Tag Archive for: payments

Best read articles of all time: Do treasurers really need instant payments? some implications.

| 03-08-2018 | Patrick Kunz | treasuryXL

 

 

Per 13 January 2018 we have a new payments service directive (nr. 2) live in the European union, PSD2 for short. One part of PSD2 is the possibility for banks to offer instant payments between banks in the EU. Within max 10 seconds money flows from one bank to the other, also on weekends and on holidays. In this paper I want to discuss the implications for treasurers of instant payments.

Cash flow forecasting

Forecasting is an important part of the daily/weekly routine of a treasurer. He/she needs to predict the future to know his cash/risk/financing position. On the ultra-short term spectrum of this forecast a treasurer might use intraday bank statement (MT942) to take into account the incoming funds during the day. These are often updated hourly. With instant payments a treasurer can have a look at their bank account and the balance that is showing is the real-time balance with all incoming transactions being settled. As said before a treasurer might already have intraday statements but there is (1) a time lag in those and (2) there might be transactions not processed yet. Bottom line this difference amounts to several hours lag. Depending on the size of the company and the amount and size of transactions there is some impact but not very sizeable. Furthermore, those treasurers that do not use intraday balances for their forecasting have no impact of instant payments. However, how about the due payments on non-working days? In the future these are normal payments dates. Previously due payments on weekends are either set on Friday or Monday depending on the terms of the contract. These could now be forecasted on the exact day. But that depends, payments are often done during business hours, so it is possible that nothing changes. Depending on the size of the transactions there is importance to check this with your suppliers and clients. This also depends on bank processing of yourself and your client/supplier.

Bank processing

Instant means instant in time but also in days. In the past we were dependent on the opening hours of the banks and later of the ECB. That could mean that if we send money just after close on Friday and there was a public holiday on Monday we would only see the money coming in on Tuesday. The money was “lost in translation” in between. This is not very modern in an age where we send an email from Tokyo to South Africa in minutes but not money. We could literally fly there with cash and be faster. After all banks have implemented PSD2 money flows 24/7. So also in the weekend and on holidays. This has an impact on the processing of your bank statement. You now receive bank statement for Saturday and Sunday. Most accounting/treasury departments do not work on the weekends so there is a chance that these statements are not processed. This means you must process 3 statements on Monday. Some companies have automatic processing of bank statements, so the weekend statements might be processed but not (automatically) consolidated leading to more open positions on Monday. Ok big deal, there is more work to do on Monday due to more bank statements. But there is more: not necessarily for treasury departments. Think about customer services (helpdesk) departments. If a client with an overdue payment calls it would be great if the helpdesk employee is able to verify statements of the customers if the says he has paid or will pay immediately. This however only works if processing is automatic or if the helpdesk employee can access/search the incoming payments on the bank account (which might not have processed in accounting). Not all companies will have this yet. Overdue calculations might be faulty in some ERP systems as only working days are considered. If a payment is due on Sunday, you can pay on this Sunday and not necessarily on the Friday before.

Conclusion

Instant payments are only a fraction of PSD2 which is often not very interesting for most treasurers. They get some information faster but that does not really help them too much. There is however more to it. Since payments can now arrive and be made in the weekends the cash flow forecasting should now contain 7 days in a week instead of 5. Payment can be spread out more but also receipts will be. Bank processing is more work; 7 daily statements per bank account per week instead of 5. Extra processing or extra automation needed. The extra information might be needed by other departments too even though the treasury/accounting department is not working.

Overall the implications could be bigger then you might think and are different for every company and depending on their existing (bank) processing.
Most bank are planning to introduce weekend reporting by H2 2018 while instant payments are due beginning 2019. For business transactions this might even take until H2 2019.

Some time left but a good time to already think about your current processes in comparison to the new reality under psd2. Treasury is moving to a 24/7 information economy. It’s about time.Time will tell if there will be fintech’s stepping in helping with above issues with direct connections to the bank, which is another important part of PSD2 but not within the scope of this article.

If you need help with automating your bank statement processing or with your cash flow forecasting, then look at this author and other Flex Treasurers on this website for answers.

