How DTC eCommerce brand, Linjer, saved more than SGD$13,000 in FX fees
Learn how Linjer uses Airwallex’s multi-currency business account and corporate cards to save on FX.
SGD$13,000
saved in a few months from currency conversion fees on global expenses
3%
savings on SaaS such as Shopify and others
10+ hours
saved per month from simplified processes
Linjer is an eCommerce company based in Hong Kong. They make sustainably-made jewelry, bags and watches without the luxury markup.
Company size
10 - 50 employees
Location
Hong Kong, Singapore
Industry
Retail
Nowadays, there are many direct-to-consumers affordable, high-quality fashion brands. But in 2014, it's either fast fashion or luxury brands. Jennifer Chong and Roman Khan created Linjer to solve this problem. They create products of the same quality as luxury brands, and sell directly to customers online, without the high markup. They started off with just US$20k savings and crowdfunding. And in the first 14 months, they hit US$1 million in sales.
Jennifer Chong
CEO of Linjer
"I’m so thankful that Airwallex exists! Airwallex allows me to exchange currencies at really great rates, and the interface is very modern and easy to use compared to my bank. We save so much money with Airwallex! In just a few months, we've already saved more than SGD$13,000 in unnecessary bank fees!"
The partnership at a glance
In just a few months, Airwallex helped Linjer to save more than SGD13,000 in unnecessary FX and international transfer fees.
Airwallex's VISA Multi-currency Card has great FX rates and it helps Linjer's CEO to save time on expense reimbursement.
Challenges: High FX and transfer fees by bank and PayPal
Before using Airwallex, Linjer made international transfers to their overseas suppliers using bank transfer and PayPal. Their bank and PayPal charge costly fees for foreign exchange. Each bank international transfer costs ~ SGD 20 per transfer.
Other than international transfer, they were using their bank's credit cards to purchase items online. When it comes to purchases in foreign currencies, banks usually charge a 3-4% markup on top of the prevailing FX rate determined by Visa/MasterCard. In order to avoid the high fees by the bank, their employees will use their personal credit cards for purchases to get better FX rates. Afterwards, their employees will get reimbursed.
Solution & Results: How Airwallex international transfers and cards help Linjer save SGD13,000 FX fees
Airwallex helps Linjer to exchange currencies at market-leading rates. And make international transfers for a fraction of the price of a wire transfer or PayPal transfer. Their recipients of the transfers are very satisfied too, because they aren't charged with any incoming wire fees. Typically, businesses will go through the SWIFT network for international transfer via the banks, and there might be a fee incurred on the recipient's end.
Jennifer Chong
CEO of Linjer
"In just a few months we've already saved more than SGD$13,000 in unnecessary bank fees!"
Linjer also uses Airwallex's VISA Multi-currency card for online purchases in any currency. There are zero transaction fees on international card payments. Apart from cost saving, this also helps Jennifer to empower her team easily to make purchases without a long, tedious process. She said that this is "not how she wants to spend her time".
See how our customers are finding Airwallex
"Airwallex have been a fantastic partner for Olsam Group as we grow our eCommerce brands to new channels and new markets. Their easy to use interface and integrations have been a joy for our finance team to use as we scale."
Sam Horbye
Co-Founder, Olsam
"For ME + EM, expanding into international markets such as the US has been our focus - and with Airwallex, we were able to use their local USD Global Account to collect from our Paypal US account, thereby allowing us to save 3% on each transaction. The process of working with Airwallex has been seamless - our suppliers get paid quickly, we have a dedicated Relationship Manager who has been really patient, helpful and quick to respond. I am keen to use their cards to pay for our ad spend in the near future to save further on our USD invoices."
Meera
Finance Manager, ME + EM
"We've had such a fantastic experience switching to Airwallex. Previously we were using a traditional bank to make all of our international transactions and they'd constantly lock us out of the account everytime we made a transfer, resulting in hours and hours of lost time on hold. Airwallex is secure, makes it super quick and simple to make and receive international payments."
Rupert
Managing Director, Perspective Pictures
“We used to pay Stripe between $5,000 and $10,000 a month in conversion fees because most of our customers pay in dollars. Now we funnel that money into our Airwallex US dollar account, we don’t have to pay commission. We’ve saved more than $100,000 so far this year”
Thomas Adams
Founder and CEO, Brandbassador
"We love Airwallex! It has considerably eased our invoicing and payments to contractors around the world. Sending and receiving money is much faster and cheaper than before."
Edle Tenden
Co-Founder, Mobile Transaction
“We are so glad that we have found Airwallex! There are no hidden charges, they are quick to respond to any queries and we had the smoothest transaction with amazing support from the team continually.”
Andreia Beja
Supply Chain Executive, Miss Patisserie
"Our water solutions company, Dropterra (go.dropterra.com) has partnered with Airwallex since inception and it has been the best banking and payment partner a company can think of. International transactions are easy, secure, and fast, the technology is incredible and their client service fantastic! We look forward to growing and deepening our relationship with Airwallex!"
Francois Schramek
Co-Founder, Dropterra
