The FairFX Publicity Blog

Far quicker than it would have taken to go to bank or Post Office...

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:23:42 GMT

Dear FairFX

Well done FairFX, you have really excelled this time !! I have been using the many offerings of FairFX for some time now and have always been totally satisfied with the service. Yesterday at 12 noon, the day the nation was gripped by a national strike, I ordered some foreign currency to be delivered to my home. At 10am this morning I have it in my possession, far quicker than it would have taken to go to bank or Post Office and ordered currency. Well done. great service.

Regards

Ron Fenwick Cobham, Surrey

Build Us an App and win £1,000 of Travel Money

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:07:30 GMT

Build Us an App and win £1,000 of Travel Money.

FairFX are hosting a competition to build a mobile app with the Grand prize of £1,000. Here at FairFX, we provide prepaid cards for travellers to load money on and use when spending abroad.

Background

For a while now our customers have been asking if some of our account management functions could be performed by a smartphone app, however just being able to perform these functions is not enough to stand out in the smartphone market. This is why we are coming to you. We want to see your creativity, new ideas and your passion for problem solving.

The application can be either iPhone or Android compatible, whichever you are comfortable with. If we are happy with the proposal you have submitted and we wish to take it forward we may be in the position to bring you on as a contractor to make it cross compatible.

The Brief

The "main prize" will be awarded to the developer of the app that at a minimum fulfils the four functions given. However the competition winner will also contribute some great ideas about convenient ways in which FairFX customers might be able to access their accounts:

Retrieve the current balance;
Retrieve the last 5 transactions in order;
Make a top up to the card;
Show the current rates on our cards.

In addition to the main prize for the best overall app, we have three £200 prizes to give away the most original, most incredible, most innovative, or downright ridiculous twists on the FairFX theme.

If you are interested, please email rob.taylor@fairfx.com for your starter kit.

We can't wait to see some of the ideas you can come up with.

Good Luck!

Jules Bean

Technical Director, FairFX.com

Ryanair Cash Passport – Smallprint Fees WARNING

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:16:24 GMT

In order to avoid costly booking charges, RyanAir’s customers have certainly had to do the rounds over the years. First was the move from Debit Cards to Visa Electron in order to waive the fees. Then there was the move from Visa Electron to Prepaid MasterCards as RyanAir changed the goalposts.

Now RyanAir have announced a further change revealing that from 1st November, the only prepaid MasterCard its customers can use to waive the booking fees is by paying with the soon to launch “RyanAir Cash Passport” – their very own prepaid MasterCard.

If this new RyanAir prepaid MasterCard does use the same foreign exchange rates structure as the other Cash Passport models, then their customers can expect to pay up to 4.35% more on every transaction abroad than other prepaid travel card providers.

RyanAir are in no rush to release the terms and conditions of the card. If the RyanAir prepaid MasterCard is use the current Cash Passport fees, you can expect the below charges;

For every transaction and withdrawal abroad you will be charged a 5.75% foreign transaction fee, where other prepaid cards can charge as little as 1.4%.
A 2% loading fee when topping up your card, when other providers charge nothing.
For every months you don’t use the card after 12 months of inactivity, there will be a £2.00 inactivity charge.
If this £2.00 charge cannot be taken due to lack of funds, there is a further £10 negative balance fee

As well as the charges whilst you are abroad, you may be thinking you can use the card in the UK in which case you will again be looking at hefty charges including;

A £2 UK ATM fee.
A 50p charge for all transactions, other than RyanAir bookings, from April 2012.

“RyanAir are taking advantage of their customers with this announcement” Said FairFX CEO and prepaid card expert Stephen Heath. “They are telling their customers to buy their own card, which they profit from, in order to get around their own fees. It’s unbelievable”.

This comes shortly after the OFT said it would be investigating airlines surcharges on debit and credit cards, the result of a super-complaint from consumer group Which?.

Stephen Heath went on to say “It will be interesting reading the terms and conditions for this new ‘RyanAir Cash Passport’ and I think RyanAir customers are in for a nasty shock. Cash Passports have consistently had higher charges than many other prepaid card providers and it’s rather fitting that RyanAir, also known for its excessive charges, have jumped into bed with them.”

I secured the best available exchange rates

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 10:53:12 GMT

"Having just returned for the USA my experience of using Fairfx was first class. Loading and using the card was a simple efficient process. I secured the best available exchange rates and was confident that I had access to sufficient money at all times via the easy balance check process.

"I have never used a pre-paid card before but I will be highly recommending FairFx to all my friends and family. I will always use Fairfx when travelling abroad in future. Thank you for providing an excellent service."

Jillian Baldry

Basingstoke Hampshire

Outlaw misleading 0% currency commission adverts

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 10:06:30 GMT

The Independent newspaper has featured our call to have 0% commission advertising for travel money banned in an article in today’s newspaper.

They agree that there shouldn’t be any need to pay over the odds for foreign money. Plan ahead, research online and you'll be able to avoid high fees or poor exchange rates.

