Azimo is known for cheap, quick and secure money transfer service.
What is Azimo?
Azimo is simple to use, including the registration and funds transfer process. Users can manage their accounts online through the app or website. Its cash pickup feature makes it more convenient as well as similar money transfer services like TransferWise and TransferGo. Based on the payout method, currency corridor, and deposit/funding method, the transfer speed is between 24 hours to 3 working days. For some receiving regions such as South Africa, Azimo supports instant and same-day transfers.
Now let's talk about who can use this service: students, freelancers, labour migrants (remittance), sole traders, and SMBs. As far as the fees (transfer fee etc) and exchange rates are concerned, these depend on the payout method, amount, and the countries (sending and receiving) in the transaction. This means that for some locations, cash pick-up transfers could cost more than bank account transfers. I advise you to compare the cost with other providers such as Wise and OFX etc, before making a final decision. The transfer fee is both fixed and variable for Azimo users, and for more details on fees and limits, you may see it here. While there are no hidden/other charges involved as the funds are, users should be careful about the credit card fees as these cost more than bank transfers.
Azimo also claims that its exchange rate is bank-beating, but it does apply a markup of the existing real exchange rate like other similar services. Besides the exchange rate margin, Azimo may also charge an additional fee for its service. These rates are non-negotiable and sometimes high (depending on the location). Given the fact that registration is available only in limited countries, and if the users are sending money from their country to any unpopular route, the charges would be high. Azimo does claim that it offers the lowest rates, however, I would like to advise checking the list of popular routes and other countries. The users should keep this point in mind when selecting any service. In my opinion, Azimo has not transparently disclosed its exchange rate margin, and it is complicated to comprehend the fee structure of this service.
What does Azimo offer?
Azimo offers several types of money transfers; the service’s main advantage is its flexibility for both personal and business use. For personal users, here are the five money transfer methods.
- Transfers to bank accounts: Azimo offers international money transfers to foreign bank accounts. It has partnered with numerous banks worldwide to allow its customers receive funds directly into their bank accounts. It has also teamed up with SWIFT to enable its clients to deposit funds into the bank efficiently (especially for USD, GBP, and EUR).
- Cash pick-up: with the help of its network of 200,000 cash pick-up points in, Azimo users can also receive physical cash. The service works with local banks and partners in several countries to process such transfers.
- Home delivery: Azimo also offers a home delivery service where the funds sent are safely delivered to the receiver’s home within 24 hours. This home delivery service is currently available in the Philippines only.
- Airtime and mobile wallet top-ups: depending on the location, Azimo users can also top-up mobile airtime and wallets. For instance, in Kenya, Azimo has teamed up with M-Pesa to allow users to manage money for certain transactions. With this integration, M-Pesa wallet account holders can send funds to Kenya within seconds.
- Send money to China via AliPay: Azimo users can use AliPay to send money in Yuan to anyone in China instantly, even on weekends.
Azimo business account
Sole traders, freelancers (registered in the EEA zone), and SMBs can also avail Azimo money transfer service to send funds in over sixty currencies. To transfer funds, these users must be residing in the UK, EU, and Australia (as registration is only available for these regions), and they can make payments to over 195 countries (for instance salaries to remote workers/freelancers working from Asia).
Before creating a business account, (registration link), I would also advise going through this pricing comparison to having an idea of the features of the business account, and if it is suitable for your needs. Azimo will soon launch another service “Azimo Collect” to help its business users save more when they receive payments from their customers. This service comes with your own EU bank details which you can share with your customers in the EU region to send their payments in EUR directly to your Azimo collect account. The service comes with hold and spend later functions, and allows linking a UK bank account to get paid out in GBP too.
To open a business account, the business/company should be opened in Europe as the account will only be activated after the verification process. Business users have the benefit of sending large sums- 250,000 GBP (or equivalent ) via SWIFT in a single transfer to current users. For other payment options, you can refer to our link where the minimum and maximum sending limits are defined for mobile wallet, cash pick up, and direct to a bank.
