ASDA Travel Money Review: Is It Safe? How Does It Work? What Are the Rates?

Is Asda Money Transfer the best option for sending money abroad? Compare your options to make sure you get the best exchange rate and lowest fees for your transfer.

What Monito Likes About Asda Money Transfer

• Wide availability across the U.K.
• A range of online, local, foreign transfer and travel card services
• Asda Travel Money services are safe, secure and regulated

What Monito Dislikes About Asda Money Transfer

• Exchange rates can be considerably more expensive than the base exchange rate or exchange rates from other providers
• Local bureau de change rates can be more expensive still
• Fixed fee for international wire transfers can be expensive for sending smaller amounts
• Very poor reviews from customers

Our Independent Review of Asda Travel Money

Asda Travel Money is a currency exchange provider offered by the popular U.K. supermarket chain. Asda travel money lets you exchange money at a bureau de change, have foreign currency delivered to your home or transfer money to a foreign bank account. 

Asda is a large U.K. supermarket with many travel money stores across the U.K. This makes their money transfer services widely accessible and easy to use. They offer currency exchange and transfers into more than 50 currencies. 

Asda Money Transfers to Foreign Bank Accounts

Asda has partnered with Ria to offer direct, bank-to-bank transfers for when you want to make an international payment or send money to a friend or family member living in another country. We’ve provided exchange rates and fees for international money transfers through Asda below, and it’s important to note that their charges are higher than many of their competitors. 

Signing up for an account is free, then you just need to select where you’re sending money, add the beneficiary's details and make a payment. Asda / Ria will then convert the money and deposit it in the beneficiary’s account. You can get your first transfer for free by redeeming a code on the money transfer website.

Asda Money Transfers for Local Currency Pickup

Asda’s partnership with Ria also allows you to send money for collection in cash from a foreign agent location. Ria have over 350,000 locations around the world in over 140 countries where the beneficiary can get their money.

Asda Currency Exchange at Local Bureaux de Change

Asda also provides immediate money exchange at 140 locations across the U.K. These locations are open seven days a week with same-day collection on many popular currencies. 

Asda “Click and Collect” Foreign Currency Exchange

Asda allows you to order and pay for your foreign currency online. You can choose to have it delivered to your home or to an Asda travel money store. They provide free home delivery for orders of £500 or more, or you can get home delivery for £3.95 for exchanges under that amount.

Asda Money Currency Card

Asda provides a prepaid currency card. You can order and top-up an Asda travel card and then use it to withdraw money from cash machines around the world or pay for products and services in the 36,000,000 locations that accept Mastercard. The travel card is available in seven currencies: Euros, U.S. Dollars, South African Rand, Australian Dollars, Canadian Dollars and New Zealand Dollars. You can top up your travel card at an Asda money store, online, by phone or through online banking. 

Paying for Asda Money Services

You can pay for most services with Visa, Visa Delta, MasterCard, Maestro or Solo.

You will not be charged a card processing fee by Asda if you pay by debit or credit card. However, a card issuer may apply additional charges so you should check with them before ordering and paying. 

Asda Exchange Rate Guarantee

Asda provides a price match guarantee on local bureau de change orders. This does not apply to online orders. Here’s what Asda says about their exchange rate guarantee (ERG):

• “We guarantee to beat the rate of any other walk-in bureau currency exchange provider within 5 miles of an Asda Travel Money bureau. You must confirm the rate, currency, bureau name, location, and time and date the rate was offered, prior to the completion of the sale.
• ERG is subject to rate verification, applies only to transactions where you are exchanging Pounds Sterling for personal use into any of the foreign currencies sold and in stock at the time of purchase. Excludes Sterling products. Not available in conjunction with any other offer related to exchange rates.
• ERG is only available at the in-store Travel Money bureau. The 5 miles are measured from the Asda Store address using the AA Route Planner. 
• We will not refund your transaction to offer you a better rate if you try to use the Asda Rate Guarantee after you have purchased your foreign currency from us. 
• ERG applies to competitor exchange rates available in the ordinary course of business and does not apply to exchange rates which are only available to staff.”

Asda exchange rates may vary whether you are buying in-store, online or over the phone.

Asda Money Transfer Fees & Exchange Rates

Asda Travel Money does charge fees for some specific services, like certain activities on their travel card or for international money transfers. In most cases, they make their money on the difference between the “base,” interbank* exchange rate and the exchange rate that they charge to you. 

*The interbank rate is also known as the mid-market or standard exchange rate, which is the midpoint between the buying and the selling prices of the two currencies.

