Company: iBanFirst
Founder: Pierre-Antoine Dusoulier
Website: https://ibanfirst.com/
About iBanFirst
iBanFirst is a next-generation cross-border PSP that combines a powerful platform and the support of FX experts to process more than €1.4 billion each month across 10 European countries. It was recently ranked in the FT 1000, the Financial Times’s list of Europe’s fastest-growing companies, for the fourth year in a row.
Despite the vital role of international transactions in daily business, SMEs still face several significant roadblocks when sending and receiving global payments. They’re burdened by convoluted banking processes and high, hidden charges when exchanging internationally not to mention they’re often required to have multiple bank accounts for each currency, many of which operate in silos.
As a result, SMEs are unable to view their cash flow in real-time and lack full financial visibility across their business. This leads to a reliance on banks to execute and exchange their currency orders resulting in long lead times and high, opaque commissions. On top of this, the addition of hefty currency conversion fees and a two-to-five-day processing time when dealing with traditional bank transfers can lead to cashflow issues for SMEs who often don’t have the capital to absorb these issues.
iBanFirst’s cutting-edge platform provides a much-needed payments solution for SMEs operating internationally. The platform enables SMEs to regain control of their currency payments, allowing them to manage all elements within a foreign currency transaction including exchanges, transfers and hedging. The bespoke platform utilises core banking infrastructure to provide SMEs with a full range of financial products designed for currency transactions. This includes sending and receiving payments in multiple currencies, making the collection of payments and payment of suppliers, partners, and employees a much more efficient process.
iBanFirst has enjoyed an annual growth rate of over 70% each year. Last year, iBanFirst acquired London-based FX firm Cornhill as part of an ongoing expansion plan as the firm aims to secure its position as a market leader throughout Europe.
iBanFirst was founded by fintech entrepreneur Pierre-Antoine Dusoulier in 2016 and is establishing itself as the first alternative to cross-border B2B payments. It has 12 offices across the continent, including Brussels, Paris, London, and Amsterdam, with a team of more than 350 employees.
iBanFirst has the financial backing of the French public investment bank (bpiFrance), European venture capital leaders (Elaia, Xavier Niel), and the American investment fund Marlin Equity Partners (more than 8 billion dollars of capital under management).
Pierre-Antoine has a wealth of experience in financial services, starting his career as a trader at Crédit Agricole, before founding cambiste.com, the first regulated foreign exchange brokerage firm in France. Pierre-Antoine also worked at Saxo Bank both as Head of Western Europe and CEO of Saxo Banque France for 8 years, along with various other entrepreneurial stints. It was his expertise in banking and fintech that helped Pierre-Antoine to identify the need for SMEs to have access to innovative, digital-first foreign payment solutions. He was inspired to create iBanFirst to lessen the burden for SMEs who need a quick, cost-effective way to send international payments.
In consideration of the cumbersome market environment, iBanFirst provides a one-stop platform that gives businesses full control over their international transactions.
