PaySend Review

PaySend exchange rates and fees

Much like other international money transfer companies, PaySend charges transaction fees to cover administration costs and generate its profits. Below is an overview of the fees that PaySend charges and the exchange rates offered.

Exchange rates

PaySend charges a 0% exchange rate margin – one of the most attractive parts of the service. The company has direct connections to currency exchanges in different countries around the world, allowing them to convert your sending currency in real-time at the mid-market rate.

The rate you see on the transfer widget is what you get, and it remains locked for the duration of the transfer.

Fees

Irrespective of the amount you transfer, PaySend charges a fixed fee. They have a list of tariffs for the different currency routes. For instance, customers sending money from Europe are charged 1.50 euros while those making transfers from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom pay $2, C$3, and £1 respectively. The fees are paid by the sender when transferring the funds.

Through the transfer widget on their website or mobile application, PaySend displays the exact amount you’ll pay in fees for your transfer without any hidden costs appearing later on.

Additional costs

One of the biggest advantages of PaySend is that they don’t charge any hidden fees. When making your transfer, you’ll see the amount that will leave your bank, the fees that will be charged, the exchange rate your funds will be converted at and the amount the recipient will get.

PaySend eliminates intermediaries by working directly with international payment systems such as UnionPay, Mastercard, Visa and others.

It is important to note, however, that your bank may charge you additional processing fees when paying for your transfer. The recipient may also incur other charges such as landing fees and intermediary fees which PaySend has no control over.

In case you see unexpected charges on your card statement, you should get in touch with your bank’s customer support team for clarification.

PaySend pros and cons

Paysend is a simple and innovative platform that allows for quick international money transfers from card to card or to bank accounts. Here’s a quick summary of the pros and cons of using PaySend to send money internationally:

Pros

The following are some of the top benefits of using this provider to send money to your family and friends, and when paying for merchandise online.

• Global coverage – As at the time of writing, PaySend supports global transfers to 84 countries spread in different continents including Europe, Asia, and Africa. The company is also regularly looking for new markets to add to their existing currency routes.
• Low fixed fee  – For any given transfer route, PaySend charges a fixed fee which is comparatively low considering what most providers charge. For instance, when sending money to Indonesia from the United Kingdom, whether in rupiahs or US dollars, you will be charged £1 and no exchange rate margin will be applied.
• High security payments – Payments through PaySend are certified by the top payment networks including Mastercard, Visa, UnionPay, Verve International among others. In addition, PaySend is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and certified under the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).
• Global 24/7 support – Since customers transfer money 24/7, support around the clock is invaluable. PaySend has customer support specialists available on live chat, email and phone. They are also available on Facebook, Instagram, VK, and other social networking sites.
• Variety of transfer methods – PaySend allows its customers to send money from their cards to their recipients’ cards or bank accounts. In case the recipient’s country allows them to receive money in more than one currency, customers can even choose their preferred currency. There is also an option of sending money through the recipient’s mobile number via Paysend Link.

Cons

As with any other provider, PaySend has some downsides. Customers sending money through its platform have pointed out a few undesirable features.

• Lengthy review process – When users submit their documents for identity verification, some users complain that PaySend takes a long time to clear their accounts. However, the provider has clarified in many such instances that its review process takes 3 hours to 3 days depending on the case on hand.
• Limited sending countries – While the disbursing network coverage is comparatively wider, the sending network is not as expansive. Users can only send money from 48 countries, most of which are from Europe and North America. African nations are not represented among the sending countries.
• Occasional delays – Not all transfers are delivered instantly as claimed on its website. From customers’ experiences shared on review sites such as Trustpilot, delays may occur from time to time. Some of these relate to checks and additional verifications.

What kind of payments can I make with PaySend?

How you pay for your transfer and how the recipient gets the money sent are the two fundamental parts of any money transfer process. There is a need to balance convenience, speed, and low costs to get the best deal. Here is a look at your options with PaySend.

Payment methods available

Currently, the company only accepts card payments. You can link your Mastercard/Visa debit, credit, or prepaid card to your account and pay for your transfer. When you pay using a card, funds become available faster on PaySend accounts thereby speeding up the transfer process.

Withdrawal options available

PaySend has three main ways through which recipients can receive funds:

• Card-to-card transfers: The funds are sent directly to the recipient’s card based on the information provided by the sender. Once the recipient gets the funds, they may decide to withdraw from an ATM or use it directly to shop.
• Bank deposits: This payout option was introduced in February 2019 and allows senders to transfer funds from their cards directly to the recipient’s bank account. It is convenient, safe and fast for both B2B and P2P payments.
• PaySendLink: With just the recipient’s phone number, the sender can transfer money using PaySendLink. Recipients get notified of the incoming transfer and have the option to direct it to their cards, bank accounts, or withdraw the funds from an ATM.PaySend launched this service in January 2019.

