FinTech start-up launches international money transfer comparison site

FinTech start-up CurrencyTransfer has announced the launch of a new comparison site, which claims to relieve small firms from the ‘stranglehold’ of larger banks when making international business payments.

Founded by Daniel Abrahams and Stevan Litobac, the team behind successful comparison sites MyCurrencyTransfer.com and MyTravelMoney.co.uk, the CurrencyTransfer platform allows businesses to compare live quotes from different brokers and subsequently book trades through the site.

The service claims to allow small firms to avoid the hidden charges and mark-ups usually associated with making international money transfers, allowing them to find the best deal possible within minutes.

CurrencyTransfer said it hoped to become the ‘Kayak of business money transfers’, making international business payments as easy as comparing and booking holidays online.

It says the platform will force brokers and banks to be open about the cost of transfers in order to vie for business from smaller firms.

Currently, banks process around 90% of international business transfers, and CurrencyTransfer said many disguise poor rates with ‘0% commission’ slogans and introductory offers that expire over time.

Founders Abrahams and Litobac have enjoyed previous success with financial comparison sites; consumer-focused currency trade platform MyCurrencyTransfer has facilitated around $650m in trades over 60,000 quotes since launching in 2010.

Daniel Abrahams, co-founder of Currency Transfer, commented on the launch: “It is a scandal that in 2014, business foreign exchange is one of the last areas of banking where you don’t clearly know what you’re paying.

“We set up CurrencyTransfer to modernise a tired & expensive industry. Through our competitive platform inviting regulated companies to quote for a companies’ business, we give businesses worldwide confidence they are getting the fairest deal on currency exchange.

“No longer do firms have to place blind trust in their banks or brokers when sending cross-border payments.”