Patrick Kunz

Treasury, Finance & Risk Consultant/ Owner Pecunia Treasury & Finance BV

 

 

Do treasurers really need instant payments? some implications.

| 30-01-2018 | Patrick Kunz |

 

Per 13 January 2018 we have a new payments service directive (nr. 2) live in the European union, PSD2 for short. One part of PSD2 is the possibility for banks to offer instant payments between banks in the EU. Within max 10 seconds money flows from one bank to the other, also on weekends and on holidays. In this paper I want to discuss the implications for treasurers of instant payments.

Cash flow forecasting

Forecasting is an important part of the daily/weekly routine of a treasurer. He/she needs to predict the future to know his cash/risk/financing position. On the ultra-short term spectrum of this forecast a treasurer might use intraday bank statement (MT942) to take into account the incoming funds during the day. These are often updated hourly. With instant payments a treasurer can have a look at their bank account and the balance that is showing is the real-time balance with all incoming transactions being settled. As said before a treasurer might already have intraday statements but there is (1) a time lag in those and (2) there might be transactions not processed yet. Bottom line this difference amounts to several hours lag. Depending on the size of the company and the amount and size of transactions there is some impact but not very sizeable. Furthermore, those treasurers that do not use intraday balances for their forecasting have no impact of instant payments. However, how about the due payments on non-working days? In the future these are normal payments dates. Previously due payments on weekends are either set on Friday or Monday depending on the terms of the contract. These could now be forecasted on the exact day. But that depends, payments are often done during business hours, so it is possible that nothing changes. Depending on the size of the transactions there is importance to check this with your suppliers and clients. This also depends on bank processing of yourself and your client/supplier.

Bank processing

Instant means instant in time but also in days. In the past we were dependent on the opening hours of the banks and later of the ECB. That could mean that if we send money just after close on Friday and there was a public holiday on Monday we would only see the money coming in on Tuesday. The money was “lost in translation” in between. This is not very modern in an age where we send an email from Tokyo to South Africa in minutes but not money. We could literally fly there with cash and be faster. After all banks have implemented PSD2 money flows 24/7. So also in the weekend and on holidays.
This has an impact on the processing of your bank statement. You now receive bank statement for Saturday and Sunday. Most accounting/treasury departments do not work on the weekends so there is a chance that these statements are not processed. This means you must process 3 statements on Monday. Some companies have automatic processing of bank statements, so the weekend statements might be processed but not (automatically) consolidated leading to more open positions on Monday.
Ok big deal, there is more work to do on Monday due to more bank statements. But there is more: not necessarily for treasury departments. Think about customer services (helpdesk) departments. If a client with an overdue payment calls it would be great if the helpdesk employee is able to verify statements of the customers if the says he has paid or will pay immediately. This however only works if processing is automatic or if the helpdesk employee can access/search the incoming payments on the bank account (which might not have processed in accounting). Not all companies will have this yet.
Overdue calculations might be faulty in some ERP systems as only working days are considered. If a payment is due on Sunday, you can pay on this Sunday and not necessarily on the Friday before.

Conclusion

Instant payments are only a fraction of PSD2 which is often not very interesting for most treasurers. They get some information faster but that does not really help them too much. There is however more to it. Since payments can now arrive and be made in the weekends the cash flow forecasting should now contain 7 days in a week instead of 5. Payment can be spread out more but also receipts will be. Bank processing is more work; 7 daily statements per bank account per week instead of 5. Extra processing or extra automation needed. The extra information might be needed by other departments too even though the treasury/accounting department is not working.
Overall the implications could be bigger then you might think and are different for every company and depending on their existing (bank) processing.
Most bank are planning to introduce weekend reporting by H2 2018 while instant payments are due beginning 2019. For business transactions this might even take until H2 2019.
Some time left but a good time to already think about your current processes in comparison to the new reality under psd2. Treasury is moving to a 24/7 information economy. It’s about time.
Time will tell if there will be fintech’s stepping in helping with above issues with direct connections to the bank, which is another important part of PSD2 but not within the scope of this article.

If you need help with automating your bank statement processing or with your cash flow forecasting, then look at this author and other Flex Treasurers on this website for answers.

