Emerging Trends and Challenges
FTPartnersResearch-GlobalMoneyTransferTrends
FTPartnersResearch-GlobalMoneyTransferTrends
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“International Payment Specialists”<br />
Selected Company Profiles (cont.)<br />
Products & Services Overview<br />
CEO:<br />
Headquarters:<br />
Company Overview<br />
Jonathan Quin<br />
London, UK<br />
Retail / Private Customers – Helps individuals<br />
make international payments either same-day or<br />
using forward contracts; has one of the highest<br />
customer feedback rates in the industry with an<br />
independently verified 98% positive feedback<br />
Founded: 2004<br />
• World First is an international payment provider offering crossborder<br />
payment solutions, foreign exchange <strong>and</strong> currency<br />
options for individuals, businesses <strong>and</strong> e-commerce<br />
merchants<br />
• The Company employs approximately 400 staff members<br />
across offices in London, the US, Hong Kong, Singapore <strong>and</strong><br />
Australia<br />
• Since 2004, the Company has transacted over £30 billion<br />
across over 1.2 million payments for 100,000 clients<br />
• World First uses bespoke technology to provide a “high tech<br />
high touch” service where clients can transact online <strong>and</strong> also<br />
receive customer service when needed<br />
• It has a track-record of technological innovation; from an<br />
unofficial record for the world’s fastest international transfer<br />
(sub 1-minute end-to-end) to mobile apps, smartwatch app<br />
<strong>and</strong> API<br />
Transaction History<br />
Date $ mm Type Acquirer / Investor (s)<br />
11/11/13 na Financing<br />
FTV Capital; Industry<br />
Ventures; StepStone Group<br />
Source: Company website, FT Partners proprietary database, Capital IQ, Crunchbase.<br />
Business Customers – Helps SMBs (usually<br />
importers) pay international suppliers <strong>and</strong> develops<br />
currency strategies to help them actively manage<br />
<strong>and</strong> hedge exposure to adverse exchange rate<br />
moves; is authorized <strong>and</strong> regulated to provide<br />
advice on <strong>and</strong> execute hedging trades using<br />
options <strong>and</strong> derivatives for clients in certain<br />
markets<br />
Online sellers – World First supports the<br />
international growth of online marketplace sellers<br />
(usually exporters) by offering favorable exchange<br />
rates <strong>and</strong> currency capabilities around the world; it<br />
has been working with global sellers in the<br />
marketplace for over ten years<br />
Partnerships – World First powers white-label<br />
payment services (for retail customers) to<br />
businesses including NewsCorp <strong>and</strong> Virgin Money;<br />
it also has partnerships for business customers<br />
(e.g. with Ceridian for international payroll) <strong>and</strong><br />
offers APIs to connect to partners to automate<br />
transactions<br />
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