Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Danish FinTech Special
A new option for international payments For many small and medium-sized businesses, international payments are expensive to make, with extra fees and hidden costs making every transaction costly. Until recently, there have been few alternatives to using banks, but the Danish company November First offers a transparent, easy and cheap way of making international payments.
huge international players who can negotiate with them,” explains Finlov. “Instead, we give them the opportunity to save a great deal of money in the most hassle-free way; we actually provide an alternative to their bank.”
By Josefine Older Steffensen | Photos: November First
November First has created a userfriendly online platform, which companies can connect their bank accounts to in order to send money abroad. November First takes care of the currency exchange and sends the money to the recipient.
Better value By having an agreement with a big international bank, November First is able to offer their clients excellent exchange rates. Most companies can save between 20 and 50 per cent of the currency margin compared to using their bank and, on top of that, November First’s fees are incredibly low — sometimes even non-existent. “Many of the companies that we talk to 68 | Issue 103 | August 2017
about our platform are surprised at how much they actually spend on international transactions with their bank; they don’t know about the fees associated with business transactions abroad. They are often surprised at just how much they can save every year by using our platform instead,” says Bjarke Finlov, business development manager at November First.
Fair and transparent November First was set up partly to create a level playing field for Denmark’s small and medium-sized companies who are too small to be able to negotiate good rates with their banks. “Banks are pretty set in their ways, and it’s only really the
Importantly, the November First platform allows the customer to see the rate they will be getting as well as the cost of the transaction within a few seconds. “It’s a very transparent process. We don’t have any hidden fees and people are quickly informed of the service they are getting,” explains Matilde Andersen, sales manager. “We do everything according to Danish FSA standards and have ensured that the data on our platform is encrypted, so that the platform is extremely safe to use.”
Easy to use It is free to set up an account with November First, and there is no monthly fee. “It’s really important to us that it’s free for our clients to use us and to