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

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

What Monito Likes About John Lewis

• A very trusted brand, John Lewis and Waitrose are much-loved by customers
• Good availability with immediate conversions in over 30 locations, and click and collect available in over 300 locations
• Variety of services including online and local travel money, bank transfers and foreign currency collection
• John Lewis Travel Money services are safe, secure and regulated

What Monito Dislikes About John Lewis

• Exchange rates are more expensive than the base exchange rate or exchange rates from other online providers
• Price promise not available on online ordering, international bank transfers or Western Union services

Our Independent Review of John Lewis Travel Money

John Lewis Travel Money is a financial services business in the U.K that’s part of the John Lewis Group—the same business behind the popular Waitrose supermarkets and John Lewis department stores. They are a well-known, trusted brand and travel money services are available online and at John Lewis and some Waitrose stores.

John Lewis is “Never Knowingly Undersold” and that includes travel money services.  John Lewis price matches their rates every day against other high street bureaux de change like Travelex and Post Office Travel Money. 

John Lewis Travel Money openly displays rates on their website, with currency conversion rates shown when they both buy and sell currency. Unlike some other bureaux de change providers, John Lewis rates are identical whether you exchange money online or in-store.

If you buy your currency using a John Lewis credit card you can earn additional points towards John Lewis and Waitrose gift vouchers. Their credit card will not attract cash advance fees or credit card transaction charges for purchases of foreign currency.

Local Bureau de Change Services From John Lewis Travel Money

If you visit a John Lewis store, you can exchange money immediately in over 30 John Lewis locations across the U.K. They offer up to 30 currencies for immediate conversion, and you get the same rates in a store as you do online. Even though John Lewis does price match their exchange rates, they are still more expensive than specialized, online currency exchange providers. We’ll discuss this further in exchange rates and fees, below. 

“Click and Collect” Online Foreign Currency Services From John Lewis Travel Money

John Lewis Travel Money allows you to order currency online and you can arrange to have the currency delivered to your home or pick it up at over 300 John Lewis or Waitrose stores across the U.K. You can typically pick up your money on the next working day. John Lewis Travel Money offers exchanges into up to 60 currencies online, although availability does vary. 

John Lewis Travel Money also provides home delivery to U.K. addresses, and you will need to be available to sign for your money when it's delivered. They will deliver to your home on a Saturday and your billing and delivery address must be the same. Weekday delivery is free for orders of over £1,000 and there is a minimum order value of £500 for home delivery or store collection. For orders under £1,000, there is a delivery fee of £5. 

International Transfers and Western Union Services via John Lewis Travel Money

John Lewis Travel Money also allows you to make international transfers or payments to a foreign bank account. You can use the service to buy or sell property overseas, paying for something overseas or sending money to the bank accounts of family or friends. Their exchange rates for international transfers are more competitive than their travel money rates. International payments are provided via HiFX and the minimum amount you can send is £100—John Lewis also says they will refund the receiving bank wire fee which can also save you a few pounds.

John Lewis Travel Money has also partnered with Western Union—you can transfer smaller amounts of money overseas and Western Union will allow the beneficiary to pick up their money from a local agent in their own currency. Other people overseas can also send you money through Western Union and you can pick it up at a John Lewis Travel Money bureau de change.

Note that the price promise is not available online and does not apply to their international payment services or their partnership with Western Union for local currency collection.

John Lewis Fees & Exchange Rates

John Lewis Travel Money does not charge a commission on their travel money services. Instead, 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.

Overseas Money Transfer Exchange Rates

Unfortunately, John Lewis Travel Money does not list its exchange rates for making international money transfers or payments. They have partnered with HiFX (now XE Money Transfer)  to provide these services, and XE does provide good exchange rates. It’s possible that XE’s exchange rates may be slightly more expensive if you’re going through John Lewis’s partnership with them, but we don’t have that data. 

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 John Lewis 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 charge a fee to receive a transfer
• Intermediary banks charge fees to process money in transit

These fees could mean that the beneficiary receives less money than stated by John Lewis Travel Money due to circumstances beyond John Lewis 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.

John Lewis Travel Money does offer to refund a money transfer receiving a bank fee. This is what they say about this service:

“We always send the exact amount of money you asked us to in your transaction but there may be occasions when the receiving and/or intermediary bank deducts a fee before crediting the payment to your recipient.

We’ll never charge you a fee for any transfer. Better still, we’ll also fully refund you if you're charged by a receiving bank.

To request reimbursement, please add your GBP bank details to your online account via the 'Recipients' tab and email chargerefunds@internationalpayments.johnlewisfinance.com including the following:

1. A copy (scanned or digital photograph) of a bank statement or a receipt from the receiving bank clearly showing the charge(s) received. We recommend you blank out any bank account details before sending this to us.

2. Confirmation of the template name of the GBP bank account which you’d like us to refund.”

John Lewis Travel Money Exchange Rates for Local and Online Travel Money

John Lewis Travel Money makes 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 1.131 euros per pound, so converting 1,000 pounds would get you 1,131 euros. John Lewis Travel Money sells euros at a rate of 1.095 euros per pound, so converting 1,000 pounds would get you $1,096 euros. 

