Currencies Direct vs CurrencyFair: Fees & Reviews Compared

Both Currencies Direct and CurrencyFair are popular international money transfer services. But which one is better?

Below we compare them on their fees and reviews.

Fees

	Currencies Direct	CurrencyFair
Homepage
Transfer Fee	No fee	£2.50 (UK) €3 (EU) Currency equivalent for other currencies.
Average Exchange Rate Markup	0.4% to 1.4%	0.0045
Minimum Transfer Amount	$1	£7 (or currency equivalent)
Maximum Transfer Amount	£25,000 through the mobile app £300,000 by placing a special request	10,000,000 (same in every available currency).

Reviews

	Currencies Direct	CurrencyFair
Trustpilot Rating	4.9	4.3
Number of Trustpilot Reviews	9,400	6,800
iOS App Rating	3.5	4.4
Number of iOS App Reviews	100	80
Android App Rating	3.5	2.6
Number of Android App Reviews	500	950

Features

	Currencies Direct	CurrencyFair
App Transfers	Yes	Yes
Online Transfers	Yes	Yes
Phone Transfers	Yes	Yes
In-person Transfers	Yes	No
Available Countries	200	150
Number of Currencies	70	20
Payment Methods	Bank account Debit card Credit card Check	Bank account
Receiving Methods	Bank account	Bank account
Cash Pickup Option	No	No
Payments Flexibility	Web platform Mobile app Phone In person	Web platform Mobile app Phone
Supported Languages	English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, German, Chinese, and Korean	English, French, and German
Transfer Speed	1-2 hours within Europe 1-2 days for overseas transfers	0-5 days
Dedicated Dealer	Yes	Only for business clients
Instant Custom Quote	N/A	Yes
Business Features	Spot contracts Forwards contracts Limit orders Stop-loss orders Recurring transfers Digital multi-currency wallet Rate alerts API portal	Spot contracts Forwards contracts Market orders Digital multi-currency wallet Rate alerts API integration
Debit Card	Currencies Direct multi-currency debit card	None
Cancellation Policy	N/A	Only possible as long as the money transfer hasn’t been matched
Suitability	Large money transfers	Small and large money transfers

Company Comparison

	Currencies Direct	CurrencyFair
Year Founded	1996	2009
Headquarters	London, UK	Dublin, Ireland
Other Office Locations	Orlando (USA), Saint John (Canada), Mumbai (India), Albufeira (Portugal), 3 locations in South Africa, and 19 locations in Spain	Newcastle (Australia), Nutfield (the United Kingdom), Singapore, and Kwun Tong (Hong Kong)
Annual Trading Volume	£9.5 billion	$300 million
Number of Employees	550	156
Number of Clients	430000	150000
Regulatory Institutions	FinCEN in the USA FINTRAC in Canada FCA in the UK Bank of Spain in Spain and the EU ACPR in France FSB in South Africa	FinCEN in the USA FCA in the UK ASIC in Australia Central Bank of Ireland in EU MAS in Singapore CED in Hong Kong
Awards	Credit Rating of Level 1 (Dun & Bradstreet Corporation, 2010) National Business Awards Finalist (National Business Awards, 2016) Most Positive Client Reviews (Money Transfer Comparison, 2017) Consumer Champion of the Year (Money Age Magazine, 2017) Money Transfer Provider of the Year (Money Age Magazine, 2016, 2017,2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021) Best Rated Money Transfer (Money Transfer Comparison, 2019, 2020, 2021)	Best of Show (Finovate Asia, Singapore, 2012) Most Insightful and Intriguing Internet Innovation (IIA Dot IE Net Visionary, 2013) TNW’s Irish Startups (2013) one of the Best Middleweight Start-ups (Europas, 2013) Excellence in Payments (FinTech Australia, 2017) Top 20 Fintech Companies in Ireland (Irish Tech News, 2017) Fintech Startups in Europe to watch in 2018 (2017) Mozo Experts Choice Awards (Mozo.com.au, 2018) Top 100 Startups to watch in 2018, Silicon Republic (2018) Top 10 Startup Winner for Best Employer (LinkedIn, 2018 and 2019) Spiders Award for Best in Fintech (2019) 5-Star Rating for Outstanding Value International Money Transfers (Canstar, 2019)

Currencies Direct Pros & Cons

Currencies Direct Pros

• 4.9 out of 5 on Trustpilot based on over 8,000 reviews
• No transfer fees
• Free Amazon gift card for new paying customers
• Multiple payment options
• Amazing customer service
• Favourable exchange rates
• Extensive knowledge base
• Highly convenient
• Range of flexible solutions for everyone
• Global service coverage
• Solid currency coverage
• Local coverage
• Decades of experience
• Fast money transfers
• Exchange rate alerts option

Currencies Direct Cons

• Not focused on small money transfers
• Limited deposit options
• Limited smaller currency coverage
• No option for instant custom quotes
• Lack of cancellation policy
• Not available in some US states
• Mobile app has transfer limits

CurrencyFair Pros & Cons

CurrencyFair Pros

• Competitive exchange rates
• Excellent customer service
• Instant personalized quotes
• Impressive Trustpilot score
• Wide-reaching service coverage
• Quick international transfers
• Alerts for exchange rate changes
• Fixed fee for money transfers
• Awards for superb performance in the financial sector
• Can handle both large and small money transfers

CurrencyFair Cons

• Lack of personal account managers for individual users
• Limited options for transfer funding
• No cash pickup service
• Narrow range of supported currencies
• Poor user rating for the Android mobile app

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