Best Currency Brokers Compared & Reviewed

Home > Currency Transfers > Best Currency Brokers 2025

Currency brokers can save you money when converting and transferring large amounts of money abroad for property purchases or business. They offer better exchange rates than banks and advice on when to convert currency.  

Good Money Guide has ranked and reviewed the best currency brokers for large international transfers, backed by thousands of customer reviews. Use our guide to compare available currencies and the services each one offers.

Methodology: We have chosen what we think are the best currency brokers based on:

  • 20 years in the currency brokerage industry
  • Interviews with the currency broker CEOs and senior management
  • Over 30,000 customer votes and reviews and votes in our annual awards
  • Analysis and testing of the platforms and pricing

Find out more about how we review financial providers in our How We Rate page.

Compare Currency Broker Exchange Rates

Use our currency quote request tool to compare quotes from multiple currency brokers and get the best possible exchange rate for your currency transfers. Please note: this form is only suitable if you are converting over £10,000. For amounts less than £10,000 please see our Money Transfer App Comparison.




Please note: The rates displayed in this currency conversion quote tool are supplied to us directly from the currency brokers as a percentage mark-up. Please ensure you read our guide to getting the best exchange rates guide.

What is a Currency Broker?

Currency brokers can help you get better exchange rates on large international money transfers. They specialise in converting money from one currency to another and making onward international payments.

How are Currency Brokers Different from Banks?

Currency brokers differ from banks in a few key ways.

  1. Better exchange rates on large transfers. You’ll get a better exchange rate with a currency broker than you’d get your bank
  2. Risk management. Banks generally don’t offer forward contracts to lock in an exchange rate
  3. Advice. You can call up a currency broker almost any time to ask for advice and progress reports
  4. Hedging. Currency brokers offer a variety of ways to protect your foreign exchange exposure with hedging
  5. Options. Some currency brokers offer OTC FX options for buying and selling currency
  6. Receiving foreign currency. If you receive a foreign currency into a UK bank, the bank will generally convert it automatically, giving you no control over costs and pricing. With a currency broker, you can choose when to convert foreign funds bank into GBP.

Pros & Cons of UK Currency Brokers

Below we’ve set out the advantages and disadvantages of using a currency broker versus your bank. 

Pros

  • Better exchange rates. Currency brokers offer much better exchange rates compared to banks
  • Market timing. You can choose the exact time you convert currency giving you more control over the exchange rate
  • Buy now, pay later. You can use a currency forward to lock in a favourable exchange rate for up to two years in the future.
  • Personal service. Most currency brokers have assigned account executions to help you out with all aspects of a currency transfer

Cons

  • Not suitable for small transactions. Sometimes currency brokers will only convert £1,000 upwards; you may be better off using a money transfer app for amounts below that.
  • Extra administration. You’ll need to open an account with a currency broker, but you’ll already have one with your bank
  • No FSCS protection. Currency brokers aren’t covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, so your money is safer at the bank, as banks have enhanced protection for customer balances.

⚠️ FCA Regulation

In the UK, all currency brokers must be FCA-authorised. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ensures brokers are well-capitalized, treat customers fairly, and maintain robust compliance systems. Good Money Guide only recommends FCA-authorised currency brokers.

It’s important to note that currency brokers are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority as Electronic Money Institutions under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011, where your funds are not protected by the FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme).

Which UK Currency Broker Offers the Best Exchange Rates?

You can use our currency quote request tool to see which currency broker is currently offering the best exchange rates.

You should roughly expect to be charged along these lines:

  • 0 – £1,000 – 1%
  • £1,000 to £10,000 – 0.75%
  • £10,000 to £100,000 – 0.5%
  • £100,000 to £500,000 – 0.4%
  • £500,000 to £1m – 0.3%
  • Over £1m – 0.2%
Currency Broker Mark-Ups

Currency brokers offer better exchange rates than banks because they buy and sell currency on their clients’ behalf closer to the live interbank rate.

