Xendpay review: What you need to know

Xendpay is a cheap online platform for international money transfers. It is a simple service and is easy to use, which is not such a bad thing if that’s all that you need.

Average cost:	0.71%
Transfer speed:	2-4 days
Recipient countries:	201
Trustpilot score:	4 stars
Our score:	4 stars
Website:	xendpay.com

Xendpay was founded on a belief that international payments could be a medium for social change. It was the first service to bring the “pay what you want” concept to foreign exchange.

As the remittance platform of an existing operator, Xendpay uses its parent’s infrastructure to provide low-cost services to those who need it. The motives are well-intentioned, but does its business model affect its quality?

To learn more about this service and see if it’s right for you, read on for our in-depth Xendpay review.

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About Xendpay Money Transfer

What is Xendpay all about? Let’s begin our Xendpay review with some general information about the service.

Company profile

Xendpay was established in 2011, as a venture of an existing foreign exchange business, RationalFX. Xendpay was the company’s attempt to develop an online platform specifically for low and medium-value transfers. It brought to the market the social idea of “pay what you want”, which garnered a lot of press coverage at the time.

RationalFX was founded in 2005 by Rjesh Agrawal and Paresh Davdra. By 2011, the pair had begun to experience some success, with the company completing over £1 billion worth of transfers. The founding of Xendpay was a natural progression for the company, which had already benefited from Paresh’s experience in his father’s foreign exchange brokerage.

Xendpay is currently led by co-founder, Paresh, who acts as CEO. He works closely with Chris Humphrey, who is CEO of RationalFX. I suspect that Xendpay receives significant support from the core personnel of RationalFX, such as Kirsty Coughlan, who is Head of Compliance, and Giuseppe Naccarato, who is Head of Technology.

Head office

Xendpay is headquartered at the following address:

Xendpay Ltd
Level 32, One Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London E14 5AB
United Kingdom

International offices

Xendpay has established local offices in the following countries:

• France
• Germany
• Spain

Supported countries and currencies

Xendpay supports the transfer of funds to approximately 201 countries. For the most part, the service facilitates its transfers using the SWIFT network, which allows it to deliver funds to all corners of the globe. The downside to this network is that there may be additional charges incurred by the recipient, of which Xendpay has little control of.

Transfer limits

Xendpay has a minimum transfer value of £1, which is excellent news if you only need to transfer a small amount. There is no maximum transfer value, which is an exciting feature for high-net-worth individuals and businesses of all sizes.

Xendpay fees and exchange rates

What are Xendpay fees and exchange rates? It will take a few minutes to explore the foreign exchange market, so we can properly consider this question.

How the foreign exchange market works

Let’s begin with how the foreign exchange market works. Banks and other money transfer services will buy foreign currency at a price very close to the mid-market rate. They will then sell this currency to you, the customer, for a higher rate than they bought it for, taking a margin in between – known as “the spread”.

The spread is essentially a hidden cost that is not disclosed to you during the transaction. Then, in addition to the spread, some services will charge a transaction fee on top – which is typically the fee that they quote to you. In any case, the total cost of a transfer for you, the customer, is the combination of the two; the spread + transaction fee.

Q. Do Xendpay exchange rates include a spread?
A. Yes, there is a spread.

Q. What about Xendpay fees?
A. Yes, there is a transaction fee. The size of the fee depends on the amount being transferred.

But for the moment, don’t pay too much attention to the details. Rather, for the purpose of our Xendpay review, let’s consider the overall cost.

Why focus on overall cost?

If you focus on the spread or transaction fee in isolation, it is easy to become lost in marketing gimmicks. Instead, it is more helpful to consider the overall cost when these factors are combined. For example, a typical bank will charge up to 5% of the overall transfer value in spread and transaction fee to complete a transfer on your behalf. Not great.

But what about Xendpay Money Transfer? To determine its overall cost we need to compare a transfer with a benchmark, the mid-market rate, which in theory has no cost. Practically speaking, it is unlikely that you will ever receive the equivalent of the mid-market rate, however, your goal should be to get as close as possible.

If you can achieve a total cost of less than 1% of the overall transaction value then you are on the right track. However, it really depends on what your needs are and if you are willing to pay a little bit extra for additional features, advice, or research. To find out the mid-market rate of any currency pairing, use this calculator at xe.com.

What is the cost of Xendpay?

To calculate the cost of Xendpay, we received three quotes to exchange British Pounds (GBP) into Australian Dollars (AUD) – for low, medium, and high values. The overall cost of each transaction was then compared against the mid-market rate and represented as a percentage of the transfer value.

Here is the calculation:

Transfer value	Overall cost
£1,000 (Low)	0.71%
£10,000 (Medium)	0.71%
£100,000 (High)	0.71%
Average cost	0.71%

An average cost of 0.71% means that for every £1,000 sent, on average £7.10 will be lost in spread + fees. By using this figure, we can make a general representation of Xendpay across a range of transfer values. Of course, it is not a perfect representation by any means, but it is helpful for comparative purposes.

Important note on SWIFT: You should be aware that any transfer conducted via the SWIFT network may incur additional hidden charges by correspondent banks; the exact cost depending on the amount of the transfer and the recipient bank. In my experience, these fees can be as high as £25 per transaction.

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Xendpay review: Market comparison

So, how does Xendpay compare to other services in the market? To help you determine its relative competitiveness, we have prepared a chart. Beside the name of each service, we have listed its average cost, speed of transfer, receiving countries, and our review score – sorted from highest to lowest.

