Johannesburg, 23 Jul 2004
One of SA`s leading retail foreign exchange companies, Master Currency, today announced it has appointed e-business solutions provider, Global Vision, as one of its IT partners.
This decision follows Global Vision`s successful design, development and introduction of a highly specialised proprietary point of sale IT system at Master Currency.
Mark Frankel, Financial Director of Master Currency, says: "Master Currency was founded in 1995 by Executive Chairman, KK Combi, as SA`s only black controlled retail foreign exchange operation, a situation which remains today. In order to focus initially on expanding its branch infrastructure and customer base, the company outsourced its IT infrastructure and financial systems.
A relentless focus on service excellence saw Master Currency grow into a well performing and financially independent company within its first five years of operation. As the business grew and started scoping its long-term future, it became clear that Master Currency had to establish its own, independent IT infrastructure that would address its unique financial reporting and client service requirements."
Charlene Lamb, General Manager Operations of Master Currency, says: "Our business is complex by nature in that we have to take into account a great deal of legislation as well as many variables in terms of local and foreign currency and currency fluctuations. Security and up to the minute, detailed and accurate reporting are the bedrock of our business.
"Master Currency has 20 bureaux situated at key points across the country. The point of sale system that drives these bureaux gives rise to 98% of our business. We could not afford to be offline for any duration of time in the migration process. We also needed a stable, failsafe solution with the necessary scalability required to serve us well into the future. Finally, we were looking for service excellence.
"Global Vision impressed from the outset as it was clear in the very first meetings that they had already invested time in researching and understanding our business. They were also innovative, solutions-driven, creative and cost-effective. After having worked with Global Vision for four years, I can now truly say they have been an excellent choice. Their service ethic is outstanding and far outstrips the industry standard. They are always available and nothing`s ever a problem. They take business changes and curve balls in their stride and they consistently deliver on budget and on time. At times, I remember thinking that they actually make the impossible possible. Today we have a sophisticated, elegant solution that has already proven its worth and which will help take our company into its next phase of growth."