Optimal Currency Limited: FCA regulated?

Authorised by the FCA

This firm is on the FCA register and authorised to carry out regulated activities.

Authorised for 7 years
Your funds are safeguarded
No FCA actions
Active company since 2018
Accounts filed up to 31 March 2025

Website, phone number and address

Compare these against whatever you were given. Scammers clone real firm names and reference numbers but use their own phone number and website, so a detail that does not match the register is the clearest warning sign there is.

Website

optimalcurrency.co.uk (opens in a new tab)
Phone number

01296 767444
Address

Ox9 Thame, 13 Upper High Street, Thame, Oxfordshire, OX9 3ER, United Kingdom

In the full report: 3 background checks

When optimalcurrency.co.uk first appeared online, and whether it can receive email
What kind of line 01296 767444 is
Who else gives the postcode OX9 3ER

Other names (1)

If you were contacted under any of these names, it is this firm.

Optimal Currency Worldwide Former trading name: A name it used to trade under.

FCA permissions and consumer protection

Handle payments & transfers Funds safeguarded
Your money must be kept in a separate safeguarded account. If the firm fails, all safeguarded funds should be returned to you. With no upper limit, unlike the capped amounts under FSCS. Safeguarding works differently from FSCS, but protects your full balance when the rules are followed correctly.
Complaints Ombudsman, free
You can refer a complaint about this firm to the Financial Ombudsman Service for free, whichever activity it relates to.

Show FCA detail (4 permissions)

1. Services enabling cash to be placed on a payment account as well as all the operations required for operating a payment account.
3. Executing payment transactions (no credit line)
5. Issuing and/or acquiring of payment instruments.
6. Money remittance.

FCA disciplinary action and complaints

No FCA disciplinary action.

The Financial Ombudsman Service only publishes complaint figures for firms with 30 or more new complaints in six months, so there are none here for this firm.

Companies House record

The company behind the firm: its status, age, registered office and directors.

Company number: 11627191 (opens Companies House in a new tab)
Company status: Active
Company type: Private limited company
Incorporated: 17 October 2018 (8 years old)
Registered office: 13 Upper High Street, Thame, Oxfordshire, OX9 3ER, England
Nature of business: Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified (SIC 64999)

Directors and company secretaries

Name	Role	Born	Appointed	Other companies
Charlotte Jane Worthington	Director	Mar 1987	17 Oct 2018	None
Robert Edward Ingleby	Director	Jun 1980	31 Mar 2020	2 other companies
David Worthington	Director	Apr 1984	31 Mar 2020	None
Ian James Taylor	Director	Sep 1958	30 Apr 2020	10 other companies

Other companies run by these 4 directors

A firm is run by people, and their other companies are their track record: what they built, what closed, and anything that failed. It is the check most people never think to make.

other companies: 12
closed down: 10
still active: 2

In the full report: all 12 companies, named

What each company does, and whether it is still trading
Which of these 4 directors sit on each board, and since when
Any that went into liquidation or administration

Filed accounts and finances

Year to 31 March 2025Full accountsNot audited

Net assets

£242k

+27% from £191k

Cash at bank

£127k

+18% from £108k

Employees (average)

10

+25% from 8

Owed within a year

£227k

+182% from £80.7k

* Cash at bank usually includes customers’ money.

Assets and liabilities

In the full report: all 6 years of accounts

Every year from 2020 to 2025
The chart, over every year
Every filed figure, year by year

About these figures

Turnover: Money taken from sales in the year, before any costs.
Profit before tax: What was left after the year’s costs, before corporation tax. A minus figure is a loss.
Net assets, or total equity: Everything the company owns minus everything it owes. A minus figure means it owes more than it owns.
Total assets and total liabilities: Everything the company owns, and everything it owes, on the last day of the year. The gap between them is its net assets.
Cash at bank: Money in the company’s accounts on the last day of the year.
Owed within a year, owed after a year: Debts and bills due in the next twelve months, and those due later.

Accounts filed at Companies House for company 11627191. Every figure is as filed, apart from total assets and total liabilities, which are added up from filed figures. Nothing is estimated.

Key dates in its history

Optimal Currency’s history from the FCA register and Companies House, newest first.

Key events (5) All events (11)

2021

10 March 2021

David Worthington became the majority owner (50–75% of shares)

Companies House

2019

21 August 2019

Became an authorised payment institution

FCA register

11 January 2019

Regulated by the FCA from this date

FCA register

2018

17 October 2018

Incorporated at Companies House
Charlotte Jane Worthington became a part-owner (25–50% of shares)

Companies House

In the full report: all 11 events

All 11 events in its history (5 shown here)
Every director appointment and resignation: 4

Firms connected to Optimal Currency

Other FCA-listed firms that share a director, phone number or address with Optimal Currency. A link shows who the firm is tied to, not whether either can be trusted.

connected firms: 2
share its postcode: 2

In the full report: all 2 connected firms, named

How each is linked: the same postcode (2)
Who links each one: the named directors, with dates

Firms like Optimal Currency

Other firms of the same type (payment or money transfer firm), nearest first.

In Thame

Noveba LimitedThameAuthorised

In the Oxford (OX) postcode area

Embed Pay LtdAbingdonRegistered Kabayan Capital LtdBicesterAuthorised London & Zurich LimitedWallingfordAuthorised Vesta Merchant Services LimitedWallingfordAuthorised

Firms are listed by type and location, best known first. Being listed is not a recommendation: check any firm before you deal with it.

Get the full report on Optimal Currency

Everything on this page, plus everything locked above, in one dated PDF you can keep, file or send on.

12 other companies its directors have run, named
3 background checks on its contact details
6 years of accounts, charted
All 11 events in its history
2 connected firms, named, and who links them

Instant PDF One-off payment Secure checkout by Stripe

Frequently asked questions about this firm

Is Optimal Currency Limited FCA authorised?

Yes, Optimal Currency Limited (FRN 830790) is authorised by the FCA to carry out regulated activities. It has held its current authorisation since August 2019 and works as a payment or money transfer firm. The FCA has placed no limits on its permissions.

What is Optimal Currency’s phone number and website?

The FCA register lists the phone number 01296 767444 and the website optimalcurrency.co.uk for Optimal Currency. If you were given different contact details, use these to check with the firm before going any further.

Is Optimal Currency a scam or clone?

Optimal Currency is a genuine FCA-listed firm, and the FCA has published no warnings about fake versions of it. Scammers do copy real firms, though, so check that any contact details you were given match the ones on the register.

Is my money safe with Optimal Currency?

It depends on the product, but payment and e-money balances should be safeguarded in a separate account, with no upper limit on the protected amount. You can also refer complaints about Optimal Currency to the Financial Ombudsman Service, free of charge.

Who owns Optimal Currency?

Companies House lists 2 people with significant control of Optimal Currency: Mr David Worthington (50–75% of shares) and Ms Charlotte Jane Worthington (25–50% of shares).

Who runs Optimal Currency?

Companies House lists 4 directors of Optimal Currency: Charlotte Jane Worthington, Robert Edward Ingleby, David Worthington and Ian James Taylor.

How long has Optimal Currency been in business?

The company was formed on 17 October 2018, and has held its current FCA authorisation since August 2019.

What do Optimal Currency’s latest accounts show?

Its latest accounts, to 31 March 2025, show net assets of £242k (+27% from £191k) and cash at bank of £127k (+18% from £108k).

Does Optimal Currency use any other names?

It has previously used the name Optimal Currency Worldwide.