Online currency exchange marketplace helps increase SME profit margins
Shrewd British SMEs are optimising turnover by around 5% by avoiding bank charges and unfavourable exchange rates, according to customers of CurrencyFair - the world's first ever peer to peer online foreign exchange marketplace.
With nearly 50% of UK exporters citing fluctuating exchange rates and foreign currency as their most common challenges (Federation of Small Businesses research) the advantages of this revolutionary system are clear, especially given the increasingly global outlook for many SMEs.
CurrencyFair enables business customers to find a better deal through individual buyers and sellers of currency rather than the Banks and provides SMEs with access to rates which were historically only available to the big corporates.
One SME which has experienced significant savings through CurrencyFair is Optimal Photochromic, which buys and sells materials for spectacle lenses. Operating across four continents, the London-based company estimates to have saved around £10,000 in bank fees and exchange rates over the last year.
Dan Hancu, Managing Director of Optimal Photochromic, said: “Given that our turnover last year was £250,000, this represents a serious saving for us. Our suppliers based in China, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa routinely set their prices in US dollars or Euros so we have to sell on in the same currency in order not to lose out.”
Brett Meyers, CurrencyFair founder said: “Since we launched in May 2010 we have saved our customers more than £1 million when comparing their rates against typical bank exchange rates. Just like Betfair and eBay we’re changing the way people are able to do business by bringing them together in their own marketplace.
“This finally gives business customers a viable alternative to the traditional banking model. Only last week Business Secretary, Vince Cable, described competition as the ‘best antidote’ to the current culture in the UK banking system and we’re certainly providing that.”
CurrencyFair’s business customers are able to exchange currency instantaneously with others, or place their own trade on the marketplace and wait to see if someone matches the rate. This unique business model enables CurrencyFair to offer compelling value for business customers.
“Banks and brokers usually require telephone or branch orders and will price discriminate,” added Brett. “Our customers are exchanging at rates which are usually only available to multinationals and money market professionals dealing in millions. In some cases our customers have even been getting a better rate than the Interbank midpoint.”
Philip King, Chief Executive of the Institute of Credit Management, said: “In challenging conditions, small businesses need to be constantly reviewing credit management products and services – whether from public bodies or private businesses – that can help them manage their cashflow better, and as such anything that may help improve an SME's position should be welcomed in the current climate."
ENDS
For interviews contact Brett Meyers on +353 (0)1 244 9585 or brettmeyers@currencyfair.com. Download high res photos and further information including fact sheets, user stories and pre-recorded interviews here: www.currencyfair.com/media-centre.
About CurrencyFair
CurrencyFair is the world's first peer-to-peer foreign exchange marketplace. CurrencyFair customers are able to exchange funds and transfer them overseas at a fraction of the cost of traditional banks or brokers, due to its unique and innovative p2p model. CurrencyFair was incorporated in April 2009, and went live online at the start of May 2010. Since then, thousands of customers have been served, saving them millions of Euros in bank fees and exchange rate charges.
Based in Dublin, Ireland, CurrencyFair is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland under the European Communities Payment Services Regulations 2009. CurrencyFair Australia is regulated by ASIC, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
