"The Anytime application won me over. I'm on my phone all the time and using the app is quick and easy. I can independently manage my account online without going through an advisor."
3 years ago, Guillaume was a specialized educator working with disabled children. He was looking for a way out of his dependence on his paycheck. With his good interpersonal skills and his love of driving, he decided to go into the VTC chauffeur business, which was already booming at the time.
"For many people, becoming a VTC driver is a professional reconversion: you want to become your own boss. We quickly find ourselves faced with the problem of finding a professional bank adapted to our needs."
Conventional banks are rather cautious when it comes to the VTC sector. Opening a business account is often a slow, time-consuming process, requiring several trips to the branch. A second obstacle is pricing.
"Prices are very attractive in a neobank like Anytime: traditional banks were twice as expensive with fewer services."
Beyond the price, Guillaume has found the Anytime application very practical for cashing his customers. For his regular customers, he uses bank transfers. For each payment, he can associate the corresponding invoice. Very useful to avoid losing invoices.
Guillaume also had to equip himself witha payment terminal to cash his customers on board. He initially opted for a payment terminal linked to his cell phone, with receipts sent by SMS or e-mail. He then opted for a stand-alone payment terminal with receiptwhich operates independently of the smartphone.
"My older customers are wary of technology and offering an independent terminal is a real plus. I've had the terminal for over two years and I've never had any problems!"
Guillaume has also found the application very easy to use for his business expenses. He simply takes a photo of his receipts, which are automatically linked to the corresponding transactions.
"I can use the card directly for business expenses like petrol, everything is visible on the app and I can take photos of my receipts to keep."
Just like his customer invoices, he has access to all his receipts, which are linked to the corresponding transactions. He also likes the possibility of having a personal account to clearly differentiate his private expenses.
Guillaume was delighted to learn during our interview that we offer professional liability insurance tailored to each profession. He stressed how difficult it is to get insurance today as a VTC driver. Insurance companies are much more cautious than they were a few years ago.
"Quality professional VTC insurance is becoming increasingly difficult to find. When the profession was booming, insurance companies proposed special offers for VTCs. Since then, they've changed their minds, because someone who drives every day, for so many hours, is more likely to have an accident."
Guillaume advises those starting out in the business to offer a quality service, to canvass customers to try and build up their own clientele, and to distance themselves as much as possible from platforms like Uber.
"The other problem, as I see it, is that VTC drivers, unlike cabs, don't have a numerus clausus. We already feel that, compared with a few years ago, there are many more drivers and therefore fewer requests."
But Guillaume's biggest piece of advice is to buy your own car, in cash if possible. If you don't have the funds to buy your own car, starting with an entry-level model can be a solution.
"The first thing I'd advise is to start with your own car. Starting with cash means avoiding leasing, which is not at all advantageous for drivers. After that, you can switch to a higher-end model every year."
If you really can't afford to buy your car outright due to lack of cash, Anytime offers you the right financing packages to keep your cash flow healthy.
