This month’s member interview: Rob Head from financial services company Volopa

LBRA: You are a partner in Volopa can you tell us about Volopa and your role?
Rob: Yes I joined Volopa nearly three years ago. Volopa is the trading name of Volopa Financial Services (Scotland) Ltd. We are FCA regulated and HMRC registered. We were set up to bring transparency to the Foreign Exchange market. Most of us are from a financial background where you have to show your clients how much you are charging them. For some reason this does not apply to Foreign Exchange, even though it affects more people than financial products.

We offer both a Bank to Bank service and a Multi-Currency Pre-Paid Mastercard. Our bank to bank service helps individuals or businesses that need to send money in a different currency. This can be to either their own bank account or a third party. For individuals this could be for large purchases such as a property or car, or just simply moving funds over from the UK such as pension etc. For businesses this can be paying suppliers or staff abroad. We will soon be able to accept funds from third party’s which would help people that get paid in a different currency. An example of this would be someone getting paid in $’s but you only have a Euro account. At the moment the bank will be doing the conversion giving you no control of the cost.

Our card program helps people save money when traveling; this can be for both individuals and companies. At the moment you can hold up to 14 different currencies on the one card. This will soon be increased to 17. The card is great for people that travel as you are cutting out the excessive bank or credit card fees without having to carry too much cash. The way that we operate is by giving our customers true Inter-Bank rates and then charge a pre agreed commission. So you know the exact cost of each transaction. The cards are a fixed fee.

LBRA: Have you always worked in the financial sector?
Rob: Yes apart from a few years after leaving school, for the last 25 years I have been involved in the financial sector. During this time I spent the first ten years with Lloyds Bank Stockbrokers, starting at the bottom and worked my way up to the dealing desk. This gave me a great understanding of how each department worked and the process from execution to settlement. I also spent over 11 years with MF Global (Used to be part of Man Group), where I ended up in charge of a desk that covered multiple products including FX, Futures & Options and CFD’s.

LBRA: Do you think most people realise how easy it is to use a money transfer company and how much they can save on transfers?
Rob: I would say that the majority of people are either not aware or do not realise either the benefits or how easy it is. Some people are worried about security. As I said earlier we are FCA regulated and the FCA are one of, if not the strongest regulators in the World. Also all funds go via a Segregated client account. This means that the funds never touch our own account so cannot be touched. We also clear through a Tier 1 bank which is currently Barclays. The biggest problem is transparency, which is how we are different.

 The banks and a majority of FX Brokers/Money Transfer Company’s state that they are commission free. What they actually do is charge via the rate that they give you and also charge a transfer fee on top. The way that we operate is by giving our customers access to true Inter-Bank rates and then charge a transparent pre agreed commission. The maximum we charge is 1% but this can be a lot lower depending on volumes etc. We have built our own comparison tool which we use to show potential customers how much their current provider is charging them. The expression on their faces at times is a picture, especially when they realize that the person that they thought was a friendly broker with their interest at heart, was actually charging them a higher margin (commission) on larger transactions than smaller ones.

Another customer that had recently purchased a property abroad used his bank for the transfer. It was before he had met us. When we checked the rate, even if we had charged him our highest rate, the saving would have been enough to buy a new car to leave at the property. The property was less than 500,000 Euros. This is also the same for travel money from banks and bureaux de change’s. A great example of this is when I travelled to Tenerife in January. At the Airport the currency desk were stating commission free, yet I changed money on my card and paid 1% commission. I ended up with over 70 euros more on just £450, it was like I was getting dinner on the first night for free. Or for a golfer a free round.

LBRA: We know Volopa have sponsored a number of sporting events can you tell us about any of those?
Rob: Yes of course. Because we offer the Pre-Paid card as well as bank to bank, sport is a natural fit for us. At the moment we are involved with Hickstead Royal International Horse Show and the European Challenge Tour. The RIHS is a great event. We were able to show both Horse owners and suppliers how we can save them money. The amount of money that some of the teams spend when traveling abroad to shows is amazing. We are working closely with one of the top riders and by using our card instead of their current bank card, we saved them nearly £1,000 on trip that cost 17,000 Euros. This is on top of the savings we can make when owners are buying or selling horses in a different currency.

