Why I'm Working With WorldFirst

I’ve recently started working with WorldFirst to develop their accounting and bookkeeping partner programme - helping firms help their clients trade internationally. They have an incredible offering. In this very short post, I cover:

• Who WorldFirst are
• Why I’m working with them (and why you should too!)
• What next if you have clients who could benefit

Who

WorldFirst was founded in London in 2004 to provide a true foreign exchange alternative to the big banks. In 2019 the company was acquired by Ant Group, the world’s largest payment and lifestyle platform who own Alipay. 

WorldFirst has two core products:

1. Their FX transfer service that a business can use to make foreign currency transfers
2. Their virtual currency accounts - which provide a business, in particular e-commerce businesses, with the ability to receive and make payments in different currencies

Why

I’ve been incredibly impressed by the WorldFirst product. It’s simple and easy to use. Their FX transfer service provides savings of up to 85% compared to the punitive rates charged by high street banks. What’s more, WorldFirst offers the ability to book in forward contracts to lock in future exchange rates to mitigate future exchange rate risk. Forwards are a product that has traditionally been off limits to SMEs.

The virtual currency account provides a painless alternative to setting up a foreign currency bank account. And means a client can minimise their FX exposure by matching foreign currency costs to income.

Post-Brexit and post-Covid, international trade is only going to become more important. Clients shouldn’t be losing a single penny more in FX costs that they need to. With WorldFirst they won’t. WorldFirst also leverage the Ant Group network to do great things to help clients do business in China & Asia, a huge opportunity with China’s inevitable rise to become the world’s largest economy (currently predicted for 2028).

Alongside their product prowess, what’s stood out the most for me with WorldFirst is their tech plus people approach. There is a true commitment to delivering a great client experience. They have invested in their accountant relationship team headed by Simon. And all clients that use WorldFirst have access to a dedicated relationship management team for any issues they have. 

What next

We’ll be carrying out a number of activities over the coming weeks that will enable you to learn more about WorldFirst. If you have clients who buy or sell goods or services in foreign currency, please do feel free to get in touch with me at [email protected] to discuss how WorldFirst could benefit them.