How to send and receive money with PaySend

Sending money through PaySend is simple and convenient. Just follow the below steps to get started.

How to send money with PaySend

1. Sign up

Key in your phone number and password of choice. The password policy requires that it should have a minimum of 8 characters including digits. Confirm the password and hit the submit button.

2. Provide personal details

The system will ask you to provide the following personal data

• Full name and date of birth
• Street house number
• Postcode
• City
• Country of residence
• Email

After you confirm that your data is correct, click on submit. Using the phone number that you’ve provided, PaySend will text you a 5-digit security code on your phone. Fill the code in and your sign-up process is complete!

3. Enter the amount you want to send

You can either enter the amount you wish to send or the amount you want the recipient to get in their local currency. You’ll also see the transfer fees, exchange rate and delivery time.

4. Provide the recipient details

PaySend will ask for the following information

• Card number
• Card expiry date
• Recipient’s first and last name

5. Enter sender details

In addition to the information earlier provided, PaySend will require that you input your address which comprises:

• Your city
• Street and house number

6. Provide payment details

Since PaySend allows its customers to pay for their transfers using only a credit or debit card or debit card, you’ll be asked to enter the card number, expiry date and the CVC/CVV code. PaySend will save this information in your account for future transfers.

7. Press send and verify with a code

Once you hit the PaySend button, the system will send you a 5-digit transaction code on your phone to verify the transfer. After you enter the code, click on the confirm button to complete the process.

In case you want to check the transfers you’ve made, click on the history tab and they will be there. It is as simple as that!

How to receive money with PaySend

Since the money is deposited directly into the recipient’s card or bank account, there is nothing for the recipient to do except wait for the deposit notification. Once received, they can spend the money in whichever way they like. There is no document for them to fill or sign.

Does PaySend have a mobile app?

Yes. If you want to enjoy the convenience of sending money on the go, download the free PaySend mobile app available on both the App Store and Google Play. Apart from sending money, you can do a few other things through the app, including:

• Sign up for an account
• Add recipients
• Check the status of your transfers
• View historical transfers
• Check exchange rates and transfer fees

On Google Play, the PaySend app has a 4.2/5.0 rating with a total of 12,197 reviews, and the iOS version has 309 reviews and a rating of 4.3/5.0.

How fast are PaySend’s transfer speeds?

According to the provider, payments are processed instantly and money delivered within minutes. However, some transfers may take up to 3 business to be delivered depending on the receiving country and bank.

It is also worth bearing in mind that some transfers may be subjected to additional checks in the receiving country hence causing further delays.

Are there maximum and minimum transfer amounts?

PaySend has maximum transfer amounts. Immediately you open your PaySend account, the company allows you to send funds up to a maximum of $1000, £1000, or €800 every six months.

These limits can be increased however if you provide extra verification of your identity. If you want to increase your sending limit up to £5,000, £10,000, or over £10,000 here are the requirements:

Up to £5,000

You will be required to confirm your personal details which include any one of the following:

• Current signed passport
• National identity card bearing your photograph
• Driving license

Up to £10,000

Here you’ll need to add your proof of address. You could provide any of the following documents:

• Utility bill which must have been issued within the last 3 months
• Local authority council tax bill for the current tax year
• Bank, building society or credit card statement or passbook dated not older than three months. It must be verified through being stamped, signed, or otherwise marked by the issuing organisation
• You may provide your driving license if you’ve not already used it as your proof of identity
• Tenancy agreement for the current year

Over £10,000

To go beyond the £10,000 limit, you’ll need to declare the source of your funds. Any of the following documents will be accepted:

• A certified bank statement not older than 3 months. It must not have been used as a proof of address
• Employer payslips for the last 3 months accompanied by a bank statement
• If the funds are coming from a pension scheme, you could provide HMRC documents to support the bank statement
• If the source of funds is a loan, you’ll be required to provide a letter from a solicitor to support the bank statement

Can I trust PaySend?

This is one of the most important questions when it comes to using money transfer services, and PaySend has earned itself a reputation for trustworthiness in the industry. Below are some of the key things about PaySend to reassure you of the security of their service:

Regulatory compliance

The company is registered and regulated by a number of bodies. PaySend Plc is an authorised electronic money institution solely focused on facilitating international money transfers for businesses and natural persons.

