The Impact of COVID19 on the Dutch economy

| 29-05-2020 | Vincenzo Masile | treasuryXL |

Recently, it was determined that the Dutch GDP fell by -1.7% in the first quarter of 2020, suggesting that the economic impact of the corona-virus was mild, at least in international comparison. Although the second quarter is likely to be much worse, the ‘intelligent lock-down’ as dubbed by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, has economically paid off so far.


Given the Dutch economy’s high degree of openness and the fact that Dutch expenditure data for January and February was disappointing, the small GDP decline might be a bit surprising. What stands out as more important, however, is the relative mildness of the Dutch lock-down compared to many Europe. That said, the Dutch government has decided to extend economic support measures by three months until September. The emergency package 2.0 means 13 billion euros of additional fiscal support.

Economic and Financial support

The existing support measures were about to expire by June 1, 2020, but have now been extended until September 1, 2020. Some conditions for public support have been made stricter. For example, firms using the wage subsidy – the main instruments of the support package, will be temporarily (in 2020) forbidden to pay out any dividends or executive bonuses or execute share buy-backs.
The firm will also be obliged to encourage employees to train or retrain and prepare the workforce for future proof jobs. Income support for self-employed people will start to be conditional on the financial position of the partner. Some major restriction to the wage subsidy scheme will be lifted and conditions of the “emergency packages 2.0” are more tailor-made for specific industries. Firms will no longer have to pay a fine for firing workers due to economic reasons, although they will still have to pay back the subsidy. Furthermore, season-sensitive industries will be able to benefit from tweaks to the reference period of their wage bill. The scheme has also been made more generous with respect to the size of the subsidy – 140% of wages instead of 130% (of which they get 90% proportional to turnover losses), in light of the fact that some firms not only have social security to pay on top of wages but also have high non-wage fixed cost.

Apart from the effect of a falling tax base (i.e. automatic stabilization), the direct costs of the extension of the emergency packages have been estimated by the government at 13 billion euro (1.6% of GDP in 2019) for 2020, excluding support for air carrier Air-France – KLM. This comes on top of an existing package of about 14% of GDP (estimates based on government figures), of which 2.2% GDP involved direct net additional expenditures such as gifts, 4.2% GDP in loans and tax deferrals, 1.8% GDP in guarantee and insurance budgets and 5.6% GDP in automatic stabilization for 2020. The bulk of the cost of the extension comes from the direct cost of the wage subsidy scheme and benefits assistance scheme for the self-employed, which mostly qualify as gifts, bringing the total direct net additional expenditures for 2020 to 3.9% of 2019 GDP.

Forward

In line with the earlier announcement, the lock-down will be lifted gradually, allowing for the start of partial economic recovery from the low production levels of April and May. Bars, restaurants, cinemas and theaters will be allowed to reopen on 1 June, generally starting with a maximum of 30 guests at 1.5 meters distance. In the first week of June, all schools including secondary and tertiary will reopen too.

The Dutch government is following other European governments in choosing a path of gradual resumption of economic activity combined with continued economic support. This should mitigate the economic consequences of the corona-virus at least to some extent. However, this won’t prevent the large decline in GDP in the second quarter, after the relatively “mild” decline in the first quarter. It is important to outline the on- going negotiations between EU countries regarding the so-called recovery fund (estimated amount Euro 500 bn.) and the impact on the EU economies.

If a reasonable compromise is reached this can boost the Q3 and Q4 outlook across all EU and the impact on the Dutch economy will be beneficial too.

 

Vincenzo Masile

Treasury Expert/Credit Risk Manager

 

Press Release: TIS Raises $20m as Demand Grows for its Leading SaaS B2B Payment Platform

| 27-05-2020 | TIS |

Our Partner TIS (Treasury Intelligence Solutions), a leading cloud platform for managing corporate payments and cash flows, announced it has raised $20 million in additional financing led by Aquiline Technology Growth, an early- and growth-stage fund managed by Aquiline Capital Partners. The round also included participation from existing investor 83North. Aquiline joins previous investors 83North, Target Partners and Zobito. Investment from Aquiline and 83North will be used to continue rapid global expansion.

