frequently asked questions - FairFX

Once you have ordered your card it will be delivered within 7-10 working days but typically cards will arrive within 3-5 working days.

You should treat your FairFX Card like cash in a wallet. If it is lost or stolen, you may lose some or all of your money on your FairFX Card. As a result, you must keep your Currency Card safe and not let anyone else use it. When you retrieve your PIN, you must immediately memorise it and keep it secret at all times.

We recommend that you check the balance on your FairFX Card regularly. You can see your FairFX Card balance and most recent statement of transactions online at any time by selecting the "Your Account" on the Website having logged on.

If you lose your FairFX Card or it is stolen or you suspect that your FairFX Card has been used by someone, you must tell us as soon as you can by calling our 24 hour helpline on 01159 577420 (normal UK landline charges apply). We will then cancel your FairFX Card. If you ask us to do so, we will ask the police to investigate any suspected misuse of your FairFX Card and they may need more information and assistance from you.

We will immediately refund the amount of any transactions which the investigations show are not authorised by you, provided you have kept your FairFX Card and PIN secure. However, if the investigations show that any disputed transaction was authorised by you or you have not kept your FairFX Card or PIN secure, we will not refund the transaction amount and will charge you a one-off administration fee of £10.00.

You can use the FairFX Card wherever there is a MasterCard Acceptance Mark, including shops, restaurants, online or on the telephone. Before using the FairFX Card you need to make sure there are enough funds loaded on it. You will not be able to use your FairFX Card after its expiry date.

The Euro, Dollar and £ Sterling FairFX Currency cards can be used anywhere in the world or to spend in any currency wherever there is a MasterCard Acceptance Mark, including shops, restaurants, online or on the telephone.

If you were to use cards outside their "Issue Currency" (e.g. a card for a € transaction) there is a 1.4% exchange rate applied. If you are withdrawing currency internationally at an ATM the fees are €1.50, $2.00 and £1.00 (£1.50 in UK) depending whether you have a € Euro, Dollar or £ Sterling card. Please note, some ATM providers charge for using their cash points however they normally inform you of this before you make a withdrawal

You can change your PIN at most UK MasterCard card accepting ATMs. We suggest you try to use one provided by a well known bank using the same method as any other bank card.

You will need to activate your card when you receive it. Please log in, go to "Your Account" and select the card you wish to activate.

Opening an account with FairFX is part of the initial foreign currency purchase process and should take no longer than 5 minutes to complete. When you place your first foreign currency order with FairFX an account is automatically opened and you'll be issued with a username and password. This will make future purchases quick and easy.

Yes. Funds can be retrieved from the card by making ATM withdrawals. If, however, you require a refund we can process this subject to a fee of £10 for the $ and € Cards and 1.4% subject to a minimum of £10 for the £ card. For the $ and € refunds FairFX calculate the exchange rate based on the rate on that day. Our buy back rates are equally as competitive as the rates that we sell currency at.

We recommend that customers keep their FairFX Currency Card until it expires as it can be re-used for future trips.

We do not charge any monthly or quarterly fees or any fees for checking your on-line balance and statements. The $ and € cards incur fees for ATM withdrawals at $2.00 and €1.50 respectively. The £ card incurs 1.4% cost on all transactions and an additional £1 for overseas ATM withdrawals. UK ATM withdrawals for the £ card incur a £1.50 charge but do not incur 1.4% on top of this. Please refer to our terms and conditions for detailed information regarding fees.

If you have forgotten your password then go to our homepage. Go to the login box and enter your email address and then click on the 'forgot password link'. This will automatically send a password reminder to your email account.

Usually when searching for a foreign exchange rate you are presented with the 'interbank' rate this is the official rate for deals equivalent to millions of dollars between banks and large financial institutions. This is also known as the 'spot' FX rate.

The tourist/travel rate can be significantly different as volumes are much smaller and involve the physical delivery of cash. FairFX provide highly competitive rates for both large and small transactions which are usually much closer to the spot rates than those offered by our competitors.

No. However, you can view your current balance and all previous transactions online free of charge in the "Your Account" section of the website. You can also use our SMS service to have your balance texted to you anywhere in the world you have mobile phone reception. We do not send you monthly a statement.

Once loaded, funds will normally be available for use on the FairFX Currency Card within a few hours. However, on rare occasions this can be longer as, for protection of our customers, some loads are held back while we double check their validity.

Please also note you can only top-up twice per day, so please make sure you load what you need.

Travel currency cash orders are subject to a minimum order of $20, €10 or £10. FairFX Currency Cards are subject to a minimum load of $75, €60 or £50 and a maximum load of $5000, €3750 or £2500. Once activated, the maximum balance of a FairFX Currency Card is $10000, €7500 or £5000.

