Travel firms are advised by Spencer Hanlon of Nium, a pioneer in real-time worldwide payments, not to allow this year’s high season rise in foreign personnel to turn into a costly nightmare. All types of travel agencies are adding personnel as the peak travel period approaches. In our industry, there are more work-from-anywhere and work-from-home employment regulations than ever before, so many of these new hires will be stationed abroad. Could paying them all turn out to be more of a hassle than most expected?
Spencer Hanlon, from the leader in real-time global payments Nium, comments at the Bavel Travel Summit in Barcelona, which is organized by Voxel Group: “Many companies have now begun to feel brave and venture into new markets – or return to old ones they withdrew from – and that means hiring and then paying new overseas staff.
But frequently the places where these people are situated may have a distinct payments environment and currency for enterprises to handle, which can boost costs, especially when talking about small individual quantities. For example, the exchange rates for paying someone in Bali, the Philippines, or Turkey may result in an additional 10% wage expense.
“Exchange rate risk also causes headaches and takes up time. Yes, had you thought about how the cost of that wage may suddenly be half or twice what you had initially anticipated in your currency when the exchange rate fluctuates?
Meanwhile, paying your employees on time is almost as crucial as paying them the appropriate amount. Many individuals schedule their rent and other monthly expenses to be due the day after they are paid. If you make a mistake once, there will be many complaints; if you make a mistake again, resignations will follow.
In other words, the payroll for international employees can suddenly become significantly more difficult. This justifies our prediction at Nium that there will be a tonne of pointless payroll bottlenecks. How can travel businesses approach this difficulty if they decide to hire personnel from abroad?
Nium advises that if you’re still dependent on conventional bank transfers to make this happen, something is very likely incorrect. Due to the delayed wire transfers made possible by SWIFT as well as the fact that this approach is exceedingly expensive when all related expenses, including unintended ones like unfavorable exchange rates, are taken into account. Additionally, you can never be certain that the recipient will receive the precise amount in their local currency, so if they don’t, you have to make another transfer.
Source: traveldailymedia