Those that work in finance with always patronise those that do not. 'If you aren't using a tailored product, bespoke to your specific needs, then you are not making use of raft of solutions available to you and probably costing yourself some money.'
So progressive is the UK personal and business financial space that it is often the case that early adoption of practises, platforms and approaches afford users a discount.
At Prime Cap we are acutely conscious of the fact that it takes a fair amount to convince/persuade a would be client to shun their bank for their financial dealings. But, gradually, consumers are becoming more aware of the value out there.
Many financial solutions providers, whether they cater for the whole suite of personal and business financial needs, require scale. They need a minimum number of clients in order to break themselves even. It is when a business is in this stage that a prospective client can leverage the business and revenue they represent in their own favour, and get insightful services potentially at a knock down price.
This fact is tremendously useful for businesses already flying the flag for the future of global commerce and thought leadership - thems that blog.
Prime Cap has first hand personal and professional experience dealing with a virtual businesses of this type. One of Prime Cap's good friends if the team at Hand Luggage Only.
Initially set up as a 'grab your bag' personal travel journal, HLO has grown to encompass all manner of interesting travel, tourism and global lifestyle material.
They are the focus of this post because their sector is not only a burgeoning one, but, one unique in terms of the revenue sources it relies on.
The inter net has made global commerce and the dissemination of content truly an easy thing. For that reason brands, businesses and tourist bodies can communicate with 'those with a following', influencers, from the other side of the world in pursuit of promotion and favourable positioning. This prompts payments geeks like us to wonder what can be done on the payments side of things.
In a market where the person sitting next to you in a coffee shop on their lap top could be your competitor, engagement portals like Hand Luggage Only need to differentiate themselves and they do this not just by producing copious amounts of unique content, but by offering a commercial advantage to those that contract them.
Being able to price a job in the currency of target means a couple of things, but, first and foremost is suggests scale. Is it not easier for my would be employer to compare my pitch/package on a like for like basis with my domestic competitor?
If you agree a fee package using your domestic currency then the person paying you carries the 'FX risk'. This means that their costs fluctuate with the market, so, you may very well end up being less competitively priced that someone else.
When a currency like GBP is weak this is a problem over the longer term because, as the currency corrects and strengthens, the cost for the person paying you, if you want to work with them again, is going to be higher, which may well be enough to tip their appetite in favour of someone pricing in their currency of operation.
Above is the more theoretical approach to pitching strategy. It is something many small businesses and ones operating synthetically and in many different markets (without necessarily a unit/trade price in their own many) overlook.
Now we have to consider the notion that, having pitched your wears successfully in a different currency, how are you going to repatriate your foreign currency revenue in a quick, easy and, most importantly, supremely competitive way?
'Click throughs', 'impressions' and 'page views' can very well form part of a blogger's bread and butter revenue generation. These can be small payments, paid out when a certain number of viewers have seen material or clicked on a link. On top of these/this are the revenues that come for any product or service that may be bought by the viewer/follower once they clicked on said link. Again, amounts may be smaller, so, a process for collecting these small payments and converting in to the currency the blogger uses is a process worth getting right.
As owner managed entities and, invariably, starting as secondary concerns for the blogger, mainstream and branded financial solutions like PayPal tend to be the common way of collecting income in a foreign currency.
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It has benefits. It is secure and recognisable. It also allows companies to collect a foreign currency without need to actually hold their own bank account in that currency.
The problem, as we have discussed in other posts, is that PayPal will not allow you to deposit that foreign currency in to anything other than your own currency account and, if you do have a foreign currency account, PayPal will only credit your foreign currency to an account held in the country in which that currency is legal tender.
So, a blogger working with a US travel brand to bring exposure to a new resort may well invoice in US dollars. The blogger doesnt have his own USD account in the UK, so the travel company cannot pay the USD direct, plus, as he is not a US incorporated entity, the blogger cannot open a US dollar account in the US
He therefore turns to PayPal.
The US travel company can pay USD to the bloggers PayPal facility, but, the blogger must then use the conversion services of PayPal to get those USD in to sterling. Once they are in sterling the blogger can credit them to his GBP account.
As you can imagine, the size that it is and for all of the other advantages of using a secure global online platform of its ilk, PayPal do not give generously on their foreign exchange margins.
This is where Prime Cap can help.
Our online platform can serve as a substitute for PayPal.
The aforementioned US travel company sends USD to our segregated USD account.
The blogger can access information as to what and how much has arrived - and they can do this in up to 40 global currencies that we work with - they can exchange currencies at their leisure round the clock.
Every exchange the blogger conducts is executed at a commercial rate of exchange.
Furthermore, all those smaller incremental click through and page view payments can also be drip fed in to our client account for the blogger. Our systems and platform serve precisely and exactly the same practical role as PayPal, but the cost is a fraction and the is far far greater flexibility for all concerned.
The blogger does not need to set up a USD account, ever, in order to work with overseas entities; plus, should they begin to out source any of their content work, editing or filming, and should those whom they engage to undertake those activities live in a foreign land, the blogger can simply pay out from one of their foreign currency pots. They can net off foreign currency expenses against foreign currency incomes.
It is genius!