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Basically, I am travelling soon and require 1500€ which converts to around (£1,183.06) which is fairly good for today's currency exchange rate.

The issue is that it's through a company called Air Money (https://www.air.money)

Reading through their "About us section" it states that:

air.money launched in June 2016 to bring convenient and inexpensive travel money to consumers, wherever they are in the United Kingdom. We believe that ordering foreign currency should be a simpler and more enjoyable experience.

This seems like it's a very new venture. Should I therefore be wary of handing over money to them as they are a new company? Is there a way, or protection / standards that allows me to claim my money back if something goes wrong?

shoover
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Phorce
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    Are you sure you need that much in cash before you start your trip? I usually just visit a cash point/ATM after arrival. –  Jun 20 '16 at 09:40
  • @Hobbes: Good way to rack up bank fees! Taking cash or using a pre-paid "cash card" whose transactions are executed in the local currency are the recommended ways to take money abroad. – Lightness Races in Orbit Jun 20 '16 at 11:29
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    @LightnessRacesinOrbit that's not necessarily true in the UK. Some banks, including mine (Metro), do not add charges of any kind if you use their debit and/or credit cards in Europe. –  Jun 20 '16 at 12:03
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    @MadHatter: TIL! Still, [that's only true for an extreme minority of banks](http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/overseas-card-charges). And you're still stuck with whatever exchange rate they choose to give you, which historically has usually been poorer than you'd find at a travel exchange. Indeed, perhaps that's how Metro is recouping the lost transaction fees ;) So in general I think it's not good advice unless the OP specifies a bank, card type and their specific transaction plans. – Lightness Races in Orbit Jun 20 '16 at 12:04
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    @LightnessRacesinOrbit the exchange rate is set by the transferring network, which in my case is MasterCard, not by the bank. I grilled them about this, and am satisfied that they aren't making the fees back by giving me an artifically poor exchange rate. And carrying large amounts of cash around has certain related costs, as well (in a small percentage of cases, you get mugged, and lose the lot). I'm not saying it works for everyone, but it works for me. –  Jun 20 '16 at 12:08
  • @Hobbes My bank (who do not charge bank fee's) have a daily limit of 1000 and I need to make a purchase of 1500 - This is why I need the euros - It's just easier rather than carrying cash and card and making a partial payment on card and the rest in cash – Phorce Jun 20 '16 at 12:09
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    @Phorce: A good prepaid card sounds best to me, then. Check their withdrawal limits of course ;p Or perhaps you can withdraw 1000 one day and 500 the next? Depends what you're using it for. – Lightness Races in Orbit Jun 20 '16 at 12:10
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    I would check with your bank. My bank (in the US though) has daily limits, but if I call them and tell them ahead of time, I can get those limits raised to something like $250,000 daily (more then I would ever spend at one time, or even exists in my checking account). It usually involves me signing some papers, and letting them know when, about, I want to make the purchase. I have used it in the past to make large purchases with my debt card. – coteyr Jun 20 '16 at 13:50
  • @LightnessRacesinOrbit If it is cheaper to exchange cash or to use a credit or debit card is very different from country to country. Even if Air Money is perhaps one of the cheaper providers of foreign cash in the UK, they still effectively charge about £34 for the transaction. –  Jun 20 '16 at 14:30
  • @Hobbes this week, it might also be a good idea to get your foreign currency at a known acceptabe rate when buying in sterling. – Chris H Jun 21 '16 at 09:47
  • @ChrisH Thanks for this. Either way, depending on the outcome there are reports that the pound will still be ok against the euro. – Phorce Jun 21 '16 at 10:04
  • @Phorce, I'm sure it will be ok in the long run. Seeing the fluctuations just from polling, buying at a known rate may be a good option. Of course the rate could improve significantly. I'm not advocating panic buying, but as someone who needs euros in a few weeks' time, buying a little early doesn't seem unreasonable. I'm still reckoning on using the credit card for big purchases – Chris H Jun 21 '16 at 11:14
  • A cautionary tale/reason this is a good question: Crown currency exchange took a lot of customers' money with them when it went down a few years ago. – Chris H Jun 21 '16 at 11:16

2 Answers2

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The air.money website is actually a service of city forex which is registered with FCA/HMR/ICO:

FCA AUTHORISED PAYMENTS INSTITUTION# 524412 HMRC MSB Registration #12191402 ICO Registration #Z8811634

Therefore, you should be okay transacting with air.money

Burhan Khalid
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Update: it appears airmoney has been acquired by fairfx.

AirMoney seems to deliver money either through the Doddle service, or the Royal Mail. You are given a tracking number for either, so the transfer of money is nothing to worry about. You can contact Doddle if you find that they never send a package or they give you a false tracking number.

In regards to claiming compensation if you do get shafted, AirMoney is owned by CityForex Limited, who are registered with the FCA (#524412). You can complain here.

Finally, in AirMoney's T&C's, Section 5.1.5, they state that "If there is a Shortage in any Package the Client must notify Airmoney within 48 hours after receipt of the Package. In the event that the Client notifies Airmoney of a Shortage in accordance with Clause 5.1.6, Airmoney may review its CCTV footage of the Package being packaged for delivery." You can contact then via the details noted in Section 11.11.

If you would like my opinion of a good travel money option, Revolut saves you a lot of time - you can load money in your home currency, and withdraw in a number of currencies. Money is exchanged at interbank rates.

Alternatively, a number of other prepaid choices exist for UK customers: WeSwap, FairFX, Caxton, ICE, MoneyCorp, Travelex, EVEN, and AA. They all offer differing transaction fees, withdrawal fees etc. You can find out information about them by searching "Compare multi currency prepaid cards", and following the link from MoneySupermarket. Hope this helps!

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