The company plans to use the new funding to further accelerate product development and to scale operations in Europe and in the US, in order to meet growing international demand. Many globally recognized organizations, including Adecco Group, Bertelsmann, Hugo Boss, Fresenius, Fugro, Lanxess, ManpowerGroup, OSRAM and QIAGEN, already use TIS to standardize and analyze payment flows and to obtain liquidity overview throughout their organizations.

Click on the banner to read full press release.

 

 

TIS (Treasury Intelligence Solutions GmbH), founded in Walldorf, Germany in 2010, is a global leader in managing corporate payments. The Financial Times named TIS as one of “Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies” for 2019 and 2020. Offered as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), the TIS solution is a comprehensive, highly-scalable, cloud platform for company-wide payments and cash management. The TIS solution has been successfully used for many years in both large and medium-sized companies, including Adecco Group, Hugo Boss, Fresenius, Fugro, Lanxess, OSRAM and QIAGEN. More than 25% of DAX companies are already TIS customers.

Your world of Payments. ONE Login.

www.tis.biz

 

 

Webinar Alert: Treasury Management in the COVID19 crisis

| 26-05-2020 | Francois De Witte

On June 15th, our Expert Francois de Witte will present a Webinar in collaboration with Febelfin-Academy, regarding Treasury Management in the COVID19 Crisis. The Webinar is in Dutch

Omschrijving

Ten gevolge van de COVID19 zijn veel ondernemingen geconfronteerd met cash & liquiditeits problemen. Hoe ga je hiermee om? Welke tools heb je ter beschikking om dit te beheren? Hoe benader je de stakeholders incluis de banken voor bijkomende kredieten.

Deze opleiding heeft als doelstelling om inzicht te geven in:

  • de tools voor het cash & liquidity management en hoe ze te gebruiken;
  • hoe creëer je bijkomende financiële ademruimte: beheer van werkkapitaal – uitstel van kosten;
  • hoe benader je de banken voor uitstel van aflossingen en/of bijkomende kredieten;
  • de inschatting van de risico’s en opportuniteiten van deze nieuwe situatie;
  • het opstellen van een concreet actieplan.

Vereiste voorkennis

Advanced level: biedt praktijkgerichte toepassingen op de reeds verworven theoretische kennis van de “basic level” opleidingen (uitdieping).

Voor wie is deze opleiding bestemd?

De opleiding kan gevolgd worden door verschillende doelgroepen:

  • KMO relatiegelastigden van banken;
  • Financiëel verantwoordelijken van KMO’s en non profit organisaties;
  • Corporate Treasurers.

Programma

Inleiding: Belang van cash & liquidity management

Deel 1: Tools voor het beheer van cash & liquidity management van je onderneming:

  • Wat is mijn cash positie vandaag?
  • Cash forecast voor de komende dagen, of zelfs weken?
  • Beheer van werkkapitaal
  • Cash Burn Rate – Cash runway
  • Dagelijkse stuurgroep Cash Positie
  • Beheer van financiële risico’s

Deel 2: Tips voor het verbeteren van je cash positie:  

  • Beheer van de klantenpost
  • Beheer van de voorraden
  • Beheer van je leveranciers
  • Uitstel van bepaalde uitgaven

Deel 3: Onderhandeling van uitstel vervaldagen of nieuwe kredieten bij de banken:

  • Kredietbeoordeling door banken: aandachtspunten
  • Wat is momenteel voorzien door de overheid, Febelfin en de bank community?
  • Hoe benadert je best de banken: tips en tricks voor je kredietdossier

Deel 4: Risico’s en opportuniteiten – Actieplan:

  • Risico’s en opportuniteiten
  • Tips & Tricks
  • Actieplan

Q & A – Coaching

Pracktische Informatie

  • Duurtijd: 2u30
  • Uren: 10u – 12u30
  • Plaats: Inloggen op online platform
  • Kosten: Leden €160 / Niet-leden: €180

Schrijf je hier in voor de training

 

Meet our Experts – Interview Bertus van de Kamp

26-05-2020 | Bertus van de Kamp | treasuryXL |

In the upcoming weeks, you will meet some of the treasuryXL Experts more personally. We will publish interviews, in which we reflect upon their Treasury journey , their experiences and the challenges they faced.

