Vatfree enables faster tax refund for customers with Signeasy

The Company

Vatfree helps more than 16,000 travelers each year shop tax-free in the Netherlands. Inspired by the nearly 400 million euros of refundable VAT – or “value added tax” – left unclaimed every year (a phenomenon mainly attributed to a tedious and complicated refund process), Joni Smeenk founded Vatfree to encourage 'conscious consumerism': "I wanted to show travelers that they are the ones who decide what happens to their money, and they are the ones that can make a choice to reclaim and reinvest the cash for themselves, their family, or a good cause."

The Challenge

When travelers arrive at Vatfree’s Schiphol Airport location, they often expect a long and tedious process based on previous VAT refund experiences.

Today, Signeasy plays an integral role in simplifying the cumbersome process of refunding taxes with a simple and transparent digital workflow. Our involvement has provided Vatfree's workflow with an efficient platform, setting it apart from its competitors while projecting a future-forward, hi-tech image to their customers.

How is Signeasy used?

Now that they’ve adopted a digital document processing solution, getting a tax refund with Vatfree is super-easy and hassle-free. At the airport, travelers are greeted by a simple digital process powered by Signeasy using an iPad Mini. After submitting their receipts, they are asked to fill out and sign a consent form with their personal details, authorizing Vatfree to collect the taxes on their behalf and have the money transferred to their bank account.

Watch Henk Smeenk talk about why VatFree chose Signeasy.

Benefits

Efficiency

Vatfree has sped up their tax refund process, cutting down the time spent with each customer by 3 to 5 minutes. While a few minutes may not sound like very much, that simple decrease means that for every 12 customers, they gain one hour of productivity!

Customer satisfaction

Time is of the essence, especially at the airport, where travelers are often in a hurry. With their newly-minted digital paperwork process, Vatfree leverages the latest technology to impress their customers with a surprisingly simple workflow and a lightning-fast turnaround time.

Differentiation

Vatfree is constantly on the lookout for ways in which technology can simplify their workflow and bring them into the digital age, setting them apart from competitors that still rely on clunky processes.