Deliciou: open for business in the US, UK & EU from day one with Airwallex

Despite Deliciou being founded at a kitchen table, founder Kjetil Hansen envisioned the business to be international from day one. Deliciou needed to cater for their growing global customer base in United Kingdom, Europe and United States. The team needed an immediate global business account solution that could scale as fast as they were.

Peter Park

Business Improvement Manager

"Airwallex solves the problem almost instantly. I literally clicked one button to create a UK account. We haven’t looked back since day one."

1. Cut time to get a UK business account from 12 months to a week

Problem: Expanding to Europe, Deliciou needed local accounts to receive customer funds and pay business expenses in EUR and GBP. Setting up accounts in the UK and Netherlands proved nearly impossible having no local staff in the region. Having attempted to set these up in March 2020, accounts were still not set up after weeks of waiting.

Solution: Deliciou were able to set up GBP and EUR virtual accounts within the week. They are now able to receive, hold and pay funds in GBP, EUR, USD and more.

KJ

Founder

"If you’re a global business, there are global customers – and those global customers don’t pay in Australian dollars."

2. Saved $24,000 per month from international payments, as well as 4 hours a week of payment admin

Problem: European customer payments are collected through PayPal in GBP and EUR, but Deliciou couldn't withdraw these funds in GBP and EUR. Without local accounts, Deliciou would be forced to convert these funds to AUD and perform an international transaction through Paypal for all payments incurring a 4% fee. In addition, US funds typically had to be sent from a US bank back to Australia in AUD. This would take 3-4 days and incur a 4% fee on FX and international transactions.

Solution: By using the Airwallex GBP and EUR global accounts, Deliciou now receives and holds funds from Paypal with no unnecessary conversions which save 4% on all revenue. US funds are transferred from a local bank to an Airwallex USD account. USD is then held, or converted to an AUD account almost instantaneously. Eliminating international fees and reducing travel time from 4 to 1 day. Funds collected overseas could then be efficiently used to pay suppliers in Australia, or held to pay suppliers overseas in local currencies

3. 75% faster payments boost cash flow and liquidity on international revenue

Problem: Deliciou needed to pay suppliers in AUD. However, 80% of their revenue was collected overseas, in GBP, EUR and USD. The complexity of getting funds back from Europe and the US meant that there was a significant delay to receive their international revenue, and their ability to use that cash for suppliers in AUD. US funds could take up to 4 days from USD to AUD with a 4% cut from FX and international transaction fees. Deliciou had local Australian wholesalers with strict deadlines on payments, which could result in not being on supermarket shelves for over 6 months. Delays in receiving overseas funds have a significant commercial impact on their business.

Solution: Deliciou locally transfers USD from a US bank account to an Airwallex USD account. USD is then converted to AUD and used to pay suppliers in Australia. This eliminates international transaction fees and speeds up transfer time from 4 to 1 day. Resulting in increased cash flow and liquidity on revenue generated anywhere in the world.

4. Instant employee cards without the 3 month wait, with 8 hours saved from multi-currency expense management

Problem: The expanding team of Deliciou needed corporate cards for employees. Their initial provider had months of delays in getting the cards out to employees. This left employees with out-of-pocket, with manual reimbursement processes for business expenses.

Solution: Deliciou were able to issue business cards to their employees instantly. These cards are managed from a central platform and allow instantaneous control of limits and spending. Airwallex Borderless cards can also tap into any currency held by the business. Deliciou employees are able to spend natively in GBP, EUR, USD & AUD with no fees or charges.