Asda Travel Money Money Card Fees

• There is no fee added by Asda for topping up your travel card with a debit or credit card. 
• If an ATM withdrawal or point of sale transaction is made in a currency which is different to the currency on the card, the foreign exchange rate used is the rate determined by Mastercard on the day of the transaction plus a foreign exchange fee of 5.75%.
• If you have not used your travel card for 12 months, there is a monthly inactivity fee of £2
• There is a cash over-the-counter fee for withdrawing money at a bank or bureau de change of £4
• There is a cashout fee of £6 through card services 

Asda Travel Money Money Card Limits

Asda Travel Money does have limits for its prepaid money card. 

• The minimum amount you can load onto the card is £50
• The maximum amount you can withdraw in 24 hours is £500 at a cash machine
• The maximum amount you can spend at merchants in 24 hours is £3,000 
• The maximum amount you can have on your card is £5,000 and you can’t load more than £18,000 in a 12-month period
• There is a cash over-the-counter limit for withdrawing money at a bank or bureau de change of £150

Overseas Money Transfer Fees

Asda Travel Money does charge a fee for sending money directly to some countries. The example fees they list are:

• Pakistan from £3
• Poland from £2
• The Philippines from £2.50
• New Zealand from £7

They also list fees as follows:

• Send between £1.00 and £100 for £4
• Send between £100.01 and £1,000 for £7
• Send between £1,000.01 and £1,800 for £13

The most you can send in an international transfer is £1,800.

About Fees Levied by Banks

Certain fees may be levied by banks when you are transferring money to another account. These fees are outside the control of Asda Travel Money. Circumstances where banks may charge additional fees include:

• Wire transfers into or out of sender or beneficiary accounts
• Transfers that are sent via SWIFT or certain other banking protocols
• Beneficiary banks charging a fee to receive a transfer
• Intermediary banks charging fees to process money in transit

These fees could mean that the beneficiary receives less money than stated by Asda Travel Money due to circumstances beyond Asda Travel Money’s control. If you want to understand what these extra fees are likely to be, please contact your bank and the beneficiary's bank.

Asda Travel Money Exchange Rates for Online Travel Money

Asda Travel Money makes most of their money on the difference between the exchange rate they offer to customers and the base exchange rate. For example, the base rate to convert U.K pounds into euros is 1.146 euros per pound. Asda Travel Money offers an exchange rate of 1.126 euros per pound, a difference of 2 percent. That means if you’re exchanging 1,000 pounds into euros, you’ll pay an exchange rate fee of around £20.

Here are some other examples:

Exchanging 1,000 U.K. Pounds Into U.S. Dollars

• Base exchange rate, 1,000 GBP converts to 1,266 USD
• Asda Travel Money online exchange rate, 1000 GBP converts to 1,245 USD
• The Asda Travel Money exchange rate is 1.7 percent more expensive, or around 17 GBP in exchange rate fees

Exchanging 1,000 U.K. Pounds Into South African Rands

• Base exchange rate, 1,000 GBP converts to 18,672 ZAR
• Asda Travel Money exchange rate, 1000 GBP converts to 18,033 ZAR
• The Asda Travel Money exchange rate is 3.5 percent more expensive, or around 35 GBP in exchange rate fees

Exchanging 1,000 U.K. Pounds Into Australian Dollars

• Base exchange rate, 1,000 GBP converts to 1,862 AUD
• Asda Travel Money exchange rate, 1000 GBP converts to 1,810 AUD
• The Asda Travel Money exchange rate is 2.8 percent more expensive, or around 28 GBP in exchange rate fees

If you’re purchasing currency online or you want to transfer money to an overseas account, you can get much better deals by comparing specialist currency exchange providers. Several money exchange services have overall fees of one percent or lower, even when taking into account differences in exchange rates. 

All of the Asda Travel Money exchange rates quoted in this section are based on their online rates for converting money for home delivery or store pickup. Local bureau de change rates may vary and are likely to be more expensive than what we quote here. All rates correct as of early October 2019.

Asda Travel Money Exchange Rates for International Money Transfers

Here are the rates Asda charges for sending money to foriegn bank accounts.