Patrick Kunz 

Treasury, Finance & Risk Consultant/ Owner Pecunia Treasury & Finance BV

 

Blockchain and payments: further on the Gartner Hype cycle?

| 24-01-2018 | Carlo de Meijer |

Payments is increasingly seen as an area that is ripe for disruption, having the potential to enhance payment processing. To overcome the current structural weaknesses in the payments area including low speed, high expenses, financial institutions are increasingly adopting the idea of blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT). This in order to offer (near) instant cross-border payments at lower costs, higher security and more reliability. Up till recently most of these trials have been non-interoperable stand-alone solutions. But that may change!

Last month Blockchain bank consortium R3CEV and 22 of its partners announced that they were collaborating on the development of a cross border payments platform built using distributed ledger technology. This may be the first time a shared infrastructure has been developed that addresses the full payment workforce.

The question is: where are we now in the Gartner cycle, and will this R3 initiative be the breakthrough for a more massive adoption of this technology in the payments area?

Central banks: still see hurdles

Also central banks are actively investigating and in some cases even experimenting with blockchain including those of the United States, Canada, China, U.K., France, Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa, and Sweden. Central banks’ interest in blockchain represents further recognition of the technology’s potential to transform many aspects of financial systems worldwide, including international payments. They are generally positive about the technology’s potential for applications such as international payment solutions.

On the other hand central banks also note technical obstacles such as scalability and other concerns such as privacy, security and legal issues. They generally emphasize that the technology is still at an early stage and may be years away from widespread use for such applications.

In a recent published research paper, the Deutsche Bundesbank offers up some encouragement for DLT acceptance. They are highlighting the technology’s ability to eliminate reconciliation processes, boost transparency and protect against cyber-attacks. The Bundesbank however dampened the blockchain enthusiasm, dismissing distributed ledger technology’s prospects in retail payments, at least in the Eurozone, which already boasts fast transfers and systems that require a minimum of reconciliation and can process millions of transactions with ease every day.

The authors concede that “it is still unclear whether DLT also has the edge over today’s technology in terms of security, efficiency, costs and speed”.

Read the full article of our expert Carlo de Meijer on Finextra

 

Carlo de Meijer

Economist and researcher

 

PSD2 – has it hit the ground running?

| 18-01-2018 | treasuryXL |

On the 13th January 2018, PSD2 came into force. In previous articles we have discussed the meaning of this legislation. To recap – it is a directive to regulate the payment market and payment service providers, whilst also opening the market to non-banks. This should lead to a uniformity in products, technical standards and infrastructure. PSD2 will allow customers of banks to voluntarily use third party providers to process and initiate their financial transactions.

In the UK the process has gone even further – Open Banking has been enacted. Fintech companies are now in the position of taking over the ownership of the customer relationship that banks now have – assuming this is what the customer wants. The traditional relationship between a bank and a customer is now under threat. Banks, which have traditionally applied a one shop for all your financial transactions approach, will possibly have to change and look more like an App store from which customers can choose the services that they want.

To effectively compete in this new market will mean focus on data mining and achieving an economy of scale. It is not inconceivable that tech giants such as Google, Facebook or Amazon could start offering financial services on the back of their sizeable databases. Whereas banks have invested heavily over the years in their payment processes, new technology means that the costs are far lower for a new entrant.

But will PSD2 truly open the European market for financial services? Research indicates that we very seldom interact beyond our own national borders. The cost of banking, credit cards, mortgages, car insurance etc. differ greatly within the EU. A survey that was commissioned by the European Commission concluded that 80% of Europeans would not consider purchasing a financial product from another EU member state. Any dreams of one Europe are rudely interrupted by such research and public opinion. This is not to say that public opinion could not change – rather that the current market is not very elastic.

So PSD2 is up and running – how about the banks? PwC published a report in December 2017 after conducting interviews with senior executives in European banks. Just 9% reported they were ready, despite 66% saying it would affect their operations. Furthermore, a report was published today by the Dutch Data Protection Regulator stating that the legislation does not take privacy requirements enough into account. This despite the legislation being passed more than 2 years ago.

