OzForex strikes online payments deal with Travelex

Australian online foreign exchange company OzForex, which counts Accel Partners, Macquarie and the Carlyle Group among its investors, has struck a deal with Travelex to create an international bank transfer product.

The deal is the first global partnership for the company and will launch in Britain before expanding to the United States, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia.

As a result of the deal, users will be able to transfer funds to international bank accounts using a web tool, or iPhone and Android apps.

Chief executive Neil Helm told SmartCompany this morning the deal is a natural extension of the company’s growth plan.

“We’ve done a lot of investment in the past 12 months to establish a presence in the United States. Our revenue is up 30%, and we’re up 25% in registrations as well.”

“We’re really pleased to be able to align our brand against one of the most recognised foreign exchange brands in the world.”

OzForex will split profits with Travelex.

OzForex first received an investment from Macquarie in 2007, and then received more funds in 2010 from The Carlyle Group and Accel Partners. At the time, Accel had also recently completed investments in 99designs and Atlassian.

Helm said with the company undergoing strong growth – it’s processing 400,000 transactions a year and turned over $13 million in profit last year – it’s important to open new services that can be accessed at any time, from anywhere.

And that, he said, is what gives the new system an advantage over some banks who offer similar services.

“We’re a global business. We’re running 24 hours a day, we’re predominantly online, and 95% of our trades are booked over the internet.”

There has been a lot of movement in the payments space, recently. The Reserve Bank has called on the banking industry to make real-time payments a reality within the next five years.

And in the United States, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey recently raised another $US200 million for his online payments venture, Square, which sent the company’s value above $US3 billion.