Yvonne Wijnberg shares her Register Treasurer experience

| 13-03-2020 | by treasuryXL | Yvonne Wijnberg

 

The Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam is proud to announce that they honored 13 new Register Treasurer (RT) graduates. The graduated RT’s of March 2020 were part of the 22nd class. One of the graduates is Yvonne Wijnberg. Yvonne is Treasury Manager at the fast-growing, international non-food discounter, Action. She shares her story with us about her RT experience from start till end.

 

Investing

The Treasury Management & Corporate Finance post graduate programme is 1.5 years of investing in yourself and your career. For sure if you have been out of school for as many years as I have, it is not easy to get back in the process of studying  for exams, but once you are back in the routine, it brings you so much more than you expected.

Switch to treasury

After a career in Corporate Accounting I decided that I needed a change, so 12 years ago I made the switch from Corporate Accounting to Treasury. It was not easy to start from scratch again after working for over 10 years already, but I have never regretted the change a single day.

My career has never been a speedy process and I have made a few sidesteps along the way, but in the end it got me to where I am today. In March 2020 I finished the post graduate programme for Treasury Management & Corporate Finance at VU university Amsterdam.

 

Enrichment

When I started in September 2018, I was worried I might be the oldest there, fortunately this was not the case. The group was a pleasant mixture of sexes, ages, experience and disciplines. Not only people who work in corporate Treasury joint the programme, but also consultants, bankers, controllers and tax professionals were part of the group. This is one of the reasons why the programme is so interesting. Getting to know my fellow students and interact with them was an enrichment to my development and network.  But also the lectures from professionals over a wide spread of topics is something that has added value to my daily operations.

The programme is diverse. Some courses focus on cases, while others are more theoretical. But the complete programme gives a solid basis of all subjects that can cross your path in Treasury. And as always, one course will appeal more to you than another. If you’re working in groups on assignments the learning point is not only the assignment itself, but also in broadening your view and making you more aware of other options then the once that seems most logical to you.

Part of the programme is also that you need to write 2 academic papers. For me this was the biggest challenge. But in the end this was a good way to broaden my knowledge on 2 subjects that will help me in my work.

Why the RT-programme

The reason for joining the programme was maybe a little different for me than for most. With more than enough practical experience I found myself lacking the theoretical basis which made me insecure at times. The programme has given me broader theoretical knowledge that helps me in my daily practice. This allows me to make decisions more easily and with more confidence.

During the programme at times it was hard, not only for yourself but also for your loved ones. And you always have the challenge of dividing your time between work, family and study. But in the end it is all worth it!

 

 

Yvonne Wijnberg

Treasury Manager at Action

 

 

 

 

Graduated as a RT and ready for a new treasury challenge?

Being a RT opens doors to new challenges more easily. Are you looking for an interim or a permanent position? Do you want to work in a small business or rather prefer a big corporation? If you want to make a switch in your career and you are open for a new adventure than I would highly recommend to contact our partner Treasurer Search. Treasurer Search is a successful treasury recruitment company, founded 10 years ago with consultants that have experience in treasury recruitment up to 20 years.

Do you have any questions about the RT programme? Are you a RT who want to share your career development via an interview? Or do you have any other related questions or remarks about the RT topic? You can contact me directly via:

Kendra Keydeniers
Community & Partner Manager at treasuryXL

 

 

 

 

 

 

Information session Treasury Management & Corporate Finance on May 13, 2020

10-1-2020 | by Kendra Keydeniers | Vrije Universiteit

The VU Amsterdam would like to invite you to the information Session of the Executive Education programmes at the VU Amsterdam on May 13,  2020. This evening gives an insight into the content and organisation of the programmes

 

The Information session of the postgraduate programme Treasury Management & Corporate Finance is from 18.30 hr. to 19:15 hr.

Anyone interested in the programme is welcome. We are looking forward to seeing you at the VU Amsterdam!

Register here

 

Take a dive into RT career stories from graduates

The VU has been delivering RT graduates successfully for a few decades. That means that there are hundreds of graduates working, most of them in corporate treasury. How do their careers look like after they graduated? treasuryXL asked some of the RT graduates about their career development and their thoughts about the RT programme. Check it out:

Reminder for registration for the Masterclasses Treasury Management 2020

| 30-12-2019 | treasuryXL | Hogeschool Utrecht

The HU University of Applied Sciences in Utrecht scheduled 4 Post-HBO Treasury Management Masterclasses in 2020. The first masterclass will start on April 16, 2020. You can find all information below (in Dutch).

