Paysend Review

Paysend Fees and Rates

Paysend stands out for its low, transparent fees. Like most money transfer services, Paysend charges a fixed fee plus currency conversion fee.

No matter the currency pair or transfer amount, the fixed fee is always £1—about the same price as a bag of crisps. The conversion fee varies between 0.5% and 1.0%, depending on the currency pair. For example, for a pound to Indian rupee transfer, the conversion fee is around 0.5%. For a pound to euro transfer, the fee is around 0.65%. For a pound to Polish zloty transfer, the fee is around 0.9%. 

Relative to other transfer services, Paysend’s charges and fees are at the lower end of the scale. Some money transfer services charge up to 2%-3% for transfers involving minor currencies like rupees or zloty. With Paysend, you could save around £10 to £20 in charges and fees on transfers involving minor currencies.

How Does It Work?

Using Paysend is incredibly simple. To make a card-to-card transfer, all you need is your recipient’s name and card number. For some countries, there is also the option of transferring the money to the recipient’s bank account. Because Paysend works with such small transfer amounts, there’s no need to go through a complicated or convoluted verification process.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to making your first transfer with Paysend:

• Sign up for a Paysend account by entering your name, phone number, address, and a password.
• Check your phone for the sign-up verification code and enter it at the prompt.
• To make a first transaction, simply enter the amount you wish to send and you’ll instantly see the amount your recipient will get in their local currency.
• Enter the recipient’s card (or bank) details, then enter your own card information, and hit the “Submit” button.
• Check your phone for the security code and enter it to confirm the money transfer.
• Check the “History” tab in your Paysend account or on the Paysend mobile app to track your transfer in real-time and see previous transfers.
• Use the “Repeat Transfer” feature to repeat a prior transfer.

How Long Does It Take?

The great thing about Paysend’s card-to-card transfer is that it works instantly. Thanks to Paysend’s close relationship with Visa, Mastercard and UnionPay, it is able to move money from your credit or debit card to your recipient’s card in seconds. Paysend also offers the option of card-to-bank transfers. These transfers can take anywhere from 0 to 3 business days to land in your recipient’s bank account, depending largely on the speed that your recipient’s bank acts to process transfers.

Paysend Top Highlights

• Instant transfers to Visa, Mastercard or UnionPay in more than 70 countries.
• Option of sending transfers to UnionPay cards in China.
• Recipients can request money from senders.
• Repeat a previous transaction with just a couple of clicks.
• Mobile app lets you make and track transactions from the convenience of your phone or tablet.
• Default transfer limit is £800, but users may request an increase.
• New PaysendLink feature lets you transfer money to a recipient using only their phone number.

Customer Support

Paysend offers 24/7 support via live chat on the Paysend website or Paysend mobile app. More than 900,000 customers have used Paysend to transfer money worldwide. If its 9.4/10 Trustpilot rating is any indication, the vast majority of Paysend customers come away feeling satisfied with its service. Ninety-four out of every 100 customers rated Paysend “excellent” or “great,” with most of the praise centred around the speed, ease of use, and the mobile app. Only 6 out of every 100 customers rated Paysend “bad”, “poor”, or “average”, mostly due to slower-than-promised speeds when sending to certain countries like Russia.

Privacy and Security

Given that Paysend’s service requires sharing not only your card details but your recipient’s too, it’s natural that most people have questions about security. The good news is Paysend is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom, meaning it must adhere to the highest British regulatory standards. Additionally, Paysend is certified by Visa, Mastercard and UnionPay and is compliant with the standards set by both credit card networks.

Bottom Line

Overall, Paysend offers a good service for making small, quick payments. The problem with many money transfer services is that they cater to 5-figure or 6-figure transfers and charge accordingly. Paysend is one of the first money transfer services to recognise the demand for small foreign transactions of a few hundred quid. With Paysend, there’s no need to go through all the paperwork and waiting that’s fairly common with large transfers. You just sign up, enter your, and your recipient’s, card details and the transfer gets made with no hassle and minimum fees. Paysend saves users time and money on making small transfers.