Giles shared how a long career in FX inside a big corporate environment eventually led him to build Compare FX, a business designed to bring more transparency and trust to foreign exchange pricing. The turning point came while he and his partner stepped away from London and traveled for a year, creating the distance and clarity needed to see the industry’s pain points more objectively.
Rather than pushing rates or acting like another FX salesperson, Compare FX takes an impartial, data-led approach: users upload quotes, the team benchmarks them against the mid-market rate, and the customer gets a clear view of what they are really being charged. The business then introduces vetted providers, secures fee protection through a margin control agreement, and keeps the process human by explaining the data rather than just sending a report.
A major theme in the conversation was that strategic partnerships have become the biggest growth lever, especially with accountants, lawyers, immigration firms, chambers, and associations that can refer qualified clients while adding value to their own audience. Giles also emphasized building carefully from the ground up with his own money, learning the full customer journey manually first, and using that understanding to build a better, more scalable business later.
