Personal Features

CurrencyFair

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CurrencyFair for individual customers offers a range of services beyond just international money transfer. CurrencyFair adds to their service offering for individuals on a regular basis. Currently they offer only online international money transfer features.

What CurrencyFair offers

  • International money transfers
  • Currency balances & top-ups
  • CurrencyFair Exchange Marketplace
  • Rate alerts
  • Regular transfers

What CurrencyFair doesn’t do

  • Personal account management
  • Digital wallet
  • Personal FX optimized travel cards

WorldRemit

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WorldRemit offers

WorldRemit is tailored for individuals with account services that include:

  • Foreign bank transfers
  • Cash pick-up
  • Foreign bill payments (ie electricity, credit cards and television services)
  • Pre-paid mobile credit top-ups
  • Recurring / regular transfers are also supported

Note: bill payments and cash pick-up services are not available in all countries.

WorldRemit has two unique features. These are:

  • Mobile money - Shop in-store, online and withdraw cash at authorised agents
  • WorldRemit Wallet - Money can be received through their vast global network into a multi-currency wallet

 

WorldRemit does not offer

  • Travel debit cards
  • Access to a personal account manager (helpful when transferring large sums of money)

WorldRemit wins!

WorldRemit scores better in the Personal Features category.

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Winner

Business Benefits

CurrencyFair

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Along with features for personal accounts, Currencyfair offers business customer benefits although there are gaps to their offering.  iCompareFX keeps in close contact with CurrencyFair management and Currencyfair’s scoring will be adjusted as new benefits are released.

What CurrencyFair for business offers

  • Receive international payments
  • Multi-currency accounts
  • Xero integration
  • Multi-user account access
  • Two person approval

What CurrencyFair for business doesn’t offer

  • Business account management
  • Currency risk management tools
  • Online seller solutions
  • Unique banking details for multi-currency accounts
  • Debit cards for FX optimised foreign transactions

WorldRemit

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WorldRemit does not provide a business service, although WorldRemit could be used for business transfers. The Mobile Wallet could be used for business, however it may not be suited for this purpose.


CurrencyFair wins!

CurrencyFair scores better in the Business Benefits category.

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Winner

Fees & Exchange Rates

CurrencyFair

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CurrencyFair Fees

Exchange rate margin fee - Between 0.25% and 0.45% on top of the real exchange rate.

Transfer fee - Transferring out of CurrencyFair can cost €3 (currency equivalent).

International intermediary bank fees - Some currencies supported by CurrencyFair have the receiving account (the one you send your payment to), not in the home country of the currency. E.g. ZAR is located in London. This means that transferring ZAR to USD through CurrencyFair can attract an additional charge for the banks to send ZAR internationally. This can be up to US$20 currency equivalent. Currencies without local bank transfer payment support:

AED, CAD, HUF, NZD, USD, ZAR

Express deposit fee - In some countries, if you choose an express deposit or payment to CurrencyFair, it can be with an additional fee.

CurrencyFair free transfer offers - Yes! There are CurrencyFair coupons with up to 10 transfer fees free.
 

Are CurrencyFair fees negotiable?

No. CurrencyFair exchange rate margin fees are non-negotiable with larger transfer sums.


WorldRemit

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WorldRemit Fees

Most of the WorldRemit fees are within the exchange rate offered. The exchange rate offered can and does change depending on payment type, receiving option and the amount being transferred.

  • Bank deposit - 0.5% - 2% depending on the destination country and amount
  • Bill payment fee - 1% - 4%
  • Cash pick up fee - 1% - 4%
  • Mobile airtime top up - 1% - 4%
  • Additional fee - $1 - $5 per transfer

New customers from eligible countries signing up through iCompareFX receive 3 transfers fees for free using the code 3FREE. Eligible countries for this free transfer promotion are the USA, UK, Australia, Belgium, Netherlands, South Africa, Sweden, New Zealand, and Norway.


CurrencyFair wins!

CurrencyFair scores better in the Fees and Exchange Rates category.

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Winner

Ease of Use

CurrencyFair

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CurrencyFair’s focus on customer service and user experience is of very high standards. Customer onboarding and service process management are clearly well thought out and wrapped in great design.

Account registration - Fast and easy to follow wizard.

