Halo Financial Review: Is It Safe? How Does It Work? What Are the Rates?

How can you use Halo Financial to send money abroad? Is their service reliable? Can you trust Halo Financial with your money? How good are their fees and exchange rates?

What Monito Likes About Halo Financial

• Outstanding customer service;
• Platinum trusted Feefo award winners;
• Authorised by the FCA;
• Huge savings for high-value transactions;
• Long track record and multiple awards.

What Monito Dislikes About Halo Financial

• No mobile app;
• Major currencies are supported online only.

Our Independent Review of Halo Financial

Halo Financial is a foreign exchange company based in the UK whose goal is to provide a better service to private individuals and businesses worldwide making international payments. The company was founded in 2004 and currently exchanges over half a billion pounds yearly between 35 different currencies.

With a minimum transaction amount of £2,000, Halo Financial is best for high-value transactions where their bank-beating exchange rates can make a massive difference to your bottom line. In addition, there are no fees for transactions above £5000. With their high minimum and fee waivers for high-value transactions, they are an excellent choice for sending large amounts of money overseas (for example, if you are buying property and need to send money abroad for a mortgage payment or if your child is studying abroad and you need to send a large lump sum overseas to pay a tuition bill). Their site also offers helpful guides for buying property abroad.

Come for the excellent value for money, stay for the outstanding service: Halo Financial prides itself on offering customer service far exceeding what you’re likely to get from your bank. The company’s vision is to provide an industry-leading customer experience, and in fact, Halo Financial has won multiple awards recognizing its relentless focus on customer satisfaction.

Halo Financial Fees & Exchange Rates

Halo Financial makes its money by charging exchange rate margins between 0.1%-1.0%. The provider offers four types of exchange rates and payment solutions that can help you get the best exchange rate possible.

• Spot Rates: If you are looking to make a currency exchange on the day or within a few days at the current exchange rate, then a spot contract is the best solution for your needs. Your dedicated Currency Consultant will help you discover the best time to make your trade to ensure you make the most of the current exchange rate.
• Forward Trades: Forward trades are amongst the most effective currency solution for protecting desired exchange rates from currency market volatility, giving you the ability to plan. When processing a forward contract, Halo Financial will agree to exchange a specific amount of one currency for another at a fixed exchange rate which can be transferred and delivered on an agreed date up to 24 months in the future, providing you with better flexibility.
• Automated Orders: With your dedicated Currency Consultant, you can buy or sell currency at a predetermined target level, enabling you to capture exchange rates round the clock. This strategic currency exchange solution will help you target better exchange rates and protect against further market fluctuations.
• Regular Currency Transfers: A convenient currency exchange solution for people looking to make regular currency transfers. Halo Financial receive funds on a standing order basis, and your dedicated Currency Consultant will send the funds on pre-agreed dates to pre-agreed beneficiaries. This currency exchange solution is more accessible than making ad hoc payments.

Halo Financial Fees

Halo Financial does not charge any fees to transfer currency amounts over £5,000. For lower amounts, there is a charge of £15 to send money anywhere in the world, and this is used to cover administration costs. Here is an overview of the rates and fees the provider charges.

Note that since Halo Financial holds all its accounts in the UK, you might incur additional banking charges if you or your recipient do not have UK-based bank accounts. These could be charged by the sending bank and intermediary banks for making an international transfer to Halo Financial's UK accounts or by the receiving bank and intermediary banks during the international transfer of funds from the UK accounts of Halo Financial to your recipient's account.

Halo Financial Exchange Rate

Halo Financial's exchange rates are significantly better than the retail rates offered by the banks. In fact, the company estimates it can save its customers up to 4% on exchange rates compared to the banks.

The exchange rates of Halo Financial are based on the mid-market rate, from which a small margin is deducted. Halo's margin is between 0.1% and 1% (compared to up to 5% or more in some instances with banks) and is how the company makes its money and can survive. The margin is calculated based on the amount you send and the currencies you exchange.

Additional Costs

When making international payments, you may be required to pay additional fees in bank processing charges depending on the country you are sending or receiving money from. However, your dedicated Currency Constant will be able to provide further information and inform you of these charges before sending or receiving your transfer.

Credibility & Security

Halo Financial Ltd is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to provide payment services and is registered as a Money Service Business with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Current regulations require Halo Financial to keep its clients' money in ring-fenced bank accounts. These accounts are entirely separate from Halo's accounts and cannot be used by Halo Financial for anything else than processing transactions (e.g. to pay for their business expenses).

While Halo Financial is not among the largest companies in the foreign exchange industry, it has been around since 2004 and has a solid track record. Halo Financial employees describe the staff as full of "great" and "lovely" people. The company exchanges over £500 million of foreign currencies annually and has been awarded multiple times for its outstanding customer service.

Halo Financial has a detailed privacy policy which can be found on its website. This document outlines the security measures to safeguard customers' data and the collected data. The provider has an SSL certification encrypted onto their site to ensure the site is secure and your data is protected. The site is also developed with a two-step verification process for account registrations and currency trades for added security and safety when booking trades online.

