Lavanda eliminates global payments friction with Airwallex

Introducing Lavanda

Lavanda is a multi award-winning tech company with global headquarters in London, UK. Using its innovative technology, Lavanda works in partnership with property asset owners to diversify their revenue streams. It does this by powering short term rentals and offering a first class property management software suite for residential assets, maximising ROI. 

Lavanda launched in 2015 and now works with a growing number of the world’s leading real estate companies in the UK, Spain, the US, UAE, Poland, Australia and France.

The Challenge

As a SaaS provider in the ‘proptech’ space, Lavanda has scaled its operations far beyond the UK market to include Europe, UAE, Australia and the US. 

At the core of Lavanda’s financial operations is the collection of funds from guests and making payouts to asset owners in multiple regions. 

But shortfalls with these providers’ offerings made Lavanda’s financial operations more complex than they needed to be. 

“Before Airwallex, we were using Revolut and Wise to manage our multiple currency fund flows,” begins Lewis, speaking to the Airwallex team over a video call. 

On top of this, Lewis’ team was using a third provider for virtual cards, adding a further layer of convolutedness. 

The account management with their previous providers was disappointing too: “It was almost non-existent,” Lewis explains, describing the lack of communication post-onboarding. Fast-forward and Lavanda decided it was time for a change. 

“The main thing we were looking for was the borderless provision,” continues Lewis. Lavanda needed a solution for global payouts to multiple regions for both employees and customers, as well as a cost-efficient way to collect funds from customers. 

But Lewis’ team also wanted a solution that would give them the ability to do everything within a single platform, streamlining financial operations and saving valuable time.

Lewis West

Financial Controller, Lavanda

“Faced with non-existent account support and having to switch between providers for different tasks, it was time for change.”

The Solution

Smooth and speedy onboarding 

“Our account manager Rebecca went out of her way to get us set up with Airwallex quickly,” recalls Lewis. “Our onboarding was really easy and smooth - I couldn’t fault it at all,” says Lewis. “To be honest, I loved it!”

Importantly, this smooth and speedy onboarding with Airwallex meant Lavanda didn’t have to incur another month’s worth of fees with previous providers.

“We switched to Airwallex, and never looked back”

Now, Lavanda has everything the finance team needs in one place, from Global Accounts and transfers, to corporate and employee cards. 

Receiving funds and making payouts in multiple currencies is now much simpler, too, as Lewis explains: “Instead of having to convert funds every time we needed to send a global payment, now we have Airwallex Global Accounts set up in each of the local currencies we use.” 

Plus, Airwallex’s FX and transfers services have given Lavanda access to market-leading rates, eliminating further hassle and expense. 

Lavanda has also achieved valuable time efficiencies since using Airwallex, including eliminating the extra step of transferring funds to Lavanda’s virtual cards provider.

There’s more, as Lewis explains; “The Global Accounts have been brilliant. The transfers are so easy. Having Global Accounts and virtual cards all under one roof is great. I’m so happy with everything.” 

Financial savings and outstanding account support

Switching to Airwallex has saved Lavanda over £700 per month in fees charged by just one of its previous providers alone. 

But it’s not just the financial incentives Lavanda values most. The stark difference in account support at Airwallex compared with Lavanda’s previous provider is particularly memorable for Lewis. “The ongoing support I’ve received from our point of contact has been so good, I was actually shocked,” he explains. 

Lewis West

Financial Controller, Lavanda

“Now we have global accounts and virtual cards all under one roof and seriously, it’s great. I’m so happy with everything.”