This week, you meet Bertus van de Kamp, Senior Business Consultant and owner of Van de Kamp Consultancy. Bertus has more than 25 years of experience as Cash management Consultant with a leading bank in the Netherlands in the Mid- and Large Corporate segment. Since a couple of years he works as an independent consultant. He underwrites the importance of a well designed and managed cash-conversion-cycle, sees the interaction with his environment as one of his strengths and is very structured in his work. Next to this he is very interested in recent developments with regard to e.g. Blockchain, Open Banking and Instant Payments.

 

We asked him 9 questions, let’s go!

1. How did your treasury journey start?

In my over 30 year working with a Dutch bank I learned to know the Treasury business when I was active as Transaction Banker for the Corporate Market.

2. What do you like about working in Treasury?

I really enjoyed working as Transaction Banker for Corporate Clients and advising them to get better insights in their cash and currency positions and structuring their international Trade Business.

3. What is your expertise in the field of Treasury?

My experience with Treasury consists mainly of advising clients on how to hedge their currency and interest risks. Next to this I provided an RFP for a client for a Treasury Management System and guided the complete selection process.

4. Do you have examples of risk mitigation, creation of opportunities and/or cost savings?

I advised companies to set up international cash pools and get more insights in their cash flow via Electronic banking platforms, Payment Hubs or Treasury Management Systems (TMS)

5. What has been your best experience in your treasury career until today?

For a company I accompanied the selection of a TMS via a Request for Proposal

6. What has been your biggest challenge? Can you share your story

My biggest challenge has been to guide the complete RFP process for the Treasury Management System for the client mentioned before. Together with the client I composed the RFP and we selected five suppliers to fill in the RFP. After they completed the RFP we invited all five for a live demo. After judging the demos we made a selection of two of them. These two suppliers were invited to make a final offer and finally the best proposal has been chosen

7. What’s the most important lesson that you’ve learned in your career?

During my career I learned that honesty and real attention for your clients does pay off. By listening actively and attentively to the clients I learned to know what their questions and problems were and gave them a sincere answer, even if this did not answer their questions or solve their problems.
What I learned with respect to Treasury and Cash management in particular is that companies are not always aware of the importance of a good overview of the liquidity position of their business. In my opinion a company has to be able to get, with a ‘push on the button’, immediate insight in their cash position and even better their total cash conversion cycle

8. How have you seen the role of Corporate Treasury evolve over the years?

In my opinion it has become a more ‘technical’ role, where a Treasurer not only has to cope with cash-, currency-, interest- and/or loan positions within their company, but also with all kind of technical applications (bank, trade, treasury, ERP and so on) and their inter connectivity. Not to forget the recent developments with cloud services, API’s and blockchain.

9. The coronavirus is undoubtedly an unprecedented crisis. In general, can you elaborate on the impact this virus has on treasury from your perspective?

Corona leads to strong falls in turn-over and because of that to problems with the cashflow of companies. Every treasury department will have to focus on improving the cashflow and be aware of the risks of a negative cashflow

 



Senior Business Consultant

Currency Xe-Perts Webinar: Covid-19 Recovery – Where to next?

| 25-05-2020 | XE.com

Webinar and Q&A | COVID-19 Recovery: Where to next?  | Wednesday May 27, 2020 at 5.00 pm – 5.45 pm CET

As the number of reported Covid-19 cases declines, attention has shifted to recovery and how this might play out.

The Xe team provides thoughts on the current market outlook, and are joined by Jason Schenker, financial market futurist and economist. Our panel of experts will share insights into how businesses that have a commercial exposure to the currency markets can look to protect their bottom line from further impacts.

Register Now and and submit your questions, and the XE experts will look to answer the common challenges during the live session. XE may not have all of the answers, but they can look to provide some support to issues regarding currency exposure.

Date, time and registration

Date: May 27, 2020

Start time: 5.00 pm – 5.45 pm CET

Register here

 

Do you a question that you’d like one of the XE Experts to answer during the session? Please provide details and XE will endeavour to respond during the session. You can submit your question at the registration page.

