Are you looking to make a bank transfer with someone overseas?
You'll need a safe and secure payment institution specialising in international money transfers. Many money transfer companies are available in the UK in the money transfer market.
The company we want to discuss today is Atlantic Money. We've tried and tested their services to help you decide if you'd like to use them to make an international bank transfer.
In this Atlantic Money review, you'll learn about Atlantic Money, its money transfer services, features and fees.
Who Is Atlantic Money?
Atlantic Money is a money transfer company started in the UK in 2020 by American expats Neeraj Baid and Patrick Kavanagh. When moving to London, they needed to send money overseas frequently.
The pair needed clarification as to why the fees were too heavy for such money transfers, so after extensive research on the global FX market, they discovered big institutions transfer money worldwide at a very low cost. Yet, retail customers are often charged high fees.
After discovering that banks don't charge progressive fees on domestic bank transfers, Money Transfer providers questioned why intentional transfers should differ. That's when Atlantic Money was born, enabling customers to send money overseas with a fixed fee of £3 for amounts up to £1,000,000, so high fees become no longer a problem with Atlantic Money transfers as a solution.
Atlantic Money prides itself on offering transparent fees so customers aren't caught off guard by hidden fees when transferring money to an overseas bank account. Atlantic Money’s team is backed by some of the world's leading fintech companies, such as Robinhood, TINKOFF, and Amazon.
Atlantic Money has direct connections with the world's interbank exchanges so that they can offer you the best available rates in real-time with zero markups. Atlantic Money allows you to transfer money between the UK and European countries. Transfers can only be made between bank accounts, as no cash, mobile credit, or wire options are available.
What Currencies Can You Send With Atlantic Money?
So far, only UK and European users can use Atlantic Money. You can send money to Andorra, the Czech Republic, France, Romania, Croatia, the Netherlands and many other European countries.
The platform currently supports multiple currencies. Depending on the currency you're exchanging, your delivery time will alter.
Atlantic Money supports bank transfers from and to bank accounts in the following currencies:
- British Pound Sterling (GBP): Instant delivery time 24/7.
- Euro (EUR): Instant delivery time for money 24/7. However, if the bank doesn't support instant delivery of EUR payments, it typically takes one business day.
- Australian Dollar (AUD): Delivery can take up to two business days.
- Canadian Dollar (CAD): One business day for delivery.
- Swedish Krona (SEK): One business day for delivery.
- US Dollar (USD): One business day for delivery.
- Norwegian Krone (NOK): One business day for delivery.
- Polish Zloty (PLN): One business day for delivery.
- Danish Krone (DKK): One business day for delivery.
- Indian Rupee (INR): Same-day delivery for EUR and GBP conversions.
If you want to ensure your money transfer goes through in time, try to do it within business hours; otherwise, it will be processed on the next business day. Equally, if you start a transfer over the weekend, it will be processed on Monday. Also, check if there are national bank holidays, as this may delay services.
Atlantic Money Services and Features
Atlantic Money is a straightforward money transfer company with few features, just the essential service.
Originally, Atlantic Money only supported transfers using their mobile app. However, as of May 2024, they have a fully functioning web platform, so users are no longer required to use their app.
Atlantic Money Features include:
- Personal money transfers: With an Atlantic Money account, you can transfer personal money to people you know via the mobile app.
- Business Transfers: If you're a business looking to make international money transfers, you can create a business account and still benefit from the £3 fixed fee and live exchange rate. You can do all your business's international money transfers from the mobile app.
- Atlantic Money app: Their mobile app is a convenient way to transfer money. The platform is available on both iOS and Android operating systems.
- Web Platform: Transfers can be made on their website as of May 2024.
- News: Although the platform is predominantly app-based, Atlantic Money has a News page that lets you stay in the loop with all things Atlantic Money. So, if there are any changes or updates, you can read all about them via their website.
- Blog: As well as the News page, Atlantic Money also has a Blog you can utilise. Although it has yet to be updated recently, it has different information about currency conversion, reviews for other platforms and helpful How-to guides.
- Support page: Atlantic Money has a support page with a Knowledge Base where users can read about business accounts, transfers, privacy and security, signing up and logging in process, rates, currencies, fees, account details and general queries.
The Benefits and Drawbacks of Using Atlantic Money
While using the Atlantic Money app, we noted all the benefits and drawbacks that caught our attention the most.
Benefits
✔️ Low fees: All Atlantic Money transfers up to the value of £1 million have a flat £3 transfer fee. So, every money transfer you make will only cost you £3.
