Currencycloud Spark integrates international and local clearing capabilities into our payments and FX platform, allowing you to build the international banking experience your customers deserve. You’ll find a list of frequently asked questions below.
What’s the onboarding process for Spark?
All Spark clients must meet our existing regulated client onboarding standards, including the Policies and Procedures Assessment (PAPA).
Will my customer have to be onboarded by Currencycloud?
You can provide local GBP, local EUR or Swift account numbers to your customers without those end customers being onboarded by Currencycloud.
If you wish to provide local USD account numbers to your customers, these customers will need to sign up to Currencycloud’s Terms and Conditions. These can be embedded within your own Terms and Conditions. Regarding Know Your Customer (KYC), we would expect you to KYC these customers in line with the policies and procedures which have been approved by us during your onboarding. In order to provide this outsourced KYC service, you will need to be regulated in an equivalent jurisdiction.
What account details will my customers get and where can they find them?
Your customer’s account can be enabled for Swift and local GBP, EUR and USD account details. For more information on where you can get your account details, see the relevant FAQ: Local GBP, Local EUR, Local USD, Swift.
How will I know that funds have been credited to an account?
Once funds arrive at Currencycloud. We will reconcile the funds to the referenced account and update the balance.
If you are using push notifications, you will receive a notification to tell you that the funds have arrived (pending CM balance notification) and when they are ready to use (completed CM balance notification). You can find out more by reading our push notifications cookbook.
Will I receive the full amount send from the payer?
For local routes (local EUR, GBP and USD), you will receive the full amount sent by the payer. For Swift, if the payment is sent by the payer shared (SHA) or beneficiary (BEN) then fees will be deducted from the amount sent. If the payment is sent by the payer ours (OUR) then you will receive the full payment amount sent by the payer.
What information can I see about the payer?
You can see where the funds have come from, including the payment details (such as payer name, payment reference, account number and sort code). The amount of information available depends on the payment method used to send funds to us. Generally, local payment schemes provide less information that Swift.
Where can I receive funds from?
You can receive funds from any bank within these countries and territories.
How many currencies can I receive funds in, via Spark?
You can receive funds in 34 currencies via Swift and 3 currencies via local routes. You can see the full list of these currencies here.
Will receipts be automated 24/7, or only during UK hours?
Our systems will be automated and work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, some payment schemes have set working hours. The following payment schemes have the following working hours:
- Local GPB via Faster Payments – 24/7;
- International Swift – 06:00 to 20:00 GMT/BST;
- Local EUR via SEPA Credit Transfers – 07:30 to 17:30 CET/CEST;
- Local USD via FEDwire/ACH – 09:30 to 17:00 EST/EDT.
Which currencies can I convert?
For a full list of currencies and details of any restrictions that apply, see this support article and our Currencycloud Currency Matrix.
How many currencies can I payout in via Spark?
You can payout in 33 currencies via Swift, and 17 currencies via local payment routes. See our payment guides for more information.
Will there be a different International Bank Account Number (IBAN) for each of the 34 currencies I can receive in via Swift?
No. There will be one unique Swift IBAN per account within our system. This IBAN can receive all 34 currencies. The correct currency balance will be credited based on the currency received.
Will EUR payments via Swift be received into the same IBAN as Euro payments via Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) Credit Transfers?
No. The EUR IBAN for Swift will be different from the EUR IBAN for SEPA Credit Transfers.
What happens if an inbound payment is made using an unsupported payment method?
The funds will be rejected by the sending or beneficiary bank and returned to you.
Can we trace inbound Swift funds via Global Payment Innovation (gpi)?
No, we are currently unable to track inbound payments via GPI because we won’t have the required tracking id until we receive the funds.
Global Payment Innovation (GPI) is an initiative created by Swift to improve customer experience in cross-border payments. Its aim is to put the power back in the hands of the customer when it comes to paying and receiving funds cross-border. For more information on Swift GPI see our blog.
Will the Swift IBAN be displayed in outbound Swift payments as the sending account?
Outbound Swift payments will come from the account holder and not Currencycloud but they won’t originate from the Swift IBAN attached to that account.
Will local EUR, GBP and USD outbound payments be displayed as the sending account?
No. All local outbound payments will display as coming from Currencycloud.
How long does it take for a Swift transfer to appear in the Spark account?
This is dependent on the payment rail used:
- Local GBP payments via faster payments are usually received and allocated in minutes;
- Local EUR payments are generally received within a few hours of payment depending on the cut off times of the sending bank;
- Local USD payments are received same or next day depending on the amount sent and the cut of times of the sending bank.
The time it takes for Swift funds to reach us is dependent on the bank, currency and the correspondent banking chain. Once the funds have arrived we will typically credit the account in seconds.
Am I able to reject funds that are approved by Currencycloud?
It is possible for you to make your own screening assessment on inbound funds based on the information we provide to you via the Sender API. We will credit funds based on our screening assessment but if you decide that the funds don’t meet your risk appetite it is possible for you to create a return payment for these funds back to the payer. For funds received via local ACH you will need to get the return account details directly from the payer as these details are not provided in the payment message.