CurrencyFair vs Instarem: Fees & Reviews Compared

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

Below we compare them on their fees and reviews.

Fees

	CurrencyFair	Instarem
Homepage
Transfer Fee	£2.50 (UK) €3 (EU) Currency equivalent for other currencies.	Depends on the selected countries, the transfer amount, and the selected payment method.
Average Exchange Rate Markup	0.0045	0.3% – 0.6%
Minimum Transfer Amount	£7 (or currency equivalent)	$1 ($50 for India)
Maximum Transfer Amount	10,000,000 (same in every available currency).	Depends on the origin country and the selected payment method.

Reviews

	CurrencyFair	Instarem
Trustpilot Rating	4.3	4.4
Number of Trustpilot Reviews	6,800	8,000
iOS App Rating	4.4	3.7
Number of iOS App Reviews	80	530
Android App Rating	2.6	4.3
Number of Android App Reviews	950	7,800

Features

	CurrencyFair	Instarem
App Transfers	Yes	Yes
Online Transfers	Yes	Yes
Phone Transfers	Yes	No
In-person Transfers	No	No
Available Countries	150	60
Number of Currencies	20	30
Payment Methods	Bank account	Bank account Debit card Credit card PayNow PayID POLi FPX Interac
Receiving Methods	Bank account	Bank account Alipay wallet in China Cash pickup in the Philippines
Cash Pickup Option	No	Only for the Philippines
Payments Flexibility	Web platform Mobile app Phone	Web platform Mobile app
Supported Languages	English, French, and German	English
Transfer Speed	0-5 days	1-2 days
Dedicated Dealer	Only for business clients	No
Instant Custom Quote	Yes	Yes
Business Features	Spot contracts Forwards contracts Market orders Digital multi-currency wallet Rate alerts API integration	Bulk Payments
Debit Card	None	amaze by Instarem
Cancellation Policy	Only possible as long as the money transfer hasn’t been matched	Without a cancellation fee if the transfer hasn’t been processed. Contact customer services to discuss cancellation if the transfer has been processed.
Suitability	Small and large money transfers	Small money transfers

Company Comparison

	CurrencyFair	Instarem
Year Founded	2009	2014
Headquarters	Dublin, Ireland	Singapore
Other Office Locations	Newcastle (Australia), Nutfield (the United Kingdom), Singapore, and Kwun Tong (Hong Kong)	Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Lithuania, India, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Australia
Annual Trading Volume	$300 million	$3 billion
Number of Employees	156	300
Number of Clients	150000	1 million
Regulatory Institutions	FinCEN in the USA FCA in the UK ASIC in Australia Central Bank of Ireland in EU MAS in Singapore CED in Hong Kong	FinCEN in the USA FINTRAC in Canada FCA in the UK ASIC in Australia The Bank of Lithuania in the EU MAS in Singapore CED in Hong Kong Central Bank of Malaysia in Malaysia Bank of Indonesia in Indonesia Kanto Local Finance Bureau in Japan Reserve Bank of India in India
Awards	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)	Singapore Fintech Award (Singapore Fintech Festival, 2017) FinTech Rising Star Award (India FinTech Awards, 2017) Outstanding Digital Cross-Border Money Transfer Service (India FinTech Awards, 2017) Blockchain Innovator Award (Swell by Ripple, 2018) Excellence in Payments (Fintech Australia, 2018) Best Value International Money Transfer Provider Award (Mozo Experts Choice, 2020 and 2021)

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

Instarem Pros & Cons

Instarem Pros

• A wide array of payment choices
• Exceptional customer service
• High rating on Trustpilot
• Instant, free quotes providing transparency and avoiding hidden costs
• Attractive foreign exchange rates
• Quick money transfers
• Exclusive amaze card
• Robust mobile app for easy access
• International service reach covering over 60 countries
• Broad currency coverage

Instarem Cons

• Not ideal for large financial transfers
• Limited support for multiple languages
• Limited support for less common, exotic currencies
• No cash pickup options (only available for residents in the Philippines)
• No hedging tools such as forward contracts or limit orders for businesses

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