.
Among the many positive reviews, we also witnessed several complaints. The majority of them focused on:
- Slower transactions to specific locations (e.g., Brazil), where the process might be slightly more complicated and requires may require a sign-off from the funds’ recipient.
- Not providing original copies of certain documents.
- Money not received during bank holidays.
Clients are extremely satisfied with the services provided to them by World First online, and over the telephone. The few complaints (only dozens out of thousands of reviews) focused on areas that are objectively difficult to handle. They are required to retain original documentation, in accordance with anti-money laundering laws, as are all foreign exchange firms. Transactions are slow to reach specific areas, regardless of which company you choose. In most countries, banks do not handle incoming international transactions during holiday seasons.
Overall we couldn’t find any consistent, reasonable, complaints that would make us believe the service at World First is nothing short of excellent.
World First Promotions
World First offers a Best Exchange Rate Guarantee for clients from the UK. When you register with them, simply show them a written quote you have received from your bank or other foreign exchange company, and they guarantee to beat it.
The full T&C is available on World First’s website. Just click on the button below, and then click the green button that says, “Find out more”.
World First’s Exchange Rate & Fees 2019
Fees: World First’s fee policy indicates that there are no fees for outbound transfer from anywhere in the world – UK, EU, Australia or elsewhere. That means that there are absolutely no fixed transfer fees from any location to any location.
Guarantee: For UK clients, World First guarantees that they would match the rate of any other firm. If you happened to receive a better quote elsewhere, World First promises to beat it. This makes its exchange rates the best in the business!
Exchange Rates: As with all international money transfer companies that are geared towards larger transfers, rates are flexible. The more you transfer, depending on the currency pairs, the better the exchange rate you can get.
The online platform’s exchange rates will usually show a savings of 50% when compared to banks, with margins of normally less than 1%, which is comparable to other leading companies and better than many others. It is not recommended to use this platform for large transfers of £20,000 and up without speaking to your dedicated dealer over the phone beforehand, in order to get even better rates than these.
Limits: The minimum transfer amount is £1,000 (or €1,000 if you are transferring from Europe), and with World First’s size and liquidity, there is no upper cap on how much you can send. They handle many business clients and online merchants and help them transfer millions, to those clients’ utmost satisfaction.
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World First has excellent rates for transfers of all sizes. There are no transfer fees, and no additional hidden costs of any kind. You will know exactly how much money you’re sending abroad.
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Transferring money with World First online is smooth and easy. If you encounter any issue, WorldFirst support will be happy to assist promptly and in a professional manner.
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Each client who needs to transfer more than £5,000 abroad (or the equivalent in another currency), is entitled to a dedicated dealer. That dedicated dealer will provide guidance relating to the transfer, and share the company’s currency forecasts.
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There is a “Best Rate Guarantee” in place for UK clients. That means that if any competing company comes up with a better rate, World First promises to match it – no questions asked.
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The minimum amount to transfer varies based on the currencies involved. In the UK, the minimum transfer would be £1,000; the EU is €1,000; Australia, Canada and NZ are $1,000; and other locations would be the equivalent of £1,000.
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Once you sign up with World First, you gain access to an online system in which you can view the current rates. If you need to transfer £5,000 or more (or the equivalent in another currency), you will be paired with a dedicated dealer whom you can speak with via email or phone.
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If you need to transfer money regularly you will be able to set it up through the online system or through your dedicated account manager. If you require a Forward Contract, World First is able to facilitate that.
Global Reach & Service
UK
Netherlands
Australia
Hong Kong
Singapore
Furthermore, as a World First corporate client you are able to open collection bank accounts overseas in these regions.
Ways to Contact: Email, toll-free telephone number, call-back form, and meetings in worldwide offices.
Translations: World First is available in several languages, including English, French, Chinese, and Japanese.
Accepts Clients: Generally speaking, globally.
Currencies Handled: Over 100.
Client Reviews: Often praise the quality of support and dedicated dealer functionality.
With a dedicated dealer team consisting of hundreds of dealers worldwide and offices on 5 continents (including a new office in the Netherlands, which is due to be opened by the end of June), service and global reach can’t get much better than this, with the exception of World First not accepting USA-based clients starting from January 2019.