The features of the business account are:
- Regular payments to existing recipients.
- No commission for the first five Azimo Business transfers.
- Improved rates for transfers of more than 1000 GBP with no monthly cap.
- Transfer up to 250,000 GBP at a time with no monthly cap.
Is Azimo Safe?
The UK Financial Conduct Authority has authorized Azimo to deal with the client’s money and transfer it abroad. Therefore, it is required to keep its accounts separate from its user’s accounts. It is also using 3d secure authentication, fraud detection protocols and 256-bit SSL encryption website security. The service also states that it is monitoring the account 24/7 to protect against fraud. If it detects any suspicious activity, a user’s transaction will be immediately stopped, and the users involved in the operation are contacted. Furthermore, it is backed by numerous venture capital firms that have invested millions, which can be an indicator of the platform’s safety and reliability. Besides, the legality of all transactions is verified by MasterCard and Visa. Azimo does not store your card details to prevent others from stealing these to make transactions.
Pros
- Referral bonus of 10 GBP for the first transfer from 100 GBP.
- Dedicated support for business users.
- Discounts for students.
- Еransactions are processed within 24 hours for the UK
- Instant transfers within an hour to 80+ countries
- No hidden fees or unexpected charges
- Offers multilingual support.
- Widest reach with the option of cash pickup.
Cons
- No multi-currency account.
- Does not offer a digital wallet.
- No foreign exchange optimized cards for travelers.
- No support via telephone; personal users can only contact customer representatives through email or chat.
- No automated transfers.
- Service is available only for users from the EU, the UK and Australia
FAQ
Here’s how to do it: Select the receiving location, method of delivery, and the receiver’s email address. Enter the sending amount, and choose any of the payment options. Double check the details, and press confirm. You will be notified once the transfer is completed.
An Azimo money transfer typically takes one working day if paid via a bank transfer within the UK, and around two days for other European countries. Your Azimo money transfer will only initiate after your funds reach Azimo’s account.
You can also use a card, and if no document verification is required, then your transfer will be much quicker with the Azimo app.
You can contact Azimo customer service via email to [email protected] and [email protected] for queries about Azimo fees, limits, and transfers etc. The working hours of their customer service team are from Monday - Friday, 9:00 - 17:00 UK time.
You can also contact them by sending a message through your account. There is no Azimo contact number for individual users, but Azimo business users have access to dedicated business account managers via phone, email, and Azimo live chat support.
Your cancellation request can only be fulfilled if the funds have not reached the receiver’s account yet.
For App:
- Tap on the “Transfer status.”
- Select the “question mark.”
- Tap on the “Request cancellation.”
- Follow the instructions.
For Website:
Visit the support centre for additional questions.
If you had used an Azimo voucher code and the transfer got cancelled, the code will be renewed for the next transfer. Please note that only one Azimo promo code is allowed per transfer.
Conclusion
Azimo is a simple service offering online money transfer that also allows sending talk time to friends and family members. Its intuitively designed website and app make it effortless for everyone to use the service. Currently, sign-up is only allowed in a few countries, but its users have been praising the service for the flexibility in the payment methods. Azimo itself does not offer any digital wallet, nor an FX-optimized travel card for its users. There are also no multi-currency accounts and Currency hedging tools. You can’t set up standing orders/repeating transfers too. In my opinion, Azimo is a simple foreign currency exchange and transfer service, and if it offers these additional services, it can enhance its score for personal usage.
Lastly, customer support becomes crucial for international money transfer services. The lack of phone support and the limited schedule of online support cold impact customer satisfaction. As the users would like to use this online service any time of the day, they also expect that the support department should be handling their queries 24/7 too.
Overall, Azimo seems a reliable and trustworthy service, but I always suggest doing a money transfer service comparison to find out about a possible alternative.