 

 

 

Blockchain-as-a-service and SMEs: great opportunities

| 19-05-2020 | Carlo de Meijer | treasuryXL

One of the recent promising blockchain trends is the growth of Blockchain-as-a Service (BAAS) platforms and software. This is highlighted by the recent release of the Second Annual Blockchain 50 list by Forbes. Several of the entrants on this year’s list offer blockchain-as-a-Service, including global players such as Microsoft, Amazon and IBM.

These third-party services are a relatively new development in the growing field of blockchain technology, mirroring the growing demand for hosting decentralised software services to boost market growth.

Fortune Business Insights recently revealed that the BAAS sector is set to reach a valuation of almost USD 25 billion (EUR 23,2 billion) by 2027, from USD 1.9 billion recorded in 2019, demonstrating an impressive so-called compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 39.5% during the forecast period (2020-2027). According to the same report especially the retail and e-commerce segment is expected to adopt BAAS solutions and are expected to register the highest growth rate during the forecast period.

What is BAAS?

In my first blog on BAAS I wrote last year I already explained what it is. Here follows a short resume.

BAAS is a cloud-based service that enables users to develop their own digital products by working with blockchain. It is in fact the distributed ledger equivalent of Software-as-a-Service or SAAS, the means by which businesses subscribe to and access cloud-based software.

These digital products may be smart contracts, decentralized applications (Dapps), or even other services that can work without any setup requirements of the complete blockchain-based infrastructure.

How does BAAS work?

BAAS describes the process by which a third party installs, hosts and maintains blockchain networks on behalf of other organizations. The external service provider thereby offers to set up all the necessary blockchain technology and infrastructure for a fee. They thereby take care of the infrastructure and maintenance issues.

In fact, a BAAS’ provider’s role is similar to that of a web hosting provider. It allows customers to leverage cloud-based solutions. BAAS helps businesses develop and host blockchain apps and smart contracts in a blockchain ecosystem that is managed and administered by cloud-based service providers.

The BAAS operator typically offers support activities like bandwidth management, suitable allocation of resources, hosting requirements, and data security features. As a result enterprises can focus on their core business without worrying about the day-to-day complexities of operating a blockchain.

Why is BAAS needed?

Consumers and businesses are increasingly willing to adapt to blockchain technology. However, the technical complexities and operational overhead involved in creating, configuring, and operating a blockchain and maintaining its infrastructure often act as a barrier.

Blockchain requires huge investment when it comes to setting up infrastructure and maintaining it. It is much more resource intensive, as compared to traditional databases. It also consumes a huge amount of energy and requires huge bandwidth.

What may BAAS bring?

BAAS is gaining significant traction recently, and that for various reasons. For many companies, pairing cloud services with BAAS could be very valuable. The personalized flexibility of BAAS technology allows businesses to combat pain points by tailoring integrations. BAAS can resolve complex issues around transparency, efficiency and cost in a simplistic and straightforward manner, thereby firmly reducing the barriers to entry for enterprise blockchain applications.

By favouring this BAAS model, companies can take advantage of the many often-mentioned benefits of blockchain technology – improved transparency and accountability, data security and trust minimization – without having to develop their own blockchain ecosystem or invest in expensive in-house computing resources.

They may give diverse businesses the opportunity to experiment with blockchain apps and smart contracts while letting service providers manage the network itself.

Is BAAS valuable for SMEs?

By organization-size, BAAS market is still dominated by large enterprises especially in the financial sector. The SMEs segment however is expected to grow at a higher rate, given the above mentioned opportunities of BAAS for these enterprises.

BAAS is ideal for such organizations that outsource their technological aspects, and are not involved in understanding the working mechanism of the blockchain. It allows these firms and other organizations to quickly get to grips with the technology without having to develop their own proprietary blockchain. It lets these enterprises focus on their core jobs and not waste time in setting up of infrastructure facilities.

BAAS is firmly growing across a variety of industries for issues such as supply chain management, identity management, payments. Blockchain technology is emerging as an optimal solution to many of the challenges faced by SMEs such as access to various financing sources. SMEs looking to expand their businesses in foreign countries can gain wider access to trade financing sources using BAAS as this technology is decentralized and cuts out the middlemen from the process.