✔️ Transparent fee structure: Atlantic Money's transfer fees and other charges are transparent, so you will know exactly how much each transaction will cost you before execution.
✔️ Real exchange rate: Atlantic Money uses the live exchange rate, so you'll always get the most updated currency price.
✔️ Easy to use app: The app is easy to navigate for all tech-level users. Once downloaded, you can sign up and start making money transfers.
✔️ Web platform support: Users are not required to use their mobile app. Money can be transferred directly through their website.
✔️ Delivery options: Most money transfers take one to two days maximum. However, in some currencies, you can pay a small fee of 0.1% of the transaction amount for Express delivery.
Drawbacks
❌️ Transfer speed: With most currencies, the delivery takes up to one day. However, if you plan to transfer money in AUD, it can take up to two working days.
❌️ Limited availability: The Atlantic Money account is only available in the UK and Europe. So far, only ten currencies are available for money transfers on the platform.
❌️ No FX tools: There are no FX tools on the platform, such as rate alerts.
Atlantic Money Review: Our Thoughts
Atlantic Money's fee system is their selling point; the fixed fee is promising, especially if you make an international transfer under £1,000,000.
You don't have to worry about fees racking up, and when using the platform, we appreciate the fee transparency before the money transfer occurs. There are no hidden fees, so what you see is what you pay for.
The app has a clean design, a UX that is swift and seamless transitions between pages, the information is clear, and directions to transfer money are straightforward.
The app has everything you need to complete a money transfer. You can even contact customer support via the in-app chat if you need to. Having the platform on your smartphone means you can send money on the go, from wherever you go, on your commute to and from work, or even on your lunch break with little to no effort.
Since opening their web platform in May 2024, they are no longer limited to use through their mobile app. Some individuals are not comfortable dealing with money on their phones and prefer services that allow them to use a desktop computer. Atlantic Money now supports that option.
We appreciated Atlantic Money's exchange rates, which offer the best real-time interbank exchange rates. You can decide when to convert currency and not worry about finding a better deal elsewhere.
In the past, when using platforms that offered a fixed currency conversion fee, we found that sometimes we were paying more than the interbank exchange rate. So, it's excellent that Atlantic Money uses a mid-market exchange rate with no markups; you don't need another website or platform to see the current exchange rate.
Overall, the platform is basic in what you can do. However, the limits are pretty good, the low fees are reasonable, the app is easy to use, and their web platform is now available. They may need to add more to their services and platform to stand out for more than just low and transparent fees amongst their competitors.
What Are Atlantic Money's Fees?
Atlantic Money is known for its fixed fee, but you may wonder if there are other fees on the platform.
We've compiled a list of the Atlantic Money charges you may incur when you transfer money abroad:
- Transfer fees: There is a £3/€3 per transfer with Atlantic Money. As the platform always gives the live exchange rate, there are no hidden fees on the exchange rate.
- Additional fee for delivery speed: Some currencies offer the option to upgrade the Atlantic Money transaction to Express delivery, and the charge is 0.1% of the transfer amount. You will see the charge amount when you create the transaction.
- Additional fees for weekend transfers: As the financial markets are closed on weekends and national bank and public holidays, Atlantic Money offer two exchange rate options: the next available rate, which is free and will be determined when the markets open the next business day, and the last known rate which is the exchange rate that was set before the market closed and this option comes with a 0.1% fee.
- Atlantic Money exchange rates: Atlantic Money uses the live exchange rate, so you'll always get the most updated currency price.
Whenever you create a transaction on the platform, you’ll see precisely how much it will cost before the transaction starts, so there are no hidden fees.
Are There Any Sending Limits?
Yes, there are sending limits when you use Atlantic Money.
The level of verification you provide when signing up will determine your limits when sending money. There are four tiers, and you can decide which one you are in by simply providing the platform with more information about yourself.
The four tiers and limits are as follows:
- Getting started: When you first sign up to Atlantic Money and provide the basic information, you will automatically fall into the first tier, which means there will be sending limits of £850 per 30-day rolling period and £2,500 per 180-day rolling period.
- Plus tier: You can upgrade from the getting started tier by participating in a selfie-ID check and answering additional questions about yourself and your account. With Plus, your limits increase to £30,000 per 30-day rolling period and £80,000 per 180-day rolling period.
- Advanced tier: To reach advanced tiers, you'll need to provide documents related to the source of your funds, such as payslips. You'll also be required to share the reasoning behind sending the money, and then you can gain access to custom limits.
