Recap #3: Round Table “Digital currencies for a digital future?” | Toekomst Betalingsverkeer

20-10-2021 | François de Witte | treasuryXL | LinkedIn

Here is my third and final recap where I will highlight the round table topic: Digital currencies for a digital future?

1. Introduction

On September 9, 2021, the event “Toekomst Betalingsverkeer” has taken place in Amsterdam. Amongst others, following topics were covered:

The Fintech evolution of banking.
Platform strategies & developments big tech.
Customer experience strategies.
Open banking.
Instant payments.

I hosted two round table sessions on “Payment Challenges in a Post-Covid” World and we made a deep dive on the following 3 topics:

Instant Payments – the new “normal”?
Request to Pay: the bridge between customer convenience and reconciliation?
Digital currencies for a digital future?

Click on the above links to read my previous articles where I discussed the first two topics.

2. Setting the Scene

Facebook’s Libra announcement in June 2019 has shaken up the finance industry, forcing regulators around the world to take a closer look at it. This has sped up analyses and projects around Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).

Moreover, the fears that the Covid-19 virus might live on banknotes and coins, fostered the development of CBCDs.

In the context of this article, CBDC is regarded as general-purpose central bank digital currency, which has 3 elements:

It is a digital currency and therefore only exists electronically.
Issued directly by a central bank;
Universally accessible.

Several countries started CBCD projects: e.g., China, The Bahamas, The Marshall Islands, Sweden, the UK and the EU.

For the digital Euro: According to the ECB, this will take 2 more years from now to establish its characteristics (See announcement ECB) .

3. Positioning of CBCDs versus the cryptocurrencies and the stablecoins

In the table below, you will find the positioning.

4. Current Status of the CBCDs

Below you can find an overview of CBDC adoption across global markets.

5. CBCDs: Benefits and Challenges

CBCDs offer several benefits such as:

Playing a role in retaining public money for general use. The increasing adoption of user-friendly digital money reduces the demand for cash, currently the only public form of money.
Acting as a backup for the critical infrastructure in the payment system, as physical cash currently has a function as backup during failures in non-cash payment. CBDC could serve as a parallel backup and its role could gradually become more prominent.
Considering the preferences of the public, related to privacy and the use of data. Some citizens and businesses value privacy when paying, as is the case with cash. Central banks could restrict the use of data generated by CBDC transactions to just that information required for public duties such as compliance with anti-money laundering legislation.
Facilitating financial inclusion: especially in countries whereinto everybody has access to a bank account with a commercial bank.
Enable new monetary policies: If central banks now want to pump money into the economy, the CBCDs are a new channel to get money directly into the economy.
Providing Financial security: There is less need for fractional banking and your bank can hardly fall over. This makes the deposit guarantee scheme virtually superfluous.
Capitalizing on « Trust », as it is supported by a central bank, whereas a stablecoin is merely capitalizing on technology and is not supported by a « Trusted » Party.

However, there are also some challenges such as:

Ensuring that the infrastructure for CBDC is sufficiently segregated from the current infrastructure to prevent both from becoming disrupted.
Time to market. The ECB is now starting to investigate what a digital euro might look like. This investigation phase will start in October 2021 and last for about two years. Other countries like Sweden and China seem to have a quicker time to market.
The risk that some central banks focus resources on other topics like instant payment and open banking models, rather than digital currencies.
A potential negative impact on the potential of commercial banks to cross-sell profitable products if customers were to switch to CBDC entirely. Banks use the payment account as an anchor to offer and grant higher-margin products such as mortgages and personal loans. Customers switching to CBDC entirely could put pressure on their profitability. The ECB took this into account by putting a maximum amount on CBCD accounts per citizen.

Thank you for reading!

To see all my previous blogs, click here.

François de Witte

A Letter of Credit is still an undervalued payment instrument! (Dutch Item)

| 19-10-2021 | Ger van Rosmalen | treasuryXL | LinkedIn

Vorige week was ik aanwezig bij Trends in Export 2021 en vanuit mijn eigen achtergrond was ik nieuwsgierig naar de ontwikkeling van het afdekken van betalingsrisico’s. Interessant om te zien is dat veel ondernemers nog steeds kiezen voor vooruitbetaling op basis van eigen gemak en kosten. Deze trend lijkt zich ten opzichte van voorgaande jaren weinig te wijzigen. Daarnaast lees ik dat veel exporteurs aangeven om voor een bepaalde betalingsrisicoafdekking te kiezen ingegeven door diverse factoren.

