BizBahrain Magazine Nov-Dec 2017

Interview | Travelex
ONE-STOP-SHOP for
Currency and Money Transfer
bizbahrain talks to Jacqueline
Nosworthy, General Manager
of Travelex Bahrain about her
experiences with the customer-centric
approach of the company which has
made it a one-stop shop for a portfolio of
products and services.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your
career with Travelex.
I joined Travelex South Africa in
August 2011 as the Regional Manager
for the Western Cape, Eastern Cape
and Garden Route. Later I moved as
the Regional Manager overseeing
the Coastal region of South Africa
incorporating additional regions.
The Coastal region is a large region
comprising of diverse cultures and,
therefore, requires a nuanced approach
as opposed to a ‘one-size-fits-all’ -
something we are proud of at Travelex.
My team succeeded in stabilising the
regional performance with a strategy
built around our ‘Customer First’ vision,
backed up by an effective incentive
programme to substantially improve the
customer satisfaction levels.
In 2016, I joined Travelex Bahrain
WLL as the General Manager aiming
to enhance the established business
by focusing on our culture, ways of
working and improving leadership from
an operations/compliance, sales and
marketing perspective. My team and
I continue to develop new initiatives
for our in-airport and downtown retail
estate to boost long-term profitability.
What challenges do you anticipate in
Bahrain?
In recent years Bahrain has been
affected by periods of political volatility
which has impacted tourism and
business. We opened our first Bahrain
airport FX outlet in 2004 with an
additional downtown estate launching
in 2006 when we extended our services
to offer remittance. Our current Bahrain
footprint spans 21 downtown branches
and 5 airport branches. In order to
remain competitive in the challenging
local environment we are looking to
further expand our portfolio of products
and services creating a ‘one-stopshop’
for currency and money transfer.
We envision online trading to be a
significant growth factor.
We ensure that we look
at the location of each
store and the customers
it attracts to allocate
staff who speak those
languages and are aware
of specific cultural
nuances.
What do you believe makes you stand
out in an already crowded market?
Our customer-centric approach,
providing world class products and
services as well as competitive
exchange rates. At Travelex, we invest
heavily in training and helping improve
the performance of our retail staff. We
ensure that we look at the location of
each store and the customers it attracts
to allocate staff who speak those
languages and are aware of specific
cultural nuances.
Our long-standing commitment to
compliance best practices is another
factor that sets us apart. Customers
can transact with us securely and with
peace of mind. On the Business-to-
Business front, we continue to expand
our corporate customer base in line
with local regulation to meet and exceed
customer expectations.
At Travelex, we invest
heavily in training and
helping improve the
performance of our retail
staff.
The service you offer is in a way
competition to banks. How do you think
established financial institutions will
react in the long-term?
We provide our FX and remittance
as a specialised service supported by
our 40 years of industry track record
and strong compliance backbone. We do
not compete on the full scale with the
financial services banks offer. We are not
in a position to speculate on financial
institutions’ behalf.
Do you have a message for Travelex
users in Bahrain?
Travelex has a robust customer base
in Bahrain and we would like to thank
them for their custom and loyalty.
We are committed to improving
our services in line with the needs and
wants of our customers in Bahrain and
we will continue to invest in effective
innovative platforms and products,
extending our portfolio and local
footprint to ensure convenience and
ease of access.
We are busy with some more exciting
campaigns and look forward to seeing
you in one of our branches soon.
November-December 2017
45