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Currently, you can’t send money from Canada using Paysend. Customers can send and receive Canadian dollars, but they must be living in a country where Paysend operates. However, that doesn’t rule out the possibility that Paysend will come to Canada in the future.
Paysend is a UK-based money transfer company. It’s not a bank, rather it offers transfers to multiple countries around the world — and is continually adding more. But, because Paysend only works online, customers can’t pay in cash or have cash delivered to their recipients, regardless of the location.
Paysend’s fees and exchange rates are fairly straightforward when sending money from the US, regardless of the payment method.
Paysend fees are always a flat rate that depends on what country you’re sending from:
Paysend doesn’t offer the mid-market exchange rate, which is the best possible rate you can get for a currency pair. Instead, Paysend adds a margin onto the exchange rate to make money. The table below provides an idea of the margins Paysend might charge on its exchange rates. Note that, the higher the margin, the less money recipients will get.
When we checked on January 12, 2021, Paysend’s exchange rates were as follows:
Note: Paysend updates its rates daily, so these numbers are just an indication.
| Transfer | Paysend rate | Mid-market rate | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAD to MXN | 15.4489 | 15.5945 | 0.93% |
| CAD to BDT | 65.5947 | 66.6069 | 1.52% |
| CAD to PHP | 37.0569 | 37.7247 | 1.77% |
| CAD to CNY | 5.0030 | 5.0777 | 1.47% |
| CAD to JPY | 79.9966 | 81.6265 | 2.00% |
According to Paysend, most transfers happen in a few minutes or less. However, there are some factors that may influence the time it takes for transfers to arrive:
Paysend offers transfers to more than 35 currencies, including:
Overall, Paysend reviews are positive, with a Trustpilot score of 4.7 out of 5 stars when we checked on January 12, 2021. Paysend has more than 17,000 Trustpilot reviews, with 89% of those rated Excellent.
Also, Paysend has manually invited more than 6,000 people to leave a review on Trustpilot, which may encourage higher reviews. Paysend has responded to 95% of the negative reviews on Trustpilot, typically within two days.
Paysend complies with all US-based KYC (know your customer) and AML (anti-money laundering) protocols. In addition to this, Paysend is a licensed money transfer company in the UK, and is registered with the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority). To keep customers’ money safe, Paysend uses:
Paysend allows payment in several ways:
There are no additional fees from Paysend depending on how customers pay. Customers should double check with their bank or credit card company, though, as fees may apply on their end.
Transfer methods through Paysend are a bit limited:
The availability of these methods varies depending on what country you’re sending to.
Customers will need to provide the following to send their first payment through Paysend:
Paysend limits accounts until customers provide verification. Here are the limits:
Upgrading a customer account requires identity verification, which may include submitting proof of identification, a US Social Security number and income details.
Signing up with Paysend can be done online or through the mobile app:
I signed up for Paysend in about 3 minutes. At first I tried to sign in using a VoIP number app, but Paysend doesn’t allow VoIP. I had to use my real phone number instead.
Creating an account was mostly painless, with the largest chunk of time spent waiting for the verification email to send. (Hint, my verification email went to my “Promotions” inbox, so be sure to look around if it isn’t arriving right away).
To track a Paysend transfer, customers either need to log in to the website or open the mobile app. Afterwards, they should:
Yes, Paysend has an app on both Google Play and the App Store. The app makes it possible to:
| Ratings collected on January 12, 2021 | |
|---|---|
| Google Play Store | 4.7 out of 5, based on 30,009 customer reviews |
| Apple App Store | 4.3 out of 5, based on 612 customer reviews |
More on the best money transfer apps
Quickly compare how much your transfer rates stack up to competitors by entering the amount of money you want to send, selecting the destination and clicking Calculate.
Overall, Paysend is a fairly straightforward way to send money internationally. With flat fees, competitive exchange rates and typically quick transfer speeds, Paysend users can send money with ease. However, Paysend doesn’t send everywhere in the world and could have better rates, so be sure to compare money transfer companies before settling down with one.
Paysend’s mobile app uses the same security for transfers as the website does. In addition to this, features like 2FA and biometric login can further protect customers’ accounts on the Paysend app (when enabled).
It is possible to cancel and refund a Paysend transaction as long as it hasn’t been delivered. To do so, customers should contact customer support, and request a refund. The status of a transfer can be checked in Paysend’s app or online under account history.