Welke factoren zijn dit onder meer?

Onbekendheid met de afnemer: 87% van de exporteurs zegt dit belangrijk tot heel belangrijk te vinden.
Slechte betalingservaring met afnemer: 77% vindt dit belangrijk tot heel belangrijk.
Risicovol exportgebied: 75% vindt dit belangrijk tot heel belangrijk.
Hoog risico in verhouding tot de totale omzet: 67% van de exporteurs vindt dit belangrijk tot heel belangrijk
Kosten van eventuele wanbetaling zijn hoger dan afdekken hiervan: 60% van de exporteurs vindt dit belangrijk tot heel belangrijk.
Geen vertrouwen in afnemers in het algemeen: 31% van de exporteurs geeft dit aan als belangrijk tot heel belangrijk.

Wat als een afnemer geen vooruitbetaling accepteert laat u de deal dan lopen? Indien ja dan denk ik dat u door geen gebruik te maken van het alternatief “Letter of Credit” u omzet laat liggen.

Bekendheid met dit product scoort bijzonder laag bij de exporteurs volgens Trends in Export.

Ik heb een mooi familiebedrijf mogen begeleiden die voorheen alleen op basis van vooruitbetaling zaken wilde doen. Geen vooruitbetaling, geen deal. Door ze mee te nemen in de wereld van Letters of Credit, stap voor stap kon ik ze maanden later los laten en gingen zij vol vertrouwen zelf aan de slag met deze uitstekende betalingsinstrumenten. Het heeft de omzet een mooie boost gegeven.

Laat u informeren over de mogelijkheden en onmogelijkheden van het gebruik van Letters of Credit. Welke risico’s er zijn en hoe uit te sluiten. Welke kosten van toepassing zijn.

Tradelinq Solutions neemt u graag mee in de wereld van Letters of Credit. We verzorgen trainingen in combinatie met andere betalingsinstrumenten. Ook de samenhang met Incoterms en Compliance is een vast onderdeel van de training. Support op basis van slechts 1 transactie is ook mogelijk. Alle ondersteuning is gebaseerd op overdragen van kennis. Het is voor ons belangrijk dat u begrijpt welke risico’s u loopt of uitsluit en op basis daarvan beslissingen kan nemen.

Ger van Rosmalen

Trade Finance Specialist

How Can Treasurers Gain from an Intercompany Netting Strategy?

18-10-2021 | treasuryXL | Gtreasury |

As a treasury tactic proven to deliver significant workflow efficiency and clear cost savings, intercompany netting is implemented far less common than its benefits merit. With a netting process, payables and receivables between multiple entities are no longer handled one at a time, but all at once. Furthermore, with intercompany netting, all the transactions between the subsidiaries are replaced with singular transfers between a Netting Center and each subsidiary, in the home currency of the subsidiary. For what kind of businesses is intercompany netting beneficial, and what are the key pain points that are leading organizations to consider intercompany netting strategies?

Read the full Article

About GTreasury

For more than 30 years, GTreasury has delivered the leading digital Treasury and Risk Management System (TRMS) to corporate treasurers across industries. With its continually innovating Software-as-a-Service platform, GTreasury provides customers with a single source of truth for all their cash, payments, and risk activities. The TRMS solution offers any combination of Cash Management, Payments, Financial Instruments, Risk Management, Accounting, Banking, and Hedge Accounting – seamlessly integrated, on-demand worldwide and fully secured. Headquartered in Chicago with offices serving EMEA (London) and APAC (Sydney and Manila), GTreasury’s global community includes more than 800 customers and 30+ industries reaching 160+ countries worldwide.

#9 Not Searching For Alternatives

14-10-2021 | treasuryXL | Xe

This is the last part of XE’s ‘9 Mistakes Your Business Should Avoid’ journey. We have reflected upon Currency risk mistakes that companies worldwide often make. It is important to learn from these mistakes in order to avoid them. The message of this manual is that paying attention to foreign currency can deliver benefits ranging from increased value to better Risk management. To reap the benefits, it is important to work with a currency provider who understands what you need and who can help you achieve your goals. It is possible that your current currency provider can provide that, but if you don’t look around you won’t know if it might be better.

