Settled AU
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Editorial standards · Settled

How we rate

Trust is the only thing we sell, so this page is the most important one on the site. Here is exactly how we judge a payment method — and how we make money.

Last updated 09 June 2026
§ 01

The standards we hold ourselves to

Every review on Settled is written by a member of our payments desk, edited by a second person, and checked against primary sources before it publishes. We don't republish provider marketing, and we don't run sponsored reviews dressed up as editorial. When we get something wrong, we correct it in public and date the change.

a Independence first No provider pays for placement, and no commercial relationship influences a rating.
b Primary sources only Fees, limits and regulation are taken from registers and provider terms, not marketing copy.
c Two sets of eyes Every review is written by one person and edited by another before it publishes.
d We test with real money Where a method is consumer-available, we open an account and move funds through it ourselves.
e Negative findings published When a product is not worth using, the review says so directly. We don’t hedge to keep anyone happy.
§ 02

What we test, and how

Wherever a method is available to consumers, we open a real account and move real money through it. We measure five things, and weight them in this order.

30%
Cost
Headline fees plus the FX margins, load fees and inactivity charges providers tend to bury.
25%
Regulation & safety
AUSTRAC and ASIC standing, dispute-scheme membership, and what protection you actually have.
20%
Speed & reliability
How fast money settles, how often it fails, and whether it works outside business hours.
15%
AUD & local fit
Whether it holds and pays Australian dollars, and how well it suits Australian use cases.
10%
Experience
Account setup, everyday usability, and the quality of support when something breaks.

Weights show each factor's share of the overall rating.

§ 03

How we verify regulation

A provider's claim to be "regulated" is the easiest thing to overstate, so we never take it on faith. For every method we check the relevant Australian registers ourselves and record what we find, with the date.

We confirm AUSTRAC remittance and digital-currency registration, check for an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) on the ASIC register, and note membership of the AFCA dispute scheme. Where a provider operates through a local partner, we name the partner and verify their standing instead. A method marked unverified is one where we could not confirm registration — not necessarily one acting unlawfully, but one you should approach with more caution.

§ 04

How we make money

Plainly, because this is where most comparison sites quietly compromise: we take no commission, referral fee, or payment of any kind from the providers we review. No method can buy a higher ranking, a softer verdict, or a "recommended" badge. Our rankings are ordered by our ratings alone.

Settled is funded by reader contributions and a small number of clearly labelled, non-targeted display placements that have no bearing on our editorial. If that ever changes, this section changes first, and we will say so at the top of every affected page.

§ 05

Corrections & contact

If you spot an error — a fee that has changed, a registration we've misread, a method we've missed — tell us and we will check it. Confirmed corrections are made promptly and noted at the foot of the affected review with the date.

Email the payments desk →