These insights allow Travelex to proactively approach customers, and hopefully influence their behavior, by encouraging them to cash out their remaining balance or, even better, use their existing balances for future travel. The ultimate goal is to send the right reminders to the right customers at the right time, he says.

Step by step

Once Travelex had a clear idea of the type of data platform they wanted to create, they adopted an iterative strategy to bring the idea to life. “This isn’t groundbreaking, but I think it’s very important to start small, try things out, stop things that don’t work well, and don’t hesitate to start over again if needed,” he says. In doing so, they could build something, test it out, and then go through various cycles of changes and improvements so the final product was production ready when it was launched.

In addition to partnering with third parties to access the required data, van der Waal also had to work closely with Travelex’s marketing and product teams — as well as data privacy and security execs— to come up with different theories on why someone might not spend the money on their cards, and then create the most appropriate messaging. They also spoke to customers in airports to find out more about their preferences and use, and not just lean on internal expertise and resources to guarantee project success.