BAAS service providers 

BAAS has become so popular, that some of the largest tech companies in the world all have divisions dedicated to the integration and promotion of BAAS. But also some of the most successful cloud service providers have started offering Blockchain-as-a-Service.

Main companies or platforms that are operating in the BAAS market include the names like Amazon, Microsoft, Oracle, Corda, IBM, SAP, Accenture, NTT Data, Stratis, Huawei, Baidu, Alibaba, Infosys, consequently shaping the future of blockchain applications.

But there are also the many smaller innovative BAAS companies – mostly based in the US – that integrate these game-changing ledgers into everyday technology such as Altoros, Blockstream, Bloq, Dragonchain, Factom, Innominds, PayStand, Skuchain, Symbiont,  tZERO, VironIt etc.  

Some major players in the BAAS market

Let’s take a look at some of the key BAAS service providers helping enterprises realize their blockchain ambitions.

Alibaba Cloud Blockchain as a Service

Alibaba’s BAAS offering, is under the umbrella of its cloud computing arm. Utilizing Quorum, Hyperledger Fabric and the Ant Blockchain, the platform integrates Alibaba Cloud’s Internet of Things (IoT) and anti-counterfeiting technologies to create blockchain solutions for product traceability, among other things. At present, Alibaba’s BAAS offering encompasses enterprise-level BAAS services, an agile BAAS platform that supports private deployment, and specific blockchain solutions for container services.

Amazon Web Services
Amazon provides various blockchain tools to both large and small companies via its cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services (AWS).  AWS is a BAAS leader in many industries. The company integrates blockchain-based networks and business processes for some of the largest companies in the world (including T-Mobile and PwC) to improve IT infrastructure, business processes, human resources, financial transactions and supply chains.

Amazon, which has introduced Amazon Managed Blockchain, a BAAS service that “makes it easy to create and manage scalable blockchain networks” using open source frameworks including Ethereum and Hyperledger Fabric. Amazon has attracted a steady stream of high-profile clients including  Nestlé, BMW, Accenture, Sony Music Japan, and the Singapore Exchange.

Huawei Blockchain Service
Huawei unveiled its novel BAAS solution, called Blockchain Service, based on Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger Fabric 1.0. The solution is devised to help companies design smart contracts focusing on supply chain, securitized assets, and public services, on top of a distributed ledger network.

IBM Blockchain Platform
Another key BAAS provider is IBM. Its Blockchain Platform allows organizations to “easily build and join a blockchain network on-premises, or on any private, public, or hybrid multicloud. Partnerships have been vital to IBM’s continuous BAAS expansion. IBM’s Blockchain-as-a-Service business deploys Hyperledger Fabric and has been used extensively in industries such as food supply, media, advertising and trade finance.

Microsoft Azure
And there is Microsoft’s Azure platform based on Ethereum. That BAAS offering enables clients to deploy blockchain networks, build apps with confidence and store data off-chain. Clients can choose to build on several networks, while three products are available: Azure Blockchain Service, Azure Blockchain Workbench, and Azure Blockchain Development Kit.

As Azure can be integrated with other Microsoft products such as Logic Apps and Flow, this makes it ‘a dependable choice’ for enterprises seeking to harness blockchain, such as General Electric and T-Mobile .

R3 – Corda
Corda, the open-source blockchain platform developed by global enterprise solutions provider R3, enables companies to transact directly and privately using smart contracts. The BAAS provider was recently used by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to simplify financial processes and enhance settlements. Interoperability, security and privacy are the foundations of the finance-focused Corda. The firm R3 developed solutions for over 300 clients.

Regional development

According to a recent BAAS Market Report North America – especially the US, Mexico and Canada – owns the largest share in the worldwide market for BAAS. One of the major reasons for the widespread development and adoption of BAAS tools in North America is the strong presence of small, medium, and large tech companies operating in the US. This, along with rising integration of BAAS solutions with public utilities services, will enable the region to dominate the BAAS market share in the foreseeable future.

Europe has been deemed as the second-leading market for BAAS. Apart from this, the region can note significant surge in adoption of blockchain technology in the forthcoming years, because of the strong support from the government across various countries. Increasing focus of well-established players on blockchain technology will propel the market in the near future.