Fees for converting currency are built into the exchange rate and can be worked out as a percentage from the mid-market.

For example, if the GBP-EUR exchange rate is 1.20000, a high street bank may let clients sell GBPEUR 4% below the mid-market at 1.1520 and let them buy it at 4% above the exchange rate at 1.248.

However, a currency broker may offer rates 0.3% from the mid-market, which is an exchange rate selling at 1.1964 and buying at 1.2036.

Currency brokers will buy and sell currency through banks, however, as they exclusively deal in currency transfers and execute significant volume, meaning they can negotiate better rates for themselves and their clients than if they were an individual conducting a single transaction.

How Can You Check a Currency Broker’s Commission?

You can use our exchange rate mark-up calculator to see how much a currency broker has charged for converting currency. Enter the mid-market exchange rate at the time of your transaction as well as the exchange rate you were given by your broker. It will show the percentage mark-up that was charge, or how much the currency broker earned from your currency exchange.

Enter the exchange rate at the time of your transaction.
Enter the exchange rate you were given by your currency broker.
The percentage increase from the mid-market exchange rate and your exchange rate.
The numerical difference between the mid-market exchange rate and your exchange rate.

Which Currency Broker Offers the Most Currencies?

For large international transfers, OFX offers over 50 different currencies, but you get more choice when dealing in small amounts below £10,000 with Xe, offering 98 different currency corridors.

Currencies offered by currency brokers
This is another point where currency brokers differ. Some currency brokers can only send money to major destinations, whilst others offer a more comprehensive service and you can send currency to almost anywhere.

It’s important to note that the more obscure the currency or destination, the higher costs and the length of time the currency transfer takes will be.

Major currency routes like euros to Europe or dollars to America will be cheaper and quicker than sending large amounts of funds to India or China, for example.

The banking networks are different and there are additional anti-money laundering rules for different regions.

Which Currency Broker Has the Best Customer Service?

In our 2025 awards, TorFX won the “People’s Choice” award and received the most positive votes overall from customers citing excellent personal and customer service.

In our 2023 awards Currencies Direct received the best feedback from clients for customer service. Over 85% would recommend the company to a friend, which was 10% higher than the next currency broker recommendation scores.

Why Customer Service is Important

  • Currency brokers offer account executives to help with the actual conversion, the process of sending funds abroad and advice on market timing. This can save you money by ensuring your account is opened into to get a great exchange rate.
  • One of the major concerns clients have when transferring money abroad is the safety of their funds and that they will arrive at their destination. Currency brokers have personal account executives who can provide phone and email updates at every stage of the journey.
  • Unlike banks like NatWest or money transfer companies like Wise, which almost entirely operate online and have no point of contact for discussing transactions, personal account executives are available to discuss all aspects of a transaction.
  • Account executives can also help explain the best time to buy and sell a currency, if a currency forward may be appropriate, and how to get the best exchange rate when sending large amounts of currency abroad.

What Currency Brokers Offer the Longest Forward Contracts?

Halo Financial and TorFX will let you do a currency forward contract up to 2 years in advance. The majority of other currency brokers offer currency forwards up to 1 year.

Currency Forward Lengths By Currency Broker

Currency brokers can lock in the current exchange rate for transactions that do not need to be done for some time in the future.

Most currency brokers offer currency forwards up to a year in advance, but some specialists offer forwards for 2 to 3 years.

A good example of the use of a currency forward contract is buying a holiday home abroad. If a couple know they will need to buy EUR 500,000 in 6 months’ time and don’t want to risk the exchange rate moving against them, they can buy the euros at today’s exchange rate but not have to pay for them until the currency forward settles after 6 months.

Which is the Most Established UK Currency Broker?

Currencies Direct is the most established currency broker we feature, having been founded in 1996.

Oldest Currency Brokers

Established currency brokers offers are a little more expensive than start-ups because new providers come to market to undercut the established companies. So overall prices are driven down, which is good for the consumer.

