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Ruhrpumpen needed an easy-to-use, integrated payroll solution to cater for a globally dispersed sales team.
About Ruhrpumpen
Ruhrpumpen is a global company that produces hydraulic pumps. With a headquarters in Mexico, it has operational centres in multiple locations around the world, from the United States to Germany, from India to Brazil, and from Egypt to the UK.
The Irish company was established in 2011, with its purpose to centrally manage a global sales team, and deliver payroll to them wherever they are based.
The Challenge
The Ruhrpumpen sales team are based in between 20 – 25 countries at any one time, making delivering accurate, on-time and compliant payroll a complex task for the Irish team.
Before working with TransferMate, the Ruhrpumpen team used a local bank to disperse payments throughout the world. Due to the nature of the correspondent banking network that this was reliant on, transfers were complex and often slow to process.
“We used to transfer directly from the local bank account to all these countries’ said Rafael Huerta Romero, Company Secretary at Ruhrpumpen. ‘It was a lot of work to book every single payment, and sometimes we experienced a lot of delays because it's an international transfer. Some countries would have delays of up to a week before the funds arrived as scheduled.”
Another common challenge was trying to quickly set-up in new territories and operate in different currencies. As the sales team may move locations for big projects, or Ruhrpumpen wanted to expand into a new territory, replying on the traditional commercial banks to deliver that local footprint could be a time-consuming process.
“With specific countries, we would have difficulties setting up an account. When you need to pay a new supplier, or deliver payroll into a new country, being able to set up that local presence quickly and easily is really important. With payroll especially, you often have to have a local account to be compliant with local laws.”
Having a range of currencies in which they could easily pay was important due to operating in so many countries. Without it, alternative and more expensive methods had to be used, which could lead to inaccurate payments.
“With our bank, they have a limit of currencies that they manage. For example, if you want to send funds to Uruguay in the local currency, they don't manage that currency, so that we have to send in dollars. But sometimes the beneficiary receives less for the month because of the hidden exchange rates between different banks and intermediate banks. We needed a solution that catered for a bigger range of currencies than our bank, with exchange rates we would know at the time of payment.”
The Solution
In 2020, Ruhrpumpen decided to work with TransferMate to help solve these challenges, leveraging our global payments infrastructure and technology. They now use the TransferMate web portal to book many of their international payments, from suppliers to payroll.
1. Faster payments and easier reconciliation
It has resulted in speedier, more cost-effective payments across the world, including for their sales team. With around 150 payments per month, the team have been able to save both time and money.
“The funds arrive at their destination quicker than before, and the process to approve payments is also faster. We also pay less in bank commissions.”
The integrated platform also allows them to generate more easy-to-use reports for reconciliation purposes.
“The system is very friendly. The reports have all the information I need - the amount that we paid, the date that we pay, the original currency, the amount that we pay in euro, everything in the table. So, it's very handy. It helps with the reconciliation.”
It not only allows for easier internal reconciliation but helps handle questions from beneficiaries too.
“We’d sometimes be asked, "When I expect to receive this payment?" Because I’d already received confirmation emails from TransferMate with all the information, I can immediately forward that to them as proof that we’ve already paid. This is something we didn't have in the past with a bank.”
2. Quickly set up in new territories and have greater currency coverage
As TransferMate’s network covers the globe, it has meant that Ruhrpumpen are able to establish a local banking presence much quicker than they were previously.
“The greater coverage and currency options means we can pay new suppliers, or establish a payroll presence, in more territories quicker than we could than with our bank. It also removes a lot of the work in contacting a local bank and going through all that paperwork to get set-up, which can sometimes take a long time.”
The ability to operate in more currencies has also meant they are able to ensure accuracy of payments better than before. As intermediate banks are cut out of the process, and local currency can be used to pay, there are far less surprises happening at the other end.
“It’s simplified our job a lot. It’s easier to control all the payments in the local currency. Of course, there are always exceptions – some countries will charge you unexpected fees for example – but the accuracy of international payments has improved a lot for us.”
3. Customer service
The added bonus for Rafael and the Ruhrpumpen team was the level of customer service they receive from the TransferMate team, and the response times when an issue arises.
“We always have a very quick answer from TransferMate. We send an email and a few minutes later we receive a response from your staff. We never had that from our bank. With Transfermate we have more communication, more customer service.”
The Final Word
“The service is perfect for international transfers. The portal is friendly, employees receive their funds quicker, and we have more control over the whole process.”
Rafael Huerta Romero, Company Secretary, Ruhrpumpen
For more information on how TransferMate can help with your international payroll needs, contact the team here.