The Asia Pacific (APAC) region is believed to be the third-most lucrative market for BAAS. The BAAS Market Report states that Asia-Pacific will register the highest growth rate during the forecast period. The BAAS sector will be boosted by enormous blockchain investment by China, Japan, and South Korea governments.

Final remarks

BAAS may become the catalyst that leads to a widespread adoption of blockchain technology and to a deeper penetration across various sectors and businesses, especially by SMEs.

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF) blockchain technology could be instrumental in bridging the gap in trade financing around the world. Similar benefits can be reaped by SMEs in the context of supply chain processes as transparency, immutability, and traceability become inevitable. These potential advantages of blockchain for SMEs may provide a significant boost to the BAAS market growth in the coming years.

So, BAAS may be seen as a great opportunity for SMEs to take advantage of blockchain.

 

Carlo de Meijer

Economist and researcher

 

 

 

Source

16 terms investors should know

18-05-2020 | by Rowan Hermes | Symbid

Convertible bonds, dividends, business angels … As a new investor you enter a world with its own terminology. We believe it is important that everyone, regardless of their experience with investing, need to be informed as good as possible before investing in any of the projects on the Symbid platform. That is why we list the most important terms.

Blog is in Dutch language:

AANDELEN

AANDELEN

Een aandeel is een bewijs van deelname in een organisatie. Dit betekent dat je door een aandeel te kopen aandeelhouder en mede-eigenaar van een organisatie wordt. Hier zitten bepaalde rechten aan verbonden, bijvoorbeeld medezeggenschap in de organisatie. Aandelen zijn normaliter verhandelbaar.

AANDEELHOUDER

De eigenaar van een of meerdere aandelen en deels eigenaar van een organisatie. Deze persoon heeft normaal gesproken recht op dividend.

DIVIDEND

Als tegenprestatie voor het kopen van een aandeel wordt dividend uitgekeerd aan de aandeelhouder. Dividend is een deel van de winst van de organisatie. Het gaat om het bedrag dat overblijft van de inkomsten van de organisatie na aftrek van alle verplichtingen en investeringen. Dividend kan als geld worden uitgekeerd, maar ook in de vorm van aandelen.

OBLIGATIES

OBLIGATIELENING

Een obligatielening wordt uitgegeven door een organisatie. Het is meestal een geldlening op lange termijn opgedeeld in delen met dezelfde waarde en rechten. De lening wordt afgesloten met meerdere investeerders. Deze investeerders krijgen elk een schuldbewijs, oftewel obligatie.

OBLIGATIE

Een obligatie is het schuldbewijs van een organisatie aan een investeerder. In andere woorden is een obligatie het bewijs dat de investeerder geld heeft uitgeleend aan de organisatie.

NOMINALE WAARDE

De nominale waarde van een obligatielening is het totaalbedrag dat de organisatie met de lening wil ophalen. Dit bedrag wordt in gelijke stukken gedeeld, de obligaties.

OBLIGATIEHOUDER

De eigenaar van een of meerdere obligaties. Deze persoon heeft normaal gesproken recht op rente en de terugbetaling van de obligatiewaarde aan het einde van de looptijd.

RENTE

Als tegenprestatie voor het uitlenen van geld wordt rente uitgekeerd aan de obligatiehouder. Op maandelijkse of jaarlijkse basis wordt een vast of variabel percentage uitgekeerd.

CONVERTEERBARE OBLIGATIES

Een converteerbare obligatie is een speciale vorm van obligaties, deze kunnen omgezet worden naar aandelen van de organisatie. Vooraf is bepaald hoeveel aandelen een obligatie waard is.

ACHTERGESTELDE OBLIGATIES

Wanneer de organisatie de lening niet terug kan betalen, komen houders van achtergestelde obligaties achteraan op de lijst van schuldeisers te staan. Het risico dat de lening niet wordt terugbetaald is groter, waardoor het rentepercentage meestal hoger is.

RISICO’S EN ZEKERHEDEN

RISICO’S

Investeren is risicovol. De kans bestaat dat je (een deel van) je ingelegde geld verliest, omdat de organisatie niet in staat is de lening (volledig) terug te betalen. Echter, zonder risico zal een investering geen geld opbrengen.

