SOULMATTE jump-starts global transactions with integrated eCommerce solution

Born out of a desire to reconnect with nature in the midst of the pandemic, SOULMATTE is a Hong Kong-based, eco-friendly vegan leather handbag brand. Founder Ellis has grown up watching her father, a seasoned leather craftsman, create luxury handbags in his workshop. When she discovered cactus leather, a cruelty-free, plant-based alternative to animal and PVC leather, she came up with the idea to use the naturally derived material to make handbags. Combining her extensive knowledge of leather goods and a drive to minimise harm to the environment, Ellis started SOULMATTE to build a new generation of sustainable luxury goods.

Expedited account opening provided 25% more time for operations in the first year

As a digitally native eCommerce brand, time is of the essence for SOULMATTE. They simply cannot afford to wait around for 2-3 months to open a company account at traditional banks.

Offering an accelerated account opening process that matches the speed of which present-day eCommerce businesses operate in, Airwallex helped SOULMATTE get their Global Account up and running in just 48 hours. This saved them up to 25% of time in their first year of operations, allowing them to redirect their focus on product development and setting up their online store.

One-stop platform for digital payment collection and reconciliation

When setting up their eCommerce shop, SOULMATTE decided to use the WooCommerce plug-in to collect payments from their customers. Thanks to the WooCommerce-Airwallex integration, SOULMATTE is able to easily accept customer payments and better manage their business cash flow in one single platform.

Once SOULMATTE’s WooCommerce store has been successfully integrated with their Airwallex account, when a customer places an online order, the payment goes straight into their Airwallex account, via the Online Payments function. This saves them time from having to link up their WooCommerce plug-in with a separate bank account, ultimately enabling them to simplify their payment collection and reconciliation journey.

Moreover, Airwallex now accepts FPS as an online payment method. This allows local customers to check out from SOULMATTE more easily. For SOULMATTE, the new feature makes reconciliation simpler, lowers their costs, enables a quicker settlement schedule, helps the brand expand their customer base in Hong Kong.

Saving up to 90% in transaction fees and 3% in currency exchange

When it comes to their product manufacturing process, SOULMATTE sources their raw materials from overseas and works closely with different factories based around the world. This means they have to make regular foreign transactions to pay their international suppliers.

Traditional banks often charge expensive currency exchange rates and transaction fees for global transactions. These bank payments also take a relatively long processing time to reach the recipient.

On the other hand, Airwallex offers competitive exchange rates that are similar to the market rate, providing a more cost-effective payment solution. Compared to traditional banks, Airwallex is able to help SOULMATTE save 90% transaction fees and up to 3% in currency exchange.

Moreover, SOULMATTE can check the exchange rates that Airwallex offers in an instant, so they can make quicker business decisions and pay their overseas suppliers in a more timely manner.

Free company cards offer $0 transaction fee & stress-free account reconciliation

As a growing eCommerce business, SOULMATTE needs to create a company card to better manage their business expenses.

It often takes a long time for SMEs to get a company card from traditional banks in Hong Kong.

With Airwallex, SOULMATTE simply needs to open a Global Account to instantly create an Airwallex Borderless Card, which is a company card that entails zero transaction fees in international payments.

By using Airwallex’s free multi-currency company card to settle their company expenses, SOULMATTE no longer has to manually do their account reconciliation at the end of each month, saving them time on the typically tedious task.

Keep growing and improving together with Airwallex

In the future, SOULMATTE hopes to continue to launch new products such as purses and even unisex designs. They will further promote the use of vegan leather by expanding overseas and introducing their brand to more people.

To achieve their goals to create a global sustainable movement, SOULMATTE is constantly improving on the quality of their product offerings.

Working alongside and with support from Airwallex, SOULMATTE sees that Airwallex is also improving their services and continuing to develop new products.

Airwallex helps eCommerce businesses expand their business globally and grow their customer base. If your business is looking to manage foreign transactions more efficiently, open a free Airwallex account today to streamline your payments and save on transaction fees. Watch the demo below if you’d like to learn more.