Deciding which money transfer service or currency exchange to use can be a daunting task since there are many different options available today. Whether you’re worried about security, best exchange rates, or fast transfer times, this guide will help you be informed about which money transfer service or currency exchange is best for you.

What is an Online Currency Exchange or Online Money Transfer?

These are two different services that can cause confusion based on their similarities. Online money transfers allow you to send money to loved ones abroad using a website or app. Using an online transfer is convenient since it allows you to have more freedom when it comes to exploring exchange rates.

Online currency exchanges allow you to convert currencies globally such as USD to CAD or CAD to USD. In order to facilitate currency exchanges successfully, you must have a multi-currency bank account. This is a quick way to manage your money and receive better exchange rates than you’d get at a bank.

Some services are only partially offered online. They allow you to order currencies online but you still need to go to the store in person to pick up the cash order.

Comparing Online Currency Exchange and Money Transfer Services

As previously mentioned there are many options when it comes to choosing the best online financial service provider for you. There are several factors to consider such as:

• Services
• Service Areas
• Fees
• Transfer Speed
• Security
• Customer Rating

What is Remitbee Online Money Transfer?

Founded in 2015, Remitbee is a Canadian- FinTech firm based in Mississauga. Built by immigrants for immigrants, its goal is to make international remittances as fast, seamless, secure, and affordable as possible. In 2019, Remitbee was named as one of the leading fintech companies along with Shopify and WealthSimple by Toronto Finance International (TFI).

Remitbee offers online international money transfers as well as online currency exchanges including USD. Currently, Remitbee is only available to people with Canadian bank accounts and phone numbers.

Where does Remitbee serve?

With Remitbee you can send transfers from Canada to:

• India (INR)
• Sri Lanka (LKR)
• Philippines (PHP)
• United States of America (USD)
• France (EUR)
• England (GBP)
• Switzerland (CHF)
• Australia (AUD)
• Hong Kong Dollar (HKD)
• Japan (JPY)
• United Arab Emirates (AED)
• Singapore (SGD)
• Malaysia (MYR)
• Norway (NOK)
• Germany (EUR)
• Czech Republic (CZK)
• Denmark (DKK)
• Hungary (HUF)
• Poland (PLN)
• Sweden (SEK)
• Spain (EUR)
• Netherlands (EUR)
• New Zealand Dollar (NZD)
• Sweden (SEK)
• Spain (EUR)
• Netherlands (EUR)
• Luxembourg (Euro)
• Mexico (MXN)
• Saudi Arabia (SAR)
• South Africa (ZAR
• Thailand (THB)
• Turkey (TRY)
• Andorra (EUR
• Belgium (EUR)
• Austria(EUR)
• Cyprus (EUR)
• Estonia (EUR)
• Greece (EUR)
• Ireland (EUR)
• Italy (EUR)
• Malta (EUR)
• Monaco (EUR)
• Montenegro (EUR)
• Portugal (EUR)
• Slovakia (EUR)
• Slovenia (EUR)
• Qatar (QUR)

• China (CNY)

What are Remitbee’s Fees ?

No fees for any transfers over 500$! At Remitbee there are no hidden fees and high exchange rates; running costs are covered by charging a low rate of 0.3-0.6% per transfer which is approximately $3-$5 per every $1000 CAD. This money goes towards business and staff expenses.

What are Remitbee’s Transfer Speeds?

Remitbee transfers are usually received within hours if not minutes! If a transfer takes longer it will be within 1 business day. Security

Remitbee is FINTRAC certified and accredited by the better business bureau online business program. All your data with Remitbee is SHA-256 RSA encrypted, for dependable privacy and security.

Remitbee’s Customer Reviews

With a 100% money-back guarantee, Remitbee is rated 5 Stars on Facebook and 4.5 on TrustPilot and Google.

What is KnightsbridgeFX?

KnightsbridgeFX guarantees to reduce fees up to five times the amount that big banks charge and has negotiated special foreign exchange pricing based on their large transaction volumes. They’re also registered for online bill payments with select institutions allowing clients to transfer funds for free.

This is an online currency exchange service. This service is for Canadians wanting to exchange currencies such as USD, EUR, NZD and GBP

Security

FINTRAC certified. Transfers are also bonded and insured for $1,000,000 in coverage and Knightbridge accepts funds from clients via wire transfer from any bank.

What is KnightsbridgeFX's fees?

Knightsbridge fees change with the rate. They do not show their fees on the website and instead request users to call them for a quote.

KnightsbridgeFX Customer Reviews

4.7 Starts on Google

What is Transferwise?

Based in London, Transferwise was created in 2011 by Taavet Hinrikus, Skype's first employee. The company supports multi-currency bank accounts and can operate in twelve different languages.

Transferwise facilitates online international and local money transfers, as well as currency exchanges. You can send and receive money from over 50 countries with Transferwise.

How Fast is Transferwise?

Transferwise promises transfers will take 2 business days max

What are Transferwise’s Fees?

With mid-market rates, Transferwise, the more money you send the more fees will be applied.

There is a range of fees tied to each transaction. 12% of each exchange goes towards offices and running costs, 14% to operations and customer support teams, 18% to margin and growing TransferWise, 20% towards building their product, and 36% to banking partners and money- moving costs.

Security

Transferwise is FCA regulated and manages their money through low-risk financial institutions.

Transferwise Customer Reviews

Transferwise is rated 4.5 stars on Google, 4.7 on Trust pilot

What is Interchange Currency Exchange

Interchange Currency Exchange believes in innovative technology and is known for handling large volumes of foreign exchange transfers, with no fees tied to cash transfers and better rates for an account to account exchanges.