We accept payments by Maestro, MasterCard, Visa, Visa Delta, Electron, Delta, Switch and Solo cards. All credit/debit card transactions are completed on a secure encrypted link between our head office and the clearing bankcenter. All credit card transactions will appear on your bank statement under FairFX. We also accept payment via bank transfer.

If you use a credit card to purchase from us, we charge you a 2.5% purchase fee and your credit card provider is likely to charge a cash transaction fee which attracts interest straight away. Therefore you may wish to use one of our alternative payment methods.

You must sign your FairFX Currency Card as soon as it is received. You must then activate it before you can access your account. Please activate your card online at www.fairfxcard.com.

Your FairFX Currency Card is not a credit card or charge card but it works like a debit card. It is a MasterCard Card that carries a variable amount of money dependent on how much has been loaded on to it. Each time you use the card to purchase something or withdraw cash at an ATM, the purchase amount is deducted from the available balance.

No. Each FairFX Currency Card is sent to you in a card carrier that fully explains the terms and conditions regarding the use of the card. You accept the terms and conditions by either signing the back of the card or using the card. The terms and conditions can also be accessed via the following link www.fairfxcard.com

You must let us know as soon as possible if you change name, address, phone number or e-mail address, please use the 'Contact Us' facility on the website. If we contact you in relation to your Currency Card, for example, to notify you that we have cancelled your Currency Card or to arrange a foreign currency buy-back, we will use the most recent contact details you have provided to us. Any e-mail to you will be treated as being received as soon as it is sent by us. We will not be liable to you if your contact details have changed and you have not told us.

FairFX will never release your details to third parties other than to payment providers and other parties for the purpose of facilitating transactions on your account. However, FairFX may contact you with further offers or products which we believe may be of interest to you.

Consumer protection rights apply to purchases made online, just as they do to those made on the high street. If you have problems with an online purchase or retailer, visit the Office of Fair Trading site - The Consumer Information Section has details of your rights.

You may apply, on our website, for a renewal up to 2 months before expiry of the Prepaid Card. This renewal will run for a further two years and your balance will be available on the new card. Cards cost £9.95 to renew, but this is waived if the card is also topped up with £300 worth of currency at the same time.

Internet shopping is increasingly popular and most reputable retailers run sites that are safe and secure. However, if you are concerned about security, CardWatch (www.cardwatch.org.uk) offers some simple guidelines to follow when buying online.

Each retail store has its own return policies and will handle the returns in the same manner as any other MasterCard transaction. They may credit your FairFX Currency Card, provide a cash refund or store credit.

You have a legal right to cancel your FairFX Card for 14 days after you receive the card. Under these terms and conditions, you also have the right to cancel your FairFX Card at any time after this 14 day period. If your FairFX Card is cancelled, we will immediately block your FairFX Card so it cannot be used.

You will not be entitled to a refund of money you have already spent on transactions authorised or pending or any fees for use of the FairFX Card before the FairFX Card is cancelled or expires. The purchase price of your FairFX Card is not refundable. You can cancel your FairFX Card by sending an email to us using the "contact us" function on the Website.

If you cancel your FairFX Card, we will arrange for any unused funds on your cancelled FairFX Card to be refunded to you, once all transactions and fees have been deducted, including the redemption fee, unless you have arranged to transfer any unused funds to another foreign currency card of the same currency, managed by us.

We may also cancel your FairFX Card immediately if we suspect fraud or misuse of the FairFX Card or we have any other security concerns or we need to do so to comply with the law. If we do this, we will tell you as soon as we can after we have taken these steps. If we cancel your FairFX Card, you must tell us what you want us to do with any unused funds within three months of the date we tell you your FairFX Card is cancelled. If you do not contact us, we will attempt to contact you to advise what will happen.

You will not earn any interest on any funds loaded on your FairFX Currency Card.

Our normal office opening hours are Monday - Friday 09:00 - 17:30. However, e-mails sent to enquiries@fairfx.com are monitored and answered 7 days a week and 365 days a year. Enquiries sent during office hours are typically answered the same day. We recommend customers contact us via enquiries@fairfx.com to ensure they get a response from a dedicated FairFX customer services representative.

Yes, you can reload your FairFX Currency Card account free of charge (if using a debit card or bank transfer) by going to "Your Account" after logging on.

We provide a specialist service for corporate clients including a Corporate Prepaid Currency Card as well as management of payments and receipts if you are dealing with overseas corporations. For the Corporate card solution please go to www.fairfx.net . If you require currency conversions for overseas purchases then please contact us on 020 7778 9300 (standard UK landline charges apply) for further details.