NashTech x Hays Travel transforming foreign exchange through a re-engineered TPS platform

Industry

Technology

Introduction

Hays Travel partnered with NashTech to rebuild TPS from the ground up, re-architecting the platform for stability, scalability and long-term growth.

Overview

Hays Travel, the UK’s largest independent travel agent, is committed to delivering outstanding customer service and supporting the communities it serves. However, by 2024 its legacy TPS foreign exchange (FX) selling system was under strain. Originally built many years earlier, the platform struggled to cope with peak trading periods, resulting in significant downtime, slow processing and frustration for frontline staff and customers alike.

During busy holiday seasons, FX transactions that should have taken two or three minutes extended up to forty minutes. Branch teams, despite their exceptional professionalism, felt uncertain day-to-day about how the system would perform and the customer experience suffered.

As demand continued to grow, it became clear that the FX operation needed a complete transformation.

Hays Travel partnered with NashTech to rebuild TPS from the ground up, re-architecting the platform for stability, scalability and long-term growth.

Business challenge

A legacy system unable to handle modern transaction volumes
Frequent downtime resulted in lost customers and long transaction queues
A user experience that created frustration for staff and impacted customer confidence
Increasing requirements as Hays Travel expanded into new acquisitions and launched new services
A need for a multi-model platform capable of supporting Hays branches as well as third-party retailers

Despite facing challenges, Hays Travel maintained strong performance but recognised that even greater value could be realised with the right technology and partner.

At the time, Nordstar, a company specialising in managed transformation and software solutions, was providing Hays Travel with technology strategy and advisory services for the project.

After an introduction facilitated by Nordstar, Hays Travel selected NashTech as their ideal choice, due to our 25 years of development, partnerships and innovation.

The solution

A complete rebuild of TPS

NashTech and Hays Travel set out to re-architect the entire system from scratch. The teams collaborated closely, adopting an iterative, sprint-based delivery approach. Every Friday, the NashTech team showcased progress, gathering feedback from Hays Travel’s FX and operations leads to refine features in real time.

“From a user experience point of view, the way the team showed us every sprint, every Friday morning, was invaluable. We could ask for refinements, see progress and the team even delivered things we hadn’t thought to ask for.”

Beccy Rayner, Head of Foreign Exchange Sales, Hays Travel

The implementation began with a proof of concept trialled in selected branches, with operations and development teams observing usage live. The system performed without surprises, enabling a smooth and accelerated rollout across three regions and ultimately the entire network.

“The team built it exceptionally well. Nothing unexpected arose during the pilot and the rollout progressed thick and fast.”

Nicola Loftus, Head of FX Operations, Hays Travel

The new TPS platform was built to support:

High-speed transaction processing
Strong reliability during peak periods
Scalability to support acquisitions and future FX volume
Multiple business models, including Hays branches and third-party retail partners

Unlike subscription-based FX platforms that can incur steep per-unit fees, the re-engineered TPS gives Hays Travel full ownership and flexibility without escalating ongoing costs.

Results and impact

The impact of the rebuilt TPS system has been significant and immediate.

Transaction times reduced by 95% from 45 minutes to approximately two minutes
High reliability across the entire summer trading period
No delays, no downtime and renewed confidence for branch staff
Performance significantly outpacing the wider foreign exchange market
Full support for the launch of Hays Travel’s new ‘click and collect’ FX service
A platform future-proofed to evolve with market and organisational growth

“This transformation has been pivotal as we launch our new ‘click and collect’ service. We’ve achieved enhanced performance, scalability and operational efficiencies, an important step forward in future-proofing our infrastructure.”

Nicola Loftus, Head of FX Operations, Hays Travel

A partnership built on collaboration

As well as its technical success, Hays Travel praised the team on its strength of collaboration.

“The NashTech team has been phenomenal. Reactive, communicative, a breath of fresh air. The time difference ended up being a huge advantage, with work progressing overnight.”

Emma Brandwood, Project Manager, Nordstar

Neil Mullock, Business Partner, Nordstar, added, “This has been the best team we’ve ever worked with. The difference it’s made to staff is huge.”

The partnership model allowed Hays Travel, NashTech and Nordstar to operate with shared ownership, shared problem-solving and a united vision for what good should look like.

Award recognition

The success of the TPS transformation has been formally recognised, with Hays Travel receiving a Dynamite Award nomination based directly on the impact of the rebuilt platform.

Beccy commented, “We are absolutely delighted with the successful rebuild of TPS and for it to be recognised with this award nomination. This achievement reflects the close collaborative partnership we have with our technology partner, NashTech, whose expertise has been instrumental throughout the journey.”

Conclusion

Through collaboration, technical excellence and relentless focus on customer experience, NashTech and Hays Travel have delivered a modern, high-performing FX platform that is already transforming operations and enabling future growth.

Steve Rake, UK Commercial Director, NashTech added, “This project was all about putting the customer first. By rebuilding TPS from the ground up, we helped Hays Travel deliver a faster, more reliable experience for holidaymakers across the UK. The transformation has not only improved operational efficiency but also unlocked new revenue opportunities through services like click and collect. It’s a great example of how the right technology, delivered through true partnership, can elevate customer experience and drive commercial growth.