Xendpay Review: Exchange Rates, Transfer Fees & Alternatives

Xendpay is a low-cost global money transfer services connecting 205 countries and supporting 51 currencies. The provider is popular for its "Pay What You Want" model, which allows customers to decide on the fees for the first £2,000 transfer sent each year, using your personal account. This limit goes up to £4,000 for business accounts.

This review looks at Xendpay's top features, fees and charges, exchange rates, top transfer corridors, and the type of transfers you can make using this platform.

According to the Xendpay's annual accounts, the principal activities listed are the provision of foreign exchange and international money transfer services for both individual and corporate clients. Xendpay has excellent exchange rates in keeping with its philosophy of affordable transfers. However, the lack of an android mobile app has left a section of users feeling excluded and is a disadvantage when compared to other money transfer companies.

Xendpay Exchange Rates and Costs

Xendpay, much like other cross-border money transfer services, makes money out of transfer fees and exchange rate markups. Let's see what Xendpay charges.

Transfer Fees

The 'Pay What You Want' model is a game changer for Xendpay transfer fees. For up to 2000 GBP, you literally choose your own fees. You can pay as low as 1 pound sterling for your transfer and thereafter, the fees go up depending on the currency pair and the destination. However, they generally range between 0.4-2% of the amount you transfer. For instance, when you send $1500 to Mexico, Xendpay will charge you $6 which is 0.4%.

Exchange Rates

Xendpay charges an exchange rate markup for the transfers it processes. The table below gives real-case exchange rate markup scenarios for transfers of $200 from the United States to India, South Africa, Belgium, and Australia.

Therefore, the markups rarely go beyond the 1% rate which is excellent for people sending both large and small amounts of money for business and personal needs.

Other Fees

Apart from the exchange rate markups and transfer fees, Xendpay doesn't have any other charges. However, the recipient may be charged landing fees, intermediary fees, and other fees by the receiving bank depending on the arrangements in place. For credit card users, the card-issuing companies may charge cash advance fees.

Based on the fees and exchange rates, Xendpay competes favourably with many online transfer companies such asWorldRemit, CurrencyFair, OFXand has an obvious advantage over banks.

If you're just getting started with online money transfers, we've prepared a simple guide to help you find the fastest ways to send money abroad.

Top Destinations for Using Xendpay

The key growth markets which also double as the top corridors for Xendpay are:

Xendpay is increasingly expanding into new markets such as Vietnam, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

Pros and Cons of Xendpay

When making an international money transfer, there is a lot you need to consider. In as much as Xendpay gives you the convenience, there are also trade-offs that you have to look at. Below is a list of the pros and cons of using this provider:

Types of Transfers by Xendpay

Xendpay has two ways you can transfer money to your recipient: bank transfer and mobile wallet.

For the bank transfer, you have to ensure that you have the following recipient information:

• The account holder's name

• The bank account number

• The international bank account number (IBAN)

• Bank name

• Bank address

• Sort code

• Routing number - In the US, this number is called the American Bankers Association (ABA) routing number

• Swift or BIC code

• IFSC code

Depending on the country you are sending, only part of the bank information will be requested.

For mobile wallet deposits, the beneficiary gets the money directly onto his phone. They may decide to withdraw and make cash payments or use it on their mobile to pay for goods and services. Currently, mobile wallet deposits are available in Ghana, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

Time It Takes to Receive Money With Xendpay

Xendpay allows for sending and receiving of funds during local banking hours only. According to the provider's statement on its website, it takes anywhere between 1 and 4 working days for the transaction to be completed. On some selected currencies, Xendpay delivers transfers the same day.

What Payment Methods Are Offered by Xendpay?

For your transfer to be processed and money sent to the recipient, Xendpay needs to receive your payment first. There are 2 main methods you can transfer money to Xendpay.

• Bank Transfer – You can either process the bank transfer directly from your branch or through internet banking. In lots of European countries, Xendpay has bank accounts which means you can do a local bank transfer which is free. If you are transferring to Xendpay's UK bank account, you will need to make a SEPA bank transfer.

• Debit or Credit Card – Transactions from these payment methods are confirmed immediately. The maximum payment you can make through cards is GPB 5,000 per transaction or the equivalent in the currency you are sending from. You can make more than one payment per day.

Reasons to Use Xendpay

Xendpay serves both businesses and individual clients. This means they use cases range from commercial to personal.

• Paying employees abroad

• Paying suppliers invoices

• Paying for imports and exports

• Making contractors payments

• Purchase and sale of properties

• Sending money for holidays and travel

• Paying for education

• Mortgage and loan repayments

• Family support and gifts among others

It is for these day-to-day personal and SME-related transactions that Xendpay was established to take care of.

Can I Trust Xendpay?

Xendpay is incorporated as a private limited company by the registrar of companies for England and Wales as Xendpay Limited company number 8071223. The incorporation date was 16th May 2012. Today, the provider operates as a sister company and an agent of Rational Foreign Exchange Limited (RationalFX).

The company's registered offices are on One Canada Square, London and the board of directors comprises Rajesh Agrawal, Paresh Davdra, and C. Humphrey. The books of accounts are audited by Nexia Smith & Williamson.

Xendpay is a Payment Services Directive (PSD) agent of RationalFX. It is authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority to operate as a payment institution and regulated by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) as a money transmitter.

As part of the regulations, Xendpay is required to separate client funds from business funds. All the client funds deposited with Xendpay are in a Barclays Bank PLC Safeguarding Account. Operations at the company are guided by the Data Protection Act of 2018 which ensures the privacy of personal information.

On the online security front, Xendpay uses bank-grade security and technology infrastructure. The servers are secured using SSL website protocol and data is transmitted securely from the users' browsers to the Xendpay website. Card payments are secured by systems such as Verified by VISA, Mastercard SecureCode, and Comodo systems. Together with RationalFX, Xendpay has so far transferred over $5 billion.

In addition, the company is featured in prominent publications and news articles by companies such as Bloomberg, Financial Times, China Daily, Forbes India, and Love Money.

User Feedback About Xendpay

Xendpay has 7,395 reviews on Trustpilot out of which 5,000+ are rated 5 stars. The clients who gave 'Excellent' and 'Great' reviews had this to say:

• Fast transfers

• Excellent exchange rate

• Great customer service

• Cost-effective

• Transparent fees and rates

The 7% who rated the company as either 'Poor' or 'Bad' cited the following:

• High charges on some transfer corridors

• Lengthy verification process

• Occasional delays in transfers

How to Send and Receive Money With Xendpay?

For you to send money through Xendpay, there are a number of steps that you have to follow.

Does Xendpay Have a Mobile App?

Xendpay has a mobile app currently available only on the App Store. The app is simple and convenient for users on the iOS platform. Among other things, the app enables you to:

• Send money to existing recipients

• Create new recipients in the system

• Check transfer cost and exchange rates

• Verify your account and track your transaction status

Can I Cancel My Xendpay Transfer?

You can cancel your transfer by logging onto your Xendpay account and visiting the transactions section. It is important to note that transactions already booked do not appear on the transactions section hence cannot be cancelled. In case of any difficulties, contact the customer support team for assistance.

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