Bent u een controller, accountant, financieel adviseur, cash manager of bankier met enkele jaren ervaring en ambieert u op termijn een functie als financieel directeur van een grotere (internationale) MKB onderneming of non-profit organisatie? Of wilt u gewoon meer kennis opdoen over Treasury Management (TM) om dit binnen uw eigen werkgebied toe te passen, dan is de Post-HBO Leergang TM iets voor u. Gedurende een viertal masterclasses verdiept u zich in de belangrijkste onderdelen van TM, zoals corporate finance, cash management, valuta en rentemanagement

De cursus wordt afgesloten met een opdracht uit de eigen praktijk van de deelnemer die gepresenteerd en beoordeeld wordt. Naast de bedrijfsopdrachten van de cursisten zelf maakt ook een treasury simulatie op het gebied van cash management onderdeel uit van het programma.

Tijdens de leergang komen vele praktische vraagstukken aan de orde, zoals:

  • Bankrelatiemanagement: opbouwen en onderhouden van een goede relatie met de bank.
  • Alternatieve financieringsmodellen: SME bonds, Crowdfunding, Blockchain, Impact Investing.
  • Rentederivaten: niet alleen woningcorporaties hadden een probleem.
  • Dé manier om debiteuren (sneller) te innen: international cash management.
  • Een transparante rapportage: inzicht bieden voor alle stakeholders.
  • Internationaal zakendoen: forex risico en -hedging, investeringen met rendement.
  • Behavioral finance: inzicht krijgen in hoe financiële beslissingen worden beïnvloed door biases en wat daaraan te doen.

De masterclasses (met ook Engelstalige literatuur) vinden plaats op donderdagen in april, mei, juni en oktober 2020.

De opleiding bestaat uit de volgende onderdelen:

  1. Corporate Finance (Frans Boumans)
  • Hoe wordt een onderneming gefinancierd?
  • Nieuwe financieringsvormen (crowdfunding, private equity, peer-to-peer lending, fintech)
  • Overname- en buy out financiering
  • Het belang van Investor Relations
  • Hou houd je de relatie met de bank goed?
  1. Cash management (Michiel van der Ven)
  • Het opzetten en forecasten van cash budgets
  • Ins en outs van credit management
  • (international) betalingsverkeer
  • Netting en cash pooling
  1. FX-, interest rate risk management (Annette Prinsen)
  • Financial risk strategie en policy
  • Vreemde valuta- en rente riskmanagement (hedging instrumenten)
  • Investeringen van overtollige liquiditeiten
  • Pensioenverplichtingen
  1. Consultancy assignment and personal development (Frans Boumans en Janneke Nonkes)
  • Presentatie en feedback op een eigen praktijkonderzoek over een treasury naar eigen keuze
  • personal development gesprek

De docenten zijn allen langdurig in het bedrijfsleven werkzaam (geweest) als financieel directeur, treasurer en bankier en hebben tevens ruime ervaring in het hoger onderwijs.

Data: donderdagen 16 april, 14 mei, 18 juni  en 15 oktober 2020, van 15.30u tot 20.00u van 15.30u tot 20.00u, kort onderbroken voor een lichte maaltijd, in Utrecht.

Prijs: € 1975 (inclusief persoonlijk assessment)

Locatie: Hogeschool Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 15, Uithof, Utrecht

Toelatingseisen: HBO-diploma, ca. drie jaar relevante werkervaring

Tijdens een adviesgesprek kijken we samen of de opleiding aansluit bij uw ambitie én of u past bij de opleiding. Door de interactieve colleges leer je van elkaar, dus de samenstelling van de groep is van belang. Gestreefd wordt naar een diverse groep deelnemers verschillende sectoren van het bedrijfsleven en de non-profit sector.

More info and registration here

 

Digitalization enhances the strategic position of the treasurer

| 27-12-2019 | TIS | treasuryXL

Discover how you can skillfully use digitalization to play a greater strategic role in your company.

Digitalization is changing the business model of every company. In this factsheet, you will gain valuable expert insights on how you can use digitalization to enhance your strategic position. You will also learn why the opportunities of digitalization do not by any means poses a threat. Read more about:

  1. Digitalization as a horizontal phenomenon
  2. Data is the treasurer’s new gold
  3. Being a sparring partner for the CEO

New technologies are coming to the fore, which redefine the payment area. Especially treasurers will benefit from the expert insights. Do not miss this beneficial factsheet!

Request your download here.