This online currency exchange service is available for Canadians wanting to exchange currencies such as USD, EUR, NZD and GBP

How fast is Interchange Currency Exchange?

Interchange Currency Exchange promises quick and efficient service.

Security

Accredited by the Better Business Bureau and FINTRAC certified.

Interchange Currency Exchange Customer Reviews

Rated 4.2 stars on Google Reviews

What is Remitly

Remitly is an international money transfer service that operates in over 15 different countries including Canada and the US

What are Remitly's Fees?

For amounts below $500, there is a $6.99 express fee and a $2.99 economy fee. For transfers above $500 Remily charges a $6.99 express fee but no charge for the economy rate. When transfers are received in USD of any amount there is a $6.99 express fee and $2.99 economy fee.

How Fast is Remitly?

Remitly offers two options to send international money transfers; express which is their fastest way to send money, paying with debit or credit cards, or economy which is their lowest money transfer fee where you pay directly from your bank account.

Remitly’s Customer Reviews

Remily is rated 4.5/5 on TrustPilot

What is Xoom

Affiliated with PayPal, Xoom allows you to send money with peace of mind as their fast and reliable service allows you to send for cash pickups, pay bills, reload mobile phones, and enable SMS tracking alerts.

It is an electronic funds transfer company that offers service in English, French, Spanish, and Tagalog.

What are Xoom’s Fees?

Xoom may charge a transaction fee when sending money, reloading mobile phone plans or pay bills. If your transaction involves currency exchange there are many rates that could apply depending on transaction type, payment method, amount and the selected currency and conversion rates. Fees tied to Bill Pay transactions to the US will cost about $2.99 USD. Credit card providers may also charge a cash advance fee in addition to Xooms transaction fee.

Security

Money-back guarantee, the PayPal service is accredited by the Better Business Bureau and VeriSign Secure. Xoom uses 128-bit data security encryption so all information sent between your browser and the website remains private and secure.

Xoom’s Customer Reviews

Rated 4.6 on TrustPilot and 7/10 on Monito.

What is WorldRemit?

Founded in 2010, WorldRemit allows you to send money without visiting an agent with services available from your smartphone or computer. Their innovative technology protects your money and guarantees it arrives safely every time.

WorldRemit is an online money transfer that can operate internationally in over 50 countries, 90% of their transactions are authorized within minutes

What are WorldRemit’s Fees?

$3.99 to $24.99 depending on the currency, country amount, and delivery.

Security

Accredited by the Better Business Bureau and FINTRAC certified.

World Remit Customer Reviews

Rated 4.3 on TrustPilot and a 4.1 on Google.

What is Western Union?

Along with many financial services, Western Union also makes money from foreign currency exchanges. The company has been around for decades and remains to be a trusted and reliable source for clients around the globe.

Western Union’s foreign currency exchange service operates in over 200 countries and territories with more than 500,000 agent locations. You can send up to $999 CAD per day.

What are Western Union’s Fees

There are many transfer fees, high exchange rates, and taxes and are subject to change without notice. Card issuer cash advance fee and associated interest charges may also apply.

Security

Western Union is accredited by the Better Business Bureau and FINTRAC certified.

Western Union Customer Reviews

Rated 8/10 on Trustpilot and 4.5 on Google reviews.

What is Tangerine?

Tangerine doesn’t function like typical banks, believing that banking should be stress-free and simple to understand. Although the company functions without branches their presence is established via mobile, at their Tangerine locations, and through contact centers.

The direct bank does not offer international wire transfers for personal or banking purposes because they don’t have SWIFT/BIC code which is the unique identifier allowing them to convert to international accounts but does allow Canadians to access an alternative form of banking.

What are Tangerine's Fees?

For foreign currency conversions, Tangerine adds 2.50% to the exchange rate that is reflected in the converted Canadian dollar amount of the transaction.

Security

Tangerine is a highly rated company due to their credit card success and is accredited by the Better Business Bureau.

Tangerine’s Customer Reviews

Rated 3.1 stars on Google Reviews and a 1.4 on TrustPilot.

RBC, CIBC, BMO, Scotia Bank for Money Transfer and Currency Exchange

Service

With big banks, international money transfers can end up being up to 5 times more expensive than Remitbee’s online services.

Fees

RBC allows you to send money to any country including the US for $6 for transfers under $1000, and a $10 fee for transfers over $1000. International money transfers can’t be sent from US dollar accounts or RBC’s high-interest eSavings accounts.

CIBC is now offering a $50 return on your first global money transfer with their promo code GMT50. There are no transfer fees tied to transactions with CIBC and you can transfer up to $30,000 at a time.

BMO allows clients to move money between their accounts including Canadian and US dollar accounts with fast service. Despite that fast service, there is a $14 charger per incoming international transfer and 0.20% of outgoing international transfers. Additional fees may also apply.

At Scotia Bank, there is a $1.99 base transaction fee for all international money transfers and with a minimum of $100 CAD. It can take up to 1-3 business days for the transaction to be completed.

Security

While often the most secure and accredited providers, big banks offer low interest with high fees and service charges.

Conclusion

As you can see, different services may work better depending on what you need! With Remitbee, your transfers over 500$ are free! Transferwise offers a lot of different country options for both sending and delivery. Big banks may be recognizable brands but come with expensive fees. Stay informed when it comes to finding the best fit!