Questions people ask us

A fixed-value, single-use prepaid voucher, currently in euro values from 5 to 150. A customer buys it by card at a hosted checkout and redeems it once at an approved merchant. It can't be cashed out, sent to another person or converted into anything else. You check the one-time code, the voucher is consumed, and the net value becomes payable to your approved account.

The customer has already paid and been checked before any voucher exists, every voucher is reserve-backed before issuance, and the code can only be used once. Card details never touch your systems; they go to a hosted checkout with 3-D Secure. Customers can buy small amounts with light checks and larger amounts after identity verification, so the friction sits with the buyer's first purchase, not with your checkout.

Before it's redeemed, yes. The voucher is locked, it can no longer be used, and the money goes back to the original payment method where possible. After redemption you've been paid, so a refund is handled between you and your customer like any other purchase.

Validity and any fees are shown to the customer before they pay, every time. The planned standard validity is one year from purchase and the planned purchase fee is zero, both subject to final approval and local consumer law, so the figure shown at checkout is the one that applies.

Approved businesses in approved categories. Onboarding verifies the company, its directors, beneficial owners and controllers, screens for sanctions and adverse media, reviews your vertical and expected volumes, and verifies ownership of your payout account. New merchants start on a controlled pilot tier and move up as history builds.

No. Alpha Transfers is a trading name of MDRN FX Services Limited, authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority as a Payment Institution, firm reference number 540997. Money we receive for a payment is safeguarded, held separately from our own funds, rather than protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. We don't lend or offer overdrafts.

Faster Payments for UK sterling, SEPA and SEPA Instant for euros, and SWIFT for cross-border payments outside those zones. For Brazil we run our own same-day express remittance service. The rail, fee and arrival time are shown before you confirm.

For personal transfers to Brazil, yes: a flat £3 fee, with the exchange rate confirmed before you send. For business accounts, payments and voucher acceptance, pricing depends on currencies, corridors and volumes, so we quote for your business.

For a limited company: certificate of incorporation, the ownership structure down to the beneficial owners, and ID for directors and owners. For a sole trader: your name, address and proof of address. Everyone needs a clear description of money flows: who pays you, who you pay, in which currencies and roughly what volumes.

Tell us first and we'll put it right. If you're not happy with the answer, you can take a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service free of charge. Nobody from Alpha Transfers will ever ask you to move money to a "safe account"; if someone does, hang up and call 020 8960 4140.

A flat £3 fee per transfer, whatever the amount. The exchange rate is shown to you before you confirm, and for larger or regular amounts we'll often do a special rate.

Brazil: the express service is paid the same day, and the standard service arrives within two working days. Euro, pound and Swiss franc transfers within Europe arrive within two working days.

We pay out in Brazilian reais, euros, pounds sterling and Swiss francs. For Brazil, to any bank. For the other three currencies, to any account in any country that accepts that currency by IBAN.

Your identity document, proof of address and phone number. For a recipient in Brazil: full name, CPF, bank, agency and account. For a recipient paid in euros, pounds or Swiss francs: full name and IBAN.

Yes. Send us the boleto or the bill details by phone or WhatsApp and we take care of it.