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P2P Currency Exchange

P2P networks have already proved to be disruptive technologies with the power to challenge the status quo and eliminate the middleman in many different business areas. Currency exchange is the next frontier for P2P, as evidenced by the increasing number of start-ups engaged in this business.
The premise for P2P currency exchange is very simple. A P2P platform simply brings together people with complementary currency exchange requirements. So if User A wants to exchange dollars for euros and User B is looking to exchange euros for dollars, they can do so over a P2P currency exchange. By harnessing the power of the crowd, users are thus able to obtain much better exchange rates than they would get through traditional currency exchange mechanisms.

CurrencyFair matches people who want to sell Pounds, Euros, Dollars or whatever with people who want to buy them. It’s a unique marketplace where people can exchange currencies with other people, anonymously, at rates only otherwise available to multinationals and market professionals dealing in millions. No banks involved. No middlemen in pinstripes. Just CurrencyFair, smoothing the process along, making it safe and secure.
You can browse and choose the deal you want because it’s a market. That means if anyone does try to charge above the odds for their Pounds or their Zloty or whatever, they’ll never sell them. It’s as simple as that. Only when they ask a fair price will they get to exchange. CurrencyFair was set up to offer fair rates to both sides of the transaction and cut out the banks and other middlemen. It’s a concept whose time is now – thanks to the power of the internet and its near universal take-up.

It works by matching two people with complimentary currency exchange needs, putting the two together over cyberspace. It is a unique marketplace where users can trade currencies with other users – at rates only otherwise available to huge multinationals and international money market professionals dealing in millions.
CurrencyFair has created a marketplace anyone can access and because it’s person to person (or ‘peer to peer’), you only swap when you get a fair price, not one generated by a take it or leave it bank. If anyone tries to charge above the odds for their currencies, they’ll never sell them. Users of this unique website service only get to exchange their money when the price is fair.

KlickEx.com is a new website which lets people and businesses exchange foreign currencies with each other, without costly transfer fees. The service is aimed at people wanting to send money to family, friends and business partners overseas, initially focusing on New Zealand, Australia, Samoa and Tonga.

Users bid the rate they want to exchange their currency at. Once an exchange occurs the money is instantly available in the other country, without the delay of waiting for banks to transfer funds. The currency exchanges are fast, simple to use, secure and only cleared funds are used.

There are no transfer fees for exchanging money using KlickEx, and no minimum amount. Deposits to bank accounts cost 25 cents each time. Exchanges can be made on the KlickEx.com website and from iPhone and Android smartphones. Standard mobile phones can be used for transfer and account balances, as well as payments in the same currency.

TransferWise, a London-based startup founded in 2011, on Tuesday launched its currency-transfer services on this side of the Atlantic. The peer-to-peer site claims to offer lower fees and better exchange rates than those offered by many banks. The company matches users with their counterparts abroad who wish to transfer money in the other direction. The company says its peer-to-peer model ensures transactions are executed at a lower exchange rate than what banks use. It charges 1% for transactions below $5,000 and 0.7% for amounts above that. On average, the company claims, it is eight times less expensive than banks.