A global foreign-exchange company plans to capture 15 per cent to 20 per cent of New Zealand's small business market.
Travelex already has about 500 local SMR customers but plans to open eight new retail foreign exchange branches.
The company's newly appointed New Zealand manager, Paul Jensen, said Travelex intended
to get people to do business with them, instead of local banks, by offering superior technology and good customer service.
Travelex uses a web-based trading platform which means customers can do their own transactions on the internet - no software needs to be put on their computers - and can trade 24 hours a day.
If they prefer, they can talk to company staff for the human touch.
Jensen said the company was surveying existing customers to see what they liked, or otherwise, about Travelex and how the service could be tailored for them.
Travelex is the world's largest retail foreign-exchange business and has operated in New Zealand since 1991. It has several partnerships here - with Harvey World Travel, HSBC, Visitor Information Bureaux i sites, Wellington Airport and Queenstown Airport - to give it a retail presence.
"In New Zealand, 86 per cent of enterprises employ five or fewer people and 97 per cent employ less than 19 fulltime staff.
"Many of these businesses are exposed to foreign currency and require services to manage their risk of exposure. FX movements can have a huge impact on an SME's profitability," Jensen said.