Why are you still paying too much banking costs? There is a simple solution to save money

2-12-2019 | treasuryXL | Vallstein |

Do you have full transparency in your banking cost? Do you fully trust your bank(s)? You can easily save a significant amount of money and create strong ties with your bank(s) for a better relationship.

We interviewed Huub Wevers, Head of Business Development at Vallstein, he will take a deeper dive into the advantages of using WalletSizing® , give you a better insight and even shares a success story.

Can you tell something about WalletSizing® ?

WalletSizing® is a SaaS platform with a number of modules that gives Corporates full transparency on how much they spent on their banks and how profitable they are for their banks. A CFO would like to be able to drive the meetings with the bank supported by independent data showing exactly what a corporate is doing with the bank AND how profitable the corporate is for the bank. This is exactly what WalletSizing® delivers. WalletSizing® drives the focus and strategy of the meeting by showing how much a corporate is spending on their banks and how profitable they are for their banks. It ensures that a corporate gets value for money from their relationships with their banks.

An additional module of WalletSizing®, the bank fee edition is able to upload all bank invoices for cash management and comparing them with the original price agreements. Am I paying the price as agreed during the RFP phase?

WalletSizing® the Bankfee edition, can be used together with the other WalletSizing® modules or stand alone.

This module uploads all bank invoices (any format) for cash management and audits them with the original price agreements: Am I paying the price as agreed during the RFP phase? Are there unforeseen billing charges? I was not aware of these unusual situations like:

  1. a) manual payments,
  2. b) investigations,
  3. c) volumes… leading into continuous internal processes improvements.

WalletSizing® Bankfee edition is all about Automation, Control and Transparency, down to account level and including tailor made reporting for Auditors and Control teams. WalletSizing® Bankfee edition it is not a daily reconciliation system. It is an audit process that can be ran in different frequencies as those fits’ client requirements.

What is, in your perception, the biggest benefit of using WalletSizing® ?

Let me explain the following questions that WalletSizing® answers:

  • How much am I spending on my bank products & services?
  • How profitable am I for my banks?
  • Is the above fair?

The last question is the most important one and can be answered through the benchmarking capabilities of WalletSizing® and the underlying methodology. WalletSizing® is calculating the exact profitability on the basis of the relevant credit ratings, bank fees and the latest Basel III/IV regulations.

Another benefit is during the RFP or price revision process where the proposed prices from the Banks are also uploaded in the system and amongst other criteria, compared with the Vallstein Benchmark. This benchmark is a Vallstein property owned database with hundreds of thousands of data points collected over the last 20 years.

How does the customer project phase look like from start till actual use?

A typical WalletSizing® project takes 6 weeks where Vallstein will handle most of the work, typically 90%. We will gather all necessary data and integrate, translate and upload into the system. Through a number of workshops we ensure the client domain is 100% accurate and the client is versed in making the analysis and acting on it. “Having learned how to fish instead of just been given a fish” as the saying goes. During the project we will also set-up and agree how to continue maintenance of the system, ensuring an up to date system.

How fast can customers experience the impact of WalletSizing® after implementation?

Already during the implementation clients will be able to get benefits from the system by detecting missing bills. After an implementation, clients can immediately review their bank relationships and typically will reach very significant savings in their banking costs through that. And on the long run, clients will have more transparent and better relationships with their banks. When you have clarity on how much you are really paying, you have time to talk about more strategic topics with your banks.

What was your biggest challenge with WalletSizing® ?

The biggest challenge with WalletSizing® we had over the last 20 years is the data quality of the banks and the speed at which they deliver the data to our clients.  Fortunately this is improving due to invoice standards like CAMT.086 and a more shared belief in transparency in the market place. Things have changed for the better and we hope that we have and are contributing to that.

Can you share a great WalletSizing® success story?

A client of ours implemented WalletSizing® Bank Fee Edition. We Started with 9 Banks, 12 countries and 170 different accounts. We have now made the bank process completely automatic. Banks are sending the required and detailed fees data on a quarterly basis and this data is being uploaded into the system.

We found no unique and individual product codes across the banks. Product descriptions are not clear and fees are not consistent across the same billing items and accounts. This has been resolved completely by the system which is now automatically mapping all billing items into unified product names and codes. It is more easy now to compare different banking terms and conditions and market benchmark. Needless to say significant savings and 100% transparency has been achieved.