“Aandacht besteden aan vreemde valuta kan veel voordelen opleveren, variërend van meer waarde tot beter risicobeheer.”

Niet rondkijken naar alternatieve valutaservices is dan ook een enorme fout. Het is mogelijk dat u daardoor betere koersen misloopt, geen gebruik kunt maken van diensten waarvan u het bestaan niet kende en valuta niet strategisch kunt benaderen zoals zou moeten als praktijk en beleid een afspiegeling zouden moeten zijn van uw handelsomgeving. Ga er niet van uit dat de diensten die uw bank verleent, van het niveau en de kwaliteit
zijn die u nodig hebt. Het is gemakkelijk om bij uw bank te blijven en de zekerheid te hebben van een vertrouwde provider. Maar uw bank kan wellicht niet dezelfde verscheidenheid aan valutadiensten bieden als een gespecialiseerde provider die alleen vreemde valuta doet. Dat wil niet zeggen dat u de hype van concurrerende providers moet volgen. Als bijvoorbeeld een koers te goed klinkt om waar te zijn, dan is dat ook vrijwel zeker het geval. Wees ook sceptisch als providers u aanmoedigen om te gaan speculeren op valutamarkten of u ervan proberen te overtuigen dat ze koersschommelingen kunnen voorspellen.

Het klinkt misschien tegenstrijdig, maar de beste hedgepositie is degene die geen voordeel oplevert: een verzekering die u afsluit voor het ergste geval, terwijl u hoopt op het beste, namelijk dat de valutamarkten niet in uw nadeel bewegen. In werkelijkheid biedt zelfs een geslaagde hedge slechts wat meer tijd. Wat u nodig hebt, is een provider die de tijd neemt om erachter te komen wat de specifieke eisen van uw bedrijf zijn in plaats van een standaardservice te bieden. Competitieve koersen spelen natuurlijk een rol bij uw zoektocht, maar moeten zeker niet uw enige overweging zijn. U hebt een provider nodig die een oplossing op maat kan ontwikkelen die aan al uw eisen voldoet en u kan helpen om uw toekomstige risico effectiever te beheren. Neem met minder geen genoegen.

Klik hier voor meer Info en Download WhitePaper

A 360 Degree View On Security

| 13-10-2021 | treasuryXL | Nomentia |

One would think data protection and security measures are baked into our identity as digital people, especially in a year where we are working remote more than ever. But is it though? The breaches show that security is too often seen as something to kind of ‘wing it’. And there is an eternal question whether the best way to a secure IT environment is to educate the employees to make the right decisions or to put measures into place.

We personally believe that security and combatting Fraud is a combination of people, processes, and tools. Security literacy is a skill everyone should have and constantly develop, and companies can further support this by making use of tools such as multi-factor authentication to mitigate risks and implementing processes to keep their corporate environments safe. We think security deserves a 360 degrees view in an organization that is implemented throughout their solution landscape.

Login & User access control

This is a simple thing organisations can implement either with Single-Sign-On and/or multi-factor authentication. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a method of authentication that requires the use of more than one verification method and adds a critical second layer of security to user logins. A user is only granted access after successfully passing all authentication phases. The different factors are based off of different things as opposed to a simple password which bears some vulnerability. The first authentication phase is based on knowledge. A person needs to know their username and password, and this can also be initiated through single sign on with corporate credentials for a further security increase. The second authentication phase is based on possession. A person must possess and have access to a mobile phone to for example receive a code per text message or a phone call to double authenticate the log-in.

In practice this means, even if a username and password get compromised, cyber criminals will still not be able to login to the account protected with multi-factor authentication. And neither does a stolen mobile phone as both phases are required for a successful login.

One of the potential downsides to multi-factor authentication is that it adds one extra step in the process. And I can admit myself, every time I am going through the process of logging into our internal tools, we are sometimes a bit impatient while waiting for the text message. But it’s a small trade-off for security. Especially since single-sign on also adds convenience.

Single sign on means that people can log into systems with their corporate credentials and just speed up the process on that end. It’s fast and adds an additional security layer which is extremely powerful if paired with MFA.

Integrations

This is a crucial part in terms of security. We believe that monolithic enterprise platforms are dead and best-of-breed solutions that are highly integrated are the future. This best-of breed approach however also ads emphasis on the need to ensure the integrations are safe. Which data is travelling via which channels from where to where? How is the data in transit being secured from theft and man-in-the-middle attacks?