ZEKERHEDEN

Investeringen brengen niet alleen risico’s, maar soms ook zekerheden met zich mee. Zekerheden zijn onderpanden of waarborgen in de vorm van geld, goederen, voorraden of rechten. Wanneer de lening onverhoopt niet terugbetaald kan worden, kan de het onderpand opgeëist worden.

SYMBID

GROEIFINANCIERING

Groeifinanciering wordt ook wel groeigeld genoemd. Het is financiering die ingezet wordt voor de verdere expansie van een organisatie. De organisatie wordt door het geld naar een volgende fase getild.

BUSINESS ANGELS

Met een business angel wordt een informele verstrekker van durfkapitaal bedoeld. Business Angels zijn meestal welvarende particulieren die zelf ooit ondernemer geweest zijn. Zij investeren actief kapitaal in veelbelovende organisaties. In ruil hiervoor ontvangen zij vaak aandelen, een achtergestelde lening of een combinatie van beide.

Naast kapitaal brengen business angels ook ervaring, kennis en contacten mee, wat goede voordelen zijn. Een nadeel kan zijn dat een deel van de winst gedeeld moet worden met de business angel.

DURFKAPITAAL

Durfkapitaal (ook wel venture capital) is een brede term voor iedereen die geen professionele investeerder, bank, specialist of deskundige is en geld uitleent aan een organisatie. Het risico is hoger dan gemiddeld, omdat het geld meestal wordt uitgeleend aan startups of bestaande organisaties die een nieuw product op de markt willen brengen. De kans op terugbetaling is kleiner dan bij bestaande bedrijven met bewezen producten.

AFM

Het publiek, het bedrijfsleven en de overheid moeten vertrouwen kunnen hebben in de financiële markten en dat financiële instellingen op een duidelijke en eerlijke manier handelen. Daarom houdt de Autoriteit Financiële Markten (AFM) toezicht op de financiële markten.

Financiële partijen die een rol vervullen richting een niet-professionele investeerder moeten over een AFM-vergunning beschikken. Voor het verstrekken van de AFM-vergunning wordt getoetst of de betreffende partij beschikt over de juiste procedures en of de beleidsbepalers integer, geschikt en vakbekwaam zijn.

Source

Online Round Table: COVID-19 Reality Corporate Treasurers

| 15-05-2020 | VU Amsterdam |

This is a cost-free online event on 24 June 2020 and will start at 7:00 PM CET.

What is the covid-19 reality for corporate treasurers in various environments and how to deal with this new reality?

This is the topic of the Corporate Treasurers Online Round Table that will be organized by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam for potential students and alumni of the postgraduate Executive Treasury Management & Corporate Finance programme. Four experienced and educated registered treasurers (RT) will speak from their experience and, in dialogue with the participants, try to look into the future.

Speakers work in various industries: retail, tourist, trading, logistics and manufacturing, which all feel covid-19 consequences in their own way. They will inform the audience how their first reaction was and that of their company. About how they manage the crisis and show resilience, how they recover from first effects, and how they have adjusted or will adjust to the new reality.

Event details

The event will take place in the evening and will last 75 minutes. The round table will be kicked off with brief introductions and presentations. Input from participants is expected and appreciated. Just like classes at the university, interactions will connect theory & day-to-day reality and raise the quality of the round table. All are expected to leave the event with practical do’s and don’ts. Herbert Rijken on behalf of the VU will be your host, Pieter de Kiewit will moderate the session.

Date, time and pre-registration

This is a cost-free online event on 24 June 2020 and will start at 7:00 PM CET. As this is an interactive event, the organizer, VU Amsterdam, has the right to select who can (not) join. Further details will be shared with participants in due time.

 

Pre-register here 

 

 

 

 

When Should I Make a Money Transfer?

14-05-2020 | treasuryXL | XE |

We’ve previously gone over why you should choose money transfer over other methods of sending money, and we’ve discussed how to start your transfer. But one question we haven’t answered is, “When should I make a money transfer?”

Everyone’s circumstances are different, and whether it’s the right time to make a money transfer will depend on you and your needs. But what we can share with you are some of the circumstances in which money transfer is the safest, fastest, and most convenient option for sending money internationally.

