Regulatory Controls
Your money in safe hands
You can be safe in the knowledge that Optimal Currency will prioritise the safety and security of your International Transfers. We are fully Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for the provision of payment services and for compliance with the Anti Money Laundering (AML) regulations. As an Authorised Payment Institution (API) we hold the highest level of authorisation in the UK for making your payments. It also means we comply with strict rules on how we conduct our business, treat our customers and secure and protect our customers funds and sensitive data. Optimal Currency’s Firm Registration Number (FRN) with the FCA is 830790 and you can find us and information about us on the FCA Register
Safeguarding your funds
Times Higher
Well capitalised company
The Capital Adequacy requirements are minimum levels of the firm’s own capital that must be held in order to ensure the safe running of the firm.
Times Higher
Compliance and Operations
Optimal Currency’s team have a combined industry experience of over 85 years and have assisted in successful international transfers of over £1Bn.
Optimal Currency has an independent Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) who has over a decade’s worth of experience as an MLRO in this sector and holds an ICA Diploma in Anti Money Laundering.
We have in house Compliance and Operations departments. Unlike many companies we have chosen not to outsource these functions overseas to reduce overhead costs. We believe the best outcome for our customers is a fast and compliant service where our dedicated brokers, compliance staff and operations team are all able to efficiently serve our customers’ needs with no chance of an international communications breakdown.
Your payments and transfers are screened thoroughly and efficiently by our in-house compliance team to ensure each and every transfer is verified prior to processing. This approach allows Optimal Currency to maintain the highest regulatory standards and gives you peace of mind that your transactions are being handled by a responsible payments service provider.
Years Experience
Customer Charter
Our customer charter consists of four key undertakings:
- We seek to ensure the well-being and success of our customers at all times.
- We will optimise the process of exchanging currency so that it is easy and efficient for our customers.
- We promise always to listen to our customers, record feedback and seek to improve our processes as a result of customer feedback.
- If a customer is unhappy for any reason we will do everything that we can to rectify the situation to the customer’s satisfaction.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Optimal Currency is an Authorised Payments Institution under the Payment Services Regulations 2017. If you want to find more information please visit the FCA’s website, they’re the UK regulator for currency brokers.
As mentioned, your peace of mind is our priority, which is why we operate in a compliant manner in accordance with strict FCA regulations. In most cases, client payments are made on the same or next day that the funds are received, and you will have email confirmation when your currency is on the way. In cases where we must hold your funds for longer, such as the margin deposit for a Forward Contract, then your funds are held in a separate client account that is designated for margin only.
Payments from third parties are generally not acceptable due to the strict regulations we adhere to. There are several circumstances such as receiving the proceeds of a property sale from Solicitors or Notary’s that are absolutely fine. Be sure to chat with your dedicated broker before you send funds to us just be on the safe side, we don’t want to delay your payments unnecessarily.
