Paul Billing was a third culture kid (TCK) – a child who was exposed to a wide variety of cultural influences due to living in one or more different countries while growing up. With a dad in the army, Paul and his family had lived in several countries by the time he was 15.
TCKs have been found to grow up well educated, with expanded world views, and likely to choose work that is internationally slanted and move abroad. As managing director for TorFX, a foreign exchange company that took him from Cornwall in the UK to Australia’s Gold Coast to head up the company’s Australasian footprint, he fits the bill.
Born in the UK, as a child Paul moved around England, Scotland and Ireland, but also further abroad in countries like Hong Kong and Germany. “I spent the majority of my youth abroad, a large proportion of which was in Germany – around 8 years in total,” he says. Although another benefit for TCKs is that often the person is bilingual, Paul laughs at the thought of sharing his German today. “I used to speak it quite fluently, but I’m a bit out of practice – it’s been 15 years since I lived in Germany.”
Embracing ex-change
Now the world of foreign exchange has swept him up with its global perspectives, keeping his finger on the pulse with regard to the impact of Brexit, President Trump, and all manner of activities that might have ramifications for currencies. “In this business, you have to be on point, listening, and ready to embrace change – and it’s been an exciting few years, that’s for sure,” says Paul.
In this business, you have to be on point, listening, and ready to embrace change. It’s been an interesting few years.
He’s also experienced an entirely new culture on the crowded, sun-soaked shores of Queensland’s Gold Coast, where TorFX first set up shop. “Because of my background, emigrating to Australia came relatively easily to me. I am very comfortable with making new friends and relocating, plus I’d never been to Australia, although it was one of the places that I’d always wanted to visit,” says Paul.
He joined TorFX in 2011, recruited because of his experience in account services, finance, and people management, having already founded his own online start-up business, The Holiday Lets Company, that saw him win regional and national entrepreneurial awards as well as being voted as one of Insider Media’s ‘42 under 42’. “There was a lot of synergy between my company and what TorFX was trying to deliver as a business model.
Foreign exchange was a new industry for me, but it was a good fit for my experience. Within a year and a half, I had the opportunity to help set up in Australia. It was only meant to be a 3-month secondment to get things going and train staff. But 3 months became 6, and then ‘We want you to stay and run the whole thing’, and by then I was in love with Australia.”
Now, after 4 years being based on the Gold Coast, he has acclimatised to the crowded beaches where he likes to surf (“I’ve never seen anything like it! In Cornwall, there’s never more than 4 people because the water’s too cold”), and has replaced his English tea-drinking habits with coffee (“I hadn’t had coffee in 30 years, but after a few trips to Melbourne I’m on 3 cups a day”). But he’s still not used to the sun. “In recent weeks we’ve had close to 40 degrees every day. Peak summer in the UK is about 20–25 degrees,” he gawks.
From start-up to market leader
The business has also been heating up nicely, going from a start-up to a market leader in a short space of time, and becoming an attractive alternative to banks, which Paul says is mostly due to cost benefits. In addition to providing one-on-one service and a reliable digital platform, TorFX saves customers 3–4% on traditional exchange fees – value that saw it win back-to-back Mozo Gold Awards for ‘Best Value International Money Transfers’ in 2016 and again in 2017.
“We’ve gone from 2 staff in a serviced office space 3 years ago to a team of 50-plus very quickly,” says Paul. “I still remember our first $100,000-turnover month, and there was a huge celebration. Then it was more than $1 million, and now we’re averaging thousands of transactions a week, and turning over in excess of $100 million every month.”
Overall, the Australasian arm of the group (along with its other global offices) now processes more than $6 billion in foreign exchange and international money transfers every year, with more than 50,000 private clients and 4,000 corporate clients.
According to Paul, currency exchange is a market segment very much in its infancy for Australia due to banks dominating 90% of the market. “Over the past few years, we have experienced your more stereotypical start-up concerns like, ‘Who are you? How safe are my funds?’ But after we started to partner with some fantastic and trusted people – financial advisers, real estate agents, accountants – we alleviated any initial concerns,” says Paul.
A longterm investment
With other TorFX offices operating out of the UK, Europe, the US and South Africa, Paul would certainly have ample opportunity to pursue further overseas vocations now that the Australian office is up and running; however, it seems more likely that this former nomad has planted himself Down Under for good, even recently buying a house with his long-term partner. “I don’t have plans to leave any time soon.
My family live in Cornwall and have for many years – so it will always hold a special place in my heart, but this is my second home, and one I’ve definitely come to love. “Being here is very much something I’m focused on, and we still have so much work to do that I imagine I’m going to be here for a very long time to come.”