Eventually banks that are early to design their products specifically for this legislation and bring them to market could establish a clear lead on their opposition. Also, if the public reluctance to transact cross-border was to diminish, it is possible that – in the future – we could be purchasing our mortgages in Finland, our credit cards in the UK and our car insurance in Hungary!!

If you want more information please feel free to contact us via email [email protected]

Bitcoin – regulation and acceptance

| 06-12-2017 | Lionel Pavey |

 

As the price of Bitcoin reaches ever higher – more than $11,000 at the moment – Governments are starting to look at what regulation needs to be put into place. Bitcoin has gained a reputation as the currency of choice for tax evaders and drug traders due to its anonymity. It is a market with little or no regulation and, obviously, Governments are looking at lost revenue. Yesterday the UK Treasury stated the current anti-money regulations needs to be updated to encompass all virtual currencies.

It has been reported that criminals and terrorists have used virtual currencies to purchase illegal commodities via dark webs – ensuring complete anonymity. The proposal from the UK Treasury would mean that traders would be registered. At present, there are almost 100 ATM machines for Bitcoin transactions in the UK – with more than 70 in London. Cash can be entered into the machines and converted into Bitcoins. One transaction involved a customer paying in GBP 14,000 in cash.

For Governments, regulation would mean that the Treasury would be able to identify the owner of the money and investigate the source of the funds. Tax evasion would therefore be reduced. Naturally there are genuine investors who want to buy Bitcoin, but this can already be done via an electronic exchange.

To increase acceptance as a genuine alternative currency there needs to be a growth in financial products related to virtual currencies. Yesterday, the CBOE (Chicago Board Options Exchange) announced that it will start trading Bitcoin futures this coming Monday. Initial margins for trading will be 30 per cent and price limits will be put in place.

However, there are still many hurdles before complete acceptance can occur. It is still not a recognized currency – the retail outlets that accept payment in Bitcoin is still very small. In America, only 3 of the top 500 online retailers accept Bitcoin. Whilst the price of Bitcoin has surged in 2017, this very large price increase is having a negative effect on acceptance by retailers. As the currency has increased in value so much, there appears to be a reluctance among owners of Bitcoin to use Bitcoin to transact. It has become easier to speculate on its value than to trade for goods. This is a serious problem for a virtual currency to gain worldwide acceptance.

Another area of concern regards the transaction time. Confirmation of a transaction can take up to 20 minutes – if you ordered a coffee, then it would be cold before you could drink it!

Virtual currencies are certainly something that should be considered for the future, but until they are backed and trusted by the Government and residents of a country, they will only have a small niche marketplace.

 

 

Lionel Pavey

Cash Management and Treasury Specialist

 

 

TIS & FX Treasury Webinar: Corporate Payments Optimization

| 06-10-2017 | TIS | 2FX Treasury | Sponsored content |

TIS and 2FX Treasury organize a webinar that we would like to bring to your attention. On October 19th between 04:00 and 04:45 PM TIS and 2FX Treasury will host: Corporate Payments Optimization: How to reduce complexity in your business. An interesting session for treasury professionals. 

Complexity is not your friend. Whether in your finance, treasury, shared services or IT departments, improved processes help to reduce risk.
How do the most efficient and effective businesses in today’s world manage a multi-region, multi-bank, and multi-ERP environment? How have leading finance, treasury, and IT professionals gained visibility across their corporate payments landscape?

Join the optimization discussion in this webinar where we discuss business cases based on:
  • Current challenges
  • Standardization and automation of corporate payments through pre-built bank connectors and formats
  • Reduced operational and financial risk due to increased transparency and straight through processing (STP)
  • Enhanced security and compliance

De 100 meest veelbelovende FinTech bedrijven – wie wordt de winnaar?

12-9-2017 | FM.NL | treasuryXL |

Op 27 september is het zover. Buitenlandse investeerders en FinTech-specialisten van naam reizen dan af naar Brussel. Tijdens de European FinTech Awards & Conference 2017 zullen zij oordelen hoe de veelbelovende techbedrijven van Europa ervoor staan. De omgetoverde FinTech-awardzaal van ‘The Egg’ bombardeert  de Europese hoofdstad deze dag tot hét techcentrum van Europa. De top 100 aanstormende FinTech-bedrijven van Europa zijn bekend. Wie wordt gekozen tot winnaar?

