Brexit

On the 23^rd June 2016 the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union (52%/48%) at the end of a historic referendum. The referendum results caused the GBP to instantly plumet to its lowest level for thirty years. Since then it has regained some ground but at the time of writing this Brexit still has not fully happened, we are still in the transitional period and politicians are debating deal or no deal.

Whatever is decided in 2020 Brexit will have a big impact on the British economy and the British pound.

If you regularly transfer money from Britain you will have noticed the volatility of the GBP and that today it does not buy as much as it used to. The pound may have recovered from the referendum fall but over the past few years overall the value of the GBP has fallen steadily. In June 2016 the GBP to EUR was 1.3 and in June 2020 it is 1.1.

For those transfering EUR or USD into GBP it's good news but for those transfering GBP into USD or EUR it's not. A "No Deal" conclusion will, no doubt, push the GBP down further. A "No Deal" conclusion will mean banks and financial services based in the UK will be unable to serve clients in the EU.

With the GBP fluctuating so much and generally falling; getting the best currency deal possible is more important than ever. That's why employing the services of a professional transfer company is vital. Transfer companies offer better exchange rates than banks because their markup is less and the fees charged by transfer companies are 80-100% lower than most banks.

If you know you have a transfer to do in the months ahead and you suspect the GBP will fall then a Forward Contract could protect you from such future uncertainties.

On the other hand if you need to transfer EUR or USD into GBP then the falling pound is in your favour. CurrencyFair, OFX and TorFX offer a Limit Order that only triggers a transfer when a certain transfer rate is reached.

"We believe in a world of fair financial services.

CurrencyFair began as the answer to a common problem: expats looking for a cheap, simple way to move money to and from their new home countries. The easiest way to achieve this was by swapping with friends who have a corresponding need. This simple idea grew into a global money transfer member organization that has exchanged more than €10 billion.

Today, the people and businesses, and their reasons for using CurrencyFair are too many to count, but our mission remains the same: to empower them all with access to fair financial services. We do this by embracing the latest technologies to deliver great exchange rates, supported by outstanding customer service and processes that are easy to understand and use."

Provider Type: P2P

Regulators: Australian Securities and Investements Commission (ASIC), Central Bank of Ireland, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)

HQ: Dublin, Ireland

Offices: Hong Kong; Newcastle, Australia; Nutfield, United Kingdom; Singapore

Founded: 2009

Languages: English, French, German

Customer Service: FAQs, ChatBot, email

Tech: website and app.

Funds to CurrencyFair: Bank Transfer or Debit Card

Funds from CurrencyFair: Bank Account

CurrencyFair generally promises a transfer time of 1-2 working days after they have received your money. Money can be paid to CurrencyFair in advance (CurrencyFair Wallet) which will mean the funds are in place ready for a rapid transfer.

They recommend completed your transfer to them before 13.30 (GMT) to avoid delays. Weekends and holidays will also cause a delay.

CurrencyFair was the first peer-to-peer international money transfer company and is still a market leader with a good reputation and very competative rates. They claim over the years they have saved their customers over €280,000,000.

CurrencyFairs fixed transfer fee is about 90% less than what a bank charges (for example the fixed fee for transfering pound to euro is €3, while banks charge €30+).

Charges (the fixed fee and exchange rate markup) vary depending on currencies and countries involved. CurrencyFair claims that the average exchange markup is 0.45%. Meanwhile at a bank this would cost you 4-6%!

 CurrencyFair transfers to the following countries and currencies. Some local currencies are not accepted, if this is the case the currency code is not displayed. Transfers to such countries are still possible but in other currencies.

To send money with CurrencyFair you will need to open a free account online with proof of ID and address. This needs to be approved.

CurrencyFair only accepts money through a bank transfer and equally only transfers into a bank account.