Question 1

What is Unicorn Currencies?

Accepted Answer

FX and cross border payments for businesses with recurring international flows. Pay-in, conversion at a pre-agreed FX margin, pay-out on local rails where we hold them, payment proof, and a named specialist. Built for B2B payment operations, not personal remittance.

Question 2

Who is Unicorn Currencies for?

Accepted Answer

Importers, exporters, and wholesalers moving $1M+ a year on repeating corridors, with a finance team that has to reconcile what arrived against what was invoiced.

Question 3

Who is it not for?

Accepted Answer

One off transfers, personal remittance, crypto flows, and businesses below the volume threshold. We would rather say so now than onboard an account we cannot serve properly.

Question 4

Does it replace my bank?

Accepted Answer

No. Your domestic banking, lending, and deposits stay where they are. The cross border legs move here, which is where the deductions and the delays live.

Question 5

Which countries do you support?

Accepted Answer

There are five Local Business Accounts: UK in GBP, Canada in CAD, Europe in EUR, USA in USD, and UAE in AED. Beyond those five, USD SWIFT reaches 180+ countries in 1 to 3 days. That is reach, not an account.

Question 6

What is Pay-In?

Accepted Answer

Your customers pay into an account in their own market, on that market's domestic rails, in your business name. The funds land in your balance rather than crossing a border to get to you.

Question 7

What is FX in the workflow?

Accepted Answer

Conversion between the balances you hold, at a margin in basis points that is pre-agreed and fixed for the relationship. There are no forwards and no hedging products.

Question 8

What is Pay-Out?

Accepted Answer

You instruct from the balance. Where we hold a local rail at the far end, your supplier is credited domestically with no correspondent chain. Everywhere else the payment reaches by USD SWIFT at the same agreed margin.

Question 9

Can payments be delayed?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A compliance review, a receiving bank, or a beneficiary detail mismatch can hold a payment. Instructions are accepted 24/7 with no cut-off. Settlement follows the receiving rail's operating schedule.

Question 10

Can you provide payment proof?

Accepted Answer

Yes. An MT103 or the rail reference on settlement, in the form your supplier's bank will act on. One reference is enough for us to find and trace a payment.

Question 11

How does pricing work?

Accepted Answer

Two parts: a monthly or annual membership fee, and an FX margin in basis points agreed before you move funds and fixed for the relationship. The conversion cost does not move because the market did, or because a payment was urgent. Pay-in, payout, SWIFT and correspondent charges are quoted separately.

Question 12

Is the quoted rate all that matters?

Accepted Answer

No. What matters is received value. A correspondent chain can lift fees in transit, so a keen rate can still arrive light. Where we hold a local rail there is no chain to lift from.

Question 13

Are there subscriptions or platform fees?

Accepted Answer

Yes — membership. Monthly billing is standard: Business is USD 100 a month, Business Plus USD 300 and Treasury USD 500. The optional annual term covers twelve months for the price of ten. Institutional is bespoke. There is no separate SaaS licence. Traces, evidence, and reconciliation help are not billed as extras; third-party recall or trace charges are passed on at cost and told to you before they are incurred. Settlement follows the receiving rail — we do not guarantee instant or same-day credit.

Question 14

What affects pricing?

Accepted Answer

Annual volume, corridor mix, the rail available at the destination, and typical payment size and frequency. Those inputs pick the membership that models cheapest and the FX margin that comes back in writing.

Question 15

Is it built for small one-off transfers?

Accepted Answer

No. We take businesses moving meaningful annual volume on repeating corridors. Fewer clients is the product, because a named specialist and a desk that answers only works at that scale.

Question 16

Can I choose a higher membership than the one you recommend?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The recommendation names the membership with the lowest modelled membership plus FX cost at your stated volume. It is guidance, not a restriction. Your preferred membership remains your choice.

Question 17

Does a higher membership improve my chance of approval?

Accepted Answer

No. Membership choice is your decision. Account capability and transaction approval are ours, and they turn on jurisdiction, industry, payment purpose, counterparties and documentation.

Question 18

Can I switch membership later?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Switching applies from the next billing period. Where you move to annual billing mid term, the unused monthly portion is credited against the annual invoice.

Question 19

What happens if my volume changes?

Accepted Answer

Pricing is reviewed against your actual activity. If your volume moves you into a different band, the desk tells you which membership now models cheaper. Nothing changes automatically.

Question 20

Is the FX margin the whole cost?

Accepted Answer

No. The core FX margin is one component. Pay in, payout, SWIFT and correspondent charges are quoted separately and are identical across memberships. Every example on this page shows the components.

