Beheer uw Financiële Middelen | Cash- en werkkapitaalbeheer

| 29-10-2021 | François de Witte | treasuryXL |

Een bedrijf financieel gezond houden kan niet zonder een gedegen werkkapitaalbeheer. In deze basisopleiding bekijken we alle inkomende en uitgaande geldstromen (debiteuren, crediteuren, voorraden en cash). U leert hoe u deze geldstromen kan beheren en optimaliseren. Een aanrader voor iedereen wie interesse heeft en de noodzaak inziet van een transparant treasury- en creditmanagement. Deze opleiding gaat klassikaal door in campus Gent.

Omschrijving

Productieprocessen, (internationale) logistieke processen en verkoopprocessen brengen grote geldstromen in beweging. Een bedrijf financieel gezond houden kan niet zonder een gedegen werkkapitaalbeheer. In deze basisopleiding bekijken we alle inkomende en uitgaande geldstromen (debiteuren, crediteuren, voorraden en cash). U leert hoe u deze geldstromen kunt beheren en optimaliseren. Een aanrader voor iedereen wie interesse heeft en de noodzaak inziet van een transparant treasury- en creditmanagement.

Voor wie is deze opleiding bestemd?

Deze module richt zich tot bedrijfsleiders, alsook alle financieel verantwoordelijken, leden van het treasury team, controllers, financieel adviseurs, accountants, accountmanagers en productmanagers bij financiële instellingen.

Voorkennis

Financieel basisinzicht is vereist.

Bijkomende info

Het programma komt in aanmerking voor 9 uren permanente vorming bij ITAA.

Methodologie

Het programma is doorspekt met cases die samen met de deelnemers behandeld worden. Naast voorbeelden uit de praktijk die de theoretische onderbouw concretiseren, is er steeds aandacht voor de opmerkingen en vragen van de deelnemers. Om deze reden is het aantal deelnemers beperkt.

Lesdata

DATUM	STARTUUR	EINDUUR
woensdag 01/12/2021	9:30	12:30
woensdag 01/12/2021	13:30	16:30
woensdag 8/12/2021	13:30	16:30

Meer informatie en inschrijven: Klik Hier

François de Witte

Kyriba Fact Sheet – Payment Errors & Compliance Violations

27-10-2021 | treasuryXL | Kyriba |

Payment errors and compliance violations cause significant losses for businesses of all sizes. Fraud alone cost companies more than $42 billion last year, according to PwC’s Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey.

The repercussions are wide-ranging, from arduous public disclosures and legal fees to reputational damage. Some are the result of attacks by elite cybercriminals, while others are simple mistakes made by careless or inexperienced employees. Kyriba’s Payments Fraud Solution delivers confidence that payment fraud attempts, errors and policy violations are captured, identified, and eliminated, saving your organization time, effort, and money.

Have a read of Kyriba’s Fact Sheet to learn more about payment errors and how Kyriba can help you.

Kyriba Unlocks Access to $15 Trillion Payment Network with Launch of Open API Platform

25-10-2021 | treasuryXL | Kyriba |

Kyriba, a global leader in cloud-based finance and IT solutions, today announced the launch of its Open API Platform to enable composable technology solutions for CFOs, CIOs and Treasurers, and accelerate the next generation of finance innovation. Kyriba’s Open API Platform streamlines the creation and connectivity of new applications for the company’s trusted network, which connects 1,000 banks, manages over a million bank accounts, and processes over 200 million payments worth 15 trillion USD annually.

The Open API Platform is accessible through Kyriba’s newly launched Developer Portal, which connects fintech developers to Kyriba’s 2,000+ global corporate clients who have integrated Kyriba into their treasury processes, enterprise payments systems, and ERP platforms.

“Kyriba Open API Platform will radically unlock fintech innovation for enterprise CFOs and their CIO counterparts,” said Boris Lipiainen, CTO of Kyriba. “Beyond simplifying and accelerating bank and ERP connectivity, fintech developers will bring new apps to the Kyriba network and empower the next generation of financial technology.”