With regards to the European Challenge Tour, the card helps both the players and caddy’s save money when traveling to events. A comparison we did for a player last year would have saved nearly £120 compared to their bank card on 2,800 euros over an event. So on a 20 event season the saving is nearly £2,500 which makes a big difference. We can also help the players with their winnings and sponsorship payments in different currency’s. The player can also pay their caddy directly from their card to the Caddy’s card which again saves money for both of them. I am personally a keen, albeit not very good golfer. During my last trip to Lanzarote, thanks to the LBRA I managed to finally play a few games with some members and also a society at the Costa Teguise course. I was really impressed with the quality of both courses.

LBRA: How apart from golf do you like to relax?
Rob: I used to swim and play squash to quite a good standard. Lately I try to spend as much of my spare time as possible with Eve & Alexia.

LBRA: What is it that Lanzarote has that appeals to you most, and would you consider living here full time?
Rob: Where do I start? I must admit that it wasn’t until after a few years of visiting that I really appreciated Lanzarote. Until then I had only come over for long weekends to see my parents. Then my dad was taken ill and they had to fly him over to Gran Canaria. I came out to look after the dogs and be close by in case his condition deteriorated (fortunately he is ok now and could not fault the care that he got and has received since). I ended up spending two weeks on my own. It was then that I realised how great Lanzarote is and how my parents had fallen in love with the island. Obviously the climate helps, but the pace of life compared to London is so much nicer, the scenery is stunning. The people are friendly. The contrast of the black & red picon against the white buildings. No high rise buildings. Every time I do the drive out of PB, the mountains never look the same. Last November was the first time that I had seen everywhere so green as well. The choice of restaurants and the quality of food.

From the stunning beaches with little lagoons to the crashing waves along the front near the Light House. The first time that I brought Eve over, I was worried that she would not like it. She was more used to trips to Ibiza, Las Vegas, and Dubai etc. I could not have been more wrong. She instantly fell in love with the Island. As for living here, it is something that we talk about quite a bit, especially now that we have Alexia to consider, who also seems so happy whenever we brought her over. The ideal situation would be that I set up an office on the island. I am not sure if there is anyone doing what I do full time on the island. It may help people knowing that the company they are dealing with are there as opposed to being in the UK. It certainly helps meeting people face to face which is why I am always happy to meet people whenever I am over

LBRA: Favourite places to visit on the Island?
Rob: Now this is a tough one. Virtually everywhere that we have been to has its own great points and there is still quite a bit that I have not seen yet. Last year we went to Haria which was stunning and would like to see more of that side of the island. Early evening cocktails at Marea Terraza, Sunday market in Teguise, walking the dogs along the front at Faro Park, the old harbour at PDC & Peurto Callero are what we try to do each trip but more than happy for suggestions.

LBRA: Anything about you that people would be surprised to know? Famous friend perhaps?
Rob: None that I have in my phone, although I have met quite a few with work and golf.

LBRA: Five words to describe Lanzarote?
Rob:  Tranquil, Scenic, Relaxing, Cultural, Friendly

LBRA: Besides Lanzarote where would be your favorite place that you have visited and why?

Rob: It would have to be India. Three years ago Eve and myself went for nearly three weeks. We travelled around Rajasthan, starting and ending in Mumbai, but taking in among other places, Delhi, the Taj Mahal, Jaipur & Jodhpur. We arranged everything ourselves (well Eve did most of it) and was a real Planes, Trains & Automobiles trip with the odd tut tut, elephant & camel thrown in. The highlight being proposing to Eve at the Taj Lake hotel in Udaipur which was used in the Bond film Octopussy. Thankfully she said yes. They say that India attacks all of your senses and it certainly does.