Thinking about engaging or changing the foreign exchange company you use for your personal or business payments? Here are 7 things to consider when assessing both their competency and their integrity, and why it matters.

We're conscious of the fact that those who might find this post interesting will probably

already know about the benefits of a broker. So, for that reason we'll go more into the whys of these questions than explaining the minutiae of the terms being used. Anything doesn't make sense or you'd like to discuss some of the points we make then do call our team on +44 (0) 2031728193.

1. Do they quote you a rate before you have formally registered with them?

Your broker does not have a pot of money sitting in an account that, once you register with them, they will make available to you. They have to buy in the foreign currency you wish to send and they do this using the currency you currently hold, but, the rate at which companies 'buy-in' euros, dollars etc. varies depending on what the global FX market dictates, what their primary supplier charges and both when you need the money at its destination and the date on which you intend to settle your booking with them.

A company prepared to 'quote' you a rate before they know anything about you is not a bad company, however, they should emphasise the fact that their quote it purely indicative of the sort of rate you might expect once you are in a position to accept it.

There is absolutely no guarantee that you will get the rate they quote you once you are their client and this is because either the underlying market value of the currency you wish to buy has changed or they are not including their own mark up in that indicative quote.

Hence, you are not getting a fair or accurate idea of how competitive they are prepared to be.

The dealer you're speaking with either just wants to get you over the line as a registered client and so inflates the level of competition they offer, or, they give you a fair idea of their typical margins. Either way, depending on the size and structure of the actual company you're speaking with you will likely find a distinct difference between a pre-registered quote and a post registered quote.

The reason why it is best to do the registration with a firm is because, having done so, your dealer will be aware that your trading with them is on a knife edge. He and his compliance team have done the work to make sure you are compliant, so, they don't want to be messing you around with cliched reasons as to why their margins might vary.

If they quote you a rate then you can either push them to do better on it, or you accept it. Either way you will find them more motivated to price accurately.

What to do then if you're yet to become a formal client but are considering a move? Take half an hour to submit applications for more than one firm - take a look at ours if you want an idea of what you'll have to submit. Ready the documentation so that you can swiftly complete the process, then, compare. For most firms you won't need to submit anything additional to the registration document itself. Requests for additional information tend to be made of those applicants resident outside the UK, but, in any case the request will be for something you will likely easily have to hand like a copy of a passport.

Within a day or so you can accurately find out both whether your current mechanism is value for money or the most convenient plus you're in a position to immediately transfer your business elsewhere.

If you were buying a house and went on a viewing, you make an offer, it is accepted, but you then reveal to the agent you are yet to sell your own property...the agent will advise you to come back to them when you have the money ready, but, they certainly won't guarantee you that the offer you've made will still stand. Like with so many things, with FX you need to be able to proceed before you'll be taken seriously (broadly speaking) - and only unless you've been referred to Prime Cap by one of our trusted partners.

2. What is their 'minimum' transfer amount?

On the face of it this might matter little to a business or individual who knows they will consistently be doing a certain volume, however, an FX company's approach to this question tells you a huge amount about how they might treat your business 'longer term' as well as informing you of their marketing bias and what sort of margins you can expect over time.

The most obvious thing to take account of is that, if they do have a minimum transfer amount, what are you going to do if you need to transmit less than that sum?

Treating the smallest of transfers in the same way as the largest is a good indication that this firm will behave in one of two ways.

a) they will consistently cleave to the margin they know induced you to use them in the first place because deviating from that could well lose them your business on larger sums which would offset any prior loss. Call it the 'loss leader' principle. It is less work for the broker, particularly those with an online capability, if they know they can depend on you using them at the price they've set.

b) a low minimum transfer amount might be indicative of a teaser rate, particularly if, in the first instance, you indicate this is all you need to transact. Your dealer has to quickly assess whether she or he feels there is merit in taking you through all the relevant steps to transact and, because giving a consistent margin is important to a credible dealer, smaller sums as one-offs don't cover their own costs.

3. Who do they bank with?

When asking who a company banks with, we may mean two things. Who does the broker holder their client accounts with, and whom do they use for their own day-to-day management accounting. These could be the same bank or different institutions.

Some brokers do not hold their own client accounts, but, don't be fooled...this is not a bad thing at all!. Like Prime Cap, they may use the segregated accounts of a larger, older, regulated institution.

Fundamentally, whether client accounts are held with a bank or a non-bank matters not when it comes to the security of a client's money.

Having segregated accounts with a bank implies limitations on both the currencies a firm can deal with and the client's with whom they can transact. Although holding one's own currency accounts it is indicative of high currency turnover, it also suggests a bigger work force, which in itself means wider margins and higher overheads; likewise there may be more stakeholders pushing for the business to operate leaner which can have an effect on service and skill level.

In roughly 2013 one of the larger providers of banking services to the the 'non-bank'

deliverable currency sector chose to 'de-risk' their portfolio. They couldn't vouch necessarily for the commitment of their FX commercial clients to correct and thorough compliance verification in line with their regulators' expectations. More generally they felt they were putting themselves at risk because of their exposure to errant money remitters on their books.

Of course, this had broad implications for the deliverable FX sector as a whole. It meant that many brokers who did good, compliant and consistent work, lost their ability to receive client funds for settlement of deals.

Now, systems were already in place for brokers and intermediaries to buy their currency from other currency companies who had retained their client accounts with the banking institution in question and to settle, ironically, into current accounts held by that other broker with precisely the same bank; but, said bank issued notice to a huge chunk of the market.