APIs are transforming the way Finance and IT consume and integrate data and are the gateway to delivering real-time services, artificial intelligence, and composable digital finance solutions for CFOs and CIOs. According to Gartner® research, “Gartner predicts through 2024, 50% of financial application leaders will incorporate a composable financial management system approach to their solution selection. Gartner defines a composable architecture as one where highly modular applications can be composed and recomposed to deliver capabilities and outcomes that keep up with the rapid pace of business change1.”

“Kyriba’s Open API Platform eliminates the need for internal IT teams to deliver a patchwork of custom interfaces and RPA bots to satisfy the growing need for hyperautomation,” said Félix Grévy, VP of Open API and Connectivity at Kyriba. “Our Platform enables Kyriba clients and our network of development partners to accelerate product innovation and deliver composable technology solutions to eliminate fraud, mitigate risk and optimize enterprise liquidity.”

For more information about Kyriba’s Open API Platform, visit Kyriba.com or the Kyriba Developer Portal and listen to their webinar APIs:The Catalyst for Real-Time Treasury.

Why Do Currencies Fluctuate?

21-10-2021| treasuryXL | XE | LinkedIn

These days, some currency rates are jumping to all-time highs while others plunge to record lows. Exchange rates are constantly fluctuating, but what, exactly, causes a currency’s value to rise and fall? Simply put, currencies fluctuate based on supply and demand.

Most of the world’s currencies are bought and sold based on flexible exchange rates, meaning their prices fluctuate based on the supply and demand in the foreign exchange market. High demand for a currency or a shortage in its supply will cause an increase in price. A currency’s supply and demand are tied to a number of intertwined factors including the country’s monetary policy, the rate of inflation, and political and economic conditions.

Monetary Policy

One way a country may stimulate its economy is through its monetary policy. Many central banks attempt to control the demand for currency by increasing or decreasing the money supply and/or benchmark interest rates.

“With a low interest rate, people and businesses are more willing and able to borrow money”

The money supply is the amount of a currency in circulation. As a country’s money supply increases and the currency becomes more available, the price of borrowing the currency goes down. The interest rate is the price at which money can be borrowed. With a low interest rate, people and businesses are more willing and able to borrow money. As they continually spend this borrowed money, the economy grows. However, if there is too much money in the economy and the supply of goods and services does not increase accordingly, prices may begin to inflate.

Rate of Inflation

Another variable that heavily influences the value of a currency is the inflation rate. The inflation rate is the rate at which the general price of goods and services are increasing. While a small amount of inflation indicates a healthy economy, too much of an increase can cause economic instability, which may ultimately lead to the currency’s depreciation.

A country’s inflation rate and interest rates heavily influence its economy. If the inflation rate gets too high, the central bank may counteract the problem by raising the interest rate. This encourages people to stop spending and instead save their money. It also stimulates foreign investment and increases the amount of capital entering the marketplace, which leads to an increased demand for currency. Therefore, an increase in a country’s interest rate leads to an appreciation of its currency. Similarly, a decrease in an interest rate causes depreciation of the currency.

Political and Economic Conditions

The economic and political conditions of a country can also cause a currency’s value to fluctuate. While investors enjoy high interest rates, they also value the predictability of an investment. This is why currencies from politically stable and economically sound countries generally have higher demand, which, in turn, leads to higher exchange rates.

Markets continually monitor the current and expected future economic conditions of countries. In addition to money supply changes, interest rates, and inflation rates, other key economic indicators include gross domestic product, unemployment rate, housing starts, and trade balance (a country’s total exports less its total imports). If these indicators show a strong and growing economy, its currency will tend to appreciate as demand increases.

Similarly, strong political conditions impact currency values positively. If a country is in the midst of political unrest or global tensions, the currency becomes less attractive and demand falls. On the other hand, if a market sees the introduction of a new government that suggests stability or strong future economic growth, a currency may appreciate as people buy it based on the good news.

Conclusion

There is no single indicator that explains exactly why a currency has fluctuated or predicts with certainty what its price will do. Instead, many factors related to demand and supply affect currency values. What has been shown is that more knowledge and understanding of market conditions and their implications for currency fluctuations leads to more accurate predictions.

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.