Online start-up CurrencyFair has awarded a managed services contract worth €200,000 to the data centre operator Data Electronics.
Under the terms of the deal, Data Electronics will deliver 24-hour monitoring and management of CurrencyFair’s IT systems, including secure network and IP connectivity services. The delivery model is backed by a single service level agreement.
The scope of the contract also includes fully managed backup and restoration of data, using Data Electronics’ SAN Storage on Demand service. This facility, based on storage area network technology, provides CurrencyFair with an enterprise-class SAN without the need for upfront capital investment.
CurrencyFair is a peer-to-peer online marketplace for foreign exchange. Users of the site can exchange funds with each other at a fair rate, bypassing banks and the transfer fees involved. Regardless of transaction size, clients pay on average around 0.3pc of the notional exchange, whereas a typical bank charge is 3pc. CurrencyFair also claims to save around €20 on the standard cost of making an international funds transfer.
The site trades in 14 currencies and can match people from the UK selling sterling for euro with someone from Ireland who wants to buy sterling selling euro. Its target market is ex-pats and people transferring funds abroad, or home, paying mortgages abroad, etc. It doesn’t deal in cash or holiday money, and operates purely on a bank-to-bank transfer basis.
CurrencyFair is fully regulated by the Irish Financial Regulator and has been designated as a high-potential start-up by Enterprise Ireland. The company has been trading since April 2010 and now has more than 1,500 clients in 35 countries. The company employs six people in Dublin and also recently opened an office in London.
