Last Update: November 2021
It may not seem like 2021 is the year that people are signing up to FX brokers, but the industry is undergoing some strong growth in the face of a global lockdown. With a second wave underway, high street retail is struggling and online businesses are booming, meaning more payments are being accepted online.
On top of this, the gig economy has normalised freelancing, and developments in tech communication and project management has meant hiring overseas has never been easier.
Money transfer companies are a huge part of this economic restructuring. Companies like TransferWise are inundated with signups from freelancers, small business owners and expats. Convenience has finally become a lead selling point, along with transparent and close-to-interbank rate pricing.
Here are some of the best online money transfer companies in 2021 – a year that has been a great experiment for them to grow and develop into the best online payments platforms around.
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10 Apps that can help you Receive and Transfer Money
Below are 10 best money transfer apps that are helping customers around the world cut down on both costs and time when dealing with paying domestically and transferring money across borders. If your aim is to find the services which are best for international online transfers go here.
OFX
OFX is a fantastic all-round money transfer application that can benefit people from all walks of living (or business!). Customers can open accounts all across the world with 24/7 support. With $20bn in annual trading volumes, OFX knows how to safely facilitate cheap overseas transfers. Fees are kept to a minimum, and you are able to trade over the phone with the help of a dedicated account manager. With 55 currencies and a reasonable minimum transfer of $/£100, OFX is a great all-rounder.
Chime
Chime is a challenger bank founded in 2014. Having raised over $100m, the fintech, like many others, is posing a threat to the traditional American highstreet bank. Chime has a great mobile banking app that is fast to sign up to, where there are no fees and an intuitive digital space to manage money. There are features such as automatic savings and early paychecks, where you can receive wages up to two days early. This is a great place to send money locally, given it’s heavily regulated yet technologically innovative. Fee-free overdrafts are also useful for lots of users.
TransferWise
Whilst OFX may be great for large overseas transfers, TransferWise is fantastic at managing multiple currencies, as well as making and receiving smaller payments. Functionality is very limited, but it does a great job of acting as a borderless card. TransferWise is highly credible with small businesses familiar with it. Best of all, all transfers are incredibly transparent — you can easily see what you’re spending in fees (usually it’s a low, consistent percentage).
N26
N26 is a great addition to having TransferWise, as they integrate their service in N26. First and foremost, you can benefit from efficient P2P transfers on mobile between N26 users. Other money transfers will use TransferWise, and the company boasts an alluring freemium model. Users can create multiple savings spaces to divide their money for goal-orientated purposes, along with entry-level basic accounting.
World First
World First has many great attributes, but what makes it stand out on this list is the large selection of supported currencies. With over 130 currencies, there really aren’t many openly traded currencies it cannot handle. FX spreads are almost always kept within 0.1% and 0.5%, and it’s a specialist in large volume transfers abroad, being regulated by 6 global regulators.
Coinbase
Whilst Binance is fantastic for alt coins, coinbase is unmatched in the US for Bitcoin. Transaction fees are relatively simple and small, meaning that there’s a modest spread and a fast way to purchase Bitcoin. There’s also a learning center on the website to further learn about blockchain and cryptocurrency, to help make rational and financially literate decisions.
WooCommerce POS
WooCommerce is a huge eCommerce ecosystem that plugs directly into WordPress websites and allows them to start selling goods and services on store. There are WooCommerce POS plugins that incur no monthly fees that allow site owners to have a holistic view of their finances. WooCommerce has a tonne of plugins and integrations too, such as analytics, ad management and accounting programmes.
Stripe
Stripe is another option for accepting online payments. Being valued at $35bn, this is America’s largest fintech right now. Sellers can save money by using stripe to accept payments from their own website, along with Amazon and Facebook. This is a comprehensive company that offers small business loans and company credit cards too, where repayments are automatically paid from processing new payments.
Currencies Direct
Currencies Direct is another great money transfer company. What separates them from many others however is the large array of hedging and corporate possibilities. Forward contracts, market orders, limit orders, and guidance on property purchase are some of the key features. There’s a strong API developer portal for corporate clients too, and no fees. This is a great option for overseas investments, though only 39 supported currencies is a limiting factor.
Revolut
Revolut has by far the most app downloads, as well as the most positive app reviews. This comes as no surprise, given their constant updates and improvements to the functionality and user interface. It’s become a fantastic, one-click app for both businesses and expats, where exchanges are often free (on market days), and a whole host of functions such as rounding-up spending into your savings pot, cryptocurrency and even buying stocks. The Visa card provided can also lead to free ATM withdrawals abroad.