The first step is to map out all needed integrations and systems and create a use case scenario and based on this define the needed setup. For instance, in the context of cash management you might for instance end up protecting payment information with a higher security standards than a simple accounts payable extract that is used to cash forecasting only. The key is to have a companywide and regularly maintained risk analysis process that recognizes risky areas, measures the levels of set controls (preferably audited by external experts) and constantly comes up with better and better controls.

User access control

Understanding and carefully designing which user has access to which data and processes is not bullying your employees but is a crucial step in setting processes in place that further support security. In our case, our customers need to answer questions such as: which user can approve payments, who can add a new account number to the system, who can manipulate user rights, who can make a manual payment, or who can view balance information from banks and the likes.

Infrastructure and Platforms

Making sure that you run your IT infrastructure and solutions on secure platforms is a crucial control point. One would think that in this day and age that shouldn’t be a question anymore, yet we would recommend checking this anyway. How is the user access to databases and servers or other backend artifacts controlled? Are your administrators using multi-factor authentication? Have you segregated the so-called privileged access and user accounts? Do you keep a list of such accounts? Do you collect logs from your systems and store them securely?

Many industry standards come handy here. For us relevant standards are for instance ISO 27001 and ISAE 3402 auditing framework. In our domain particularly relevant is SWIFT Customer Security Program (CSP) which is a security framework developed and derived for financial industry from such international standards such as NIST and PCI DSS. All these standards should not be considered just as acronyms but a toolbox that can help you to build a company culture that takes security seriously in every step and by every employee in every role.

Security comes from within

Above are the steps that each organization can take to ensure that their set-up is secure. Let’s face it, there is no such thing as absolute security. But by establishing a strong security culture in your organization we believe you can make it really hard for criminals to gain access to our systems.

If you want to reach have an assessment of your security measures in terms of people, processes and tools for your cash management, please get in touch with us and we will assess your set-up and provide you options how you can further tighten your security. Cash is king, but hopefully a well-protected king.

CONTACT US

Question treasuryXL Panel #2 | How is PSD2 being applied in a business context?

12-10-2021| treasuryXL | Cobase |LinkedIn |

treasuryXL is the community platform for all your relevant treasury questions.

We received the following question from one of our followers…

QUESTION

“As a treasurer, efficient and risk-free handling of payments and reporting are top of mind. In the daily news I read a lot about PSD2, but why don’t I see much of this being applied in a business context?”

ANSWER

We asked for assistance of our highly valued partners to answer the question: Joost Kevelam, Head of Sales and Head of Financial Markets & Risk Solutions at Cobase.

With his expertise he could help out our contact perfectly!

Joost Kevelam responds:

“That is a great question. Today PSD2 is very much geared towards retail users. For corporate usage, we see three key hurdles that need to be cleared.

Firstly, for reporting purposes PSD2 still demands use of bank-specific tokens; either for periodical consent (for reporting) or for each payment. For treasurers that have several banks this is prohibitive.

Secondly, corporate treasurers want to connect in such a way that they can do all their cash management tasks in their ERP and the ERP then connects (unattended) to all their banks. The banks’ PSD2 (or Open Banking) connections often do not support these patterns.”

Lastly PSD2 protocols vary wildly across banks, there is no standard yet. Developments in the right direction are unfolding slowly.
In the meanwhile there are solution providers in the market that offer much of the touted future PSD2 benefits, but with technology that is already easily available today (e.g. swift, host-2-host and other APIs). If you select a provider, please consider whether they have the license and capability to easily migrate you to the PSD2/Open Banking interfaces once they are suitable for corporate usage.
Feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss how these technologies can make your life as a treasurer easier.

Do you also have a treasury related question? Feel free to leave your question at our treasuryXL Panel. The panel members are willing to answer your question, free of charge, no commitment.

No More Excuses! It’s Time to Implement the Right Hedging Program

11-10-2021 | treasuryXL | Kantox

More than half the participants of the Kantox & TMI FX Survey describe their existing currency hedging program as inadequate. And that’s not all: 72% of participants admit the need for updates and changes to their policies and programs going forward.

How do we account for this widespread inadequacy? The answer is simple. Most managers start by assessing the available Treasury resources. Only then do they set up the firm’s hedging programs.

This is the wrong approach.