That’s a difference of three percent. That means if you’re exchanging 1,000 pounds into euros, you’ll pay an exchange rate fee of around £30.

Here are some other examples:

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

• Base exchange rate, 1,000 GBP converts to 1,244 USD
• John Lewis Travel Money exchange rate, 1000 GBP converts to 1,205 USD
• The John Lewis Travel Money exchange rate is 3.1 percent more expensive, or around 31 GBP in exchange rate fees

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

• Base exchange rate, 1000 GBP converts to 1,830 AUD
• John Lewis Travel Money exchange rate, 1000 GBP converts to 1,765 AUD
• The John Lewis 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 Canadian Dollars

• Base exchange rate, 1000 GBP converts to 1,654 CAD
• John Lewis Travel Money exchange rate, 1000 GBP converts to 1,582 CAD
• The John Lewis Travel Money exchange rate is 4.4 percent more expensive, or around 44 GBP in exchange rate fees

If you’re purchasing currency online or you want to transfer money to an overseas account, you can often get better deals by comparing specialist currency exchange providers. Several money exchange services have overall fees of 1% or lower, even when taking into account differences in exchange rates. 

All of the John Lewis Travel Money exchange rates quoted in this section are based on their online rates for converting money for home delivery or store pickup. All rates correct as of early October 2019.

Comparing John Lewis 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 John Lewis 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 John Lewis Travel Money.

For example, N26 provides international money transfers through TransferWise, a very popular and trusted currency exchange provider. If you compare sending 1,000 GBP to South Africa, the recipient would get 18,497 ZAR with N26 / TransferWise compared to 17,866 with John Lewis Travel Money, a difference of around 3.5 percent or £35.

How Easy Is It To Send Money WithJohn Lewis

John Lewis Travel Money services are fast, trusted and easy to use.

Credibility and Security

John Lewis is one of the most trusted brands in the U.K. and they use strong security to protect customer funds. This is what they say on their website.

“John Lewis Finance and Bureau de change from John Lewis Finance is a trading name of John Lewis plc. Registered office: 171 Victoria Street, London SW1E 5NN. Registered in England (Registered Company Number 233462).  John Lewis plc introduce the panel of carefully chosen providers in Bureau de change products and services, whom each hold the appropriate licences with the Financial conduct authority and HMRC.

Foreign Currency online and/or travellers’ cheques from John Lewis Finance is provided by First Rate Exchange Services Limited registration number 4287490 (Money Service Business licence number 12133160), whose registered office is at Great West House, Great West Road, Brentford, West London, TW8 9DF England.

International Payments at John Lewis Finance is provided by HiFX Europe Limited. HiFX is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Payment Services Regulations 2017, registration no. 462444, for the provision of payment services. HiFX is also a registered MSB with HM Revenue & Customs, registration no. 12131222. HiFX is a limited company registered in England and Wales, registration no. 3517451. Registered office: Maxis 1, Western Road, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 1RT.

Money transfers in John Lewis Bureau de change are provided by Western Union. Western Union Payment Services Ireland Limited is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland for conduct of business rules. Registered office 1st Floor 200, Hammersmith Road, London, W6 7DL. Company no. 04129906. John Lewis plc is an agent of Western Union.”

Customer Satisfaction

There are no specific reviews for John Lewis Travel Money on Trustpilot. Instead, we’ve shared reviews of John Lewis Finance, which includes travel money, insurance, loans and credit cards. 

John Lewis Finance scores an average amount for customer satisfaction on Trustpilot, achieving a score of 3.1 out of 5 across 600 reviews. Around 42% of reviews said that they were “excellent” or “great” compared to 55% of reviews that said they were “poor” or “bad.”

Positive

Reviewers praised how efficient and competitive John Lewis Finance was and some singled out the convenience of online currency ordering. A typical positive review was, “Very easy and straightforward to use. Easy to order money and great for click and collect at either John Lewis or Waitrose.”

Negative

All of the complaints about John Lewis Finance were to do with their insurance and credit card services together with issues with the mobile app. We couldn’t find any negative reviews that specifically mentioned travel money.

John Lewis Travel Money Mobile Applications

There is a John Lewis Finance app for their credit card, but none specifically for travel money.

How John Lewis Travel Money Works

John Lewis Travel Money services work in slightly different ways, depending on what you want to do.

To request currency online you will need to sign up for an account, provide some identification, let them know the currency you need and provide payment.

To request currency locally you will need to visit a John Lewis Travel Money location.  When collecting your money, you'll need to have some valid ID with you. This can be one of the following:

• UK Photocard Driving Licence
• Passport
• EU National Identity Photocard

If you want to send money overseas to another bank account you will need to:

1. Set up an account with John Lewis Travel Money through their partnership with HiFX or Western Union—they will need your name, address, contact details, bank details, and proof of identification.
2. Decide the currencies that you want to exchange money between.
3. Book a rate through the website.
4. Provide details of the sender and receiver of the funds.
5. Pay for the transfer.
6. John Lewis Travel Money converts the money and deposits it into the recipient’s bank account.

International payment services are available to residents of the UK and EEA.