CurrencyFair is an online international money transfer service with a solid reputation in the industry to send money to Benin. Thanks to their own peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace, they operate by matching FX rates with others.

It means that you can either set your own exchange rate and CurrencyFair matches other people transferring money in the opposite direction, or you can choose to use directly their own service without using their market place. Due to these way of operating, it's a top choice if you’re looking for the lowest fees for sending smaller bank-to-bank international transfers.

About CurrencyFair

CurrencyFair was launched in Ireland in 2010 and offers an online cross-border payment and foreign exchange service to customers globally. The company has offices in Ireland, Australia, Singapore, the UK and Hong Kong. Over the past 10 years the company has exchanged €11.6 billion for over 150,000 customers around the world. It currently offers about 20 currencies in well-established currency corridors for international payments such as USD, EUR, GBP, CHF, CAD, DKK, HKD, SGD...etc. In 2014, CurrencyFair became the first ever money transfer company to break the $1 billion transfer mark. They claim that they are 8x cheaper that normal banks for exchange rates and usually amongst the cheapest when compared with similar services.

In April 2021 the company announced its merger with Assembly Payments in Australia, bringing the combined workforce to over 150, with plans to add several hundred new jobs in the coming years. The new company formed after the merger is called Zai, and should focus on mid-market and enterprise-level business customers in the world. In the meantime, CurrencyFair brand continues as the home for consumers and small businesses who want faster, cheaper foreign exchange.

Awards

The company has also received numerous awards including the IIA Dot IE Net Visionary Awards and the Best of Show Award at the FinovateAsia conference held in Singapore, among other prominent mentions.

Regulation

Unlike most of its competitors, CurrencyFair is regulated by multiple bodies: in Australia by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, in Europe by the Central Bank of Ireland, in Singapore by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under the Money-Changing and Remittance Businesses Act (Cap. 187) and is a licensed Money Service Operator in Hong Kong.

Currency exchange rates and fees

The platform offers some of the best rates that you can find. Details of your transfer can always be checked using the onsite calculator to know the echange rate tranfer and the fees you might be charged.

Exchange Rates

Their low exchange rate margin is making the company very competitive. For example for $ 1000 you may get € 884.6 and € 45.36 more when compared to a typical bank.

Transfer Fees

CurrencyFair charges a small fixed fee of €3 or £2.50 (or its currency equivalent) no matter how much money is being transferred. The provider states on its website that the average transfer fees for each transaction amounts to 0.45% (bank fees can easily be from 3%-6%).

Type of transfer and how long it takes

CurrencyFair only supports bank-to-bank (or card-to-bank) transfers and that is probably the reason why they manage to get very low fees for bank-to-bank transfers. When initiating the transfer, the provider will ask you for the bank account and code for instant verification. You can pay for your transfer using online bank transfer or debit card but make sure you quote your CurrencyFair ID which is in the format CF1234567 so that your funds can be applied to your account.

On average, it takes 0-1 days for the money to get to CurrencyFair (Send In). For the transfer out, it takes anywhere between 1-2 business days. In total, your transfer may take 1-3 days to be processed. As it is based mainly in Ireland, for the best outcome, ensure your transfer gets to CurrencyFair before 13:30 Dublin/London time.

They employ dedicated support staff in English, German and French languages for a swift and personal customer service experience, and is scored high by users on Trustpilot.

Top destinations for transfers

With CurrencyFair, you can transfer money to 157 countries in the world. The markets the provider categorises as most competitive rates are:

• Australia
• Cameroon
• Canada
• France
• Germany
• India
• Ireland
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Poland
• United Kingdom
• United States

When it may not be the best choice

• CurrencyFair only supports about 20 currencies, which means that most of the countries won't have a transfer in their local currency.
• Although you can send money to 157 countries, you can only register in 60 countries, and they don't support registration from the US and Canada.
• In addition, users in Africa, the Middle East and Asia with the exception of Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Africa, cannot open accounts with CurrencyFair.

How it works

1. Create your free account
2. Verify your identity — You need to upload some photo identification and proof of your address.
3. Choose the transaction method with 2 possibilities:
   • Click “Auto-Transaction” to send money straight away. Once CurrencyFair receives your funds, it will automatically exchange and transfer the money out.
   • Or “Send In Only” if you want to hold money in your CurrencyFair account till you find a better rate on the P2P marketplace.
4. Add recipient details
5. Then you will need to “transfer out” to your recipient. Sit back and let CurrencyFair complete your transaction!

Using their MarketPlace

When using the market place, money is never exchanged across borders; rather, it stays in the country of origin, thereby avoiding bank conversion fees. Customers have one currency but need funds in another. They are "matched" with someone with a corresponding need - someone who has that currency but needs the other.

1. To access the Marketplace on the CurrencyFair mobile app, first sign in to your CurrencyFair account on mobile.
2. Go to the Exchange tab, and select “New Exchange” or the “+” button in the top right-hand corner.

3. On the right panel, "Choose your own rate": You set up your rate on the sliding scale.
4. On the left panel, you can monitor your position on the "Exchange queue", and adjust your rate according to current market.
5. Click “Set Up exchange”, and wait for the exchange to take place!