After this implementation the client agreed that they now had done the difficult part of Bank Relationship Management (Cash Management Fees) and were interested to pursue the analysis of the full banking wallet across all their banks. An exercise to understand the current situation, reduce the number of banks, but with full visibility across all banks on how much business and how profitable they were right now. In the end the client reduced their number of banks from 17 towards 9 and have an even spread of their business (Wallet) across all their banks.

visit Vallstein.com

You are only one step away from saving a lot of money

Huub is thrilled to help you. Fill out the contact form and we arrange a call for you.

Information session Treasury Management & Corporate Finance

18-11-2019 | by Kendra Keydeniers | Vrije Universiteit

The VU Amsterdam would like to invite you to the information Session of the Executive Education programmes at the VU Amsterdam on Thursday 28 November 2019. This evening gives an insight into the content and organisation of the programmes

 

The Information session of the postgraduate programme Treasury Management & Corporate Finance is from 18.30 hr. to 19:15 hr.

Anyone interested in the programme is welcome. We are looking forward to seeing you at the VU Amsterdam!

Register here

 

Take a dive into RT career stories from graduates

The VU has been delivering RT graduates successfully for a few decades. That means that there are hundreds of graduates working, most of them in corporate treasury. How do their careers look like after they graduated? treasuryXL asked some of the RT graduates about their career development and their thoughts about the RT programme. Check it out:

Cash Management in the Age of Digital Transformation

| 15-11-2019 | TIS |

Treasury Leaders Summit – London 2019

The Treasury Leaders Summit provides senior treasury and finance professionals with access to in-depth research, analysis and the opportunity to discuss key issues impacting the profession with senior level peers.

Our partner TIS will also be part of this Summit. Visit TIS at their stand and discuss your business case.

TIS Co-Founder, Jörg Wiemer, will hold a session about “Cash Management in the Age of Digital Transformation”. This will take place on Tuesday, 19th November at 4.30 PM GMT.

Also, do not miss our session on Day 2 with our customer HUGO BOSS. Get valuable insights on how they found the perfect-fit solution for their corporate payments processes.

This session will take place at 12.30PM GMT.

Request a meeting by filling out the form here.

Date:
19th – 20th November 2019

Location:
Leonardo Royal Hotel London City, 8-10 Coopers Row, London, EC3N 2BQ

 

Post-HBO Masterclasses Treasury Management 2020

| 12-11-2019 | treasuryXL | Hogeschool Utrecht

The HU University of Applied Sciences in Utrecht scheduled 4 Post-HBO Treasury Management Masterclasses in 2020. The first masterclass will start on April 16, 2020. You can find all information below (in Dutch).

Bent u een controller, accountant, financieel adviseur, cash manager of bankier met enkele jaren ervaring en ambieert u op termijn een functie als financieel directeur van een grotere (internationale) MKB onderneming of non-profit organisatie? Of wilt u gewoon meer kennis opdoen over Treasury Management (TM) om dit binnen uw eigen werkgebied toe te passen, dan is de Post-HBO Leergang TM iets voor u. Gedurende een viertal masterclasses verdiept u zich in de belangrijkste onderdelen van TM, zoals corporate finance, cash management, valuta en rentemanagement

De cursus wordt afgesloten met een opdracht uit de eigen praktijk van de deelnemer die gepresenteerd en beoordeeld wordt. Naast de bedrijfsopdrachten van de cursisten zelf maakt ook een treasury simulatie op het gebied van cash management onderdeel uit van het programma.

Tijdens de leergang komen vele praktische vraagstukken aan de orde, zoals:

  • Bankrelatiemanagement: opbouwen en onderhouden van een goede relatie met de bank.
  • Alternatieve financieringsmodellen: SME bonds, Crowdfunding, Blockchain, Impact Investing.
  • Rentederivaten: niet alleen woningcorporaties hadden een probleem.
  • Dé manier om debiteuren (sneller) te innen: international cash management.
  • Een transparante rapportage: inzicht bieden voor alle stakeholders.
  • Internationaal zakendoen: forex risico en -hedging, investeringen met rendement.
  • Behavioral finance: inzicht krijgen in hoe financiële beslissingen worden beïnvloed door biases en wat daaraan te doen.

De masterclasses (met ook Engelstalige literatuur) vinden plaats op donderdagen in april, mei, juni en oktober 2020.