Sending 1,000 U.K. Pounds to a Euro Account

• Base exchange rate, 1,000 GBP converts to 1,146 EUR
• Asda Travel Money exchange rate, 1000 GBP converts to 1,106 EUR
• The Asda Travel Money exchange rate is 3.5 percent more expensive, or around 35 GBP in exchange rate fees

Sending 1,000 U.K. Pounds to a Brazilian Real Account

• Base exchange rate, 1,000 GBP converts to 5,182 BRL
• Asda Travel Money exchange rate, 1000 GBP converts to 5,058 BRL
• The Asda Travel Money exchange rate is 2.4 percent more expensive, or around 24 GBP in exchange rate fees

Sending 1,000 U.K. Pounds to a New Zealand Dollar Account

• Base exchange rate, 1,000 GBP converts to 1,996 NZD
• Asda Travel Money exchange rate, 1000 GBP converts to 1,931 NZD
• The Asda Travel Money exchange rate is 3.3 percent more expensive, or around 33 GBP in exchange rate fees

Note that you may need to pay an Asda Travel Money international money transfer fee to send money to a foreign account. 

All of the Asda Travel Money exchange rates quoted in this section are based on their online rates for sending money to an overseas bank account. All rates correct as of early October 2019.

Comparing Asda Travel Money Rates To Other Providers

You can easily compare many money transfer services directly using our comparison tool. There are several new services that it’s worth comparing directly to Asda Travel Money.

Modern, Mobile-Only Banks

There are several new, mobile-only banks that are becoming more widely available throughout the U.K. and Europe. Providers like N26, Monese, Revolut, Monzo or Bunq provide a wide variety of financial services to the modern consumer. All of these modern banks provide international travel cards and international money transfer services, and it’s worth comparing them to Asda Travel Money.

For example, N26 provides international money transfers through TransferWise, a very popular and trusted currency exchange provider. If you compare sending 500 GBP to Mexico, the recipient would get 12,137 MXN with N26 / TransferWise compared to 11,800 with Asda Travel Money, a difference of around 2.8 percent or £14.

Specialist Currency Providers for Other Destinations

You may also be able to get a better deal for money transfers when you’re sending money to certain countries. For example, if you’re sending 500 GBP to Switzerland, the beneficiary would get around 628 CHF with Transferwise compared to 610 CHF with Asda Travel Money, a difference of around 2.9 percent or £15. 

How Easy Is It To Send Money With Asda Money Transfer

Asda Travel Money services provide convenient local and online currency exchange and money transfer services, combined with an international travel card.

Credibility and Security

ASDA is an agent of Euronet Payment Services Limited (“EPS”), trading as Ria. EPS is registered in England (6975932) with its registered office at North Block, 55 Baker Street, London W1U 7EU. EPS is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Payment Services Regulations 2009 (FRN: 504630). See asda.com/moneytransfer for further details.

With a worldwide agent network of more than 314,000 locations in 146 countries, Ria is the third largest provider of money transfer services in the world. Since opening its first storefront in 1987, Ria has grown to be the third largest money transfer service with a mission to offer people the most simple, reliable and friendly services, both online and in-store through trusted partners.

Customer Satisfaction

Asda Money scored very poorly for customer satisfaction on Trustpilot, achieving a score of just 1.5 out of 5 across 50 reviews. Two percent of reviews said that they were “excellent” or “great” compared to ninety-seven percent of reviews that said they were “poor” or “bad.” Note that these reviews were across Asda Money as a whole, not just for travel money or currency or online overseas transfers. 

Positive

There was only one positive review, which said that Asda was better than another supermarket money provider. 

Negative

There were numerous negative reviews including problems with the travel card, poor customer service and issues with account closure. Here’s an exam-le of a review, “Ordered travel money (Turkish Lira). Paid for it. Checked the next day as I still hadn't received a confirmation email to be greeted with a message that said your order has been cancelled and suggested it was a card fault and I should try again with a different card. I rang my bank and there wasn't an issue with my card.”

How Asda Travel Money works

To pick up money from a travel store, you will need to provide:

• The payment card you used to place the order
• Valid photo ID, either a passport, full UK photographic driving licence or EU ID card, which matches the details of the cardholder

Here’s how to make a money transfer: 

1. Log into your profile
2. Choose who and where you’re sending money to
3. How much you’d like to send and how they’ll receive it
4. Pay using a debit card
5. Your money transfer is on its way

Here are the beneficiary details you’ll need:

• Your recipient’s first name and last name as displayed on their officially-issued ID.
• Your recipient’s address and phone number.
• A selected method for how your recipient will receive the money transfer. If you choose to deposit money directly into your recipient’s account, you’ll need their bank account and routing number (this might be called an IBAN or SWIFT number). 
• If you would rather have your recipient pick up the money in person, you’ll need to select a local, preferred payout location.