Here at WorldFirst, we believe in the power of innovation. And who better to talk about our own innovations than our Chief Technology Officer, Craige Pendleton-Brown:
“Innovation is one of the key driving forces that propel finance, foreign exchange and even international trade forwards. It has the potential to enhance services in FX, but not without some level of disruption. As innovations in financial technology, changing regulations and even consumer preferences shape the future of modern finance, staying on top of new services on a global arena can be a challenge. That’s why selecting the right financial partner is vital is you want to embrace innovation, avoid disruption and continue to grow your business.
Your chosen partner needs to be able to perfectly balance being customer-centric with an ever-evolving product roadmap set against a stable and trusted platform. These are the tools that fuel innovation, after all.
At WorldFirst, our commitment to solving customer issues is at the heart of what we do. Since becoming an Ant Financial company, we are now even better positioned to help businesses access better FX and wider financial services as part of that vast ecosystem, whether that’s online or offline. Our ties to Ant Financial also ensure that we can support businesses looking to trade in geographies such as China or the rest of Asia. These are the high growth markets which historically have been more difficult to break into for EMEA-led businesses.”
This is what it means for customers now
There are some immediate product enhancements being rolled out now, each focused on solving the everyday needs of our customers. One example is the further development of our World Account; a way to collect and manager funds locally from international marketplaces.
Powerful dashboard
The World Account platform is a user-friendly, flexible dashboard that ensures currency management is simple and effective. Customers can manage their virtual currency accounts with ease through one single platform, whenever and wherever they want. From the start of October, we’re introducing an abundance of new features within the dashboard that all aim to further ensure customers have a seamless user experience whenever they use World Account.
Fliggy travel transactions
WorldFirst now serves customers on Fliggy, the Alibaba-owned online travel platform that offers aspects of travel such as flights, accommodation and car rentals to ensure a seamless trip planning experience. WorldFirst and Ant Financial have worked together to provide instant payments between the merchant and supplier on Fliggy. This is yet another example of how WorldFirst is actively transforming payments by putting customers first. More to come on what is new with Fliggy soon.
We’ve leveraged the wider product ecosystem of Alibaba and Ant Financial, enabling access to services such as Fliggy and 1688.com, the leading online wholesale marketplace in China. We’re continuing to grow our product development capabilities and push our innovation lab even further. Why? To further increase the value we offer to our customers.
It’s exciting times!
What does the future hold for WorldFirst customers?
Looking ahead, we’re working on a series of exciting and innovative products to improve our customer experience even further. Our next step will be focused on enabling customers to access accounting software.
WorldFirst will be integrating with cloud-based smart accounting software, Xero. This game-changing accounting software is perfect for small businesses – it connects people with the numbers anytime, anywhere, on any device. Look out for more information on this soon.
Find out more today
Get in touch to find out more information about our new and existing services. Call us directly at 0808 291 2811 or email enquiries@worldfirst.com.