How Serveast pays its suppliers twice as fast

Serveast operates as an IT reseller, providing infrastructure equipment, office supplies, cabling, software, etc. and more to a loyal customer base that includes large corporations and mid-sized businesses like Arianespace, Airbus Defence and Space, Frans Bonhomme, and Vivendi.

Serveast’s strength lies in its ability to source various materials—whether rare or located across the globe—and deliver them in record time. Despite the pandemic, the company’s revenue has grown significantly. The widespread shift to remote work, triggered by the health crisis, has spiked demand for IT hardware, as not all companies were equipped with necessary tools like webcams or laptops.

However, the real reason customers value Serveast is for its team’s responsiveness and ability to provide tailored solutions, even for obsolete or rare products. Providing swift and efficient service requires reliable and responsive partners, including banking services.

Being a reseller means buying to resell —a seemingly simple concept, but one that demands efficient banking partners to pay suppliers and serve clients promptly. Failure to meet contractual obligations and delivery timelines can damage Serveast’s reputation.

Serveast experienced several incidents with its main bank: transactions were pending bank approval for weeks, and there were occasions when the company’s bank card was blocked for an entire week, despite daily online payments being a routine.

The relationship manager was unreachable, and the team had no visibility into what was happening. For Virginie Girard, “a small business really needs a bank that communicates with its clients, one where they can rely on their relationship manager at any time, have direct access, and receive quality advice.”

We need efficient banks to pay our suppliers and serve our clients without wasting any time.

Patrick GirardFounder and Chairman of Serveast

Like many SMEs, Serveast uses multiple banking partners, leveraging the strengths of each. he company handles most customer payments through its main bank—especially international transactions—and uses another bank for its e-card services.

Now, Serveast primarily uses Memo Bank for supplier payments. The choice was primarily guided by the reputation of its management team and by the impeccable nature of its customer service. From the onset of the relationship, the company was assigned a dedicated relationship manager who is very responsive and always available.

For instance, if there’s any doubt about a payment, the account holder receives a phone message to confirm that they initiated the transaction It’s an effective mode of communication and reassuring from a security perspective. Furthermore, Serveast’s two historic banks have consolidated their banking networks. Patrick Girard acknowledges that having an independent bank like Memo Bank is a significant advantage.

Today, Serveast has three users: Patrick and Virginie Girard, and the accountant, François Kayvatthana. The team found the account management interface very user-friendly. A significant advantage is the speed and execution of wire transfers.

For example, with their main bank, if the maximum payment limit was exceeded with a supplier, they had to delete the supplier’s bank details and re-enter them to circumvent the limitation, a process that took about five minutes each time.

With Memo Bank, adding beneficiaries is done in three clicks, transactions are quick, and it’s even possible to cancel a transfer if it hasn’t yet been processed. The team is looking forward to the development of future products.