TRAVELEX TRANSFORMING FINANCE ACROSS CONTINENTS
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TRAVELEX PUTTING PEOPLE AT THE CENTRE OF DIGITAL DISRUPTION WRIT TEN BY
OLIVIA MINNOCK PRODUCED BY
JA MES PEPPER
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Travelex’s Global IT Director Leonardo Tantari discusses the foreign exchange business’ technology transformation journey across a vast, rapidly changing landscape rom tourists paying for meals
the world of foreign exchange and
to multinational corporations
money on the move. In order to do so,
completing significant cross–
the FX giant is placing customer experi-
border transactions, Travelex has been
ence front and centre of a significant
there every step of the way for over 140
ongoing transformation – both in terms
years when it comes to foreign currency
of technology and people, which Global
exchange. Having progressed from
IT Director Leonardo Tantari says go
travellers’ cheques to digital payment
hand in hand.
F
platforms, the company can now be
Tantari joined the organisation in late
found in 1,200 Bureau de Change
2017, and has been leading the charge
outlets across over 100 airports in 27
in its digital transformation ever since.
countries. Now employing over 9,500
Previously working at Boots, and prior
people, Travelex is keen to remain at
to that Experian, the IT Director is
the fore of the changes encompassing
keenly aware of the challenges and
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opportunities facing any organisation
an internal communications drive which
when it comes to a technology trans-
Tantari says is vital to managing the
formation journey, and has applied
changes and culture shift involved in
this in the financial services sphere
the company’s journey.
to develop Travelex’s instore, online,
“We’ve had a successful year in
mobile and ATM channels and solutions.
terms of delivery, from a development
Citing 2018 as a “fantastic year”, Tantari
perspective but also from a support-
spoke to us from Travelex’s Head Office
ability perspective,” says Tantari. “It’s
in Kings Cross where the previous day
been fantastic. We introduced single
he’d been recording a “five minutes
points of contact globally, with two
with” Q and A video for the company’s
employees winning awards at their
intranet. This, alongside various blogs
regional Diamond Balls held in January.
and newsletters, will be shared with
These were given in recognition of the
Travelex employees globally as part of
support they provided to their respecw w w.t rave l ex. co. u k
WE GET SCALE. Since your business takes you everywhere, we’re everywhere too. With international hubs in key regions, CDW now offers operations across the globe. Partnering with us for your international needs can help you reach your goals and reduce the risk, complexity and cost that come with procuring, deploying and integrating technology. By combining local knowledge with years of experience in multinational logistics, CDW can deliver consistent, service-driven solutions across the globe while making international IT management simple. “Travelex is a truly global company and we need partners who can operate in the same geographies and deliver our solutions alongside us. Partners who have an extensive global reach, like CDW, help minimise the volume of suppliers we have to deal with – which in turn makes vendor management more efficient and also helps drive maximum value from any global deals.” Leonardo Tantari, Global IT Director, Travelex
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tive regions in 2018. We have brought
to automation, always with operation-
a tremendous amount of transparency
al efficiency and the ideal customer
so we are now in a fantastic position
experience front of mind. “One of the
where we can provide the right informa-
key activities we embarked on is cloud
tion to stakeholders.” Following on from
transformation – it brings us tremendous
this success, Travelex looks to the future
agility in the way we can respond to our
with excitement, and technology plays
customers and partners, as well as
a key role in its vision. “We have to
bringing significant savings.” This agility
ensure we have the right tech and the
has been instrumental in Travelex’s
right people to support the running
recent partnership with digital gifting
of the business,” Tantari explains.
platform, Swych, to introduce Travelex Pay, a unique service within leading
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DRIVEN BY TECHNOLOGY
global mobile messaging app WeChat.
In terms of technology, Travelex is
The service is available to travelers
making strides utilising the latest
from mainland China who are visiting
advancements from cloud technology
the US – allowing them to purchase
“ WE ARE NOW IN A FANTASTIC POSITION WHERE WE CAN PROVIDE THE RIGHT INFORMATION TO STAKEHOLDERS” — Leonardo Tantari, Global Director of IT, Travelex
CLICK TO WATCH : LEONARDO TANTARI DISCUSSES A SUCCESSFUL YEAR DRIVEN BY COMMUNICATION
goods and services from a large network of retailers using their native currency. “This has been fantastic because it enables the Chinese community in the US to use a consumer offering from Swych, and it demonstrates that technology at Travelex can really integrate with a global technology partner. It shows tremendous effort in terms of how we collaborate, and how technology can transform the Travelex business.” Travelex’s data science function is also instrumental in transforming the business, as it’s vital to be able to provide w w w.t rave l ex. co. u k
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CLICK TO WATCH : LEONARDO TANTARI ON THE IMPORTANCE OF TRAVELEX’S PARTNERS 11 insights to all stakeholders in order to
time for partners whilst providing
make informed decisions. “We use Big
enhanced security in the process.
Data in particular – but also AI,” says
“Automation removes some of the
Tantari. “One example is the building
human activities,” Tantari comments,
of our retail stock engine, which allows
“but it should be focused on removing
us to better distribute our retail stock
the more administrative types of tasks.
across our stores. That has been
Ultimately, we still need engineers to
a combination of using both Big Data
help us work and inform effective
and AI.”
automation – with that, the focus then
In addition, Travelex has made
moves to actually being part of activities
significant progress with automation,
which hone in on the real outcomes of
both in terms of improving time to
automation. This in itself is a change:
delivery as well as quality of output to
some people of course need to under-
customers and partners. Automation
stand their job has to change, but it’s
is also used to migrate data, saving
changing from being more task-oriw w w.t rave l ex. co. u k
CLICK TO WATCH : LEONARDO TANTARI TELLS US HOW CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IS CHANGING 12 ented to more outcome-focused,
in terms of how we are set up, which
which is critical.”
sometimes means changes. I firmly
Throughout these new developments
believe the key to any successful
which are driving increasing efficiency
change is communication: explaining,
at Travelex, the importance of people
embedding the change, and motivating
can’t be underestimated. Recently,
along that journey.”