Click here to read the full article

Britons urged to buy currency online for “fairer deal”

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:14:20 GMT

In a recent article, Which4U - the financial products (e.g. savings accounts) comparison site - have said that with uncertain economic times looming once again, it is more important than ever that travellers get a good deal on their currency exchange.

“They went on to say that whilst planning a holiday is a daunting task for some, those that are taking the extra time to go online for currency, are making substantial savings on their travel money.”

Click here to read the full article

Businesses now have easy access to foreign currency when travelling abroad

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:57:51 GMT

In a recent article, Portman Travel - FairFX’s travel management services partner - have discussed why they feel that the FairFX.net corporate expenses platform is the right travel expenses management solution for business.

“The collaboration means that Portman Travel can offer their business travel clients the use of the FairFX prepaid debit card, which gives easy access to foreign currency when travelling abroad, or in the UK. The card provides a simple all-in-one solution to common expense problems experienced by the business traveller and is great news for the corporate travel buyer.”

Click here to read the full article

Click here to find out more about FairFX’s corporate platform

"FairFX currency card usually has the best deals"

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 11:33:02 GMT

"FairFX's Currency Card ( www.fairfx.com) usually has the best exchange rates for loading with euros or dollars, as well as the lowest ATM fees. On a spot check earlier this week, £1,000 would have loaded €1,100 on to a FairFX card, compared to €1,073.5 on a Travelex card. And while FairFX charges €1.50 per cash withdrawal, Travelex charges €3.75."

The Fair FX Anywhere Card worked well in all of the 21 countries we have visited in the last year

Tue, 17 May 2011 10:12:52 GMT

We picked the Fair FX Anywhere Card as our main method of obtaining currencies in the many countries we were planning to visit on our year long round the world trip, we chose it because there were no high commission charges and the exchange rates looked like they would work well for us, also the ease of topping up the card from the web site was an important factor.

The card met all of our requirements and I am certain it has saved us a lot of money in the process, it has worked well in all of the 21 countries we have visited in the last year. I would certainly recommend this card to anyone planning a similar trip.

Raymond Wheeler

Upminster Essex UK

The best, such as the FairFX prepaid card, have no foreign loading fees...

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 16:43:35 GMT

An article in yesterday’s Independent has highlighted the need to order foreign currency before you get to the Airport – and that our travel money cards are one of the best options. Here’s an overview of the article...

“An airport bureau de change may be convenient, but the exchange rates are poor and don't be fooled by boasts of 0 per cent commission; the real cost is simply built into the rate.”

“For €1,000, it would cost you £966.28 at Travelex Heathrow airport...”

"I think prepaid cards are a great way of taking your holiday cash overseas. It's certainly worth considering rather than risk getting a raw deal on the debit or credit card that you usually rely on in the UK," says Moneynet's Andrew Hagger.

“But the best, such as the FairFX prepaid card, have no foreign loading fees and can be topped up for free by debit card or bank transfer.”

“Five ATM withdrawals totalling €1,000 would cost £913 on the FairFX card...”

MoneySupermarket recommends FairFX card for travel money

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 10:18:23 GMT

Independent research by moneysupermarket.com shows that using a FairFX currency card when you’re abroad could save you a “small fortune”.

They say that if you fail to find the best deals in advance, and simply use one of the bureaux de change at the airport to exchange your money, the chances are you'll end up paying “through the nose” and losing out on extra holiday cash.

For example they found that, if you used a FairFX card to withdraw €1,000 at your destination, you'd pay £894.85.

But to buy the same amount of euros from a Thomas Cook bureau de change at Manchester airport, you'd pay £1,002.16 - more than £107 more for the same amount. So, for every £100 you exchange, you risk throwing away £12 by not taking the time to shop around.

Don’t delay – click here to order a FairFX card today!

I found my FairFX card the best thing ever...

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 16:19:20 GMT

I found my FairFX card the best thing ever on a recent holiday to Tenerife.

All our cash was stolen so we had to rely on my Fairfx card. I was able to top it up whilst there via the internet but I now see I could have done this by simply sending a text and requesting a top up.
I shall never travel again without this card!

Patricia Young, Bishopton, Scotland.

Just used my FairFX card for the first time on holiday. Excellent.

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 14:24:27 GMT

Just used my FairFX card for the first time on holiday. Excellent. Easy and simple to use and gain information from the web site.

I will be recommending the card to all my friends.

Thanks very much.

Regards,
John

Burford,
Oxfordshire.

I have had nothing other than fantastic customer care with FairFX

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 12:33:55 GMT

Thank you kindly, I have had nothing other than fantastic customer care with FairFX. Keep up the good work!

Tracey Arnell,
Saltburn by the Sea

I have used other companies in the past and none have been that quick...

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:17:13 GMT

Hello

Just thought I would mention what a great service. I know it is new and this was my first transaction. Bought Euros and paid via bank transfer last night and the money is in my Spanish bank already. I have used other companies in the past and none have been that quick.

Thanks

John Moore