Frequently Asked Questions

	Contents: Signing Up   How XEtrade Works   Trade Information   Fees   Contact Information

	Signing Up see all sections  Do you really have a best rate guarantee? Yes. We guarantee to beat every posted bank rate on every transaction. We also guarantee to beat every other competitor's rate nine times out of ten. For more details contact us. Why are your rates so much better than the banks? Our specialty is foreign exchange. Others look at your foreign exchange needs as a hassle -- but for us, it's our job. We concentrate all of our efforts on providing you with the best foreign exchange service available. This means your get the best rates possible. Is there any cost to sign up? No. Signing up with us is completely free. How long does it take to sign up with you? Generally less than two business days, once you send us your signed registration form and compliance documents. Do I need to open any new bank accounts? No. XEtrade works with your existing bank accounts. However, please note that when sending funds to a bank account, that account must be denominated in the same currency as the funds being sent. For example, if you are sending Euro, the destination bank account must be a Euro account. Do I need to have Internet banking with my existing bank? No. XEtrade does not require any special services to be activated with your existing bank. Do I have to install any special software on my computer? No. No special software is required. XEtrade uses your regular Internet browser and connection. Is it safe to use XEtrade? XEtrade is brought to you by XE.com, the world's favorite currency site. Founded in 1993, XE.com has become synonymous with the word currency all around the world. For security details, including extensive information, references, and background on XE.com and XEtrade, click here.

	How XEtrade Works see all sections  How does XEtrade work? For a diagram of how XEtrade works, click here. What currencies can I trade? XEtrade enables you to trade on-line in the following fifteen of the world's major currencies: AUD - Australia Dollars * CHF - Switzerland Francs EUR - Euro * (see country list below) HKD - Hong Kong Dollars MXN - Mexico Pesos NOK - Norway Kroner SEK - Sweden Kronor USD - United States of America Dollars * CAD - Canada Dollars * DKK - Denmark Kroner GBP - United Kingdom Pounds Sterling * JPY - Japan Yen NZD - New Zealand Dollars SGD - Singapore Dollar ZAR - South Africa Rand Euro-member countries: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Germany, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands (Holland), Portugal, and Slovenia. An asterisk (*) indicates currencies for which you can also book forward contracts on-line. Note: There are a few places to and from which XEtrade cannot be used to send funds, regardless of the currencies involved. Please see FAQ #5 in this section for details. Can I use XEtrade at any time? XEtrade can be used 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, please be advised that due to reduced trading in the currency markets on weekends, there may be restrictions on trading limits from Friday 9:00 pm GMT to Sunday 10:00 pm GMT. During this time, you may receive an error message stating you cannot trade a requested amount, even if it is within your trade limit. If this occurs, please try a smaller amount or book your trade after the weekend. Does XEtrade work anywhere in the world? Almost! Clients all across the world use XEtrade to buy and sell currency every day. Transactions involving Wire Transfers and Drafts can be performed almost everywhere. In addition, in Canada and the USA, Electronic Funds Transfers (EFT) are also available. However, while very cost effective, EFT-capable bank accounts are not required to use XEtrade. XEtrade can be used outside of the United States and Canada. Even without EFT, clients all across the world save money every day with XEtrade. Note: When sending us the funds to be converted, you can in fact use any electronic payment method available to you, provided that you initiate the payment within 3 business days and that you inform us by e-mail when it has been initiated. Such payment methods would be used in place of a Wire Transfer when sending payments to XEtrade. For example, in the United Kingdom, the CHAPS or BACS services can be used, and In Australia and New Zealand, the Internet Payment and Pay Anyone services can be used. These are just examples; other options may be available in your jurisdiction. If you wish to use such a payment method, specify "Wire" as the method by which you will be sending the funds to us. If you are uncertain whether a given payment method will work, please investigate it before making your trade. We can not accept payment by cash or check. Note: There are a few places to and from which XEtrade cannot be used to send funds, regardless of the currencies involved. Please see FAQ #5 in this section for details. Are there any restrictions on sending or receiving funds? Yes. We are governed by anti-terrorist financing laws and anti-money laundering laws. Sanctions have been imposed upon certain countries that are known to have weak anti-money laundering and/or weak anti-terrorist financing laws, as well as upon specially designated nationals (SDN) within those countries. For more information, please refer to the following websites: FATF · OSFI · US Treasury Additional due diligence is required for transactions involving the following areas. You may be asked to provide additional information, and normal trade timelines will likely not apply. Algeria Afghanistan Albania Angola Argentina Barbados Bangladesh Bolivia Benin Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Central African Republic Chad China Colombia Congo Cyprus Djibouti Egypt Ethiopia Gabon Gambia Georgia Ghana Guyana Guinea Honduras Haiti India Indonesia Israel Ivory Coast Kenya Kyrgyzstan Lesotho Lebanon Libya Macedonia, TFYR Madagascar Malawi Mali Malaysia Mauritius Mexico Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Pakistan Panama Philippines Romania Russia Rwanda Senegal Serbia Slovenia Sri Lanka Somalia South Africa St Vincent Swaziland Tanzania Togo Turkey Tunisia Uganda Ukraine Venezuela Vietnam Zaire Zambia Zimbabwe We are not permitted under any circumstances to process trades involving the following countries and groups: Burma (now Myanmar) Iran Iraq Liberia Myanmar (formerly Burma) Nigeria North Korea Sudan Taliban (Group) Important: These lists are provided to us by the banking community and the FATF, and are not the result of any subjective decisions on our part. Remember, during any transaction, regardless of the countries involved, you may be required to provide additional details regarding the purpose of any transaction, the source of the funds, and the relationship between the sender and the beneficiary. Can I send or receive cash with XEtrade? XEtrade cannot send cash; please review available XEtrade delivery methods. To order foreign cash online, try XE Cash. No new banking relationships, no messy sign-ups, no recurring costs - no risk. Home delivery is 100% guaranteed! XEtrade cannot accept payment by cash, but we can accept payment by Wire and EFT. Please review available XEtrade payment methods. Can I pay by check? No. Since we cannot deliver the converted funds until we first receive the payment from you, we do not permit payment by check or Bank Draft. It simply delays the conversion process too long to be practical. Can I pay by credit card? No. Credit card companies deduct merchant fees from all payments using their cards. These deductions would significantly increase the cost of your transaction.

	Trade Information see all sections  How long does a trade take to process? Processing time depends on how you send us the funds to be converted, as well as how you select to have the converted funds delivered. Common time ranges are given in the table below. Payment Method How you send us the funds to be converted Delivery Method How the converted funds are delivered by us Total Processing Time Normal ranges Wire Wire ² 1-5 business days Wire ¹ ² EFT (Canada/USA) 3-6 business days Wire ¹ ² Draft 4-9 business days (Canada/USA) 8-16 business days (elsewhere) EFT (Canada/USA) ³ Wire ² 3-7 business days EFT (Canada/USA) ³ EFT (Canada/USA) 4-7 business days EFT (Canada/USA) ³ Draft 6-10 business days (Canada/USA) 9-17 business days (elsewhere) IMPORTANT - Possible Delaying Factors Payments sent to us from the UK using BACS or Internet Payment typically take 2 to 3 business days longer than an actual Wire Transfer. Wires sent to or from certain jurisdictions may take extra time. This is beyond our control. Wires to or from Continental Europe typically take 1 to 2 extra business days. Wires to or from South Africa typically take 4 to 9 extra business days. If you select to pay by EFT, the account details may need to be confirmed before proceeding. This is a one-time requirement that typically takes 2-5 business days, but can be delayed if your bank is uncooperative. For more information on account confirmation, click here. For EFT withdrawals (debits), your payment to us is not considered cleared funds. As such, the banks may place hold days ranging from 1-4 business days (on any amount) to ensure that funds are cleared prior to crediting our account. This is a standard risk management policy. Please plan your trade according to our suggested timescales. Larger amounts will typically take more time to clear, so will fall towards the end of the suggested 4-7 business day timescale. The total processing times listed above cover what normally happens, but exceptions can occur from time to time. All foreign exchange transactions involve banks, regardless of provider, and the duration depends upon how efficient those banks are. Note that the absolute fastest way to send a payment is "Wire to Wire". This means that you select to send us the funds to be converted by Wire Transfer, and select to have the converted funds be delivered by Wire Transfer as well. Please see FAQ #5 and #8 in this section for details. How do I know the status of a transaction in XEtrade? Easy! First, we notify you by e-mail to confirm your order placement. Secondly, you can always track the status of your transaction using our reporting features. Finally, we send you an e-mail notice when your transaction is complete. What does my trade limit mean? Trade Limit is the total value all transactions you can have open simultaneously. This is the maximum value of outstanding transactions