Chapter Financial

Chapter Financial wanted a trusted payments provider to recommend to their clients who wanted to pay and receive internationally. ‍

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About Chapter Financial

Chapter Financial advises clients on a range of financial issues, with a focus around life assurance and pensions. They work with approximately 4,000 clients and have nearly €100 million of assets under management.

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The Challenge

Financial advice is all about trust. Chapter Financial has built that trust with their clients over decades and, as a result, often act as a connector of financial services, bringing in other experts when needed.

One of the areas this expertise was required was with international payments, managing multiple currencies, and cross-border money movement.

"We have a reputation that we've built up over time of supplying a very good product at a very good rate. Simple as that, “said Paraic O' Mahony, Owner and Director, Chapter Financial. “And, when working so closely with clients, the question ‘What are you doing about this?’ will often come up as you tick through each item. Once we’ve identified the problem, we can start suggesting solutions.”

For Chapter Financial clients, they would face a number of recurring challenges when dealing in foreign markets. First up was simply ease-of-use. Clients would find dealing with traditional banks complex and heavy in administrative workload.

“Ease-of-use is a big challenge” continued Paraic. “Clients might have to use multiple banks for their needs. You might have to use one bank for this payment out to this country, another bank for a payment into this country, etc., etc. And then you have to manually reconcile all that work across five different systems.”

The next challenge was cost. The FX rates and transfer costs Chapter Financial clients would get from the bank were on the high end.

“The banks will generally charge you a pretty high rate, especially if you're not a massive business. The rates were a ‘take it or leave it’ approach, and could often change on a whim. Clients wanted more reliability on what they pay today will be what they pay tomorrow.”

The final piece of the jigsaw was customer service. When clients ran into challenges themselves, or were looking to try something new, they wanted a point of contact they could pick up the phone too. They weren’t always getting this through their current banking relationships.

“I worked in the banks for decades. It used to be you could contact your local bank manager and have a chat. Now when you ring them, you can spend a long time trying to track down somebody that actually knows what you’re talking about. You can be moved from one department to another, get some answers, and then do it all again when you wanted to go to the next phase.”

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The Solution

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Paraic first became aware of TransferMate when he used it himself. Once he had seen and used the system, he realised it could solve some of the problems his clients were facing in their businesses.

“I was living in Dublin at the time, and we were trying to buy a kitchen from Northern Ireland. It was easier said than done. Then I found TransferMate. It saved me a reasonable amount of money, but it was the ease of use that really caught my attention. Then I met Pat Dalton in TransferMate and the relationship went from there. Eventually we started recommending it to clients.”

For Chapter Financial clients, using TransferMate has helped simplify the work involved when moving money internationally, and removed some of the red tape.

“Once they’re set-up with TransferMate, dealing internationally becomes much simpler. It’s also about being able to do it in one system at a time of your choosing. You’re not waiting on the banks to give you the go-ahead; you just go into TransferMate and do it. And, of course, you have all the data on one system.”

It’s also quickened the pace clients can pay and receive money internationally – a feature that gives more control over cash management – and lets everyone on the chain know the current payment status.

“Once you lock in a rate with the bank, it can be 7-10 days for an actual transaction to take place. It slows down the whole process, especially when you’re dealing with multiple transaction across multiple currencies. With TransferMate, that can be reduced down to 24 or 48 hours, if not instantly. It helps people manage their cash flows.”

The rates that clients get from TransferMate have also proved better than those they can get at the banks, and more reliable.

“I never like to put a figure on it, because there are so many variables (like what currency they are paying from and into) but if clients are saving 0.5% on a transaction compared to a bank, that can make a real difference. If it’s a large transaction, or lots of regular small ones, that sort of saving becomes substantial.”

TransferMate’s customer service is an essential part of why the relationship has grown so much, and why Paraic and the Chapter Financial team recommends the platform to clients.

“The customer service is excellent, and we know we can introduce Pat to our clients and he can handle it all. We talked to our clients all the time and we’ve never heard a bad word. What we have heard back is the adaptability that TransferMate shows when a client asks ‘can we do this?’. That makes a big difference – being able to pick up the phone, talk through a problem or idea, and then actually execute it.”

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Results

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Working with TransferMate has allowed Chapter Financial add to their value proposition to clients. With each new use case and successful recommendation, the trust has grown in tandem.

“It enhances our reputation. There are times that a client will turn around and just say, "Yeah, fair play, really appreciate that, it helped," and that is what it’s all about. There was a phrase we used to use in the banks, “Our role is to make the client money, save the client money, and give them peace of mind”. TransferMate helps us save them money and give them peace of mind.”

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Final Word

“TransferMate saves our clients money, reduces their workload, and provides excellent customer service. The partnership has enhanced our reputation, and they’re someone we trust to keep doing so.”

- Paraic O' Mahony, Owner and Director, Chapter Financial

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If you're interested in becoming a referral partner of TransferMate, contact the team here.