WeSwap

WeSwap is a peer-to-peer currency exchange platform.[1] WeSwap matches travellers heading in opposite directions and swaps their travel money directly.[2] The London-based startup company was launched in 2013 by Jared Jesner and Simon Sacerdoti, and currently supports 18 different currencies around the world.[3]

WeSwap
Type of site
Private
Available inMultilingual
FoundedMarch 3, 2011 (2011-03-03)
HeadquartersLondon,
England
Founder(s)Jared Jesner, Simon Sacerdoti
ServicesTravel money
Employees10 (2021)
URLwww.weswap.com
RegistrationYes
LaunchedJuly 2013 (2013-07)
Current statusActive

History

The WeSwap idea first stemmed from founder Jared Jesner's experiences as a city trader at JP Morgan:[4] "I saw first hand the amazing rates that banks can change money at... but there was no way for consumers to access that same rate.".[5] He went on to work for Royal Dutch Shell, where his exposure to the world of payments inspired the idea to partner with a prepaid card provider as the delivery mechanism for the service. At Shell, he was also introduced to corporate finance adviser Simon Sacerdoti, whose experience enabled them to start commercialising the idea and together they co-founded the service.[6] At launch, the service supported 6 currencies.[7] In 2014, WeSwap was serving customers from across 10 European countries and supported 18 currencies.[3] In March 2018, WeSwap launched the ability to spend globally, anywhere the Mastercard symbol is accepted. This is alongside continuing to support 18 swappable currencies.

Investors

Seed funding came from a mixture of high net worth angel investors and super angels.,[4] including LoveFilm and Zoopla co-founder Alex Chesterman and Andy Murray.[8][9] In October 2014, one year after launching, WeSwap secured another £4.5M in Series A funding.[10] This was led and structured by IW Capital and supported by EC1 Capital along with the investors who had helped to raise £1.2M in seed funds.[11]

Awards

In January 2015, WeSwap won the 'Innovation in Travel Award' at the Globe Travel Awards.[12] Commercial director of Travelport, Paul Broughton, who presented the trophy said: "Our winner showed the most potential for disrupting its marketplace and changing how business is done."[2] In March 2018, WeSwap won the Best Travel Money Provider at the British Bank Awards.[13]

Collapse and Administration

In December 2021, WeSwap became a victim of the global collapse in travel following the Covid-19 pandemic and entered administration. WeSwap’s business and assets were sold in a pre-packaged administration sale to a third party, MKK Finance Limited, a subsidiary of the Blackthorn Finance Group. This pre-pack deal is expected to leave investors more than £20 million out of pocket.[14]

See also

References
  1. "Currency exchange goes social with WeSwap's person-to-person service". Telegraph.co.uk. 14 January 2014.
  2. "WeSwap seeks industry partners for pioneering peer-to-peer currency exchange". travolution.com. 4 October 2013.
  3. "WeSwap review: crowdsourcing your travel currency". ShinyShiny. 13 January 2015.
  4. "'Failure is good. It's a great way to learn' - Jared Jesner, WeSwap". managementtoday.co.uk.
  5. "Currency exchange rates slashed with WeSwap - SME case studies". The Daily Telegraph. 2 June 2014.
  6. Prabu, Karthick (August 27, 2014). "Startup pitch: WeSwap aims to disrupt the currency exchange market with P2P platform". Phocuswire.
  7. "New take on currency exchange with person to person online service". expatsblog.com.
  8. "Zoopla's Alex Chesterman: Battle on the home front". Financial Times. 7 April 2015.
  9. Onita, Laura (28 November 2021). "Currency exchange WeSwap backed by Andy Murray rescued from break point". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  10. "Peer-to-peer money exchange service WeSwap raises $7.5m". Startups.co.uk: Starting a business advice and business ideas.
  11. "WeSwap raises £4.5m for peer-to-peer currency exchange". Wired UK.
  12. "Winners :: Globe Travel Awards 2015". globetravelawards.co.uk.
  13. People, Smart Money. "British Bank Awards 2018: Winners". Smart Money People. Retrieved 2018-03-14.
  14. "WeSwap rescued from administration following Blackthorn deal". Consultancy.uk. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
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