Meer dan 34.000 FinTech enthousiastelingen hebben gestemd op hun favoriete Europese FinTech-bedrijf. Het is nu aan de FinTech vakjury: wie winnen de European FinTech Awards 2017? U hoort het op 27 september.
Honderden Europese fintechbedrijven staan op het punt door te breken en uit te groeien tot scale-up. Miljarden liggen klaar om geïnvesteerd te worden in bedrijven die de markten gaan veroveren. Wie wordt de volgende?

De 100 meest veelbelovende FinTech bedrijven

 FM.NL heeft de 100 bedrijven in een artikel gepresenteerd:
 

Bron: FM.NL

Top 3 FinTechs per categorie

 

 

 

 

 

 


Bron: FM.NL

Veelbelovende FinTech-bedrijven & verrassende visies op de European FinTech Awards in Brussel:
Deel expertise en visies. Laat u verrassen tijdens de vele kennissessies, keynotes en pitches. Krijg de beste antwoorden op uw vragen: Hoe schaalt u efficiënt een FinTech-bedrijf op? Wat kunnen we leren van succesvolle FinTechs? Hoe reageren banken en wat denken investeerders?

Laat u inspireren door de meest veelbelovende FinTech-bedrijven ten overstaan van aanwezige investeerders, stakeholders en andere belangstellenden op 27 september 2017.  Dit is de dag waarop u de beste FinTechs van Europa pas écht leert kennen.

Korting via treasuryXL

Bezoek de European FinTech Awards & Conference met korting
Ontmoet 27 september 2017 in ‘The Egg’ in Brussel 400 nationaal en internationaal befaamde FinTech-entrepreneurs, bankiers, investeerders en adviseurs. De European FinTech Awards & Conference 2017 biedt een unieke kans om uw netwerk te vergroten. Laat deze kans niet glippen om gearriveerde FinTech-sprekers op het podium te zien en 30 pitches te zien van Europa’s beste innovatieve ondernemingen van dit moment.

Speciaal als TreasuryXL community lid krijgt u 10% korting met de code: Friend2017, boek vandaag uw ticket(s)

De European FinTech Awards wordt georganiseerd door Alex van Groningen en B Hive. 

Annette Gillhart – Community Manager treasuryXL

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How can treasurers use cryptocurrencies?

| 7-9-2017 | Carlo de Meijer |

 

Recently I read a blog from Victoria Beckett published in GTNews, titled “How can treasurers use cryptocurrencies”.  Nowadays there are more than thousand different cryptocurrencies in circulation. The dollar value of the 20 biggest cryptocurrencies is around $ 150 billion. While cryptocurrencies soared to unknown levels, also the explosion in Initial Coin Offerings, or ICOs for funding purposes is evidence of their growing attraction. But are these cryptocurrencies suited for corporate treasuries.

Benefits

In her blog Victoria Beckett said that there are several benefits to treasurers using cryptocurrencies. These may bring various benefits including avoiding paying large transactions fees to banks, realising immediate payments and the ability for transactions to be kept open or private. According to her corporate treasury business no longer need to use mainstream financial regulatory frameworks. Cryptocurrencies could provide business with the ability to move assets outside of the normal banking regulatory framework.

She argued that one of the key benefits to making business payments using cryptocurrencies is that it cuts out banks in the transaction completely, avoiding large transaction fees, while “payments can also get transferred immediately anywhere in the world”.

Critics

But there were some critics as “banks have to trade off the operational benefits that the technology may provide against the added cost of needing to buy and sell a cryptocurrency to make a transaction.” “Therefore, the benefits are low when dealing with efficient ‘corridors’ such as US and Europe, but higher when transacting with Zimbabwe” David Putts.

Besides, there are a large number of different cryptocurrencies in circulation with different protocols etc. These are not interoperable/interchangeable.  So when using cryptocurrencies they at some point in time have to be transferred into fiat money. And that also costs money.

I also missed other use cases for corporate treasurers in the article. Just using cryptocurrencies payments would be a very limited use case, given the large number of other activities performed by corporate treasurers.