World First Foreign Exchange deals with more currencies than any other company we have compared it to. It has more local currency translations than 99% of its competitors. It has dedicated support centers on each continent, which makes service much more localised than with most companies. It is also worth mentioning that the sign-up process take less than 60 seconds, while most competitors retain perplexing and complex sign-up forms.
When it comes to global reach and service, World First FX is among the top 10 money transfer companies in the world, and with such an extensive setup of bank settlements across the world, they can make sure the transfer always remains domestic, thus avoiding recipient bank account fees, which is another invaluable asset. Here is how this works:
Additional Functionalities
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Market Orders
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Limit Orders
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Rate Watch
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Forward Contract
Many types of forward contracts, as well as many types of rate watch functionalities, make World First one of the best companies for large hedged transactions.
In February of 2017, World First decided to drop World First Markets UK which was a subsidiary company owned by World First UK and offered Participating Forwards and Call/ Put options. The reasoning behind that decision is to focus on the core business of payments and the fact that its corporate businesses were not using World First Markets enough to justify the costs.
In May of 2017, World First launched World Account, the top corporate FX feature we have ever seen. It enables small businesses to open bank accounts across the globe, where they can receive payments and also keep the money there and use it for future payments. This service is currently available in the UK and Canada.
Read more about World First’s refocus on international business in
World First is one of the few FX companies that help merchants receive payments by setting up bank accounts for them abroad (since May 2017 it is available to all corporate clients). This is an area that is highly complex and one that most companies would rather avoid, but World First makes it happen and reduces costs and overheads in the process.
E-Commerce is a growing segment for World First, and we have covered the ins and outs of it on our Online Seller Account page.
WorldFirst has one of the top ranked money transfer apps. Unlike most companies, which either don’t have an app at all or have apps that can only watch rates, with World First, you can actually make transactions on your mobile phone. This is extremely important for expats who constantly need to move money back and forth between different currencies.
The app can be found on iTunes, and Google Play and can even be used on Smart Watches (perhaps the only app in the industry that is suitable for these devices).
This is yet another area in which World First really excels. It is one of fewer than 10 international currency transfer companies in the world with a live, functional app. It is one of around 5 companies that can help you open offshore accounts to accept payments. Its hedging options are more sophisticated than the usual – options since convertible forwards are hard to find.
Even large financial service providers, such as Virgin Money (a licensed UK bank established by the Virgin Group’s founder, Richard Branson, who is a multi-billionaire and one of the investors in rival company Transferwise…), use World First to transfer money for their clients.
The Overall
World First Review Summary
Bottom Line
Conclusion: 95.4%
In our opinion, World First provides one of the best money transfer services in the world. Clients tend to agree with us, with over 95% reporting a positive experience with World First.
Every aspect we have tested, from service, availability, global reach and, of course, price (no fees, and a Best Rate Guarantee) is superb. On top of that, the unique hedging and merchant services, and the fully-functional money transfer app, make it especially ground-breaking.
I just signed up with World First today. Need to receive $15,000 from Australia into my Japanese bank account. I contacted World First on the phone to check any questions I had with the rates and the actual amount of money that I will receive in my account. The customer service rep I spoke with was professional and friendly. The set up of the account was the easiest I have experienced for such type of service, only requiring me to send in one form of photo ID. The money was deposited into their account today, so waiting to see if… Read more »
I wanted to transfer about £50,000. It was very easy to register and to transfer the funds.
Excellent rates and a very kind service.
I always thought my bank is cheap compare to other banks in Germany, but Worldfirst’s rates were much cheaper.
Recent Feefo Feedback from a client who registered through MoneyTransferComparison:
“Very prompt and courteous service, and a rate that was better than others on offer on the day. Easy to use website/app. Recommended! I made a one-off transaction (£-€) and am considering swapping from current provider for regular transactions..”
– DS.
Happy to help!
[…] top choice over at Money Transfer Comparison is World First currency transfer. They are friendly, quick, easy to register with, trade in large volumes and FCA regulated of […]
Review updated, let us know what you think about our choice here.
One of the friendliest websites, very inviting. I have used several FX companies in the past, and will positively consider World First.
Solid company and good service by phone. Would deal with again.
Great service cannot find anything to complain about as they have provided a first class service to me over the last five plus years..
Very fast service.
The amount they quote at the beginning of the transaction is exactly what we have received 2 days later.
I strongly recommend them
I have just opened my account but minimum transfer is £1000 which is quite high in comparison with other websites.
