From high fees to high touch: How TRUVI transformed global payments with Instarem

29 May 2025

4 mins read

This article covers:

The company

TRUVI is a premier luxury travel and lifestyle concierge company specializing in personalized, high-touch travel experiences for discerning travelers seeking the finest in service, exclusivity, and global access.

With a boutique team of three, TRUVI offers tailor-made travel, luxury cruise/yacht/train experiences, luxury hotel bookings, global events access, VIP airport meet & greet, and chauffeured limousine services.

Their clientele expects seamless, high-quality service, which necessitates efficient and reliable international payment solutions to manage bookings and vendor payments across various countries.

“We deliver only the highest levels of service — so we need partners who meet the same standard of precision, speed, and professionalism”, said Kevin Hartanto, the Founder of TRUVI.

The challenges

Operating in the luxury travel industry, TRUVI faced several challenges related to international payments:

High Transaction Fees: Traditional banking systems imposed significant fees on international transfers, impacting their profit margins.
Unpredictable Currency Exchange Rates: Fluctuations in exchange rates, especially against the Indonesian Rupiah, made it difficult to predict costs and manage budgets effectively.
Delayed Transfer Times: Slow processing times for international payments led to operational delays, affecting their ability to secure bookings promptly.

Additionally, political events, currency fluctuations, and seasonal demands in the travel industry further complicated their financial operations.

“Handling international payments has always been a challenge — especially dealing with high fees, unpredictable currency exchange rates, and slow transfer times,” Kevin said.

Before Instarem, international payments were complicated, expensive, and unreliable — often causing delays and friction in day-to-day operations.

The solution

TRUVI sought a more efficient and cost-effective solution for their international payment needs. Their search led them to Instarem, introduced through a LinkedIn connection with Luciana from the Instarem team.

Instarem stood out for its:

Ease of Use: A user-friendly platform that simplified the process of sending international payments.
Instant Payment Processing: Quick transfer times ensured timely payments to vendors and partners.
Competitive Exchange Rates: Favorable rates helped TRUVI manage costs more effectively.
Low Fees: Significantly reduced transaction costs compared to traditional banks.
Responsive Support: Access to the Instarem team even outside regular working hours provided TRUVI with the support they needed.

“We found Instarem immediately stood out for its ease of use, instant payment processing, exceptionally competitive exchange rates, very low fees, and the ability to reach out to their team even outside working hours,” Kevin noted.

The onboarding experience was smooth and intuitive.

“It was very easy — no hassle at all,” he remarked.

The results

Since adopting Instarem, TRUVI has experienced:

Faster Transfers: Quick payment processing has enabled them to secure bookings and manage operations more efficiently.
Cost Savings: Lower transaction fees and better exchange rates have improved their profit margins by XX%.
Simplified Accounting: Streamlined payment processes have made financial management more straightforward.
Enhanced Focus: With reduced concerns about payment issues, TRUVI can concentrate more on delivering exceptional service to their clients.

“It has allowed us to shift our focus toward selling our services without worrying about bank fees, poor exchange rates, or delayed payment timings,” Kevin explained.

Instarem’s reliability has also strengthened relationships with vendors and industry peers.

“Thanks to Instarem, we’ve built even stronger trust with our partners and vendors, gaining a reputation for punctual payments. In fact, we’ve even supported other travel agents in Southeast Asia by assisting with urgent bank transfers,” he shared.

“Our experience with the Instarem team has been exceptional — they are responsive, hands-on, and consistently proactive, especially when informing us of campaigns that could further benefit our transactions,” Kevin emphasized.

Looking ahead

TRUVI is optimistic about continued growth, and Instarem will play a key role in their expansion.

“As we continue to grow, Instarem’s efficient multi-currency management will be crucial to scaling our business internationally.”

“Instarem has been crucial to the growth of our company — a truly best-in-class supporting partner, and we strongly recommend every travel company to use their service,” Kevin concluded.