Petraveller creates a paws-itively frictionless customer experience with Airwallex

The team at Petraveller understands that pets are truly part of the family. That’s why they’re passionate about providing the best service when it comes to relocating our furry friends. Established in 2014 by CEO Lenny Thomas, Petraveller set out to challenge the status quo in caring for jet-setting pets. 

While experiencing rapid growth and expansion, Lenny began seeking solutions to streamline global finance operations and create a frictionless customer booking experience. 

Every customer experience moment counts

Relocating overseas is a stressful undertaking for anyone. On top of juggling all of the other life admin that comes with a big move, transporting a pet can be overwhelming. You need to have trust in the company doing it, which often comes with reassurance from those who have engaged with services before. 

An incredible customer experience has been critical to the success of Petraveller, and the team has always believed in the power of word-of-mouth.

“If you honour a customer and they publicly acknowledge you in a positive light, people trust that and it will create momentum,” Lenny explains. “We know that if we take care of our customers and do the right thing, they will become our brand ambassadors.”

Lenny wanted to create a booking experience that could match the quality of their services.

“For a customer to onboard with Petraveller, they had to go through about four to five steps. And with every step, you open the door for a distraction. I wanted to make it as easy as buying a coffee,” says Lenny.

Smart integrations, seamless experiences

Lenny saw the opportunity to build trust with his customers; if their first impression with Petraveller was effortless, the anxiety-inducing process of transporting a pet could be too. 

“I’m passionate about my business and giving my customers a phenomenal experience. If you give a customer an easy way to pay, then they become confident it's easy to do the rest of the process. It gives them an insight of what's to come and that's why I'm so thrilled about it.”

To create this seamless experience, Petraveller leverages Airwallex’s innovative Hubspot integration. The marriage of these two softwares allows teams to create instant unique and secure payment links within Hubspot, which can then be sent directly to customers.

Lenny Thomas

CEO, Petraveller

“On their phone, a customer can book their journey and, through the Airwallex integration, can pay their deposit with a one click function… The process is, in my opinion, the best in the world when it comes to pet travel.”

“The minute you speak to us, and you're thinking about going ahead, what we do is we will send you a link – and all you literally do is just click on that link and just show your face on Apple Pay and it's done.”

Intrigued about integrations? Learn more about how Airwallex’s suite of integrations can make a huge impact on the financial operations of your business. 

More time for the important things

Lenny has also slashed the time it takes for managers to set up transactions – resulting in mammoth time savings. 

The booking transaction process was taking about ten minutes to internally set up, and with around 300 transactions occurring each week, Lenny’s team of highly skilled Pet Travel Managers were wasting time on admin.

“If you look at it compared to now, it's a click, it's one second,” says Lenny. “My Pet Travel Managers love it and I love it, because they're doing what they do best; they communicate, advise or coordinate, instead of just sitting there trying to process admin.” 

Lenny estimates that Airwallex Payments solutions are saving his team around 50 hours a week, an invaluable amount of time for a growing business.

“That's more than a full time role. I'm privileged right now that it’s not make or break, but for a small business, 50 hours can be make or break.”

Bringing ideas to life

At Airwallex, we want to help you bring your vision to life, and we’re here to support you every step of the way. In an ongoing collaboration with Airwallex Account Executive Jeff Wong, Lenny has created unique solutions for Petraveller.

“The personality of a small business guy or girl is they get the bull by the horns,” says Lenny. “You need to have the ability to just pick up a phone to get the ball rolling.”

Lenny Thomas

CEO, Petraveller

“This is where I just felt that there was zero friction dealing with Jeff and Airwallex. My team knew I can call Jeff and Jeff has the answer or could get the answer. So the process was, when I say seamless – smooth as silk.”

Together, Jeff and Lenny were able to leverage the Airwallex infrastructure to support a range of financial operations. With Jeff’s intrinsic knowledge of Airwallex products and their capabilities, the two were able to create a bespoke solution perfectly suited to Petraveller.

“The Petraveller solution is different to every single company, even my competitors.”

“All I know is what my customers needed, but not how to implement it. Having someone like Jeff saying, ‘I've provided a solution to that industry, that company, and this is how it works,’ plus you've got an Airwallex infrastructure…”

“You've got two things, you've got a great car, but you also need a good driver. And this is where I feel that we struck it lucky that we had a great car – Airwallex – and a great driver – Jeff. And guess what, Petraveller won the race.”

Small business, big impressions

By using Airwallex, Petraveller has been able to make a big impression and expand easily. Airwallex’s Global Accounts feature allows businesses to open domestic and foreign currency accounts in minutes, something which has greatly supported Lenny’s global expansion.

“We're not big, trying to look small. We’re small, trying to look big. So once we've now integrated all these global accounts we can say, ‘Hey, you're in the States, you're in Singapore. You want to pay us locally, not a problem.’ We've got a small setup there plus now we have a local bank account.”

“My philosophy is; when you're small, have a bigger impression. Airwallex has elevated that and allowed me to do that. Because now all of a sudden I've got a global account. I've got a UK account, I've got a New Zealand account, I've got a Singapore account, not just for my suppliers, but for my customers.”

This ability to rapidly move money has further enabled Lenny to act in line with his core value of honouring his suppliers – something which is just as important to him as delivering for customers. 

Lenny Thomas

CEO, Petraveller

“We have over 150 partners globally that have to fulfil some part of our supply chain on a daily basis. And how do you build a great impression with a supplier? You pay them fast. Now I believe with Airwallex, it's going to take it to the next level.”

“Before we could only work as fast as a dinosaur bank and this is where I was really keen to get into the digital space.”

Infrastructure is the best investment

Great businesses are built on strong foundations, so investing in the right infrastructure is essential for success. Lenny advises taking the time to set up the right infrastructure to support efficient core operations. This will give you a leg up on your competitors, and free up your team’s time to focus on what they do best.

“My greatest advice that I give entrepreneurs and business owners is, you're going to be great at your niche. But it's very easy to get caught up in the trap – that just because you’re good at what you do, everything else will just happen. It doesn't just happen.”

“I have a philosophy that new levels create new devils. Before the new devil comes and before you get to the next level, just try to get efficient at the things that aren't your core business. Because if I'm really phenomenal at pet travel but I'm spending all my time in the back end, how phenomenal can I actually be and how phenomenal can my staff really be?”

We want to help you be phenomenal. Learn more about Airwallex’s groundbreaking product suite, or get started by signing up for a free account now.

Disclaimer: The information contained herein is factual information only and is not intended to imply any recommendation or opinion about a financial product.