you can have at any given time for which we have not yet received payment. Available to Trade is how much of your trade limit you have available for transactions. Remember, this does not mean that you have to give us funds in advance of making trades. You only have to send us funds when specifically instructed to do so by the system. Please be advised that due to reduced trading in the currency markets on weekends, there may be restrictions on trading limits from Friday 9:00 pm GMT to Sunday 10:00 pm GMT. During this time, you may receive an error message stating you cannot trade a requested amount, even if it is within your trade limit. If this occurs, please try a smaller amount or book your trade after the weekend. How do I increase or decrease my trade limit? This is easy to do with our on-line Trade Limit Increase/Decrease Request form. Simply log in to your XEtrade account, look in the Trade Limit Summary section on the right side of the main menu, and click on the link that says request a change to your trade limit. Please be advised that due to reduced trading in the currency markets on weekends, there may be restrictions on trading limits from Friday 9:00 pm GMT to Sunday 10:00 pm GMT. During this time, you may receive an error message stating you cannot trade a requested amount, even if it is within your trade limit. If this occurs, please try a smaller amount or book your trade after the weekend. Can I choose how to send you the funds to be converted (payment)? Yes. XEtrade enables you to send us the funds from your account by the following methods: Option: Payment by Wire Transfer Choosing this option requires you to initiate a transfer to us for the specified amount. You can make this payment using a Wire Transfer or any other electronic payment method available to you (see Note below) . Upon confirming a trade we will provide you with the payment details required to initiate your transfer. The transfer must be sent from an account held by you or a third party you have set up in the system. The transfer must be sent in the currency you are converting from (i.e. "selling") or else the bank will re-convert the outgoing funds -- at significant expense. Wire Transfers are generally the fastest possible way to send funds, and are available from most places in the world. Your financial institution will generally charge you a fee to send a Wire Transfer, which you are responsible for paying to them. Other payments may be have lower costs but may also take longer to arrive with us. For further details, you may wish to contact your financial institution. Note: When sending us the funds to be converted, you can in fact use any electronic payment method available to you, provided that you initiate the payment within 3 business days and that you inform us by e-mail when it has been initiated. Such payment methods would be used in place of a Wire Transfer when sending payments to XEtrade. For example, in the United Kingdom, the CHAPS or BACS services can be used, and in Australia and New Zealand, the Internet Payment and Pay Anyone services can be used. NEW! Internet Biller is also now available with participating financial institutions in Canada and the US. Please check with your own bank to see if “Custom House” can be added to your bill payment list. These are just examples; other options may be available in your jurisdiction. If you wish to use such a payment method, specify "Wire" as the method by which you will be sending the funds to us. If you are uncertain whether a given payment method will work, please investigate it before making your trade. We can not accept payment by cash or check. Option: Payment by EFT Electronic Funds Transfer Choosing this payment option directs us to automatically withdraw the payment from a bank account held by you or your business in the currency you are converting from (i.e. "selling"). You cannot debit funds from third party accounts. Before you can use EFT for an account, you must complete and sign an authorization form allowing us to debit funds from that account. EFT is very cost effective and simple, although it is not as fast as a Wire Transfer. EFT is currently available for accounts in the United States and Canada. We are also investigating EFT delivery in other countries. (Note: CHAPS can be used to pay us in place of a Wire in the United Kingdom. See above paragraph for details.) NOT AVAILABLE: Payment by Bank Draft or Check Since we cannot deliver the converted funds until we first receive the payment from you, we do not permit payment by Bank Draft or check. It simply delays the conversion process too long to be practical. NOT AVAILABLE: Payment by Cash For similar reasons, as well as additional security concerns, we cannot accept cash payments or deposits. NOT AVAILABLE: Payment by Credit Card Credit card companies deduct merchant fees from all payments using their cards. These deductions would significantly increase the cost of your transaction. NOT AVAILABLE: Interac/E-mail Money Transfers (Canada only) We cannot process incoming payments via the Interac/E-mail Money Transfer system in Canada. Note: There are a few places to and from which XEtrade cannot be used to send funds, regardless of the currencies involved. Click here for details. What information