Remitly vs Currencies Direct: Fees & Reviews Compared

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

Below we compare them on their fees and reviews.

Fees

	Remitly	Currencies Direct
Homepage
Transfer Fee	$0.00 – $50 depends on the selected countries, the transfer amount, and the payment method ($3.00 – $7.00 on average).	No fee
Average Exchange Rate Markup	1% – 2.5%	0.4% to 1.4%
Minimum Transfer Amount	$1	$1
Maximum Transfer Amount	Depends on the sending and receiving country, the transfer amount, and the transfer method (from $3,000 to £150,000).	£25,000 through the mobile app £300,000 by placing a special request

Reviews

	Remitly	Currencies Direct
Trustpilot Rating	4.1	4.9
Number of Trustpilot Reviews	41,300	9,400
iOS App Rating	4.9	3.5
Number of iOS App Reviews	1,200,000	100
Android App Rating	4.8	3.5
Number of Android App Reviews	666,000	500

Features

	Remitly	Currencies Direct
App Transfers	Yes	Yes
Online Transfers	Yes	Yes
Phone Transfers	No	Yes
In-person Transfers	No	Yes
Available Countries	180	200
Number of Currencies	75	70
Payment Methods	Bank account Debit card Credit card iDeal Passbook Klarna	Bank account Debit card Credit card Check
Receiving Methods	Online wallet Bank account Cash pickup Home delivery	Bank account
Cash Pickup Option	Yes	No
Payments Flexibility	Web platform Mobile app	Web platform Mobile app Phone In person
Supported Languages	English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Dutch, German, Polish, Romanian, Italian, Turkish, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, and Thai	English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, German, Chinese, and Korean
Transfer Speed	Within minutes (express delivery) 3-5 days (economy delivery)	1-2 hours within Europe 1-2 days for overseas transfers
Dedicated Dealer	No	Yes
Instant Custom Quote	No	N/A
Business Features	N/A	Spot contracts Forwards contracts Limit orders Stop-loss orders Recurring transfers Digital multi-currency wallet Rate alerts API portal
Debit Card	Passbook	Currencies Direct multi-currency debit card
Cancellation Policy	Only available for transfers that are still “in the hands” of Remitly. Once they are intercepted by a bank, transfers cannot be canceled.	N/A
Suitability	Small money transfers	Large money transfers

Company Comparison

	Remitly	Currencies Direct
Year Founded	2011	1996
Headquarters	Seattle, WA, USA	London, UK
Other Office Locations	Spokane (WA, USA), Cork (Ireland), Managua (Nicaragua), Manila (Philippines), Krakow (Poland), London (the UK), Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Tel Aviv (Israel), and Singapore	Orlando (USA), Saint John (Canada), Mumbai (India), Albufeira (Portugal), 3 locations in South Africa, and 19 locations in Spain
Annual Trading Volume	$20.4 billion	£9.5 billion
Number of Employees	1600	550
Number of Clients	3 million	430000
Regulatory Institutions	Department of the Treasury in the USA FINTRAC in Canada FCA in the UK ASIC in Australia Central Bank of Ireland in EU	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
Awards	Startup of the Year (GeekWire Awards, 2016) Game Changer Award (Tech Impact Awards, Seattle Business Magazine, 2017) Named one of the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 (Deloitte, 2017) Most Innovative Companies (Fast Company, 2018) FinTech 50 (Forbes, 2019) Named one of the CNBC Disruptor 50 (CNDC, 2019) Technology Pioneer (World Economic Forum, 2019)	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)

Remitly Pros & Cons

Remitly Pros

• Plenty of ways to fund your transfer
• Excellent customer service
• Decent Trustpilot rating
• Fixed transfer fees
• A knowledge base that’s a treasure trove of knowledge
• Extensive global coverage
• Trade 75 different currencies
• Top-tier mobile app
• No minimum transfer limit when sending
• Instantaneous money transfers
• Worldwide locations for cash pickup

Remitly Cons

• Not great for large money transfers
• Doesn’t provide dedicated account managers
• Exchange rates spreads can be large
• No option for instant custom quotes

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

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