“Eye-opening savings”: How Conductr slashed its FX bill with Airwallex

Introducing Conductr

By fusing cutting-edge technology with immersive storytelling, the co-founders of Conductr, Jos van der Steen and Peter Cliff, are redefining the future of attractions and experiences.  

Conductr was founded in 2022, and immediately began working with an international client base. Today, Conductr has a stronghold in the US, with Europe and the Middle East representing major contributors to the company’s revenue. 

From exhibiting at trade shows in Asia to managing large-scale imports from China, the ability to efficiently operate on a global scale is critical for Conductr. 

The future of attractions and experiences, powered by Conductr

The Pain

Trading internationally from the outset created financial requirements for Conductr that were more in line with a large business than a startup. 

Sending and receiving funds from its global client base and supplier network in various currencies – including USD, EUR, and GBP – represents a critical aspect of Conductr’s finance operations. 

Yet this was proving problematic. “Moving money around the world was a nightmare,” begins Jos. 

Among other issues, the daily transfer limit imposed by their bank was restrictive, causing issues when they needed to pay suppliers and make payroll payments on the same day. 

And using their bank for moving funds globally wasn’t working either. “We got stung by so many transaction fees,” Jos explains.  

Conductr’s bank was charging them to receive funds and force-converting them from USD into GBP, only for Conductr to have to pay for them to be converted back into USD just a few days later to pay their suppliers. 

“We were being hit twice on transaction fees,” explains Jos, “and at terrible rates.” 

Conductr had inadvertently fallen into the conversion trap, getting stung by exorbitant fees for global transfers and paying for unnecessary currency conversions. 

With transaction and conversion fees mounting up, Jos looked for a solution, initially exploring the option of setting up a USD account with his bank. This proved cumbersome and expensive, so Conductr turned to multi-currency providers. 

“We tried Payoneer and Wise,” explains Jos, “but the interfaces were clunky and it’s not easy to do anything.”

Founders Jos and Peter knew their current financial operations weren’t suitable to their global needs, and that these requirements would only grow as their business expanded. So when they saw a walkthrough of the Airwallex platform, there was a lightbulb moment. 

Jos van der Steen

Co-founder & COO, Conductr

“Moving money around the world was a nightmare. We were being hit twice on transaction fees and paying terrible rates.”

The Solution

“One of the biggest advantages for us is that Airwallex is super easy to use,” begins Jos. Airwallex’s impressive interface combined with the instant rapport Jos and Pete built with their account manager, Albert, sealed the deal. 

Fast and convenient transfers at competitive rates 

“Another major benefit of Airwallex is how easy it is to open accounts in different countries,” says Jos. Conductr uses their Global Accounts to send and receive global funds at market-leading FX rates and low transaction fees that have saved the company thousands. “Now we can pay our suppliers quicker,” adds Jos. 

Airwallex also helps Conductr limit their exposure to currency fluctuations, by alerting the team when their preset FX spot rates are met. This means Jos can convert funds at Airwallex’s great rates, and importantly, at the right time for them, for large transactions such as payroll. 

Convenient spending, whether at home or abroad 

To help manage expenses at home and abroad, Conductr uses Airwallex Corporate Cards that can be tailored to each user with individual spend limits, and conveniently draw from their account in that particular currency. “If I’m using my Airwallex Corporate Card in the US, then it debits our USD account,” explains Jos. “And if I use it in the UK, then it debits from our GBP account. This has been hugely beneficial,” says Jos, as well as saving the company a load on conversion fees. 

The Result

Improved cashflow management 

“Airwallex is very easy and very convenient for us,” says Jos, as he remarks on the extensive financial data he can now access. Jos can instantly aggregate all Conductr’s accounts into one view, access simplified and detailed views of each transaction, and have complete transparency over conversions. It doesn’t stop there, Jos explains, “It’s invaluable having a live conversion of all our accounts into a GBP value, so I get an immediate snapshot of our finances.” 

The bottom-line

In under a year, Conductr has made savings of approximately £110,000 by using Airwallex for global transactions instead of their banking partner. Conductr’s biggest savings have been on inbound deposits to their Airwallex accounts.

Jos van der Steen

Co-founder & COO, Conductr

“Using Airwallex has saved us over £100,000 in fees in less than a year. It's been eye-opening how much we’ve saved by using Airwallex instead of our traditional bank.”