do I need to send funds? Standard banking information is required for Wire Transfers and EFT Electronic Funds Transfers, and standard postal information is required for funds delivery by Draft. Note: There are a few places to and from which XEtrade cannot be used to send funds, regardless of the currencies involved. Click here for details. What is EFT Bank Account confirmation? For security reasons, we are required to confirm any new EFT Bank Account which you use for withdrawal. Account confirmation will only occur after you place a trade using that account for withdrawal. Confirmation is required only once per account. Process: We will make a micro deposit to your account. You will be required to verify the amount of the deposit via e-mail. We must also contact your bank in order to verify that you have signing authority over the account. Note: To expedite this process, please provide details of a representative at the bank with whom we can communicate directly. If cannot provide this information, we will send the EFT form to customer service which may cause the process to take longer to complete. This process may take around 1-5 business days depending on how quickly we receive both your confirmation of the deposit amount and confirmation from your bank. We will be unable to process your trade during that time, but the trade will remain fixed at the agreed rates. Banks will occasionally take a long time to reply to our request for verification which may delay your trade further. In these cases we will contact you to suggest alternative options. During confirmation, the status of the EFT Bank Account will temporarily change to "Inactive" in XEtrade and you will not be able to book further trades until the account has been confirmed. Once the account is confirmed, the status will change to "Active". We will also send you an e-mail notification that the account confirmation has been completed. If EFT Bank Account confirmation is required it will only occur once per EFT account. Can I choose how the converted funds are delivered? Yes. XEtrade enables you to deliver the funds by the following methods: Option: Delivery by Wire Transfer Choosing this delivery option directs us to send a Wire Transfer for the funds to a specified bank account. This account can be your own, or can belong to the recipient of your choice, but it must be held in the currency you are converting to (i.e. "buying") or else the bank will re-convert the incoming funds -- at significant expense. Wire Transfers are generally the fastest possible way to send funds, and are available to most places in the world. However, unlike EFTs and Drafts, there is a charge for sending Wire Transfers from XEtrade -- but much less than banks charge. The Wire cost is always fully disclosed in XEtrade before you confirm your transaction. To see a list of XEtrade wire costs, click here. Option: Delivery by EFT Electronic Funds Transfer (ACH) Choosing this delivery option directs us to automatically deposit the funds to a specified bank account. This account can be your own, or can belong to the recipient of your choice. Sending funds by EFT from XEtrade is free. EFT is relatively fast, although not as fast as a Wire Transfer. EFT is currently available for accounts in the United States and Canada. We are also investigating EFT delivery in other countries. Option: Delivery by Draft Choosing this delivery option directs us to generate a Draft for the funds and send it by regular postal mail to the specified recipient. This recipient can be you, or can be any other recipient that you choose. Sending Drafts from XEtrade is free. Drafts are the most flexible way to send funds, since they can be easily sent to any person or company, even if you do not have their bank account information. Drafts are also much safer then sending cash, since they can only be cashed by the recipient you specify. However, they are also the slowest way to pay someone, since they must travel by regular mail. IMPORTANT - Information on Drafts Drafts are corporate checks, and are not cash equivalents. Most banks require you to have an account with them before they will cash Drafts. Even then, depending on your relationship with your bank, the funds may be held until the Draft has cleared, which can take significant time. Drafts are generally used for paying corporate suppliers with whom you have credit, and also for sending money to relatives when time is not of the essence. We strongly discourage trying to use them like cash when travelling. If you are travelling you can order foreign cash online via XE Cash, a service that delivers foreign cash to your home within one to two business days! Not Available: Delivery by Cash We cannot delivery your converted funds as cash through XE Trade. To order foreign cash online, try XE Cash, a service that delivers foreign cash to your home within one to two business days! Note: There are a few places to and from which XEtrade cannot be used to send funds, regardless of the currencies involved. Click here for details. For me to send funds, does the recipient need an account with XEtrade? No. Only the sender of the funds needs to have an account with us. Once you're set up, you can send funds to any individual or organization through XEtrade.

