Travelex, a global leader in money transfer and payment solutions, operates under the name Confidence in Brazil, where they are the largest currency exchange provider. As Brazilians increasingly adopted digital channels for banking, Confidence needed a go-to-market strategy to match this pace. At the heart of this multifaceted rollout was the implementation of integrated on-line platforms (e.g. e-commerce, mobile sites, and applications) where respective off-line infrastructures were already in use.
“This was the result of having brought more modernized channels with superior experiences for the end-user,” said Arthur Pelanda, Superintendent of IT and Digital, Confidence/Travelex.
To align their products with new potential clients, an in-depth market analysis was performed along with the creation of buyer personas. The results were used as the foundation to completely rebuild their online services from the ground up. They built a new site for the foreign exchange bank with a new internet banking platform and a new e-commerce website for the insurance brokerage. These new platforms centered on a more user-friendly, intuitive navigation, as well as new mobile applications for iOS and Android.
Cinq dedicated a large squad of about 30 developers to work exclusively with Confidence’s internal development team.
“Today, our brokerage’s digital channels play a significant role within the larger context of our overall business outcomes,” Arthur Pelanda reiterated.
Functionality
Today, Travelex operates 120 physical stores throughout Brazil under the Confidence brand name. These stores, together with digital channels, are making the company’s services more modern and agile. Consumers can now purchase foreign currencies online, and either pick the currency up at a physical store or have it delivered directly to their home. Digitally, the app enables users to get real-time quotes in more than 20 foreign currencies. With new customized alerts, users can track fluctuations of various currencies.
With the new app, clients can check account balances and refill prepaid international currency cards — a convenient and secure feature for those traveling abroad. Another new feature, the ability to both send and receive remittances, brought Travelex’s Xpress Money service to Brazil for the first time.
To ensure the security of personal data and customer privacy, cryptography and other techniques are used when confidential information is transmitted, in addition to Travelex’s core security infrastructure.
“Whatever a client can currently do in our physical stores can now also be done through our online channels,” Pelanda explained. “The only thing that can’t be done via our application or website is the purchase of consumers’ currency which means that they can’t sell the foreign currency left over from a trip. But this function is still part of our plans.”
Travelex’s roadmap is rich with new projects, including digital products for banks and exchange customers, which Cinq will participate in. “Cinq has helped us on two key fronts: mature our digital channels faster and add a dynamic element to our projects,” Pelanda continued.
A long-standing partnership
Travelex and Cinq have been working side-by-side since 2009 when Cinq built the brokerage and banking firms’ back-office systems for their headquarters and retail locations. The new core systems enabled operational control of these sites as well as other departments, such as finance, logistics, card control, and more. All systems were seamlessly integrated with Brazil’s Central Bank and other online systems, such as SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) and SPB (Brazilian Payments System).
“Given that Cinq had already helped us on our core system, they possess a significant understanding of our business, which of course, helped us greatly while working on the digital projects,” Pelanda said. “As a result, we dramatically shortened our time to market, which is of vital importance in the digital business environment. Plus, the quality of Cinq’s services is second to none.”
For their part, Cinq came away with a deep understanding of finance, currency exchange, international remittance gateways, and the overall ecosystem.
Results
- New site and e-commerce platform for the brokerage company;
- Increased scalability to accommodate microservices;
- New native mobile applications, loaded with new features and with the long-term goal of establishing a base for future evolution;
- Integration with pre-existing back-office system;
- Rapid digital adoption rate (four times larger) and;
- Apps registered more than 60,000 unique users per month.
About Cinq
Cinq provides custom development services for customers who are looking for a trusted partner in their digital transformation journey. We combine innovative processes, UX design, leading-edge technologies, and business acumen to create software capable of repositioning our clients within the highly competitive world of digital commerce.
Pioneers in the adoption of agile work methodologies, we have designed and developed digital solutions that have created novel business opportunities for clients such as Alelo, Google, Globosat, Nextel, Serasa, McDonald’s, and more.
