Who Currencycloud is
Currencycloud is a cross-border payments company founded in 2012, based in London and part of Visa since December 2021. Its API lets banks and fintechs collect, convert, hold and pay out money in many currencies, with account details in their customers' own names.
The Currency Cloud Limited is authorised by the FCA for e-money and payment services and Currencycloud B.V. by De Nederlandsche Bank, and Currencycloud is also licensed in Canada, Australia, Singapore and several US states. Banks, fintechs and FX brokers build on it, which is why it is one of the payout and FX providers our modules connect to.
What it does in your platform
Payouts
Pays beneficiaries abroad from balances held at Currencycloud. The module creates the beneficiary, sends the payment and follows it through Currencycloud's notifications until it is released or fails.
FX
Gives the FX module conversions between currencies: an indicative rate for display, then a booked conversion that locks the rate and settles on its settlement date.
How the connection works
One connector talks to Currencycloud's API with the platform's credentials. Currencycloud sends push notifications, signed with an HMAC, as payments and conversions change state.
A payment is requested
A supplier is owed Singapore dollars and your balance is in euros. The module screens the payment and holds the amount in the ledger.
The rate is quoted
Currencycloud returns a detailed rate for the pair. It stays indicative until a conversion is booked.
The conversion is booked
The module books the conversion, which locks the rate, and Currencycloud settles it automatically on its settlement date.
The supplier is paid
The module finds or creates the supplier as a beneficiary, with the details Currencycloud asks for, and creates the payment from the converted funds.
Notifications close it
Push notifications report the conversion and the payment as they move, up to released or failed. The ledger books each step, and the payment shows in the backoffice.
Next to other providers
In payouts, Currencycloud runs next to Wise Platform, Nium and your own bank partners, and each payout goes to the provider with the best coverage and speed for it, with a fallback if one is down. In FX, it sits next to Ebury, Wise Platform and Nium.
The FX module compares the sources, executes with the best and keeps quoting if one stalls. Moving volume between providers changes a connector, not your apps, and past conversions stay in the ledger.
When Currencycloud fits best
A strong fit when
- You want FX and payouts from one provider, with conversions booked and settled by API.
- You are a bank, a fintech or an FX broker, the kinds of company Currencycloud serves.
- You operate from the UK or the EU and want a provider licensed in both.
Also worth a look
- Another payout network with deeper coverage in a corridor you use most, routed next to it.
- Your own bank partner for the currencies it already covers.
How we get you live
The contract
We help you get your Currencycloud account and contract in place, for your currencies and your licence.
The accounts
We set up with you the balances and sub-accounts you need, and which currencies and payments run through Currencycloud.
The keys
The API key and the HMAC key for notifications go into your platform's secrets and nowhere else, so every notification is proven to come from Currencycloud.
A full test run
Conversions and payments run in Currencycloud's demo environment, which trades in a demo market and moves no real money, before your first real payment.
