International payments provider OFX has announced the roll-out of its integration with Xero across New Zealand. The integration makes overseas payments easier for Xero’s Kiwi SMB customers who will be able to take advantage of quick international batch payments at competitive rates.
Photo: Adam Smith.
The integration with OFX’s local brand, NZForex, is a continuation of the collaboration between parent company OFX and Xero, which launched in Australia last year. This wider integration is also being launched in Britain. With both brands being champions of SMBs, the integration will make invoice payments even simpler for businesses, saving SMBs time and money by allowing them to:
• Create an invoice in a foreign currency using the Xero cloud accounting platform.
• Retrieve an FX quote from NZForex for each international transfer.
• Pay the invoice via NZForex and have the information automatically recorded in the general ledger in Xero.
International payments via the platform are around five times quicker for SMBs than manually paying foreign invoices, and all overseas transfers via NZForex are fee-free for Xero customers. Additionally, Xero customers will be able to take advantage of dedicated 24/7-customer support from specialist dealers at NZForex.
Adam Smith, Chief Operating Officer at OFX, said “We are thrilled to continue our great working relationship with Xero to make international invoice payments simpler for businesses in New Zealand. Both companies help SMBs stretched for time and in need of expert accounting and international transfer support and so the new integration with Xero is a natural extension of our services. Xero’s seamless accounting platform is the perfect match for our global expertise in foreign exchange, and leveraging our current integration in two new regions continues our strategy to focus on wholesale opportunities with well-known and trusted brands.”
Through using the integration, businesses that can look forward to smoother, fee-free international invoice payments include SME exporters, businesses outsourcing their technology needs to another country, and those buying raw materials from overseas.
On the integration, Xero’s New Zealand Managing Director, Anna Curzon, said “Xero’s integration with NZForex will help make the lives of small business owners much easier, by making the process of overseas payments a smooth and painless task.”
Athan Didaskaluo, founder of coffee subscription service Three Thousand Thieves, has been using the integrated platform to make international payments since it launched in Australia last year. He says: “OFX’s integration with Xero has been a tremendous help to my business. What used to be a manual and laborious task has now been streamlined. It has reduced my margin of error completely, and made the task of dealing with foreign exchange a much better experience.”