Fonmoney is an online service that allows you to transfer money and airtime to different African countries. With Fonmoney transfers, you can save up to 90% of transaction fees compared to other financial institutions.
How Fonmoney Works
Fonmoney has no mobile app, so you can only use the company’s website. Registration on the website is simple and free. Depending on the amount you wish to send, Fonmoney might need to verify your identity as required by the regulations of the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.
For verification, Fonmoney needs to make sure that your name, birth date and address match one of your officials ID such as driver’s licence or passport. You will need to take a live selfie and to add a social media account such as Facebook. In some cases, Fonmoney might also need a copy of your utility bill where your current address is visible.
How to Pay for Fonmoney Transactions
To pay for your transfers or mobile top-up, Fonmoney allows you to use credit card (Visa or Mastercard), debit card (Maestro), Paysafecard or direct wire (SOFORT banking). Fonmoney currently only accepts Maestro cards issued by banks in the UK. Payments with SOFORT banking are possible if the sender’s bank account is located in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
How Will My Recipient Receive the Funds?
In Africa, you can only send money to a bank account in Senegal and South Africa. Your beneficiary in Senegal can also receive the money in cash. For other supported African countries, you can only send mobile top-up to your beneficiary.
How Long Does Fonmoney Transfer Take?
Fonmoney transactions usually arrive to the recipient’s bank account within 1-2 business days. For mobile phone top-up, it is instant. If you are making a transaction on a weekend or a banking holidays (this applies to the country you are sending from, as well as the country you are sending to), the transaction will be processed on the next business day.
How Much Does It Cost to Send Money With Fonmoney?
Fonmoney is one of the cheapest money transfer services. Moreover, the company has no hidden fees. Once you type in the amount you want to send, you will see how much you have to pay as well as the exchange rate.
If you send money to Senegal or South Africa, your fees will be €0.99 regardless of the transferred amount.
In comparison to other financial institutions, our service is available only online. Without administrating local agencies or representative personnel we save substantial costs and in the end we can offer you such affordable money transfers.
Supported Countries
You can send money and airtime to supported African countries if you are in the European Union and have a bank account in Euros. The service is also available to users from Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway as long as they have an account in Euros.
Countries you can send money to in Africa are Senegal and South Africa. Countries where you can send mobile top-up are Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo DRC), Egypt, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone.
Is Fonmoney Secure?
Fonmoney is safe and secure. The service operates as Transpaygo Limited (Fonmoney) as a payment institution authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and regulated by British Financial Services, HMRC, as Money Service Business. The website has a SSL certification, which guarantees that your data will be handled discreetly and in confidence.
Fonmoney Reviews
Fonmoney has positive reviews on Trustpilot. At the time of writing this article, Fonmoney has 4.4/5 rating from over 2,000 reviews. 76% of users were satisfied with the service and only 6% considered the service poor.
Conclusion
Fonmoney is an easy and convenient service to send money and airtime to supported African countries. Luckily, their money transfer fees are lower than most money transfer services. Regardless of the amount, you can send money to supported countries for as low as €0.99 in fees.