ID verification - ID checks can be completed within 24 hours. Sometimes instantaneously with some countries. Proof of ID can be uploaded directly within the CurrencyFair app. Use your phone to take photos of ID and upload with ease.

Transfer speed - 1 - 2 business days upon receipt of payment.

Payment options -  There are local bank transfer, local country payment solutions (e.g. BPay), debit card and express deposits available in some countries.

CurrencyFair mobile app - A very well designed Android and Apple mobile app. Very easy to use. New features are added regularly.

Minimum transfer amount - €8 equivalent.


WorldRemit

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Registration - Simple and easy through their website or mobile app.

ID verification -  If requested, it is a simple process that can be actioned through their mobile app or via email. Simply upload the requested documentation as photos from your phone. 

Transfer speed -  Speed ranges from instantaneous to up to 2 days. This depends on the country you are sending money to, and if it is a bank transfer or sending cash. 

Payment options - Uploading your funds to WordRemit is also a simple process. With in-country solutions such as Australia’s POLi or via debit card, you can instantly transfer your funds to WorldRemit. This speeds up the entire process of sending money overseas.

Mobile app - There is a WorldRemit mobile app to help manage your transfers end to end.


WorldRemit wins!

WorldRemit scores better in the Ease of Use category.

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Winner

Support & Countries

CurrencyFair

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What CurrencyFair does well

Supported destination currencies - 21 currencies. AED, AUD, CAD, CHF, CZK, DKK, EUR, GBP, HKD, HUF, ILS, INR, NOK, NZD, PHP, PLN, SEK, SGD, THB, USD, ZAR.

International presence - CurrencyFair local offices can be found in Ireland, UK, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia.

Customer support - CurrencyFair’s customer support is very good. Local offices in Ireland and Australia provide 24/5 support.

Foreign language support - CurrencyFair’s website is available in English, French and German.
 

Where CurrencyFair could improve

USA support - No support for US residents. 

Local settlement accounts - Not all currencies support local bank transfer payments to CurrencyFair. This can mean higher fees by intermediary banks. (Read more in the CurrencyFair fees section).

CurrencyFair payment bank accounts - These have changed with some frequency. This can cause customer confusion and time while funds are paid to the wrong banks.


WorldRemit

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WorldRemit supported countries

WorldRemit has an impressive list of supported countries. 

  • Mobile Money - 23 countries
  • Cash pick up - 80 countries
  • Bank transfer - 150 countries
  • Bill payment -  Selected countries
  • Phone support - Multiple languages
  • Multilingual website
  • Local settlement accounts in dozens of countries.

Customer support

There are reports on TrustPilot and through its mobile app reviews of poor wait times to talk to a customer service representative.


WorldRemit wins!

WorldRemit scores better in the Support and Countries category.

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Winner

Trust & Transparency

CurrencyFair

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Where CurrencyFair does well

Regulated by - CurrencyFair is regulated by ASIC Australia and the Central Bank of Ireland. 

TrustPilot - A rating of Excellent by TrustPilot. CurrencyFair monitors TrustPilot for negative reviews. They respond publicly and work diligently to correct legitimate customer complaints.

iCompareFX visitors - Customers referred by iCompareFX make thousands of transactions with CurrencyFair yearly. 
 

CurrencyFair challenges

Fees transparency 

CurrencyFair has low and very competitive exchange rate margin fees. There is no need to not be completely transparent. iCompareFX believes that showing the real time exchange rate and the margin fee clearly within their money transfer wizard would result in a more positive customer experience.


WorldRemit

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  • WorldRemit is regulated by multiple financial regulators globally including the FCA in the UK. 
  • Their company structure is sound and customers funds are segregated from their company accounts thereby reducing the risk for their customer.
  • The WorldRemit fee structure for money transfers includes a hidden fee within the offered exchange rate which reduces transparency. This is unfortunately common amongst most international money transfer companies.
  • High TrustPilot rating. However, there are an increasing number of poor reviews. This will be monitored by iCompareFX. 

CurrencyFair wins!

CurrencyFair scores better in the Trust and Transparency category.

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Winner

The Result

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 CurrencyFair

It doesn't get much closer than this but Currency Fair just gets the win.  WorldRemit's loss is mostly due to it not offering business services.  It does however take control of the Personal Features and Support and Countries categories.  The remaining sections across fees and ease of use are closely aligned.