08/05/2026
Back in 2006, I joined NatWest Bank after successfully passing my CeMAP qualification, which is the qualification for Mortgage Advisors. I went into the bank full of dreams, convinced I was going to walk straight into mortgage advising and start building a serious career immediately.
Instead, I was told I had to start in customer service as a cashier.
God is my witness… I hated that job 😂
I was probably the slowest cashier NatWest had ever hired. Counting money all day was not for me at all. But there was one thing I knew how to do naturally, talk to people.
If you know me personally, you will know I am a natural salesman. I could probably sell ice to an Eskimo with a smile 😄
So while I struggled with cashiering, I leaned into my strength. I spoke to customers, built relationships, and started identifying opportunities. Someone would come in to deposit £10 or withdraw a small amount, and through conversation I would realise they actually needed help with something bigger.
I began referring customers to the advisors for credit cards, life insurance, debt consolidation loans and savings products.
Before long, I was generating more quality leads than most people on the front desk.
That experience taught me something powerful.
Even when you feel you are in the wrong position, there is always a way to shine if you focus on your strengths instead of your frustration.
Eventually I told my manager honestly, “I hate cashiering. I want more.”
The funny thing was, although she knew I hated the role, she also knew I was producing results and probably did not want to move me because of the value I was bringing there.
Then one evening after closing, while we were all preparing to go out for drinks, I suddenly got called into a private meeting with the Area Manager for South East London.
I genuinely thought I was in trouble 😂
Why would the Area Manager randomly call a cashier into a one to one meeting after work?
I walked in nervous, expecting the worst.
Instead, she told me Head Office had approved my promotion to Customer Advisor at the Tower Bridge branch.
I was shocked.
I actually shed real tears in that meeting. Genuine tears.
But there was one problem.
Tower Bridge was one of the worst performing branches in the entire South East area at the time.
I felt disappointed.
So I spoke to a friend who was already a Customer Advisor and told him how frustrated I was about where they were sending me.
He said something I have never forgotten:
“Leslie, you have nothing to prove there because performance is already low. If you do even a little well, you will stand out.”
That changed my mindset completely.
I went there and gave it absolutely everything I had.
And over time, Tower Bridge went from being one of the weakest performing branches to becoming one of the top performing branches in the area. Eventually I moved into private banking as a Mortgage Advisor.
Why am I sharing this?
Because many people think success is about waiting for the perfect opportunity.
It is not.
Sometimes life places you in positions that feel beneath you, frustrating, uncomfortable or unfair. But if you approach those moments with excellence, consistency and belief in yourself, they can become the very thing that opens bigger doors for you.
Sometimes the worst opportunity is actually the best stage to shine.
Fast forward to today, and that same mindset is part of what pushed me into building RateCheck360.
This idea actually came from a close friend of mine who is also my business partner on this project. At the time, we had a much bigger vision we wanted to pursue together, but realistically it required far more money than we could afford at that stage.
So while thinking about what we could build in the meantime, he suggested the idea around money transfer comparison and remittance intelligence.
To be honest, I was not immediately convinced.
But once I started researching the industry deeply, looking at the size of the remittance market, the problems diaspora communities face, the hidden costs people lose through bad exchange rates, and the lack of transparency in African corridors, I realised this was something meaningful and worth building properly.
People sending money abroad were dealing with poor transparency, hidden costs, confusing exchange rates and inconsistent provider performance.
So we decided to build something designed to help people compare smarter and make better financial decisions before sending money home.
That became RateCheck360.
If you have not visited the platform yet, I would genuinely appreciate your support.
🌍 https://ratecheck360.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/share/1Dfyp66xgM/
Whether you send money abroad yourself or know someone who does, tell them to compare rates before sending.
A small difference in the rate can make a real difference to the people waiting on the other side.