	Fees see all sections  Do you charge any commissions or transaction fees? No. We do not charge any commissions or transaction fees. The only possible "extra charge" you could incur from us is if you choose to have your funds delivered by Wire Transfer, instead of by EFT or Draft (which are both free). However, unlike with the banks, XEtrade Wire Transfers from us are done as close to "cost" as possible, and any fees for an outgoing Wire Transfer from us are always stated up front before you confirm your transaction. To see a list of XEtrade wire costs, see question #2 below. We make our money on what is known as the "spread". This is the small difference between the price we quote you for a transaction and our actual cost of completing the transaction for you. Since foreign exchange is our specialty, we can do this extremely efficiently. In addition, our volumes allow us to make the spread as low as possible. The result is a much lower transaction cost than other providers, and without any extra per-transaction "commissions" or "fees" that are common elsewhere. Important: The mid-market rates shown in our free information tools and services are the midpoint between the buy rates and the sell rates prevailing in the market. No trades ever occur at these rates. For more information on mid-market rates, see the next section below. What are the costs for XEtrade to send a wire to my beneficiary? Wire costs vary based on the currency of the outgoing wire. To see an estimate of the fees in a certain currency, select it here: (Select a currency) Australia Dollars Canada Dollars Denmark Kroner Euro Hong Kong Dollars Japan Yen Mexico Pesos New Zealand Dollars Norway Kroner Singapore Dollars South Africa Rand Sweden Kronor Switerland Francs United Kingdom Pounds United States Dollars Are there any ongoing or maintenance costs? No. No matter how much (or little) you use XEtrade, there are no recurring fees of any kind. Are there any other possible fees that I should be aware of? Yes. Other organizations involved in the processing of trades may charge fees for their services. These fees are outside of our control. Fees for Sending Wires - If you choose to send funds to us by Wire Transfer, you will likely be charged a fee by the Wire Transfer provider you select. This charge is outside of our control, and we cannot predict it. If you wish to send funds to us by Wire Transfer, please verify any possible charges with your Wire Transfer provider prior to placing your trade. Fees for Receiving Wires - In addition, some financial institutions charge fees to receive Wires. Sometimes this charge is collected by deducting the fee directly from the incoming funds. Again, this charge is outside of our control, and we cannot predict it. If you wish to send funds from us by Wire Transfer, please have the beneficiary bank account holder verify any possible charges with the any receiving or intermediary institutions prior to placing your trade. Please note, we never charge a fee to receive a wire transfer from a client. Fees Routing to South Africa - Wires in South African Rand (ZAR) to South Africa must be sent through an intermediary bank. This third party intermediary charges their own fee outside of our control. This fee varies, but in our experience, it is usually about 100 ZAR (approximately USD $17 / EUR €13). We therefore advise that when booking trades into ZAR, you buy an extra 100 ZAR to cover for the intermediary fee. For example, if you wanted to buy 50,000 ZAR, you should actually book a trade to buy 50,100.00 ZAR. Fees for Cashing Drafts – Some banks may charge fees to cash drafts sent via XE Trade. Please be sure to have your beneficiary verify any possible charges with the any receiving institutions prior to placing your trade. If you wish to know more about the location of the account that our drafts will be drawn upon, please contact us. Other potential fees - Other fees outside of our control may also be charged by other parties. We cannot predict such charges. However, XEtrade always displays all charges from us up front before you confirm your transaction. XEtrade may charge additional fees if we are provided with incorrect information. Fees Due to Client Error - When you provide incorrect information when booking a trade there are costs associated with correcting the error(s). Examples