Hello there,
I did my sign up and added my beneficiary but when I click on the Make International Transfer it says my Access is denied and one of my dedicated dealer will contact me shortly but no calls I received so far yet. Please help thanks.
hi…My situation is the same what Arun mentioned about..
Could you pls do something about this ?
removed
Top quality service! Would recommend this to any friends! Bradley my advisor was extremely helpful and efficient as it was the first time I used this service I had lots of questions he was always immediately available and always ready to help! Transaction was clear and very fast money arrived in the same day! Thank you for a great service will certainly use this again!
please is it a bank transfer or cash pick up and if cash pick up where can i collect my money from?
am Felicia from Ghana and please i want to know whether you offer cash pick up or is only bank transfer…please if is cash pick up which banks in Ghana here are you working with?
Used World First a few years ago. Great service from Chris, who sadly turns out not to be with WF any longer. Replacement contact responded to my email. Gave me a rate and then disappeared. Auto responder ‘out of office’ on Friday ( fair enough) but now it’s weds nite – still nothing. Market has moved and I’m losing out. NOT what one should expect from a top rated company… Very disappointed
Have just been told by XE that they are moving transfer companies from Custom House to HiFX so that I though that I would look around to see how the market was now (been using XE/Custom House since 2005). Comments so far: WorldFirst – does not fill me with confidence that they charge differently based on your location. Your reviews: surely you should be even handed and downgrade WorldFirst as you have done with HiFX because they both charge fees rather than build all of their revenue into the premium on the interbank rate. Charging fees is not justifiable since… Read more »
Hi, could someone clarify for me what the ‘minimum transfer amount’ refers to please? I am a translator, so my invoices do not usually amount to much separately. Does it mean that World First will not accept payments lower than 1,000€, or will not transfer less than £1,000 into a UK bank account? Any help on this would be much appreciated! (I have only just set up my business and so the whole ‘international payment’ world is still quite confusing for me, I apologise if this is a silly question!)
Really excellent rates on the Euro. A must-check.
im expecting a large incoming fund to the usa from japan, what banks do you work with? Thank you
Hey guys, great review. I checked it for the transfer fees and I found a review at iCompareFX where it’s stated that every transfer over 10k is free of charge and I see that you also have that data. Can you please explain why are big companies like World First doing this and what’s their interest in that?
What is the minimum amount to use Worlds First? I usually transfer money from Canada to India to freelancers working for me.But, the monthly payments do not exceed 500 CAD. With such a less amount, can I still use Worldfirst remittance services?
Very good service provider. Had absolutely no issues with them. Great rates.
your “cons” says: “Unavailable in some U.S. states”.
FYI: they will not accept customers who live in the Canadian province of Quebec (roughly 1/4 of the population of Canada).
I got to Worldfirst by recommendation. This review reassure me this is indeed an established company that I can trust.
much props to the guys over at worldfirst usa for helping me save money on an international money transfer to luxemburg got 0.85 euro for each dollar (received by my brother june 1) i will definitely continue deal with worldfirst
[[ Edited by Admin – Transferred to the Merchants page where this feedback is relevant ]]
Tried to sign up but not interested in me as I live in the Philippines. Seems strange as I would be able to send my GBP to PHP. Didn’t ask if I had UK passport or bank accounts.
Can you suggest an alternative dealer?
I did a few transfers a few months ago and had a good experience with them. Yesterday did a new transfer and I was eligible for a fee-free transfer. I already use them for all of my needs but now they just upped up a notch the service. The fee wasn’t big to start with but every deal is welcomed 🙂
I used WorldFirst several times over the past 2 months. John was very helpful.
world first is cheaper than my local bank here in germany. very good website.
Thank for a kind service. I have used a couple of foreign exchange providers before, Worldfirst is one of the best.
I heard about WorldFirst through a colleague of mine who lives in the UK. I was amazed from their cheap rates, much better than my bank.
Very easy to transfer money online and an great team to talk to on phone or email. Having a person allocated to look after you makes a big difference. Exchange rates are good too.
Polite and efficient personnel who did what was needed. System of transferring easy and money sent pretty quick.
I am here in US and would transfer money fr my Philippines US$ account to a bank in HSBC UK account. Is it possible? Thank you.
My experience with Worldfirst was great. Hope it will continue the same way. Did 2 transfers with them already and everything was pretty smooth.