De opleiding bestaat uit de volgende onderdelen:

  1. Corporate Finance (Frans Boumans)
  • Hoe wordt een onderneming gefinancierd?
  • Nieuwe financieringsvormen (crowdfunding, private equity, peer-to-peer lending, fintech)
  • Overname- en buy out financiering
  • Het belang van Investor Relations
  • Hou houd je de relatie met de bank goed?
  1. Cash management (Michiel van der Ven)
  • Het opzetten en forecasten van cash budgets
  • Ins en outs van credit management
  • (international) betalingsverkeer
  • Netting en cash pooling
  1. FX-, interest rate risk management (Annette Prinsen)
  • Financial risk strategie en policy
  • Vreemde valuta- en rente riskmanagement (hedging instrumenten)
  • Investeringen van overtollige liquiditeiten
  • Pensioenverplichtingen
  1. Consultancy assignment and personal development (Frans Boumans en Janneke Nonkes)
  • Presentatie en feedback op een eigen praktijkonderzoek over een treasury naar eigen keuze
  • personal development gesprek

De docenten zijn allen langdurig in het bedrijfsleven werkzaam (geweest) als financieel directeur, treasurer en bankier en hebben tevens ruime ervaring in het hoger onderwijs.

Data: donderdagen 16 april, 14 mei, 18 juni  en 15 oktober 2020, van 15.30u tot 20.00u van 15.30u tot 20.00u, kort onderbroken voor een lichte maaltijd, in Utrecht.

Prijs: € 1975 (inclusief persoonlijk assessment)

Locatie: Hogeschool Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 15, Uithof, Utrecht

Toelatingseisen: HBO-diploma, ca. drie jaar relevante werkervaring

Tijdens een adviesgesprek kijken we samen of de opleiding aansluit bij uw ambitie én of u past bij de opleiding. Door de interactieve colleges leer je van elkaar, dus de samenstelling van de groep is van belang. Gestreefd wordt naar een diverse groep deelnemers verschillende sectoren van het bedrijfsleven en de non-profit sector.

More info and registration here

 

Why You Don’t Need a Treasury Workstation

| 11-11-2019 | treasuryXL | BELLIN

Location dependence vs. universal collaboration and access

Often times, terms and definitions change over time; and sometimes terms remain the same but their meaning shifts. Take for example the word “bookkeeping:” accountants nowadays no longer put pen to paper and make manual entries in a book. Transferring this concept to treasury, we only need to look at the name of the department itself. Treasurers no longer watch over dungeons filled with treasure troves and other valuables (maybe with the exception of Fort Knox). But that’s not the only shift in meaning: we can also come across obsolete terms and definitions when it comes to the digitalization of treasury tasks and specifically with the term: treasury workstation.

Looking at search requests in Google, one of the most commonly searched terms in treasury is “treasury workstation” – a term that has been in use for treasury systems for many years. However, we need to ask ourselves if the term and the understanding of technology and processes associated with it are still appropriate today. Should they have long been replaced by other terms?

“Treasury Workstation” – is that what treasury is?

“Treasury workstation” contains the element of “station” that appears to have no place in today’s treasury world: mobile communication and the flexible use of systems are such obvious characteristics of our daily work that a “station” clearly no longer delivers. A workstation is literally stationary and therefore limited: it sits in one single place and is only available right there. Conversely, this is precisely where modern systems differ: they’re web-based and can be used from any mobile device without any limitations regarding security, user-friendliness, and functionality. Indeed, the very fact that modern systems are not stationary makes them so powerful. They’re mobile and any number of people can make use of them from anywhere.

Today, large departments and units need to be able to readily collaborate and exchange knowledge and data; a workstation seems inappropriate to meet these demands and stands for a status quo that IT has long left behind. No one wants to install software on a workstation anymore; no one wants to be tied to a desktop computer. The internet with all its enormous potential drives the optimization of business processes and data communication to the point where companies can no longer afford to back workstations, in particular in treasury.

Collaboration with a Treasury Management System

At BELLIN, their system, tm5, is not a physical workstation limited to a specific location. The system is a web-based and dynamically-integrated platform that excels in ensuring global visibility, maximized security and uncapped work-hours saved. The key ingredient in regard to this article is that the system is web-based, yet accessibly by anyone company wide. We call this our Load Balanced Treasury approach which means no per-user licenses, ensuring subsidiaries can share data seamlessly, profit from real-time transparency, and maximize global security.

While many treasurers still refer to modern platforms as workstations, the distinction is important. Modern, web-based systems are platforms for collaboration, for cooperation and for uniting internal and external parties and partners who all contribute to treasurers always having the information they need to do their job: make decisions that reduce business risk, optimize asset management, manage funding and hedging and give the company the overall stability to meet the company objectives.

