Fintech Insider Podcast by 11:FS
01:22:24 · Sarah Kocianski, Stuart Gregory, Caroline Plumb, Megan Caywood, David M. Brear, Pranav Sood
[01:22:24] S0: And so, we heard today that TransferWise customers will soon have access to a bank feed from zero. What does that mean for your customers and what impact is that going to have? [01:22:32] S15: Yes. So, small businesses can use TransferWise to pay overseas invoices, to receive money overseas from clients, to local bank details and and the channel size model is different because we've got local bank accounts in all the different countries that we operate or or local payment infrastructure integrations and and that means that we can move money faster and cheaper. So, a big part of it is how can we make it convenient too And and that's really where the the zero feeds come in. We want businesses who, for example, have a USD account with TransferWise. They're receiving. They're sending in USD. They want that to appear in zero as a USD bank account. They want it to be, you know, reconciled as as conveniently as possible. So, it was the most requested feature from small businesses at TransferWise was a Xero integration we're excited today to have announced it. [01:23:22] S2: That's not... If that's [01:23:23] S0: not an endorsement, I don't know [01:23:24] S5: what is. [01:23:24] S0: I love it. [01:23:25] S10: Sounds good. Like, Pranav, thanks for for joining us. Like, you guys have probably leveled up the swag in Zerocon by the way. Like, I'm loving the jackets. That's really, really impressive. [01:23:34] S7: Thanks very much. And also up of the year 2018, big up.
01:23:34 · Pranav Sood, David M. Brear
[01:23:34] S7: Thanks very much. And also up of the year 2018, big up. [01:23:38] S10: Oh, nice. Well, two accolades right there. That's good. Obviously in terms of the automation around payments and getting paid quickly, this is a really important thing to small businesses trying to manage their cash flow more effectively. So kind of what impact do you see is those late payments doing and and how are you guys kind of working to alleviate that problem? [01:24:00] S7: Yes. I mean late payments are terrible. They're a nightmare. Everyone knows it. I could give you heaps and heaps and heaps of statistics that show the impact that they have on the ability to invest and your ability to grow as a business. But I think actually what resonates the most for me is the personal impact. It's the stress, it's the sleepless nights, it's the disturbed holidays, it's all the time worrying about whether you're gonna get paid, whether your business is gonna be viable next month or next year. I actually... I think that the stat that resonated the most with me was we just did some research and we found that I think 41% of SMBs are more worried about late payments than they are about Brexit. And given the given the delicate nature of our negotiations at the moment, I think that's saying saying something about how important it is.
01:24:00 · Pranav Sood, David M. Brear
[01:24:00] S7: Yes. I mean late payments are terrible. They're a nightmare. Everyone knows it. I could give you heaps and heaps and heaps of statistics that show the impact that they have on the ability to invest and your ability to grow as a business. But I think actually what resonates the most for me is the personal impact. It's the stress, it's the sleepless nights, it's the disturbed holidays, it's all the time worrying about whether you're gonna get paid, whether your business is gonna be viable next month or next year. I actually... I think that the stat that resonated the most with me was we just did some research and we found that I think 41% of SMBs are more worried about late payments than they are about Brexit. And given the given the delicate nature of our negotiations at the moment, I think that's saying saying something about how important it is. [01:24:49] S10: Is is that because we we understand the impact of late payments but we've got no fucking idea what Brexit means? Yeah. It's like... Yeah. Probably. Yeah. So so I I guess why do accountants feature so heavily in terms of the the stuff that you guys are doing right now? [01:25:04] S7: Do you mean apart from their devastating good looks and dry wit? [01:25:08] S10: What you charmer are you? That's impressive.
01:25:08 · David M. Brear, Pranav Sood
[01:25:08] S10: What you charmer are you? That's impressive. [01:25:10] S7: No. Listen. I mean accountants have... Cash flow is a huge problem for SMBs and if an accountant can solve cash flow for their clients, that is a gigantic win that allows them to focus on the value added, the interesting stuff that they really want to go and spend their time on. And so for us, if we can give accountants access to that kind of quick win, then, you know, that's brilliant. I think the other thing is that we sometimes forget that accountants are small business owners too. And, you know, accountants who are worrying about collecting their own fees, transitioning to value based pricing, you know, we actually offer them a tool that can help them to power their own businesses. So actually at Zerocon this year, we've also just announced our new partner program. So special discounts, training, support for accountants just because they are so important to how we go to market and how we do business. [01:26:00] S10: And that partnership's now global, is that correct? [01:26:04] S7: Yeah, that is absolutely correct. That's actually my day job. So we've just launched in Australia and New Zealand. It is going like an absolute rocket ship. We've already got, I think, 100 accountants collecting their fees and then a couple of... Well, actually several 100 more SMBs on top of that and we've only really been going for about six weeks. So super exciting and and Canada, The US to come in the in the very near future as well.
01:26:04 · Pranav Sood, David M. Brear
[01:26:04] S7: Yeah, that is absolutely correct. That's actually my day job. So we've just launched in Australia and New Zealand. It is going like an absolute rocket ship. We've already got, I think, 100 accountants collecting their fees and then a couple of... Well, actually several 100 more SMBs on top of that and we've only really been going for about six weeks. So super exciting and and Canada, The US to come in the in the very near future as well. [01:26:26] S10: Wow. That's that's pretty impressive. So what what do we think? Like how do we see the future of this space playing out because, you know, automation is one thing, but the the feels like there's a lot of opportunity and with the growth that you've seen, it feels like this is clearly something that people want. [01:26:41] S7: Yeah, I think massively. I think anything that you can give a small business owner that gives them the time and the space to focus on what they're doing best is going to be something that they value. And so for us, you know, our aim is to take the pain out of getting paid so that small business owners can focus on what they actually care about. I haven't met too many small business owners whose passion is late payments or payments in general. I have met a lot who are interested in chocolate making or wine or whatever it is that gets them going and our mission is to give them the time and the space to do just that.
01:26:41 · Pranav Sood, David M. Brear, Will Farnell
[01:26:41] S7: Yeah, I think massively. I think anything that you can give a small business owner that gives them the time and the space to focus on what they're doing best is going to be something that they value. And so for us, you know, our aim is to take the pain out of getting paid so that small business owners can focus on what they actually care about. I haven't met too many small business owners whose passion is late payments or payments in general. I have met a lot who are interested in chocolate making or wine or whatever it is that gets them going and our mission is to give them the time and the space to do just that. [01:27:10] S10: I think that's a real entrepreneurial ship is seen as such an amazing, you know, kind of standing on the front of a ship and being excited about it thing. But actually, to your point, it's pretty much terrifying on a day to day basis the thousand things you're trying to figure out and the thousand things you're carrying in your head. So actually anything that can simplify that process and make it easier definitely is a big win. Stuart, how do see this space kind of playing out? [01:27:36] S6: Yeah, I