Matchroom Sport runs events all year round, often simultaneously across multiple sports. Each event has prize money that needs to reach athletes in up to 60 different countries. Working with a cross-border payments provider like IFX Payments makes this easier.
There is a huge amount of admin involved in currency exchange and sport payments. This is untenable for a business now worth over £1bn operating around the world. They now promote darts, snooker, pool, fishing, and of course, boxing.
Barry Hearn, President and Founder of Matchroom Sport, puts it plainly: “Currency can be a pain if it takes our time.”
For 11 years IFX have been taking that pain away. Here is how that relationship started, and the honest standards Matchroom continue to hold us to.
The challenge
Outgrowing a traditional banking setup for sports payments
In the early days, Matchroom handled its payments in-house.
“When we started, we were very small and we would do most of the things ourselves via a clearing bank,” says Barry.
The business has grown a lot since then. Prize funds grew with it, and so did the number of individual payments going out across dozens of countries. At that volume, managing the cost of cross-border payments becomes a mission critical decision.
“Inevitably, when we got larger and we started looking at how much money was involved in terms of commission payments or services that the banks were providing, we found them very expensive.”
It was time to test the market for alternative providers.
“We went out into the market and looked at 4 or 5. IFX came through the best at that stage.”
How Matchroom benefited from working with IFX Payments
More time to focus on the business of sport
“We’re very busy. We’re flat out to the board. 6 or 7 hundred sporting event days a year. Our job is to run our business.”
Matchroom’s finance team cannot spend its week dealing with foreign exchange. Running a serious operation involves prize money reaching people in a long list of currencies. Not only that but accurately too, without days of admin trailing every event.
That all runs through ibanq, our online platform. Using Mass Payments, Matchroom can pay in many currencies at once. It can also hold balances in those currencies. This way, a payment run doesn’t convert money more times than it requires.
One account, one login, and one set of records to reconcile. We sort that side of the business so that they can focus on what they do best.
A relationship manager you can trust
The service isn’t limited to the technology. Alongside the platform, Matchroom has a relationship manager who knows their business and can offer consistent support.
With such significant sums at play, exchange rate fluctuations can make a real difference to how much these cross-border transactions cost. Deliverable forward contracts let a business fix the rate on a known future payment, which can have a measurable impact on cash flow.
Where we are now
11 years of service. Still earning their trust
IFX have worked with Matchroom since 2015, but keeping the account isn’t guaranteed. Barry is clear about the terms and like any successful business they keep checking. As it stands the tenure speaks for itself.
“They’ve done a good service for us, but they live on what they did yesterday. There is lots of competition in the market, which we evaluate all the time. And so far, IFX have delivered what we want: speedy service at the right rates.”
“It’s about a relationship”
Barry’s closing point is about trust, and he frames it as an obligation on the supplier rather than a favour from the client. Safe to say, our focus on human support makes a real difference.
“We need to trust our supplier, and our supplier needs to understand that they are in a position of trust with us. It’s not just about money. It’s about a relationship.”
The alternative solution for paying out in multiple currencies
High-volume payouts to individuals create the same problems for most finance teams: conversion costs on every leg, reconciliation that eats days, and payments that need chasing because nobody can see where they are.
If that is your team’s week, it is worth a conversation.
All testimonials, reviews, opinions or case studies presented on our website may not be indicative of all customers. Results may vary and customers agree to proceed at their own risk. The contents of this article do not constitute financial advice and are provided for general information purposes only.
