UK Textile Trader Saves
£312,000 Annually
Importing fabrics from India and China with £25M annual FX volume.
85% reduction in FX costs with real-time GBP/INR/CNY exposure tracking.
Company Profile
Business
UK-based textile trader supplying fabric to fashion brands and manufacturers across Europe
Sourcing
India (cotton, silk), China (synthetic blends, technical fabrics), Bangladesh (finished garments)
Currency Exposure
GBP/INR (60%), GBP/CNY (30%), GBP/USD (10%)
Payment Terms
30-60 day terms with Indian suppliers, LC for China, creating significant FX exposure windows
The Challenge
As a textile trader with £25M annual FX volume, margin is everything. The company was struggling with:
Costly FX Spreads
Bank charging 2.5% spread on GBP/INR and 2% on GBP/CNY. On £25M annual volume, FX costs alone exceeded £500,000.
No FX Visibility
Supplier invoices issued 30-60 days before payment. No way to see live FX exposure. Rates moved 3-5% in payment windows, eroding margins unpredictably.
Container Delays
Manual tracking of 40+ containers monthly. Three demurrage incidents in one year cost £18,000. Seasonal stock arrived late, missing sales windows.
“In textiles, 1% margin difference is the difference between profit and loss. Our bank was taking 2.5% just on currency conversion. We were working for them, not ourselves.”
— Finance Director
The Solution
Unicorn Currencies provided three critical capabilities that transformed their treasury operations:
Real-Time FX P/L Tracking
Upload supplier invoices as PDFs. AI OCR extracts currency, amount, and due date. Dashboard shows live P/L in red/green as GBP/INR and GBP/CNY rates move.
The finance team now sees exactly what waiting costs them. When INR weakens (good for them), they lock the rate with a 15-second hold. When INR strengthens, they can hedge or wait.
No other platform offers this feature. It's our signature innovation.
FREE Container Tracking
All 40+ monthly containers tracked in one dashboard. Real-time ETAs from shipping lines. 48-72 hour demurrage alerts before containers go into detention.
When a container is ready for release, the 2.3-second settlement means they can pay port charges instantly instead of waiting 2-3 days for bank transfers.
Logistics platforms charge £2k-5k/year for this. We include it FREE.
Volume-Based Pricing (0.40%)
At £25M annual volume, they qualify for 0.40% spread tier. That's 84% cheaper than their bank's 2.5% spread.
Plus £5 per payment vs £35 at their bank. Multi-currency wallets hold INR, CNY, and USD for opportunistic rate locking.
Direct savings: £312k annually on FX alone.
The Results
0.40% spread vs 2.5% at bank (85% reduction)
48-72h alerts + 2.3s settlement
Using real-time P/L tracker to lock optimal rates
NetSuite API integration for automated reconciliation
“The real-time FX P/L tracker changed how we think about treasury. We used to guess what waiting cost us. Now we see it in real-time. When GBP/INR hit 106.5 last month, we locked £800k instantly because the dashboard showed we'd save £12k vs waiting. No other platform gives you that visibility.”
Finance Director
UK Textile Trading Company
Frequently Asked Questions
What challenges did this textile trader face?
The textile trader faced significant GBP/INR/CNY currency exposure with £25M annual FX volume. They struggled with unpredictable FX costs due to 2.5% bank spreads, managing multiple currency payments across India and China suppliers, and 30-60 day payment terms that created dangerous FX exposure windows where rates could move 3-5%.
How much did the textile trader save with Unicorn Currencies?
The textile trader saves £312,000 annually in FX costs compared to their previous bank. This represents an 85% reduction in FX spreads—from 2.5% at their bank to just 0.40% with Unicorn Currencies volume-based pricing.
What features helped the textile trader most?
Three features transformed their treasury operations: Real-time FX P/L tracking on supplier bills (showing live gains/losses as GBP/INR and GBP/CNY rates move), multi-currency wallets for holding INR, CNY, and USD for opportunistic rate locking, and 15-second rate locks that let them capture favorable rates instantly.
How does container tracking help textile traders?
Our FREE container tracking provides 48-72 hour demurrage alerts before containers go into detention, preventing costly fees on fabric shipments. Combined with 2.3-second settlement for port charges, the textile trader avoided £24,000 in demurrage fees annually and eliminated late arrivals of seasonal stock.
Is Unicorn Currencies right for my textile business?
If your textile business has $1M+ annual FX volume with exposure to currencies like INR, CNY, or USD, Unicorn Currencies is built for you. Contact our treasury specialists at treasury@unicorncurrencies.com for a personalized assessment and demo.
Similar FX Challenges?
If you're a textile trader with $1M+ annual FX, we built this platform for you.
Minimum: $1M annual FX volume • 3-week deployment • No long-term contracts