WeSwap cuts out the middleman!

Whenever we leave these shores, whether for business or pleasure, one thing’s for sure and that’s the need for foreign currency. Yet knowing how to maximise the pound and where to go for the safest, most secure exchange can be the difference between a stress-free or stressful break away.

Having started his career as a currency trader at JP Morgan and Dresdner Kleinwort, before moving on to a fast-track programme at Royal Dutch Shell, Jared Jesner’s conviction that there must be a better way to exchange currency grew, which led him to develop WeSwap last year.

Now boasting more than 35 members of staff based at its offices in Kentish Town and thousands of customers exchanging millions of pounds each month, in a break from tradition, WeSwap brands itself as the people’s currency exchange. Swapping currency between real people, it allows everyone to achieve the fairest rate while removing all the hassle and smoke and mirrors normally associated with currency exchange.

“I founded WeSwap because it seemed mad to me that we buy money when we could just be swapping. We don’t pay to change a £20 note for two £10 notes, so why do we pay so much to exchange currency?”  explains Jesner, WeSwap’s CEO. 

“Rather than pay up to 13 percent with other currency exchange services, WeSwap will charge you as little as one percent.”

“WeSwap believes in simple transparent pricing and, by cutting out the middleman, the community of users is guaranteed the best possible rate. And making the swap is simple. Sign up via the website or dedicated app, then pay the amount you want to exchange, marking when you need the money by and in what currency.The necessary funds are then loaded onto a prepaid MasterCard, which can be used in shops and restaurants or via an ATM, just like a debit card. 

“Our key goal is to help customers stress less and travel happy by taking the hassle out of travel money,” admits WeSwap sales and marketing director Rob Stross.

“We’ve made some great innovations over the past few months that have enabled us to do this, including a new app, new currencies, new design and easier than ever sign-up process. 

“It’s great to be part of a peer-to-peer business that is cutting edge, disrupting traditional travel money providers and providing real value for customers.”

There are many practical benefits, too. We’ve all fallen foul of running out of cash on holiday and resorted to using credit cards, only checking the fallout from statements when we arrive home. Or leaving the job of changing currency until the airport, where rates are at their  very worst.

Yet with the WeSwap app, you can check your balance and exchange more money wherever you are at any time, so you always know where you stand financially. 

Plus, if you lose your card or it’s stolen, your money is safe. And, unlike cash, you’re not left with lots that you can’t use. With WeSwap, you can swap back any leftover balance to sterling and spend it at home.   

“WeSwap genuinely saves money for holidaymakers, but we’re not just about the savings,” concludes WeSwap’s head of product Martin Stocks.

“We’re about community and a sense of belonging to a whole world of new experiences and people. 

“The really nice thing is that the great rates are generated through the power of person-to-person connections.  I think it’s one of the biggest and best reasons for using WeSwap.”

•  For more information, or to sign up, visit www.weswap.com or download the app

Key Reasons To Use WeSWap

1. Amazing rates, thanks to swapping with other travellers; we’re up to 90 percent cheaper than banks and bureaux. That’s people power. 
2. Everyone gets a secure chip & pin MasterCard, accepted all over. This is easier and safer than carrying cash.
3.  You know exactly where you stand at all times. Top up, check your balance and transactions anywhere, with no more shocks on your statement when you get home. 
4. We’re multicurrency; swap to euros, US dollars, Israeli shekel, Aussie dollars, South African rand and loads more on one card. We cover 18 currencies and counting.