Risky business

When reading the article I got the impression that the risks of cryptocurrencies were rather  under estimated. Certain features of cryptocurrencies are not backed by any government, have no status as legal tender and rely on network protocols and cryptographic techniques to enable counterparties to transact. This may present various risks.
First of all cryptocurrency exchange platforms normally have no regulation. Thus there is no legal protection. And we have seen the various examples of hacking these exchanges with many people losing their money.
Second, virtual money is normally stored in a digital wallet on a computer. Though these wallets have passwords and key they are still valuable for hacking etc.
Third, there is no protection for funds under EU law when using cryptocurrencies as a means of payment. We still live in a largely fiat-money dominated world. So these cryptocurrencies had to be concerted one day into their own legal currency and that costs money.
Fourth, cryptocurrencies are very volatile. There is no guarantee that the cryptocurrencies will remain stable.  Cryptocurrencies currently lack a derivatives market, which makes them a risky medium for business contracts that last for any amount of timer, especially given their constant value fluctuations. This year for example the exchange rate of the bitcoin climbed from a low of 968 dollar to more than 3000, fell back to 1.800 six weeks ago and climbed to 5.000.
Fifth, due to the untraceable nature of cryptocurrencies, they provide a high degree of anonymity, making them vulnerable to misuse for criminal activities.

Action from regulators across the world

For some, it is a pro that cryptocurrencies in most countries are not regulated, such as for hackers and/or speculators.  That idea is however rapidly changing giving the risks associated. At a global level, there is an urgent need for regulatory clarity given the growth of the market.

All these risks mentioned above are prompting action from a growing number of jurisdictions.

Regulators in China have publicly announced that they will forbid the use of ICOs. And also regulators in other countries like Japan, Singapore, and the US are looking at ways to regulate. The SEC in the US has officially confirmed it was looking into regulation of cryptocurrency ICOs. The SEC is mainly concerned with the risks these ICOs pose. And Singapore will regulate ICO offerings that are deemed to be securities.

But also on a more broader scale Europa there is increased activity by regulators in Europe to reign in the use of crypto currencies. The EU Parliament is expected to pass measures soon to bring certain virtual currency service providers within their AML (anti money laundering) / CTF (counterfeiting) regulation. These measures do not seek to prevent the use of cryptocurrencies, but will require virtual currency service providers to implement customer due diligence measures.

Polish regulators are warning investors and banks to avoid dealing with digital currencies like bitcoin and ether. The regulators clarified that cryptocurrencies are not considered legal tender in Poland.

The Maltese regulatory watchdog (MFSA) also warned traders about the risks associated with the virtual currency. According to them a virtual currency is an unregulated digital instrument and is a form of money that is not equivalent to the national currencies. The MFSA however stressed that It does not (yet) regulate the acceptance of payment of service in regards to the virtual currencies.

Are central banks overcoming their reservations?

Central bankers, from Russia to China, Frankfurt and New York, are increasingly wary of the risks posed by these crypto currencies. I therefore question if central banks worldwide are overcoming their reservations versus cryptocurrencies and really come out in favour of the cryptocurrency.

The recent boom in cryptocurrencies and their underlying technology is becoming too big for central banks to ignore. The risk is that they are reacting too late to both the pitfalls and the opportunities presented by digital coinage.

Bitcoin and its peers pose a threat to the established money system by effectively circumventing it. CBs are well aware of losing control over the money supply, if they don’t react. A solution may be that CBs are issuing digital money themselves to maintain control. Various central banks worldwide are now experimenting with that idea.

Forward thinking

The attraction of virtual currencies is mainly for speculative reasons, rather than for corporates to facilitate treasury. Corporate treasuries are increasingly looking for centralisation of the treasury organisation away from decentralisation. They also are very much focused on reducing the various corporate risks including FX, short term interest rate, cross currency liquidity, etc.

And when it is regulated on a larger scale it is questionable if the described benefits of speed, efficiency or scalability attributed to the use of cryptocurrencies still will meet the costs associated .

The announcement by the Bank of China to put a halt on initial coin offerings or ICOs had a negative impact on the very volatile bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. In one day it lost almost 15% of its value. The corporate treasurer however does not like volatility!