This is by no means limited to treasury. Unlike a workstation that is only ever available to the people in one particular office, treasury management systems serve the entire company and people from any department can be involved where needed. This allows treasurers to share the workload, get information first hand and have a fully integrated and connected workflow that ultimately benefits everyone.

Conclusion

Treasury workstations are a thing of the past and platforms like the BELLIN tm5 have long become established as industry standards. Consequently,  it is time we reflect that fact in our terminology in order to find what businesses really need and stop searching for things that were modern years ago. “Station” ultimately suggests inflexibility, stagnation. As time goes by, both terminology and processes are subject to change and move forward – just as treasury does. Perhaps this is just a semantic error or term that has stuck over the years? Either way, as treasury enthusiasts and experts, we are keen to help the industry acclimate to the existing technological ecosystem.

Martin Bellin

CEO

BELLIN logo

Open banking and APIs: transforming the future of treasury

| 05-11-2019 | treasuryXL | BELLIN

Open banking is about much more than advanced technology. It has an impact on business models, processes and ways of thinking – and it will definitely have a huge impact on treasury.

The EU’s revised payment services directive (PSD2) has forced European banks to set up standardised interfaces, so-called APIs, to enable third parties’ technological access to bank accounts. This is an attempt to break up the banks’ monopoly and boost competition amongst payment service providers.

When it comes to payments, PSD2 APIs are currently limited to single Euro payments area (SEPA) single payments. Simply put, they are generally ill-suited for corporate payment processing. Nevertheless, open access to customer and transaction data for third parties represents a radical change that threatens traditional banking business models.

While in the past, banks reigned freely over their customers’ financial data – often keeping them in the dark about margins, fees and transaction routes – open banking makes banking fundamentally more democratic and gives companies much more freedom and flexibility.

How does a company want to handle its payment processing? With open banking, it will be of little relevance to corporates exactly how their payments are processed. As long as the payment goes from A to B, the back-end technology being used is up to the service provider. What will be more significant for corporate treasury departments when it comes to payments is how quickly this information becomes available to them.

Open banking’s impact on cash management

Today, treasurers are blind when it comes to intraday cash flow movements. Depending on the bank, they only receive balance information a few times a day at specific times. This has always been as real-time as it gets. Treasurers who would like to know their account balance at any time and in ‘real, real-time’ need to request this information. But how can you know when to best inquire about your account balance when you have no idea when money will be credited?

Some companies make use of automated requests, managed in their treasury management system (TMS). The system sends scheduled requests to the bank, for example every minute, to check if any new information is available. An analogy would be sending round a company postman to empty the letterbox every few minutes without knowing if anyone has actually posted a letter. This leads to enormous amounts of data and clogs up communication channels and systems, without really solving the issue.

A much more intelligent solution would be to not request the information until it is actually available. For that to work, there would need to be some kind of signal that data has come in – just like the signal flag on American letterboxes. New technologies, such as APIs and WebSockets, enable this kind of reversed order. The bank signals that a new balance is available as soon as money is credited to or debited from an account, and treasurers and other finance professionals can then take action. The same is true for payments, where status notifications for a transaction would be available straight away.

The future of APIs

What will the future look like for banking communication? Will APIs relegate existing technologies, such as electronic banking internet communication standard (EBICS) or SWIFT, to the sidelines? APIs’ greatest downfall is their lack of standardisation. Conversely, complete and powerful standardisation across the SEPA area is the biggest asset of these established communication channels.

In the context of PSD2, there have been various European initiatives to achieve standardisation, for example those of the Berlin Group. However, there is no comparable global initiative, and when BELLIN recently analysed the open banking offering of the ten most relevant banking groups, the discrepancies were staggering. What is needed are suitable enhancements of established technologies that could then be combined with new technologies, for example combining the EBICS protocol with API technology.

And this future is not far off. Massive changes that will impact treasurers’ day-to-day work significantly are just around the corner. Large retailers have already implemented instant payment solutions using APIs that not only enable them to transfer money, but also to receive notifications when a payment has come in as soon as it does. This has enabled them to fully connect payment processing, real-time balance information and customer service.

Direct communication of data between companies and banks is likely to have other, far-reaching consequences for treasury, for example when it comes to FX and risk management. Real-time corporate-bank communication definitely brings challenges for cash management. Banks will have to solve how cash pooling is handled in the future whilst also determining the time on which interest calculations are based. However, with new standards for speed, efficiency and data quality, open banking will continue to revolutionise treasury far beyond 2020.

Karsten Kiefer, Product Manager Solution Management, BELLIN

Karsten Kiefer

Product Manager Solution Management