FX Brokers Feedback

becoddy

Thought I would add a little something to this post, I use a private bank called Raphael's Bank based in London but I deal with a lady in the North called Rebecca, I noticed nobody has mentioned them before so thought I would mention them.

I have used them to buy a couple of properties overseas and also do a couple of investments abroad and they have been very good, the payments get there on time and there are no hidden charges everything is up front and transparent and I am more than happy with the competive rate I recieve, I used to use a broker but after Crown Currencies went under I got a bit apprehensive and the sales lady called me at the right time, the bank is of course FSA regulated so I know my money is safe, and if I need anything I just call my rep direct, if anyone would like her details get in touch with me I will be happy to pass them on

drlabman

I almost ran out of breath reading that second paragraph. May I suggest some punctuation - other than commas.

M.Holloway

Thought I better chip in to this meaty thread.

I used rational fx to send money to Singapore and they saved my 5 cents on every pound, bank was charging silly money.

I mainly went with them because they are FSA regulated, and my mate works there

westvillewonderboy

currencyman76 wrote: »

i'd like to back up what Daniel has posted. Ive been using a company called currencyuk for the past 8 years and have never had any problems. However, I would always advise having accounts with at least 2 brokers so you can get better rates. Always haggle as well.

Also, only used FSA regulated companies. there is no excuse for any forex company only to be regulated by HMRC nowadays and there is certainly no good reason why a company wouldnt be regulated by the FSA.

In answer to your question "why a company wouldnt be regulated by the FSA?"

Money Transfer companies are governed under the Payments Services Regulations. The FSA requires that business either be Authorised or Registered to comply under these regulations. There is no facility to be regulated at the moment...:rotfl:

westvillewonderboy

Sizzlebelvior wrote: »

I registered for an account with XE Forex and was asked during the process to provided copies of various documentation, passport no., recent statement and front (then back) of a credit/debit card.

I realise there is all this bit about everybody is considered to be a money launderer, just because of a few bad eggs so Big Brother now gets to stick his nose in all of your business.

Nonetheless, is it me, or does it bother anyone else that all the documentation they are asking for as proof that you are legitimate is exactly the same as the documentation you are advised to keep private to prevent identity theft?

What are your thoughts please, I asked a bank representative and his response was exactly typical.

A reputable FX company will only request physical documentation if they cannot verify someone at their physical address via electronic verification. These checks normally include electoral roll and soft credit data checks. This is normally only for UK residents. As there are not a lot of data sources for other countries and to tick the boxes under Money Laundering regulations documents have to be requested to supplement various other checks.

You are also checked against sanctions databases and for every 1000 clients that come through a companies books 999 are legitimate. research the ML regulations 2007 to understand the hoops in place.:T

westvillewonderboy

pedunculate wrote: »

I booked a 6-month forward contract from Foreign Currencies Direct for GBP30,000 into EUR in March 2008.

After 6 months in September I duly paid up and send in the form indicating I wanted the money sent to my Northern Rock Guernsey account. Stupidly I filled in the form by hand, and didn't take a copy.

Nothing happened. After a month, I rang them to find out what had happened to the money. They said they had definitely sent it, and to wait a little while longer (SWIFT payments can take upwards of 14 days).

Another month went by (I was out of the country) and I checked with NR and it still hadn't arrived. After checking it turned out they said there was one digit missing from the BIC. To amend this needed them to send another SWIFT message which cost me £240. Faced with no choice and needing the money, I paid up.

Come December the money still hadn't arrived. I was getting really fed up by now. I also discovered that NR use an intermediary bank whose BIC was the one I needed to quote - despite NR putting their own BIC on their statements. After some more chasing the money eventually bounced back into FCD's holding account and they sent it again to NR, charging me another £15 fee. This time it did arrive.

So I lost 3 months interest and £255 in fees. The moral of this story is to assume FX people are sharks... any minor deviation from what's agreed and they'll make you pay through the nose for it. This isn't cosy consumer banking.

Nope they are not sharks, you just didn't ask the right questions or do the right research. plain and simple.

amsjrt

Hi,

Can anyone recommend reputable brokers exchange £ to Malaysia Ringgit for large amount (eg £20k or more)?

Danny

eaustin

Would anyone be prepared to recommend a reputable broker? I am due to receive >£100k in Norwegian Krone. This is a one off transaction. Would it be worth using the services of a broker or should I just get them paid into a standard current account.

Thanks

eagleeye

Hi
I have used torfx and smartcurrency last week to transfer money to usa.
Torfx- looks more professional in initial dealing but outcome was not positive.They deducted 7 pounds and claimed that it is the usa bank.money took 3 days to arrive in us account.Later on i found out that it's their bank which deducted the 7 pounds not the bank of america.However the initial invoice was not displaying any charges and they were not honest .

smartcurrecny (refrd by fxcompare/sendmoneyhome)-they were offering the best exchange rate.it took only 2 days to arrive in bank of america usa account without any charges.they told me that there is no guarantee about the charges in america but no charges were applied to the transaction at all.

Just don't transfer in one go as there are risks associated with all of the fx brokers in case they go bust.

Healey_2

Can anyone recommend a company to transfer Euro to GBP to get the best rate, low fees, secure transaction please?