Travelex went through a successful
With a presence across six continents,
restructure of its technology team.
a regular dialogue between the technol-
Tantari says this was necessary to
ogy team and the wider business is vital
ensure the right people were covering
in ensuring everyone in the organisation
the necessary disciplines Travelex had
understands the technology journey
identified as those that would help drive
they are on – and it’s clear Tantari is
its future strategic ambitions, both in
passionate about the team he has built.
technology, and as a business. “As any
“Travelex is a really exciting environment
organisation, we look at how to improve
with a lot of opportunities, but with
change comes the corporate responsibility to bring along our employees,” he explains. “Communication is something we constantly review from both a people perspective and a technology perspective. We’ll continue to do that with the introduction of more collaborative, innovative tools like improved telepresence, chatbots and video conferencing.”
CONSUMER DEMAND ACROSS A CHANGING LANDSCAPE The main driver of Travelex’s transformation has of course been the customer experience, as consumer behaviour
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changes rapidly. “We are seeing a big shift,” Tantari comments. “People are moving from using cash and banknotes to more digital solutions. Ultimately, E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Leonardo Tantari Leonardo Tantari has a depth of experience in leading business transformation (including Agile and Digital B2C & B2B transformation), and joined Travelex from Walgreens Boots Alliance. As Global IT Director he oversaw their holistic IT portfolio, driving delivery for all areas from retail and supply chain through to the commercial, whilst spearheading the creation and delivery of a new digital strategy.
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“ I FIRMLY BELIEVE THE KEY TO ANY SUCCESSFUL CHANGE IS COMMUNICATION: EXPLAINING, EMBEDDING THE CHANGE, AND MOTIVATING ALONG THAT JOURNEY” — Leonardo Tantari, Global Director of IT, Travelex
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there’s a shift toward self-service – that’s where we’re really focusing from a technology perspective. Customers nowadays are looking for a smooth and seamless journey when it comes to actually transacting with any company or organisation. It’s key for us to understand different types of customers: for example, our offline customers versus online customers. “We have a presence online, on mobile and ATM, and we are leveraging technology such as online chat, but we always maintain a large number of 16
stores on the high street and in airports – that’s really significant to us,” he adds. “Retaining the ability to ultimately speak to a person and offer the reassurance that the transaction is secure, as well as for us to really know our customer, is critical as it is for any financial institution.”
“ PEOPLE ARE MOVING FROM USING CASH AND BANKNOTES TO MORE DIGITAL SOLUTIONS. ULTIMATELY, THERE’S A SHIFT TOWARD SELF-SERVICE” — Leonardo Tantari, Global Director of IT, Travelex
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As with most companies and particu-
us to be ahead of the game, in relation
larly those in the financial services
to the products and services we offer.
industry, security is at the heart of
We have to meet rigorous, stringent
Travelex’s operations. “It’s something
requirements when it comes to security.”
we review constantly across our land-
These stringent requirements carry
scape,” says Tantari. “This year we will
across not only Travelex’s vast land-
see a significant change in the space.
scape, but its network of partners and
We are piloting a set of tools which we
clients as well as the industry becomes
will test to determine if they are able
increasingly open. “It’s inevitable: you
to detect incoming regulatory require-
can’t deliver everything by yourself,”
ments across the globe– that will enable
Tantari comments. “You need to work w w w.t rave l ex. co. u k
1976
Year founded
9,500
Approximate number of employees
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with customers, partners and suppliers
distributed network we need to support
– the key is to understand how we best
– after all, we have over 9,500 employ-
use the technology, and whether we
ees dispersed globally across six
have to build it for ourselves or buy it.
continents. We rely on partners such
We really ask our partners to adhere
as Ultima and CDW for provision of
to stringent requirements when they
hardware, software and support
come on board.”
across a number of systems to enable
Of these partners, two vital organisations are Ultima and CDW. “The world
us to deliver the best services for our customers and employees.”
we live in now is about integration, the ability to use API to call other services –
A CHANGING LANDSCAPE
therefore, it’s fundamental that we have
Making this transformation work across
a fresh, open and aligned relationship
their global estate, as well as a substan-
with our partners. We have a very large
tial network of clients and partners, has
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been no mean feat – but Tantari is
everything we do. I believe that in every
confident about the journey so far
organisation technology will eventually
as collaboration remains key. “Our
have a platform and transform their
Commercial Directors are supported
business. Connectivity, but most
by a local presence from our support-
importantly the way we share informa-
ive functions, and we also ensure we
tion, will become critical – changing, of
have a close relationship with those
course, in a safe, secure and efficient
Commercial Directors in order to drive
manner,” he adds.
not only the global agenda but the local agenda,” he explains. “I think as we move into the future of connectivity, with talk of blockchain and digital currency, services will become seamless and API will be at the heart of w w w.t rave l ex. co. u k
TRAVELEX King’s Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9AG T +44 (0)207 812 5500 www.travelex.co.uk