However, currency brokers that charge so little that they don’t make any profit present more of a risk than established currency brokers which operate on healthy margins and are well capitalised.

When choosing a currency broker based on how well established it is, you may find that you pay a premium for security vs opportunistic fintech start-ups.

Start-ups also tend to be heavily focused on technology, which makes the process quick and cheap, but offers little personal service. Or a new currency broker may focus only on personal service with commission-based salespeople. However, personal service comes at a cost, as commission-driven currency brokers may not be the cheapest option.

Which Currency Brokers are Best for a Mixture of Large & Small Transfers?

Currencies Direct and TorFX will both let you send as little as £100 abroad. However, it is important to note that if you’ll be doing only small transfers, you’ll be better off with a money transfer app.

Currency BrokerMin TransferMax Transfer
TorFX£100Unlimited
Currencies Direct£100Unlimited
OFX£250Unlimited
Corpay£3,000Unlimited
Xe£1£500,000
Remitly£1£5,000
Wise£1£1,000,000

In theory, you can send as little as £1 with all providers, but a currency broker will expect clients to transfer a minimum of £10,000 at some point to make the services cost-effective.

Currency brokers specialise in transfers above £10,000, so for small deals there may be a fee; some will treat small transfers as a loss leader for larger conversions.

Currency brokers do not have a maximum amount you can send, although the maximum you can convert in one go will depend on the liquidity of the currency pair.

How to Compare Currency Brokers

The 2 key aspects to compare when comparing currency brokers are price and trustworthiness.

  • Price. This is the comparison of exchange rates offered by different currency brokers.
  • Trustworthiness. Currency brokers are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme so you need to ensure that any currency broker you use can be trusted with your funds

There is a plethora of currency brokers in the UK; they all essentially do the same thing, and that is to provide access to better exchange rates and faster international money transfers than banks. So how do you choose between them?

Below are the questions you need to ask yourself.

What will the Service be Like?

Personal service from a currency broker is one of the most important factors, especially for large amounts. Some may say this is even more important than pricing.

Large foreign exchange transactions can seem very daunting and as a client, you need to make sure that the firm has experienced dealers who understand the process and markets.

It’s obvious that every transaction is very important and that some cases, such as foreign property purchases, can be the largest single transaction for an individual.

Therefore, having someone to talk to directly before a large foreign exchange trade is helpful, and one thing that currency brokers are particularly good at.

After all, not correctly timing and executing a foreign exchange transaction are arguably the largest costs.

What are their Exchange Rates?

Currency brokers are far cheaper than banks for foreign exchange and international money transfers. A bank can charge an exchange rate mark-up of up to 5%, while most established currency brokers aim to charge up to 1%.

However, most currency brokers only display exchange rates on their website rather than the mark-up.

There should also be no additional fees for conversions as everything is included in the exchange rate.

Do they Offer Currency Forwards?

Most banks don’t offer currency forwards and they are perhaps the easiest way to reduce risk and protect your money in the foreign exchange markets.

Using a currency broker for a currency forward means you can lock in the current rate for typically up to 1 year in advance. You will need to put down a small deposit, but some currencies can move up to 10% a year, so locking in an exchange rate is a very effective way of budgeting.

Check How Long Transfers Take

Banks can take even a few days, whereas most currency brokers can transfer funds internationally on the same day.

So if you do a conversion in the morning, a currency broker can send the money and have it in your international beneficiary’s account that afternoon.

Sometimes this can take a little longer due to the procedures of the receiving bank and country; the broker generally aims to get funds sent from your account as soon as possible.

Can you Convert and Send Funds Online?

Some customers, especially corporate foreign exchange clients, are quite happy to convert and transfer currency online. So make sure that your broker can provide you with an online platform for desktop and on mobile so you can check exchange rates, execute conversions and track payments wherever you are, 24/7.

Are they FCA registered?