Instead, managers should start by assessing the FX needs of the business, paying special attention to the firm’s pricing parameters. Only then should they design the hedging program.

Over-hedging —the situation of a firm that has hedged in anticipation of an exposure that has failed to materialise— is a perfect example of the challenges posed by a program designed with the available technology. As the Kantox & TMI Survey shows, it is one of the most pressing concerns for treasurers.

The problem of over-hedging is often associated with a ‘lack of visibility’ in treasurers’ forecasts. The apparent solution then is to ask for more staff to be hired at the Treasury team.

At Kantox we disagree with this diagnosis.

More often than not, over-hedging is the byproduct of a hedging program that was badly designed from the start—and where the wrong tools were applied. Spreadsheets, TMSs or ERPs, were never designed with FX management needs in mind.

That’s why it is becoming more and more important to use technology that is flexible enough to allow managers to deploy FX programs that are tailored to the specific needs of the business.

Starting off on the right foot

Take the case of a company that does not update its prices frequently, yet has an FX-sensitive business model, favourable forward points, and a low degree of forecast accuracy. It would be hazardous for such a firm to rely on a traditional ‘static program’ where the whole budget is hedged at the start of the period.

Instead, the magnitude of an early static hedge should be kept within the bounds of what is nearly 100% certain in terms of accuracy. For the rest of the budget, a more dynamic combined program —based on firm commitments— can be designed.

Such hedging programs and combinations of programs can be tailored to fit any business model and pricing parameters. By applying these programs, companies make sure that situations of under or over-hedging are avoided, and that a hedge rate that is equal or better than their budget/campaign rate is systematically achieved.

But this requires technology.

A game-changer: Streamlining the end-to-end FX processes

There is a way out of the costs created by inadequate hedging programs. As Antonio Rami, Kantox’s co-founder and Chief Growth Officer put it during a recent Kantox webinar: “By using technology to streamline the end-to-end process of FX risk management —from the pre-trade phase down to the accounting tasks— companies can sidestep the pitfalls of softwareless currency management”.

Armed with a thorough understanding of the FX needs and pricing dynamics of their business, companies can deploy the Currency Management Automation solutions needed to create —and to execute— the hedging program that best suits the business.

It’s high time to ditch excuses like the ‘lack of visibility’, ‘high FX volatility’ and ‘insufficient treasury resources’.

Start off on the right foot instead. Look at the needs of the business first, and then go for the hedging program that allows your firm to take advantage of emerging growth opportunities—just about anywhere in the world.

WEBINAR ALERT | How to achieve cash forecasting excellence – challenges and strategies

treasuryXL | Nomentia |

Date & time: October 20, 2021 at 3.00 pm CET | Duration 45 minutes

Cash forecasting remains one of the most challenging topics in treasury management. With the knowledge and years of experience of our experts within TreasuryXL and Nomentia, we will discuss cash forecasting in more depth. We’ll tackle the challenges that are paired with cash forecasting, and strategies to overcome challenges to achieve cash forecasting excellence.

Join the webinar to learn more about:

Brief introduction to TreasuryXL and Nomentia
Short introduction to cash forecasting
Why many companies have sub-optimal cash forecasting
The challenges with cash forecasting
Managing the cash forecasting process
Steps to create cash forecast excellence

Click on the banner for registration.

Meet the speakers

Francois de Witte (1)

François de Witte

Seasoned Treasury Expert
TreasuryXL

Huub Wevers

Senior Sales Manager
Nomentia

Jouni Kirjola

Head of Solutions and Presales
Nomentia

5 Tips for Currency Exchange

07-10-2021| treasuryXL | XE |

If you’ve ever travelled abroad, sent a money transfer to family overseas, or made international business payments, you know it can be a pain to exchange currency. Searching banks, online exchange providers, or the streets of an unknown city for the best rates can be time-consuming and costly. And, if you don’t pay attention, foreign exchange costs can add up.

Here are five tips to help you save on currency exchange.

1. Plan Ahead

Find out what the current mid-market exchange rate is with our XE Currency Converter or XE Currency App. Next, compare the rates and fees offered by banks, exchange cambios, and online providers. Once you find the best deal, exchange your funds.

