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Money transfer firm Small World collapses into administration leaving some without access to vital funds – here's what you need to know

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Emily White
Emily White & Petar Lekarski
12 July 2024

Money transfer firm Small World has collapsed into administration leaving many, particularly those in developing countries from reports we've seen, without access to vital cash they've been sent by friends and family in the UK. 

Small World let users send funds overseas through its website, call centre and in person. It had nine physical branches, all in London, and it served customers in around 275 outlets run by third parties, including corner shops, travel agents and tech repair stores.

However, the firm stopped trading on 10 June 2024 and is no longer receiving or processing new money transfers through any of its agents, branches, websites and mobile applications.

Small World is now in 'special administration'

Consultancy firm Grant Thornton was appointed on 18 June 2024 to act as administrator.

What's different here, is that Small World has been placed by court order into what's called a "special administration", after an application by the firm's directors. Special administration is a legal process available when payment and electronic money firms go under, with the purpose of ensuring the continuation of service and/or the return of funds to affected consumers. In this case, the focus is on returning funds.

It's unclear how many people have unsent funds they're waiting to be reimbursed for, though we've seen reports from people sending money to relatives in countries such as the Philippines who are now missing vital cash.

How to try getting your money back

If you sent money via Small World prior to its administration and the person you sent it to hasn't received it, here's what you can try:

  • Paid by card? Claim a refund from your card provider using chargebackHere, your bank will try to get your money back from Small World's bank. While it's not legal protection, it is a robust rule, which helps many people get their money back – and Mastercard and Visa have both confirmed they would consider this type of claim (Small World didn't accept American Express).

    You typically have 120 days from the date of the transaction to submit a claim – so go quick. Usually it's just a phone call where you tell the card firm what happened and ask it to do a chargeback, but for easy step-by-step help, see our Chargeback guide.

    You don't need to wait for the administrators to contact you to claim and you can also submit a partial chargeback claim to cover the difference between any money returned as part of the administration process and any money deducted to cover costs.

    Note: If you paid on a credit card, the Section 75 legal protection you normally get on purchases of more than £100 but less than £30,000 is unlikely to apply here because your card provider would probably have treated the Small World transaction as equivalent to a cash withdrawal, which isn't covered.

  • Paid in cash? You may get a refund from the administrator – ensure your contact details are up to date. Grant Thornton has said it is "committed to returning customer funds as soon as possible". Unfortunately, it's unclear when this will happen. Even when it does, Grant Thornton said some costs would be deducted as part of the administration process, so it's unclear how much you'd get back.

    Grant Thornton adds that it will send regular updates to affected customers on its progress. In the meantime, it's urging people to make sure all contact information and bank account details are up to date. This can be done by contacting Small World on 020 3198 0387, by logging into your online account or via the Small World app.

  • You're NOT covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). As we warn in our sending money abroad guide, the FSCS doesn't cover payment services firms, such as Small World. You also can't complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service, as it doesn't investigate complaints about bust firms. This means your only avenues for redress are your card provider (if you paid on card) and the administrator.

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