- Custom limits: With custom limits, you can place new transfers up to the limit granted without uploading documents repeatedly. Limits are determined by personal circumstances and customised to each user. Custom limits are up to £1,000,000.
Providing extra information about yourself is entirely optional and only necessary if you're planning to transfer above the limits the initial tier has. If you share your information with Atlantic Money, they have procedures to protect your data and funds.
Is Atlantic Money Safe?
Atlantic Money uses safeguarding to help protect its customers with strict rules with regulatory supervisors. Atlantic Money is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as a payment institution.
As for the European Economic Area, Atlantic Money is also regulated and authorised by the National Bank of Belgium. However, unlike traditional bank funds, help in Atlantic Money payment accounts isn't covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme or any other EU deposit guarantee schemes.
Atlantic Money's safeguarding approaches to protect your funds include:
- Due diligence: Atlantic Money undertakes due diligence on the creditworthiness and reliability of payments, banking and other important providers.
- Regulate capital: The company consistently maintains a minimum regulatory capital on their balance sheet.
- Strict controls: Strict controls are enforced over access to company bank accounts.
- Secure records: There are secure records of every transaction on the platform.
- Audits: Atlantic Money periodically conducts independent audits on processes and procedures to ensure what they're doing continues to work and to see if any areas need improvement.
- No excess money allowed in the accounts: Customers can only add funds to their accounts that are being used for an active transfer. The platform doesn’t let unnecessary funds be stored, and this is useful because if there is ever a breach, the customer’s funds are safe as they’re not in their account.
How to Use Atlantic Money in Seven Steps
The app is relatively straightforward, and you can send money overseas in seven simple steps:
- Use their web platform or download the Atlantic Money mobile app: You can download the mobile app in the App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android). The app is free to download.
- Register: You must open an Atlantic Money account to make any money transfers. To open an account, you will need a local bank account in your name, photo ID, personal details like your name, date of birth, residential address, and contact details such as your phone number and email address.
- Get a real-time quote: Once you've registered your account, you can enter the money transfer information and get a real-time quote from the app. You’ll see the live exchange rate, transfer fee, and other possible fees relating to your transfer.
- Input recipient's details: After getting a quote and being happy with the money and fees involved, you must enter the recipient's details, such as name, address, and the IBAN or other number that identifies their bank account. Please only transfer money to people you know and trust.
- Choose delivery: Atlantic Money offers two-speed delivery options. The standard is free, and depending on the currency and where you're transferring money, the longest it should take is two business days for a transfer. However, if you want an Express delivery, you can choose this option for a 0.1% fee of the transfer amount.
- Double-check transfer details: Before you execute the money transfer, ensure you have the right amount, are fully aware of the fees involved, the recipient's details are correct, and you've chosen the best delivery option for your needs.
- Pay for the transfer: Atlantic Money only allows local bank transfers, not wire transfers. So, you must use a local bank account to pay for the transaction. Once you've connected your bank account and paid for the transaction, you will be given a window of time for the delivery.
It’s important to know that, with Atlantic Money, you can only have one active money transfer transaction at a time. So, you must either cancel one or wait until it's completed to start a new transaction.
Tips for Successfully Sending Money via Atlantic Money
Although it is simply to start a transfer, there are factors you will need to be aware of to ensure money transfers are successful.
There is a chance of rejected transactions, but to avoid this, we’ve compiled a list of helpful tips:
- Details must match: The name on your bank and Atlantic Money accounts must match exactly. The amount of funds must match, too, down the penny. Your funds may be rejected if one or both factors don’t match.
- Bank transfers only: The only payment method available is bank transfers, so if you wish to add funds to your Atlantic money account, you must send them from your local bank account.
- UK and EU banks only: When adding funds to your account, only UK and EU banks are accepted. Any transactions from outside the UK and EU accounts will be rejected.
- One transfer at a time: You can only do one transfer at a time and send funds when an active money transfer is in progress. You’ll be notified when to send funds, but you can't add money to the account with a transfer being in progress.
Final Thoughts on Using Atlantic Money for International Transfers
If you want to pay low fees for your next international money transfer, consider Atlantic Money.
However, better options may exist if you want a feature-rich money transfer platform. Atlantic Money does what it says: facilitates overseas money transfers. If that's all you need, then it could be enough.
The live exchange rate and the £3 fee per transaction are handy for getting the best deal. Fixed fees make transactions up to £1,000,000 moderately priced, so this is the ideal money transfer company if you want to save money.
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