Sending Money to Loved Ones at Home (or Abroad)

Whether you’ve moved abroad for school or work or your loved ones have relocated to another country, there could come a time when you’ll want to send money to one another (particularly if you’re supporting your family or you have a dependent abroad). You could take the low-tech route and send money through snail mail, but not only will you have to wait quite some time for it to be delivered, there’s also the potential of it being lost or tampered with in transit.

For these types of situations, money transfer is ideal because you can trust that the money will reach your recipient quickly, and be completely secure during the trip.

Putting Money in Your Own Account in Another Country

Yes, you absolutely can transfer to yourself! If you frequently travel between your new home country and your old one, you probably still have a bank account back home. If you want to keep a sum of money in that account and continue to build your savings, you can transfer directly to your own account. You can build up your savings from overseas, and you won’t be privy to the potentially unfavorable exchange rates you might get if you waited to exchange through your local bank.

If you’re looking to maximize the amount of money you can put in your account, you could set up a Rate Alert to let you know the best time to transfer. No need to constantly check the markets—XE can do that for you.

Making International Payments

You might be making payments to another country. You could be an employer paying employees located overseas, you could be making investments, or you could be making payments for educational fees, medical bills, mortgages, or pensions. Regardless of why you need to be making the payments, using an online money transfer provider to make your payments will ensure that your payments always arrive safe and sound by their deadline.

Additionally, if you’re in a situation where you need to make these international payments on a regular basis (for paychecks or mortgage payments, for example), you can set up a recurring series of payments through Regular Payments Abroad. For just a one-time setup, you can rest assured knowing that your payments are queued up and ready to go.

Exchanging Currency

Think about the last time you traveled to another country. Did you have their currency on hand? It’s more likely that you needed to get a supply for your trip. Exchanging money at your local bank, at an airport kiosk, or at a bank or ATM at your destination are all usable methods, but they’re not the best for one reason: rates.

Banks and other currency exchange services set their own exchange rates. It’s great for them, but it might not be as great for you. The rate will favor the institution, and you might not get as much bang for your buck when you exchange.

If you choose to get your currency ahead of time with an online money transfer, however, you can trust that you’re getting the fair, honest mid-market rate. What you see is what you get: no hidden service fees anywhere.

In short…

If you need to take the money you have and exchange it to another currency, an international money transfer is the best option for several reasons:

  • You can trust that your money will arrive at its destination safe and sound, with your information completely secure;
  • Your money will arrive at its destination quickly, within a few business days (but often sooner), and you’ll know exactly when it will arrive so you can plan for any payment deadlines;
  • It’s easy to do online from anywhere, and can be initiated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Get in touch with XE.com

About XE.com

XE can help safeguard your profit margins and improve cashflow through quantifying the FX risk you face and implementing unique strategies to mitigate it. XE Business Solutions provides a comprehensive range of currency services and products to help businesses access competitive rates with greater control.

Deciding when to make an international payment and at what rate can be critical. XE Business Solutions work with businesses to protect bottom-line from exchange rate fluctuations, while the currency experts and risk management specialists act as eyes and ears in the market to protect your profits from the world’s volatile currency markets.

Your company money is safe with XE, their NASDAQ listed parent company, Euronet Worldwide Inc., has a multibillion-dollar market capitalization, and an investment grade credit rating. With offices in the UK, Canada, Europe, APAC and North America they have a truly global coverage.

Are you curious to know more about XE?
Maurits Houthoff, senior business development manager at XE.com, is always in for a cup of coffee, mail or call to provide you detailed information.

 

 

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Cashforce Webinar: Quick Wins Offerings

| 13-05-2020 | Cashforce

CashForce invites you to learn about their Quick Wins Offerings during a webinar on Tuesday, May 19th at 5pm (CEST). 

In the context of the current environment, many companies are looking for ways to create visibility on Cash and Working Capital.

This is why we would like to introduce 3 Quick Wins Offerings to you:

  •  delivering a functional prototype within 30 days
  •  offered at a subscription period of only 3 months (with opt-out)

Date, time and registration

Date: May 19, 2020

Start time: 5.00 pm CEST

Register here

 

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