How switching to Melio for international payments gave Doria Wines more visibility and efficiency
Meet Doria Wines
Doria Wines is a wine-importing company established in Maryland in 2021 by Cristina Doria and her brother, Marco, who resides in Italy. The company, which made its first sale in 2022, focuses on boutique, artisan wines from some 20 small producers across Italy, many of whom have never exported to the U.S before. Doria Wines acts as a wholesaler, selling to restaurants and wine stores through distributors in Maryland, Washington DC, Virginia, California, and Delaware.
The challenge
As a small importer, Doria Wines faced financial hurdles, particularly regarding international transactions. The company’s regional bank offered a cumbersome experience for wire transfers. The first transfer took three hours at a physical branch and required a token-based phone system for subsequent payments. Domestic payments were equally outdated, with the bank often defaulting to electronic checks that were slow and lacked visibility into payment timing for both Doria Wines and their suppliers.
Furthermore, the U.S. wine industry remains heavily reliant on paper checks, leading to issues with lost mail, fraud, and payment delays that could hold up funds for months. “Sometimes you have to actually go physically to pick up a check. Otherwise, you don’t get paid,” Cristina said.
Managing these inefficiencies was time lost that could have been used to advance sales and operations.
“Melio’s efficiency allows us to focus on running and growing the business, rather than getting bogged down in administrative tasks.”
The solution
Cristina first encountered Melio in 2022 when a warehouse vendor in the U.S. requested payment through the platform. Recognizing its potential, she soon transitioned most of her business payments to Melio. She began asking her vendors to use the platform, finding it much easier to use due to greater visibility into payment tracking and easier reconciliation.
“I love Melio’s platform because it’s very easy to see exactly how long a payment is going to take, where it’s going, and how much I’m paying,” Cristina said.
The platform became particularly vital when Melio introduced international payment capabilities, allowing Doria Wines to handle payments in euros to Italy in just a few clicks.
By using Melio to manage both domestic and international accounts payable, Doria Wines has achieved:
- Strategic Currency Management: The platform allows Cristina to monitor exchange rates and move money between U.S. and Italian accounts quickly to take advantage of market dips.
- Total Payment Visibility: Cristina can easily track payment timelines, costs, and statuses in one place, avoiding the multiple screens and complex menus of larger banks.
- Significant Time Savings: “Melio has spared us countless hours by offering a straightforward, intuitive platform where information is simple to enter and everything is centralized,” Cristina said. “Instead of navigating multiple portals, figuring out different payment systems, or managing invoices in various formats, the entire process is streamlined in one place.”
- Improved Accounts Receivable Reconciliation: Receiving approximately 25–30 payments a month from distributors through Melio has made the reconciliation process cleaner and more professional.
- Security and Legitimacy: After initial hesitations about linking bank accounts, Cristina found Melio to be a secure, transparent alternative to traditional ACH transfers and paper checks.