Question 21

Who qualifies as Institutional?

Accepted Answer

Banks and deposit taking institutions, Money Service Businesses and Foreign Money Service Businesses, remittance firms enabling peer to peer cross border payments, foreign exchange firms including forex traders and trading platforms, and CFD brokers. Pricing is bespoke and requires consultation and enhanced approval before any capability is confirmed.

Question 22

Where do the break even volumes come from?

Accepted Answer

Straight arithmetic on the difference between two memberships. On monthly billing, Business Plus costs USD 2,400 more over twelve months than Business and saves 0.25% of volume, so it turns positive at USD 960,000. Treasury costs USD 2,400 more than Business Plus and saves a further 0.15%, so it turns positive at USD 1.6M. Movement fees are identical across the three, so they cancel out of the comparison.

Question 23

Why is average payment size an input?

Accepted Answer

Because movement fees are charged per payment, not per dollar. Two businesses converting the same USD 1.5M pay very different movement totals if one sends thirty payments and the other sends three hundred. Increasing the USD SWIFT share raises it further, because SWIFT movement starts at USD 35 or 0.05%, while local floors differ by market: GBP 5, EUR 5, AED 20 and USD 35, with CAD passed through at cost.

Question 24

Is Unicorn Currencies regulated?

Accepted Answer

Unicorn Currencies Limited is a Canadian company, registered with FINTRAC as a Money Services Business and with the Bank of Canada as a Payment Service Provider under the Retail Payment Activities Act. Services are delivered with regulated partner institutions in each market.

Question 25

Is the UK entity FCA authorised?

Accepted Answer

We make no FCA authorisation claim, and no US money transmitter licensure claim. GBP and USD access is provided through regulated partner institutions, and we will name the arrangement in the compliance pack rather than imply one.

Question 26

What compliance information may be requested?

Accepted Answer

Incorporation documents, ownership structure, director identification, and trade documents for a given payment: invoice, contract, or bill of lading. What is asked for depends on the corridor and the counterparty.

Question 27

Can review affect payment timing?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Your specialist tells you what is being asked for and why, in one message. The decision itself belongs to the compliance officer, and volume does not buy an exemption or a shortcut.

Question 28

Where do I verify legal information?

Accepted Answer

The compliance and legal pages carry the registrations, and both the FINTRAC and Bank of Canada registries are public. Verify us there rather than taking a badge on a website as evidence.

Question 29

What does the platform do?

Accepted Answer

Holds your balances across the five markets, takes payment instructions, issues references and proof, and produces statements your finance team can reconcile against invoices.

Question 30

Is it a standalone SaaS product?

Accepted Answer

No. It is not sold as software and there is no licence to buy. It exists so you can instruct payments and see evidence without emailing for every status.

Question 31

Can team members have access?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Multiple users with separate instruction and approval rights, so the person who raises a payment is not the person who releases it. Auditors can be given a view.

Question 32

Do you provide account details in every currency?

Accepted Answer

Five: GBP, CAD, EUR, USD, and AED, each a Local Business Account in your business name. USD SWIFT reach to 180+ countries is not an account and we will not present it as one.

Question 33

Can I open an account immediately?

Accepted Answer

No. Corridors and volume are reviewed, documents are verified, and then the named accounts are issued. Onboarding is a diligence process, not a signup form.

Question 34

How do I speak to someone?

Accepted Answer

Your named specialist has a direct line issued at onboarding, and treasury@unicorncurrencies.com reaches both them and their briefed cover. No case number, no form.

Question 35

What should I provide for a delayed payment?

Accepted Answer

One reference: an MT103, a rail reference, or our own UC reference. We can find a payment from a reference far faster than from a description of it.

Question 36

Can you help with recalls, traces, and short payments?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and the chase stays with us until it settles or is explained. Ownership does not pass back to you while a trace runs.

Question 37

What if less money arrived than expected?

Accepted Answer

A correspondent almost always lifted a fee in transit. We reconstruct the chain, show your supplier where the deduction happened, and reroute the corridor onto a local rail where one exists.

Question 38

Do you guarantee settlement?

Accepted Answer

No. We cannot instruct another institution, and any provider claiming otherwise is describing something they do not control. What we commit to is the evidence, ownership of the exception, and an honest status rather than an invented date.

Straight answers. Including the ones that are no.

Seven sections. Honest answers.

Fit and eligibility

Pay-In, FX, and Pay-Out

Pricing and FX margin

Membership and pricing

Compliance and trust

Platform and account access

Payment issues and support

The next question goes to a person.