1. Once Registered, how long does it take to activate my account?

As soon as we have received a copy of your passport and proof of residential address (signed and dated by yourself) we will activate your account the very same business day.  If you are doing a transfer in excess of £10,000 then we will request a couple of additional documents. 

2. How is the exchange rate determined? Why is it better than the banks rate?

The exchange rates we offer fall in between the Inter-bank rate (the truest exchange rate) and the rate offered by high street banks and Bureau de Changes, thus under-cutting the banks and passing that saving on to you in the form of great rates.  The rates on our site are updated throughout the day, but must be viewed as indicative only. To get you the best rates, we canvass the market on your behalf, add a small margin (which is smaller than the banks) to the rates we obtain and pass that rate on to you.

3. Why can't I get the exchange rate listed on TV?

The rate you see in the media is the Interbank Rate, which is the rate that banks trade with each other at. No individual can secure this rate. Rates are often misleadingly displayed by banks and competitors in order to portray a higher rate level, which is not possible in reality. We pride ourselves on being transparent and will only quote rates that we are physically able to offer you.

4. Which countries can I send funds between?

We can transfer funds to just about any worldwide destination, with the most popular being Australia, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, Canada, the USA and Eurozone countries. If your country is not listed as an option on our website, please give us a call and we’ll see what we can do for you.

5. Can I send money to a credit card?

We can send money to South African credit cards. At present, we cannot transfer money to Australian, New Zealand or UK based credit cards.

6. How long does a transfer take to be processed?

Once we have cleared funds in our Client account from you (this can take up to three working days if you use internet banking as your preferred payment method) and all necessary documentation associated with the transaction, the converted funds will be credited to your nominated overseas account within 3 working days. 

7. What are the minimum and maximum amounts that can be transferred?

There is no minimum or maximum amount one can transfer. However, in terms of anti-money laundering legislation, clients requesting any one-off transaction of £10,000 (or €15,000) or a number of transfers totalling £30,000 over a 12 month rolling period will be required to provide us with additional documentation relating to the proof of the source of funds. Should you be looking at doing a transfer of a larger amount please give us a call, as we offer premium rates for transfers over £10,000.00.

8. What methods of payment can I use to transfer the funds to your account?

We accept debit card, credit card, internet payment, and cash deposit (within UK & Australia). 
Proof of internet, and cash payments need to be emailed or faxed to us in order for us to allocate your funds for transfer.

9. Using a debit card as your preferred payment method?

The easiest way to transfer money is to use your debit card online on our website. You actually do everything yourself on the website. You enter in both the amount that you wish to transfer as well as your debit card details, and you also enter in the overseas recipient bank account details of where you wish the money to be transferred to - you therefore have complete control over the transfer. As soon as you submit this online, your money gets transferred from your account into ours, and the exchange rate will be secured for your transfer at the same time - the rate you see is the rate you get.

10. Using internet banking as your preferred payment method?

If you have chosen internet banking as your preferred payment method you will naturally need to complete two stages in terms of your transfer. Firstly, you will need to upload the transfer instruction on your profile. This tells how much, where to, and when you want the funds to be sent. Then, in addition to this, you will need to login to your internet banking account and transfer the requested amount to the relevant 1st Contact client account, using your name and surname as the payment reference. When you upload the transfer on our website, the appropriate account details for the client holding account you need to transfer the funds into will appear.

11. Using cash as your preferred payment method?

If you have chosen cash as your preferred payment method there are also two stages to the transfer; firstly you will need to upload the transfer on your profile as explained above in “Using internet banking”. Once you have done this we will need you to go to your local HSBC branch, and deposit the cash into the correct client account (account details automatically provided online). Once you have deposited the cash you will receive a deposit slip from the bank which should have a 6 digit number stamped on it. Please ensure that this number is clearly visible, and fax through the deposit slip as well as your name, contact number, and the details of your recipients (if you have not uploaded these on your profile). It is imperative that there is a contact number/email on the fax – this is in case parts of the fax are illegible, and hence we cannot send through the funds. Alternatively, you can contact us and quote the deposit slip number over the phone.

12. How can I be sure that my funds will be correctly allocated?

If you are using internet banking it is imperative that you ensure that your funds will clear under your name and surname. If you use your name and surname as the payment reference, we will know that the funds are from you, and then we can process your transfer as soon as the funds clear. If you know that the funds will be clearing under a reference other than your own name and surname, please kindly send through an email to money@1stcontact.com , informing us as to what name the funds should clear under. 
This should decrease the likelihood of a delay.

13. Are there any hidden charges or receiving bank charges?

No, one of the main advantages of using our money transfer service is that we charge a flat fee and there are no receiving bank fees when transferring to UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Poland and Eurozone based accounts.

14. What are the requirements of a registered Money Service Business (MSB)?

The law requires us to monitor any unusual or suspicious transactions of any size taking place where we have reason to believe the money is derived from illegal activity. Any suspicious transactions will be reported.  The law also requires us to keep full records of all transactions, together with copies of identification provided. We are unable to process any transaction where this information is withheld. Proof of address and proof of funds may be required in certain cases – please see KYC guidelines.

15. How secure is the site?

Our site uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL), 128 bit encryption to protect your transaction details. 128 bit encryption is the latest and strongest data encryption techniques commercially available for securing information between you, our client and our website. 

SSL works by encrypting/scrambling data from our website to your computer.  The data is encrypted on our web server and can only be decrypted/unscrambled by the person with the correct decrypt/unscramble key. You can verify our sites use of SSL in two places, by the user of "s" in https in the address bar of the site and by the padlock in you status bar at the bottom of your web browser.