Worried you aren’t getting the best exchange rate? Now there’s an app for that

Waiting patiently in line to exchange your precious foreign exchange for local currency is a frustrating process. Your mind constantly wanders: ‘What if I’m getting ripped off?’, ‘Where’s the closest outlet?’, ‘What do I need to do to get more bang for my buck?’

Turns out your concerns aren’t entirely unwarranted either. Exchanging currency at airports and banks could end up costing you anywhere between 15 to 20 percent as compared to licensed money changers, which offer better rates. Thankfully, with Get4x, there’s an app to ease your worries.

Get4x is a location-based exchange rate aggregator that allows users to compare the best rates offered by licensed money changers around them. It does so by providing live retail rates from exchange outlets directly rather than official rates used by banks.

“The problem travelers face is that exchange rates offered by money changers fluctuate greatly from outlet to outlet because of added commissions and the amount of requested currency that the money changer has in stock, which is constantly in flux,” explains Julien Labruyere, CEO of Get4x.

Solving real problems

The problem the app is solving is one of transparency, an important differentiator in the highly opaque world of exchange rate data.

Julien conceptualized the idea behind Get4x after he encountered difficulties while trying to search for the best exchange rates. He thought there should be an app for comparing exchange rates from money changers, like Skyscanner for booking flights and Agoda for booking hotels, but there was none.

After going live in Singapore, the app recently launched in Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Mumbai. It is currently free to use, but Julien says they also offer a paid SaaS product to money changers which offers them live rates and software to manage regulatory compliance and reporting. In Singapore, almost 25 percent of money changers have signed up and efforts are underway to lock in more enterprise customers in the newly-launched cities.

Another paid feature, which is a few weeks away from launch, will allow users to book currency exchange directly with money changers on live rates they see in the app. After locking in the exchange rate, users can pick up the currency later in the day. Money changers will be charged a small transaction fee for this service.

The startup raised US$1 million in a seed funding round and is backed by Dymon Asia Ventures. Julien adds that a fresh round of funding is expected to come through in the next few months which will help the team launch in more cities and scale operations.