2. Understand Foreign Exchange Costs

Some foreign exchange costs can be transparent and others can be hidden, so it is important to understand what you are paying for. Just like every other company, foreign exchange providers need to make a profit to stay in business. The following are three ways in which providers make money:

Currency providers may charge a commission, flat fee, handling fee, or minimum charge
They may include a spread in exchange rates by buying currencies at one rate and selling them at another – with a margin included
FX providers may also charge transfer fees for wire transfers and other delivery methods

You can calculate your currency exchange costs with our XE Foreign Exchange Charges Calculator. Or, download the XE Currency app for iPhone and use our Rate Advisor to compare your provider’s price to the mid-market rate.

3. Consolidate your Transactions

Since every currency exchange transaction has associated costs, fewer transactions can sometimes result in lower costs. Depending on the type of transaction, you may save money by consolidating several money transfers into one large transaction. Some foreign exchange providers may even offer better rates, or waive commission fees for currency exchanges over a certain amount.

4. Beware of Counterfeits

Every country has its fair share of counterfeit currency – some more than others. To avoid fakes, try to become familiar with the look and feel of the currency. Take note of watermarks and other security features. This can make spotting a fake easier, although it probably won’t be possible to spot a high-level counterfeit. Try to use trusted foreign exchange providers and established currency exchange companies.

5. Bank Overseas for Extended Stays

If you’re moving abroad, studying internationally, or plan to stay in a foreign country for a long period of time, consider sending money and banking overseas. Opening up a local bank account can minimize fees and help keep your money secure. It also makes consolidating your currency transactions much easier and helps mitigate the risk of currency fluctuations.

Partner Interview | CEO Nicolas Christiaen about how and why they built Cashforce NextGen, the ‘next generation’

05-10-2021 | treasuryXL | Cashforce

Why did Cashforce create the ‘NextGen’? What’s the vision behind this great concept? We have asked CEO Nicolas Christiaen 10 questions regarding the creation of the NextGen platform.

Find out why Cashforce created NextGen, what makes it unique and what solution the platform offers to treasurers.

Introduction Nicolas

Nicolas Christiaen is the CEO and Co-founder of Cashforce, an industry leading cash forecasting and working capital insights system. Nicolas has an extensive background in finance analytics, cash management and cash forecasting. He has led the effort to bring Cashforce to multi-national firms in distribution/retail, manufacturing and logistics/services industries. Nicolas uses his experience to drive both product development and thought leadership within Cashforce, resulting in a user base that benefits, not only from the system, but also the best practices that helped design it. Prior to Cashforce Nicolas worked as a management consultant at PwC and was a serial entrepreneur, founding two other software companies. He is frequently a guest speaker in the FinTech community and you will often find him on panels at international treasury conferences.

Introduction NextGen

Cashforce is a “next generation” cash forecasting and working capital analytics solution focused on automation and integration. By using Cashforce’s cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform, corporates can unlock the potential for their data to help make smarter decisions, saving time and money in the process. Cashforce can consume a large variety of data, process that data using machine learning and get insights into cash flows and working capital. Cashforce NextGen eliminates the manual and cumbersome treasury tasks around cash forecasting, enabling its users to take advantage of AI-powered scenarios and a strong workflow for distributed treasury teams. The Cashforce system serves mid-to-large-sized corporates and is currently being used at over 70 companies and as many countries.

INTERVIEW

1. Can you remember your “A-ha!” moment that made you realize Cashforce NextGen needed to be built?

Yes, I can remember it well. We were working on a proof-of-concept exercise with a huge dataset, imagining ways to manage this large amount of complex data. We have always tried to challenge ourselves to look for ways to do things better. Our technical team of UX and system performance specialists began laying out the case to use the latest technology to provide, not only the functionality, but also the scalability and performance we would need to meet projected commitments and fulfill the product vision. The team did a fantastic job and really showed me the “art of the possible”. That did it for me and we immediately switched gears to figure out how we could make this happen.

2. What critical issue does the Cashforce NextGen immediately resolve for the treasurer?

Right now, treasurers struggle to provide their stakeholders with accurate forecasts. This is due to the difficulty of consolidating data into one place, and dealing with complexities like intercompany payments, various payment behaviors and overdues. Treasury practitioners want to be able to drill into the data and to use the output to make important decisions from “how much excess cash do I have to invest for the short term?” to “how much cash will we have in three months when our planned acquisition closes”? It is hard to do that when your forecast is sub-par. Cashforce helps you pull data from every location where it resides so you can start with a complete picture. Then we layer our analytics on top of that, so that you have a clear picture of what is coming in and going out. The result is that the forecasted cash positions become meaningful enough that you can incorporate them into strategic plans.