To sort this chart by column, click its respective headings. If you are reading on mobile, you may need to scroll horizontally to view all fields.

If you would like to learn more about the rationale of our Xendpay review, take a look at our review methodology.

Transfer speed

A typical transfer with Xendpay takes 2-4 business days, from sending to receipt. The exact duration will depend on a few factors, including the currency pairings involved, the transfer value, as well as the particular systems of the sending and receiving bank.

Key payment features

How do payment features affect our Xendpay review? Let’s take a look at its capabilities.

Spot contract

A spot contract consists of a single payment from one currency to another at the currently available exchange rate. If you need to send money right away, simply login to the Xendpay app or website and with a couple of clicks a transfer can be arranged.

Xendpay customer care number

Xendpay customer care can be contacted by phone or email. Here is the contact details for a couple of its offices:

+33 03 59360102 (France)
+44 20 7220 8158 (United Kingdom)
support@xendpay.com

In our experience, we found Xendpay customer care to be friendly and helpful. We did not have to wait too long to speak with someone on the phone, and our queries by email have been answered in a prompt and professional manner.

Is Xendpay safe?

As a customer, is Xendpay safe to use? Let’s take a look at some of its security measures.

Government regulated

Xendpay’s parent company, RationalFX, is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK and is licensed as an Electronic Money Institution under reference 507958.

Customer funds are held in trust

In accordance with the standards imposed by government regulators, the funds of Xendpay customers are held in segregated accounts and are kept apart from the company’s own operating accounts. This ensures the security of customer funds, should Xendpay encounter financial difficulty.

Secure Xendpay website

The Xendpay website is protected with TLS encryption, which prevents sensitive data from being intercepted during your visit. You can confirm that this is in place by recognising a green padlock next to the website’s URL on your browser.

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Reputation

Can you trust Xendpay? Let’s take a look at its reputation.

Trustpilot

As of publication, Xendpay has received over 8,000 reviews on Trustpilot with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars; representing a positive experience in 86 percent of interactions with its customers.

Here are our observations on the feedback posted:

Social media

Upon viewing the Facebook and Twitter feeds of Xendpay, we can see that the service replies same-day to any query raised by its customers. Because Xendpay is relatively popular, it receives a few messages on these platforms.

The social media posts of Xendpay focus mostly on keeping its customers up to date with news, rather than providing foreign exchange market commentary.

Mainstream media

The mainstream media reporting of Xendpay is generally positive. Many articles highlight that Xendpay is the first service to make paying a transaction fee optional, while others focus on the professional profile of its founders.

Can ‘pay what you want’ work in the cash transfer market?

Forbes

The ‘working class boy’ who built a £1bn business.

BBC

How a strong business culture can create a huge business opportunity.

PwC

Xendpay app and user experience

How does product design affect our Xendpay review? Let’s take a look at its user experience.

Online platform

The Xendpay website has been designed thoughtfully, with special attention being paid to user experience and simplicity. It is available in 5 languages; English, French, German, Polish, and Spanish.

Xendpay app

A Xendpay app has been developed for Apple devices. By using the Xendpay app you can access your account at any time and use its core features, such as initiating new payments or tracking the status of in-progress transfers.

Registration process

The registration process takes around 10 minutes and is relatively straight-forward. You begin by entering your email, a password and electing the type of account that you would like, before providing essential contact information such as name, address and phone number.

Identification requirements

Before you can commence transferring funds with Xendpay, you will first need to verify your identity. This will typically require providing two types of documents:

1. Photo identification, such as a passport or drivers licence
2. Proof of address, such as a bank or utility statement

How does Xendpay work?

As a part of our Xendpay review, we will take you through an example transaction. If you would like some guidance in navigating your own account, you can follow along below.

Step 1 – Sign up and login

Visit xendpay.com, sign up and login. To begin a transfer, click Send Money.

Step 2 – Select transfer amount

To formalise your quote, enter the value of either the sending or receiving currency. You can also amend the amount of the transaction fee if you wish. Click Continue.

Step 3 – Enter recipient details

Enter the personal information of your recipient, including their bank details if that is the delivery method chosen. Click Continue.

Step 4 – Provide purpose of transfer

Provide a reason for your payment and click Continue.

Step 5 – Select payment method

Select a method of payment and click Continue.

Step 6 – Confirm transaction

The terms of the quote are presented. When you are happy to proceed, click Finalise Transaction.

Step 7 – Make payment to local account

You are provided with instructions to proceed with your part of the payment. Now is the time to transfer your funds into the local bank account of Xendpay.

Step 8 – Track payment

When your funds are received by Xendpay, it will complete the final leg of the transfer. You can track its status online or with the Xendpay app. You will also receive email updates throughout the process.

All done!

Finally, once the transfer is complete its status will be updated accordingly. The funds should arrive in your recipient’s bank account shortly.

In our experience, the Xendpay platform was simple to use and we were satisfied with the instructions provided along the way. The entire process took 3 business days, and the funds arrived into our recipient’s account as requested.

Xendpay review: Final thoughts

The “pay what you want” claims of Xendpay may be a marketing gimmick, but they do offer pretty competitive rates overall. Using the technology of its parent, Xendpay is able to provide simple transfer service with no frills. That’s not such a bad thing if it’s all you need.

An obvious trade-off for Xendpay is that it relies on the SWIFT network and that it lacks advanced functionality. If you want a more refined experience, you might consider services such as TransferWise and CurrencyFair. However, if you don’t need anything fancy, Xendpay does provide reasonable value.

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If you have any questions or feedback about our Xendpay review, let us know in the comments below.