In the United Kingdom, where it is headquartered, the provider is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under reference number 900004 to carry on a number of activities, such as:

• Depositing cash to a receiving account
• Withdrawing funds from a payment account
• Issuing payment instruments
• Remitting money

In December 2019, PaySend received a money service business (MSB) license to conduct business in Canada.

Key industry partnerships

PaySend a registered ‘Visa Direct’ and ‘MasterCard MoneySend’ originating institution. These partnerships mean that the provider benefits from superior payment and cross border money transfer technologies.

Encryption and customer data

When it comes to protecting customer data, transactions captured on PaySend are safeguarded under the PCI DSS Level 1 standard.

Thanks to its innovations within the money transfers sector, PaySend has attracted significant investor interest. The following are some of its top investors.

• GVA Capital
• Plug and Play
• MARCorp Financial
• Digital Space Ventures

To add to the security layers it already has, PaySend safeguards card transactions with 3-D Secure – an XML-based protocol. All the access points and ports to the PaySend website are encrypted using enterprise-grade SSL.

Investors and awards

Together with other small investors participating through crowdfunding platforms like Seedrs, PaySend has managed to secure over £28 million in total funding. Currently, the company has about 58 employees including developers, head of business units, copywriters, marketers, and human resource professionals.

According to the latest statistics, PaySend handles over 2 million transactions each month valued at more than $55 million. The company has also featured prominently in authoritative industry websites such as:

• Finextra
• Yahoo! Finance – A brand owned by Verizon Media
• The Courier- A domain owned by DC Thomson & Company Limited

The company has also won several awards for its innovation and exemplary money transfer service. Below are the three most outstanding:

• PayTech 2018 Awards – Best Consumer Payments 2018
• FinovateSpring 2018 – Leading FinTech product 2019
• Mastercard – Top tier (5%) for processing quality

Something to watch out for

It is worth noting among all of these positives that PaySend doesn’t participate in any deposit guarantee scheme. This means that the customer funds held in its virtual wallet are not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and do not earn interest.

Customer satisfaction

PaySend’s customers appear to have a very positive view of the company. For instance, on Trustpilot PaySend has slightly over 6,800 five-star reviews. Most of the customers who gave the company 4 or 5 stars mentioned similar things:

Positives

• A fast and simple system for transferring money from setting up to funds transfer
• Great customer support available 24/7 on phone, live chat and email
• Low fees and efficient currency exchange – the transfer fee is fixed and the exchange rates are set at the mid-market rate

Negatives

• Additional fees charged by third party institutions such as card issuers, payment network or rails, and recipient banks

Can I cancel my transfer?

Yes, you can cancel your transfer on PaySend as long as it hasn’t been processed by the recipient’s bank. To do this, you’ll have to email, call or live chat the customer support team with your transaction details.

Top destinations for using PaySend

According to its website, PaySend currently supports global transfers to 84 countries. However, no two currency routes experience the same level of traffic. There are certain transfer corridors that are busier than others.

Though the provider doesn’t explicitly say what its top corridors are, it has quoted the World Bank in affirming the following as the top currency routes for people sending money from the UK:

Routes such as Russia, Turkey and South Korea also have high transfer volumes and frequency through PaySend. It is a trusted platform with global reach in the money transfers space.

Customer support

PaySend values customer support and has put together a team of knowledgeable professionals to help users with their transfers and other issues. The customer support team can be reached through the following channels:

• Online live chat through their website and app
• 24/7 phone support, including a callback service
• Email support through help@paysend.com

Support is available in 12 languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, German, Chinese, Ukrainian, Polish, Turkish, Romanian, and Czech.

Summary

PaySend is a reliable and well-regarded money transfer service, and the fact that it charges a 0% exchange rate margin alongside a low flat fee on transfers makes it particularly attractive among its competitors.

It is also an innovative company in the space, as evidenced by its PaySendLink feature. This payout option enables senders to transfer funds using the recipient mobile number.

Through card-to-card transfers, PaySend ensures that its customers experience convenient and low-cost ways of transferring money. With a growing destination base of 80+ countries and a 24/7 customer support team, users all seem to respond positively both to the options and support they have available.

PaySend only facilitates card payments at the moment. The company is currently working to enable its customers to pay for their transfers using bank accounts and other payment methods, but if you’re looking to use cash pickup or mobile money transfer as delivery options then you’ll have to look elsewhere.

Overall if you’re looking to transfer money using your card, PaySend is a great option. As always, it’s best to compare your options with our money transfer comparison tool before deciding on a provider, but it’s likely PaySend will be high up in the recommended list of options.