Going above & beyond for customers is the heart of what we do at VBCE

February 14, 2023

As we start the new year, we like to remind ourselves why we love doing what we do. We focus first and foremost on our customers and the value we provide them in the service of our work. This value-driven mission supports our goal to be the leading currency exchange and precious metals trading firm in Canada, and we do this by providing the most competitive FX rates for our clients. But we do more than give great exchange rates; we step in to help where needed, and this is because we live our company values every day.

We live our values every day

Values go deeper than our services and products; our team believes in our customer focused values as well which include:

Holding the highest level of integrity and ethics in our everyday practices by building trust with customers through transparent business practices.
Offering our customers an amazing experience by providing the best rates and best-in-class service while being friendly and welcoming.
Do what we say and do this in a supportive team environment. We invest in our employees through education and training. Many of our employees have been with the company for years, growing in their roles and becoming experts in supporting our customer needs.
Adding quality and excellence in everything we do, whether that is being knowledgeable about our products or identifying problems through client interactions that allow us to understand client challenges to improve their service support.

Our expertise is wide, deep, and given willingly

Understanding business, banking, and how internal financial services work across continents and within the Canadian financial system is where we shine. We realize that most customers may be less experienced with international money transfers and are busy running their businesses or lives. Our clients rely on support from an expert in international money transfers, which is where we happily step in.

We are most helpful to our customers through our customer service standards. When we get calls from clients who need assistance, we are here to help.

Managing International Wire Transfers

Recently we spoke to our FX Traders to have them share some experiences in helping clients. Trader Garo Mavyan shared a recent incident where a client needed to move 350K EUR to CAD from their bank in Germany to their Canadian bank account. This amount is a significant transfer. Since it was the client's first time making an international currency exchange transfer, they were very nervous and facing some challenges getting the funds wired to VBCE from their German bank.

Mavyan stepped up right away and offered to speak directly with the banker in Germany to explain the procedure. They reviewed the process and account information and after that, VBCE received the EUR on behalf of the client without issue and then made the conversion into CAD for the client. The final step was to transfer the CAD amount to the client's Canadian bank account with a transaction record, including the transfer details. The steps were seamless for the client, and they received a better exchange rate from VBCE than they would have received from their bank.

Our client was thrilled with the service and the FX rate, and we were happy to share our expertise with them for the transaction.

International school fee payment can get complex quick

FX Trader Pandu Vitharana shares an incident helping a client with international school fees. The client's daughter was pursuing a bachelor's degree in Europe. They needed clarification on how to pay these fees and what additional information (if any) he had to include on the wire transfer request from his bank:

The customer had attempted a wire transfer with the bank, but the wire failed due to insufficient information supplied by him. VBCE Trader Vitharana shares how he helped solve the problem. I did some research by looking up the university website and going through their payment requirements as I'm familiar with the long and sometimes convoluted process of paying international student tuition fees. I also got on a conference call with the client and his daughter to figure out what they did wrong with the wire. In the end, I could identify that the client paid the wrong university account, forgot to add his daughter's student ID to the wire, and liaised with her international student coordinator to complete the wire.

Our client was pleased they paid the school fees on time! By taking some additional initiative, Vitharana was able to wire the funds to the university for the client successfully. Going above and beyond for the client by stepping in and giving fresh eyes to a situation and layer in his expertise in international school payments and wire transfers is an excellent example of the customer service we provide to our clients.

VBCE clients are near and far

We want to be where our clients are living, retiring, and exploring as part of their best lives. We know that we have many client advocates across Western Canada, and we look to expand further into Central Okanagan and Vancouver Island through our VBCE Online service. In the greater Vancouver area, we support clients through our four Retail branches in downtown Vancouver, Burnaby at Metrotown Mall, Richmond and South Granville locations and many local businesses and individual clients who use the VBCE Online platform for recurring currency exchange needs. We grow with our clients as their needs change as well. Whether it's a child attending a school abroad or buying or selling a home in foreign country or opening a new export business, we're there to help every step of the way. With over $5 billion in transactions per year, we look to share our expertise to build more value for our customers.