CurrencyFair Singapore: Your full guide

CurrencyFair is an online-only money transfer service that lets you deposit money into local bank accounts in 20 different countries. It is important to note that they have limited scope for South Asia and aren’t providing transfers to popular countries like Malaysia. At the same time, CurrencyFair may look attractive with its lower fees, but it doesn’t always mean it is the cheapest.

Send money abroad with CurrencyFair

Once you open up a CurrencyFair account, you can send money in 20 different currencies to bank accounts around the world. The currencies that CurrencyFair that you can send money in currently are:¹

AED, AUD, CAD, CHF, CZK, DKK, EUR, GBP, HKD, HUG, ILS, INR*, NOK, NZD, PLN, SEK, SGD, THB, USD, ZAR

*INR is not available on the exchange screen but through the send money feature.

You can first deposit money into your CurrencyFair account through a bank transfer or through PayNow². Then you choose the amount, the currency, and provide the bank account information where you would like to send the money to. Then CurrencyFair handles the rest for you so your money arrives easily in your recipient’s bank account.

You can send money immediately if you like, or you can also top up balances in multiple currencies in your account and then exchange them at a time later on.

How to open a CurrencyFair account?

CurrencyFair is available for residents of Singapore, the European Union, the UK, Canada, UAE, parts of Eastern Europe and the Caribbean, as well as Hong Kong and South Africa, among others³.

To open a CurrencyFair account, the first step is to complete their online registration. As you get set up, CurrencyFair will need to verify your identity by uploading a clear and easily legible copy of your:

• Passport, or
• Driver’s license, or
• National ID card, or
• Singapore Employment Card
  and
• a proof of address (this can not be the same as the previous ID)

An acceptable proof of address can be a bank statement, credit card statement, revenue notice, insurance documents or utility bills. There is an additional step where to further verify your identity, you will need to meet in person with a CurrencyFair representative at a place and time that is convenient for you.

Once all of this is complete, your account will be activated and you can begin to exchange money in your account⁴.

CurrencyFair charges and fees

There are two main types of fees with CurrencyFair- the first is the transfer fee, the second is hidden in the exchange rate.

First, the transfer fee for exchanges is roughly the currency equivalent of 3 Euros, or SGD 5, per transaction. But as a promotion right now, CurrencyFair is offering unlimited free transfers for 3 months for new accounts in Singapore.

The second is a 0.45% margin built into the exchange rate they offer. They add this margin to the mid-market exchange rate, which is the rate you see on Google or Reuters. While providers like Wise use the mid-market exchange rate to provide easy and transparent exchanges, CurrencyFair adds 0.45% which in turn becomes a fee to you, the customer.⁵

A unique offering that CurrencyFair has is a peer-to-peer marketplace where you can set your own exchange rate and see if there is someone in the market who is willing to buy at that rate. It is suggested that this be used for those who are not in a hurry to send money or on a deadline.

CurrencyFair transfer limit

You can not send less than SGD 5 with CurrencyFair, or more than SGD 10,000,000.00.⁶

How much time does it take to send money with CurrencyFair?

CurrencyFair operates primarily with bank transfers, so moving money in SGD into your account can take 1-2 days. The exchange and deposit are then executed quickly, but it still may take another 1-4 days to reach your recipient, depending on the country. Overall, the time can range between 2-7 days approximately for a transfer.⁷

How can I check the status of money transfer with CurrencyFair?

Unfortunately, CurrencyFair can not let you know when the transfer will reach the recipient’s account. They have sample processing times, but it won’t give you an update on where the transfer is.⁸

CurrencyFair customer support in case transactions are stuck

With CurrencyFair you can contact their customer experience team online, and they will respond within about 24hours. There is also the support centre where you can find frequently asked questions, and chat with a chatbot to get the answers you need.

A cheap, fast and transparent alternative: Wise

Whether you are looking at exchange rates, fees or transfer time, Wise can be a great option for sending money from Singapore. With more countries to choose from, it can be your one-stop to get all your international transfers done. You will always get one low rate that is clearly marked upfront on your transfer.

Plus, you will get the mid-market exchange rate, so you can know that we aren’t taking a cut from the rate on your transaction. All this and you will get the money to where it needs to go fast. Try Wise and see how much time and money you can save.

All sources checked as of 13 November, 2019