3. How does the new platform differentiate from the other players in the market?

Cashforce began its journey from a working capital analysis point-of-view and we built our cash forecasting capabilities on top of that by linking to ERP systems. This had the effect of enriching the quality of the forecasts that we could generate and made them more useful. The ERP connectors themselves are a large differentiator: they ensure a seamless flow of granular, system-based data. This creates a fully transparent view into cash. On top of that, Cashforce applies smart forecasting logic (including AI-based algorithms, P&L-to-Cash logic, payment behavior analysis…) to build highly accurate and automated forecasts for the short, mid & long term. An intelligent simulation engine allows the Treasury department to evaluate different scenarios, analyze their impact and calculate the forecast/actuals variance.

4. Can each ERP system work with the Cashforce NextGen also when you work with multiple ERP’s located in different countries?

Yes, we have many clients that use Cashforce to pull in data from multiple ERP’s. Sometimes it is different instances of the same ERP, and sometimes it is a different ERP altogether. Either way, we configure Cashforce to pull in the needed data automatically, so that the end-users can start using the system with the data already loaded.

5. What is the biggest challenge you experienced while creating this new platform?

When you are trying to build a really remarkable product, there is always a tension between the ideal vision, the dream state, and what development can realistically deliver to meet market and client expectations and keep our overall momentum. On top of that, the pandemic struck while we were in the middle of our efforts, and this put an enormous strain on our timelines, productivity and ability to collaborate in real-time in the way you need to make something special. Doing that through web meetings can slow things down quite a bit, but luckily we already had a solid plan, an established process and an effective line of communication. This enabled us to keep going and now that we are moving back to normal, we are positioned to get out there and show what NextGen can do.

6. What is, in your perception, the biggest benefit of working with Cashforce NextGen?

As we brought Cashforce NextGen to market, we found that several benefits jumped out to our clients: Time-savings, Money-savings and the ability to use knowledge of your current and future cash positions to elevate forecasting to a strategic level. Many of our clients need to actively manage cash to invest or borrow properly, as needed and to make acquisitions. But they are using old tools and forecasting modules that simply didn’t give them what they needed. With NextGen, we have the highest degree of automation, the best workflow, the latest AI and machine learning models to improve forecasting and it all sits in a great user interface that is so easy to use. Sorry to not say one benefit, but the truth is the benefits are many.

7. What is the overall feeling of your customers about NextGen?

Our customers are very excited about the new product, just as we are. Prior to development, we made sure to meet with our clients, share the vision and gather their feedback, especially pain points. It was a great feeling when we went back to them to show our first demonstration of NextGen, you could feel the excitement in the air.

8. Can you give us an outlook on the product developments and tell us a bit more about your vision?

Cashforce’s vision has always been to save time and money for finance and treasury departments. Over the years, we have accumulated expertise around different approaches to short- mid-and long-term forecasting, connectivity with different ERP’s and TMS’s, designing sustainable workflows and integrating technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. We want to leverage this knowledge alongside future-facing technologies, such as APIs, to create a new platform that is state-of-the-art and capable of consuming billions of transactions in real-time. However, we don’t plan to stop at consolidation and analysis of the data. We are working with our clients to build out the system to take the “next action”in their treasury processes. By linking with trade execution platforms and Treasury Management Systems (TMS), Cashforce will be a decision-making engine that drives our customers’ workflows.

9. The world is always changing, how does Cashforce stay one step ahead of its competitors?

The treasury world is always changing and will always be changing. It’s up to us to change with it and keep up with shifting consumer needs. Companies that focus on the past tend to stay in the past. So you must know what technology is out there, what is possible, what is available, what works and what doesn’t. For example, AI and machine learning will become ubiquitous and woven into the fabric of finance and treasury. That is why we want to lead the charge to use new methods and new technology. The better informed our clients are, the better prepared they will be to handle these changes as they happen.

10. Looking back on your Cashforce career, what is ‘the thing’ you are most proud of?

I have had the opportunity to work with some very talented people at Cashforce. I am most proud of our ability to create an environment that empowers our people to be as successful as they can. To see these talented people bring Cashforce NextGen to life has been an amazing experience.