HiFX Review: Top 5 Things To Be Aware Of
After the company’s rebranding, HiFX now goes by XE Money Transfer but it is essentially the same foreign exchange service provider.
Initially founded in 1998 as a United Kingdom based foreign exchange, HiFX steadily grew its network and influence into other large countries such as the US. Fairly reputable in the UK, HiFX (now XE Money Transfer) transactions multiple millions of UK pounds every year.
AN INFORMATIONAL REVIEW OF HIFX/XE MONEY TRANSFER
Overall HiFX/XE Money Transfer is a reliable foreign exchange service, even if it does not offer the most competitive rates and fee structures. Considering they’ve been in the currency conversion business for over 20 years, HiFX has no issues demonstrating their credibility to the public.
HiFX’s Value to FX Users
Individuals and businesses who seek foreign exchange services typically don’t choose HiFX for cost-efficiency purposes. If saving money is a priority (competitive fees and exchange rates) there are better options available.
The advantages HiFX provides includes an expansive global network (over 60 different tradable currencies) coupled with a professionally regulated money transfer process.
The company’s reputation has led it to retain a large portion of the UK FX market share due to its trustworthiness.
HIFX/XE MONEY TRANSFER – THE GOOD AND THE BAD
HiFX PROS |
HiFX CONS |
· Solid brand reputation |
· Rate/fee transparency concerns |
· Mostly positive customer reviews |
· Poorly rated mobile app |
· 60 globally traded currencies available |
· Not the most competitive for savings |

5 CONSIDERATIONS TO BE AWARE OF BEFORE SELECTING HIFX/XE MONEY TRANSFER
To help give you a more informed decision on the FX marketplace, we’ve created this short review of HiFX. Having a bit of knowledge on foreign exchange company comparisons is vital – especially today, when there are so many alternatives available.*
*Please note that this is an independent review. KnightsbridgeFX does not have an affiliate relationship or partnership with HiFX/XE Money Transfer.
(1) HiFX FOREIGN EXCHANGE TRANSACTION PROCESS
STEP 1: Create a personal account online on their website
STEP 2: Input your desired transaction value and the currency you’d like converted
STEP 3: Input your recipient’s details (personal banking information, bank location, etc.)
STEP 4: Choose how you will fund the payment (bank transfer, ACH, or pre-authorized debit)
(2) HiFX FEE STRUCTURE
Please be advised that while HiFX can only grant you an accurate listing of their charges. If your recipient bank/fund destination has an inbound fee policy, then you can anticipate a smaller amount received than what you’ve sent out.
Naturally this is entirely dependent on the recipient and any other intermediary players involved with your money transfer.
Standard Costs
Setting up a registered account and collecting inbound money transfers with HiFX is completely free – in other words there are no inbound charges.
They charge no fees for regular exchange rate quotes or on most transactions. Sizeable transfers do not come with a charge, but transactions under 3000 pound sterling (or equivalent) are subject to a 9 pound sterling flat fee.
Transactions booked online with HiFX are capped at 300,000 pound sterling per transfer.
Exchange Rate Policy
Since their exchange rate offering is not entirely transparent (or made publicly available) it is hard to accurately pinpoint their mark-ups.
The best way to get an idea of their FX pricing is to call their phone line and request a quote.
As a general statement, the company declares that by using them you can get a conversion deal that is up to 50% better than the ones offered by major UK financial institutions.
(3) HiFX REPUTATION AND TRUSTWORTHINESS
Since they’ve been in the foreign exchange industry for decades now, HiFX has earned a high degree of consumer trust.
According to their reviews, customers are very satisfied with the attention to detail and quality of service both over the phone and online.
Platform Security
HiFX/XE Money Transfer is categorized as a business that operates with very low inherent risk. Due to their regulatory licensing, your money is secured with them.
As of today, the company safely placed trades that totalled over 100 billion pound sterling, demonstrating that the platform’s security is solid.
Financial Regulation
Financial Conduct Authority – UK
Financial Markets Authority – New Zealand
Financial Ombudsman Service – Australia
HiFX is subscribed to all three of these regulatory boards, guaranteeing the company’s professionalism. The company’s foreign exchange service standards are very high when considering the amount of effort it takes to maintain support form a regulatory body.
Customer Appreciation
After being in the FX business for over 20 years, HiFX demonstrated its ability to maintain and grow a following of satisfied clients.
HiFX/XE Money Transfer has accrued almost 40,000 reviews on Trustpilot, and the overall response from clients is positive. This has netted them a promising rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars.
Positive reviews praised HiFX quality customer service, while on the other hand negative ones speak on the issues with the money transfer service itself. Some of the reviews touched on “hidden fees” which could partially be due to the company’s poor cost transparency.
(4) HIFX/XE MONEY TRANSFER SERVICE FEATURES
In this section of the review we will breakdown the exact features involved in HiFX’s international money transfer process.
Contract Options
The type of transfer contract you agree upon with HiFX is somewhat dependent on the method you use for booking.
For instance, if you’re placing a transaction through their website/mobile app you will only be available to access a currency’s spot rate – in other words, what you see is what you get (by locking it in)
Alternatively, you could place an order over the phone with one of their representatives; this way you’ll have access to forward contracts and stop/loss order functions.
Smart Phone Technology
HiFX’s mobile application allows users to place international money transfers quickly on both iOS and Android systems. Currently, the app is branded as the XE money transfer app – not HiFX – and it has relatively poor consumer ratings.
Since their mobile app contains various issues and bugs, it has received an overall unfavourable review from the many users.
(5) HiFX/XE MONEY TRANSFER COMPANY HISTORY
First established in the UK during the year 1998, the company’s initial value was to help businesses and the individual working class place international money transfers. As HiFX expanded over the years, it set its corporate roots in Australia, the United States, and New Zealand.
In 2014, the company (HiFX) was bought and rebranded by Euronet to become publicly known as XE Money Transfer, which today is recognized globally in the foreign exchange world as a merger between HiFX and XE.
Since HiFX specialized in customer support and XE invested their capital in the actual currency conversion infrastructure, the Euronet deal was ultimately a success.
FINAL THOUGHTS: THE INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE SERVICES AT HiFX
At the end of the day, HiFX/XE Money Transfer is definitely a respectable UK-based foreign exchange service. With this in mind, it’s still a good idea to search the FX market for the deal that’s right for you.
While HiFX/XE Money Transfer can basically guarantee great customer support, they cannot guarantee the best exchange rate on the market.
How We Can Help
KnightsbridgeFX can help save you hundreds of dollars on foreign exchange depending on your transaction amount. We take pride in our competitive USD exchange rates in Quebec (which feature very low mark-ups from the live market rate) and our ability to provide free wire transfers on transaction amounts exceeding $2000.
By choosing KnightsbridgeFX you’ll receive a transparent rate that is guaranteed to beat the big banks, with absolutely no hidden fees involved. Signing up and booking a transaction is fast and simple!
Call us today learn more about our services or request a quote at: 1-877-355-5239