All financial service businesses in the UK have to be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and currency brokers are no different. You can check to see if a currency broker is regulated on the FCA register here.

Being regulated by the FCA means that the broker has been vetted and adheres to certain compliance and client fund safety rules.

Never open a currency brokerage account (or any other financial services account) with a firm that is not FCA registered.

Currency Broker FAQs:

In most circumstances, it is possible to open a currency broker account online and be ready to transfer funds that day. However, in some cases, it can take longer.

When transferring large amounts of money abroad, currency brokers have to conduct anti-money laundering checks before any transfer can be made. This usually takes place when you open your account, where a currency broker will ask what type of transfers you will be making, what they are for, and where the funds are from and going to. This may seem intrusive but it is very important to provide any information you are asked for promptly. If you do not, it may cause a delay in your account being opened and your ability to transfer funds abroad.

If you have a particularly complex transaction to an exotic destination, the process can take some time whilst checks are being made. This is one of the rare occasions when you must decide if your bank can make the transfer on time, at a higher cost, or if you can wait for your currency account to be in place and take advantage of their reduced fees.

The best way to ensure that your international money transfer arrives on time is to open a currency brokerage account before you need it and be absolutely upfront about what the transfer is for and provide all the necessary supporting documentation beforehand.

Our guide on preparing for a large currency transfer goes into more details about the process.

Currency brokers are not the same as forex brokers. Forex trading brokers are used for speculating on the price of currency markets and can be used to hedge currency exposure with derivative contracts like futures, options and swaps. Currency brokers are different because they do not offer speculative services; currency brokers only provide currency conversion for buying and selling foreign currency for international payments. Currency brokers can offer hedging facilities through currency forward contracts, but currency forward transactions settle on a specific date to reduce risk, rather than speculate for profit.

Currency brokers make money by widening the spread between the price at which they buy currency and the price you buy it from. Banks can charge a spread of up to 4% for currency transfers. Currency brokers charge around 0.5% for transactions above £10,000. Currency brokers will charge a smaller spread margin for larger currency conversions.

In the past, currency brokers would charge a commission on top of the fees included in the exchange rate. However, as the market has become more competitive, this is no longer commonplace.

Yes, you can convert and transfer funds over the phone with a currency broker. Dealing online is easier, faster and safer than ever, but you may find having a broker at the end of the phone beneficial, especially for larger currency transfers. However, this may cost you a little more. Pricing is the same as fixed-rate brokers. There are many advantages to doing large currency transfers online, as you can keep an eye on the exchange rate and do the conversion at the exact second the price is right for you. However, for one-off, large, personal transactions, having a dealer taking all the risk or making a mistake on the other end of the phone can make life a lot easier. You can see which brokers offer telephone support in our comparison table above.

Yes, currency brokers can offer OTC trading products like FX options. However, FX options are sophisticated financial products that are generally reserved for business hedging. However, firms like Assure Hedge offer a simple options product for private clients.

Currency brokers are often confused with money transfer companies, foreign exchange brokers and currency exchange specialists. The key differences between the different types of service are:

  • Currency brokers – large international transfers
  • Money transfer firms – small international transfers
  • Foreign exchange brokers – speculation on currency movements
  • Currency exchange specialists – converting physical cash currency

Money transfer providers are generally better for small regular transfers and currency brokers for large currency conversions. Some currency brokers will offer the facility for their clients to make small regular currency transfers as part of their overall service, but would not generally accept clients that only do small transactions.

Typically, the minimum transfer a currency broker would expect a client to do would be £10,000. This is because it is not cost-effective for them to onboard clients that would not generate enough revenue to cover the cost of maintaining the account.  Money transfer providers, however, can offer quicker onboarding and lower fees for small transfers because as the amounts transferred are generally less than £10,000, they do not have to conduct such stringent anti-money laundering checks.

This article contains affiliate links which may earn us some form of income if you go on to open an account. However, if you would rather visit the currency brokers via a non-affiliate link, you can view them directly here:

Scroll to Top