of such situations include: Canceling and re-issuing a Draft because you provided an invalid payee name, address or reference, or if you request a stop payment. Re-sending funds if the original EFT transfer is returned because you provided an invalid account number, payee name or transit number, or if a bank account is closed. Re-sending funds if the original Wire Transfer is returned because you provided an invalid account number or beneficiary name, a bank address and bank code that do not match, a bank account is closed, or if the beneficiary refuses payment. If an EFT Bank Account being used to pay for a trade cannot be debited as a result of insufficient funds or funds not cleared from the account. Fees for Tracing Wires Transfers - If your funds have not arrived within the appropriate timeframe, we can initiate a wire trace. If the trace reveals that the funds were in fact credited as you directed, then a service fee will apply. This fee generally ranges from USD $50 - USD $100, depending on what we are charged by other banks in the course of tracing the Wire in question. Do you trade at the mid market-rates shown on the main XE.com website? No one can buy or sell at mid-market rates. But our best rate guarantee means that you are sure to save money with XEtrade. The mid-market rates shown on our main XE.com website and the information services are neither "buy" rates nor "sell" rates. Mid-market rates are derived from mid-point between the buy and sell rates of large-value transactions in the global currency markets. Since "buy rates" and "sell rates" include overheads and profit margins that are set independently by each foreign exchange provider, they will vary depending on who you're talking to, and will always be different than the mid-market rate. Through our XEtrade service, we strive to offer the best buy and sell rates on every transaction. When doing a conversion, our free currency information services always list the mid-market rate, since we can not know if you will be buying or selling a given currency. The mid-market rate is the most generally useful number, since it serves as a reliable, indicative value for the currency that is not biased towards buying or selling. For your ease of use, our XEtrade service takes a simplified approach. We simply collect the information about your desired trade and quote you a price. This is specifically to avoid needless confusion. The only time you actually need to specify a buy or sell rate is in certain advanced functions, like posting bids. How can I see the exact rates that I will be charged? To see exact rates, you will need to sign up for the system. This is for an important reason. While banks generally set their exchange rates on a daily basis, one of our main competitive advantages is that our rates follow the real-time rate fluctuations in the market. While this benefits you, it also means that any quoted rate becomes meaningless in just a few minutes. Once you have signed up for XEtrade (which is easy and free) you will be able to follow the rate yourself and decide if or when to make a trade. Exact exchange rates are always stated up front before you commit to any transaction in XEtrade. If you do not like the exchange rate, simply cancel your transaction instead of confirming it. Do you charge a fee to receive funds using a Wire Transfer? No. We do not charge any fees or surcharges to receive funds into our accounts. If the full amount is not received by us, it is likely due to one of the following reasons: Your bank decided to send your funds through an intermediary that deducted a service fee. Such fees are completely outside of our control. Your bank deducted a fee from your outgoing Wire. To avoid this, when sending a Wire always always tell your bank that your want to pay for any Wire costs separately. (We always remind you of this on our Wire instructions printout.) You requested payment by Wire, but did not send us the proper amount specified at the time of trade to cover the Wire cost. If you do not send us the full amount of the trade, including Wire costs, we must deduct the Wire costs from the amount that we actually receive. If none of these situations apply please contact your financial institution.

	Contact Information see all sections  How do I contact someone? Click here to see contact information.