So, can you trust Halo Financial? Given the company's authorised payment institution license, the strict regulations it must comply with, its long track record and multiple awards, and many customer reviews, it's safe to say that Halo Financial is entirely trustworthy.

Service & Coverage

Halo Financial is an award-winning and trusted provider for businesses and private individuals making international money transfers. The provider prides itself on forging long-term client relationships and helping companies and private clients save time and money on foreign exchange payments. With great technology, attractive exchange rates and risk management strategies, Halo Financial is committed to removing the stress from currency transfers. Here is a quick summary of the pros and cons of using Halo Financial to make cross-border transfers.

Regular Payments

If you need to make regular payments, for example, to pay your rent or mortgage, make monthly payments to your family abroad, or receive a pension or salary, you can set up a Regular Currency Transfer (RCT). After an initial set-up, this will automatically work, and you won't have to worry about forgetting anything. You can also remove any risk of unfavourable variations in exchange rates by fixing the send amount, the received amount, or both.

Automated Orders

Halo Financial automated orders include limit orders and stop loss orders. These contracts allow you to buy or sell currency if the exchange rate is predetermined. A limit order will allow you to condition your transfer on the exchange rate, reaching an exceptionally high value. In contrast, a stop loss order will allow you to cut your losses by transferring immediately if the exchange rate tumbles. Combining the two types of orders will enable you to control better the range within which you tolerate exchange rate variations.

Forward Contract

A forward contract with Halo Financial allows you to lock in the current exchange rate while transferring your money at a later date, up to 24 months in the future. This can be useful if you do not currently need or want to exchange money or are unable to do so while wanting to be sure of the amount of currency you will be selling/buying in the future for budgeting reasons or because you believe the prevailing exchange rate is exceptionally favourable.

Business Customers

Halo Financial's outstanding customer service and exchange rates are also available to business customers. In addition to protecting businesses' margins with attractive spot contracts, Halo Financial can also help its business customers manage FX risk with forward contracts and automated orders.

Daily Currency Analysis

Halo Financial provides a daily currency analysis through short videos and emails sent directly to your inbox for free. This will help you track the markets to ensure you never miss an opportunity.

Customer Satisfaction

Halo Financial has one of the highest customer experience ratings on the Feefo review site. It has a total of 1173 reviews and a rating of 4.8/5. This is what Halo Financial customers had to say about their experiences.

Positive

• Excellent service: Fast, efficient and friendly interactions to ensure a smooth service.
• Excellent service and exchange rates: Transfers were swift, security was good, and currency consultants explained everything and made it easy.
• Speedy, efficient and professional service: Halo do what they say; they provide reliable financial assistance that is user-friendly.

Negative

• A little bit more clarity is needed regarding foreign bank charges: There is little clarity around how charges and fees might work with foreign banks.  

How Halo Financial Works

Halo Financial makes sending and receiving money quick and simple. We will take you through their four simple steps here:

Account Signup

Signing up and registering for an account is simple, fast and only takes a few minutes to get approved and begin trading. The steps are below:

• About you: Enter your name, date of birth and contact information (mobile number and email address).
• Further details: Enter your country, city, county, postal code, place of birth, nationality, household income and occupation.
• Create login: You will receive an SMS code to the number entered in the first stage of the registration page. Insert this code into the designated area, create your password and a memorable word and select 'Next' to apply.
• Identity verification: You will receive an email from Halo Financial requesting documents you must provide to verify your name and address. The document provided may include your passport, utility bill or bank statement.

You will receive a verification link that will allow you to capture your headshot and the front/back of your passport or national ID. This link is desktop and mobile-friendly. Once completed, you will receive contact from your dedicated Currency Consultant, who will finalise the process and support you with your account signup.

Making Your Currency Transfer

Once your account has been approved, you are ready to make your first currency transfer, and this can be initiated immediately by following the steps below:

• Log into your online account using your email and password. You may then be asked for the requested characters from your memorable word as the second factor of security verification. Once you log into your account, navigate to book trade and complete the currency, amount field, and destination details. You will receive an automated email stating that the currency has been purchased and payment has been sent.
• If you would instead conduct your business over the phone, you can contact your dedicated currency consultant.

Paying For Your Currency Transfer

Once you have confirmed your transfer, you will receive an email from your dedicated Currency Consultant confirming the order details and the bank details that you should pay your money. When you make a payment, you will receive a confirmation from Halo to confirm the amount and date received. Similarly, when the funds are transferred to the beneficiary, you will receive an email notifying you of the amount sent and the recipient's details.

The Story Behind Halo Financial

Halo Financial was founded in 2004 by Gavin Herridge and David Johnson. The two met while working at Moneycorp, setting up the company's corporate division after years of dealing in foreign exchange for private and business customers at other firms. Disappointed by the lacklustre customer service in the industry, they decided to create the absolute best foreign exchange brokerage, one which they would like to deal with themselves. And thus, Halo Financial was born. Today, the company has 50 employees and trades over £500 million yearly.