 

Carlo de Meijer

Economist and researcher

 

Why is e-invoicing not the same as a PDF?

| 6-9-2017 | PowertoPay – Unified Post | Sponsored Content |

When they hear e-invoicing, companies often think that this is sending invoices by e-mail. However, e-invoicing is more than that. Not only sending the invoice is part of this, but also the electronic booking, payment and collection of the money belongs to this process. Electronic invoicing leads to a major save of costs. For the sender, but especially for the receiver. Since e-invoicing is digitalizing invoicing for the sender as well as the receiver, a PDF-invoice is not seen as electronic invoicing.

When receiving a PDF the receiver still has to, with or without the help of OCR software, manually put data into a systems or he has to correct it. In the case of e-invoicing, the receiver gets all the data electronically which can be automated with their accounting systems. Manual input is not necessary anymore and the control of the content of the invoice can be automated.

Automated

When a sender decides to do e-invoicing instead of just sending a PDF, there is a world of benefits for the entrepreneur. First of all, e-invoicing is like registered post but then faster. You always know for sure that the invoice is received and you’re always being informed about that. Since the payment period usually starts at the moment the invoice is registered, the e-invoice can shorten the payment period with a couple of days.  Without intervention of the post or post rooms or other internal departments, the e-invoice lands directly into the financial system of the receiver. Reminders can be sent automatically and payment options can be built into the invoice or reminder. E-invoices can be simply archived digitally which makes them easy to find and this way they’re always accessible within the organization. With e-invoicing you are ready for the future. It’s only a matter of time until receivers don’t want to receive invoices any other way. The (Dutch) government even made e-invoicing (so not PDF’) mandatory as from the 1st of January.

E-invoicing Method

Paper invoices and PDF invoices via e-mail are most of the time directly exchanged between two parties. Of course this is the case with e-invoices. In this so-called two-corner model, two parties make arrangements on the e-invoice format they use and about the technical connection. However, there are a lot of different formats in the electronic invoicing world and that variety has a function. A format (invoice standard), often reflects the specific needs of a sector or collaboration. Every sector has its own order and invoice process, that one format can even be undesirable.

Billing Service Provider

In the three-corner model, a Billing Service Provider (UnifiedPost) takes the burden away for both the sender and the recipient in the invoice process. The sender that uses its own sector standards, the billing service provider makes sure that the invoice gets to the receiver in their correct format. Preferably electronic, but e-mail or post are also optional. Another advantage for the sender is that there is only one technical link that should be realized with the billing service provider. The billing service provider is taking care of different links on the receiver-side. By translating different formats, the billing service provider is making sure that the receiver receives all his invoices electronically the same way and that the authenticity and the integrity of the invoice is determined the right way. Billing service providers have got a large network and make agreements with (large) accounting systems.

Simple with great advantages

By using an billing service provider, companies can easily exchange electronic invoices directly with many providers from different sectors and suppliers. This requires one link (one-time setup) between the accounting system and the platform of the service provider. Small companies can also use a webportal for sending and receiving e-invoices.

If you want to read more about the services of PowertoPay or about e-invoicing please click the following link:

Learn more about e-invoicing with these facts and figures. 

 

PowertoPay – Unified Post

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Bitcoin nieuws! De Splitsing!

| 4-9-2017 | Erna Erkens |

Wat is er gebeurd met de Bitcoin per 1 augustus? De Bitcoin is gesplitst! Ik zal het hieronder proberen uit te leggen. Ik voorspel u vast, het is niet eenvoudig. Na de vele discussies over de schaal van de digitale valuta Bitcoin, is er besloten om een ​​geheel nieuwe valuta te maken, de Bitcoin Cash. Het is wel een beetje ingewikkeld allemaal. Het is een resultaat van politieke, technologische en ideologische discussies over het laten groeien van de Bitcoin. Sommige deskundigen zeggen dat een hele nieuwe valuta,  genaamd Bitcoin Cash,  kan helpen om Bitcoin op grotere schaal toegankelijk te maken voor een grotere groep mensen.

De afgelopen tijd was er een strijd tussen concurrerende visies,” zegt Zaki Manain, een onafhankelijke cryptocurrency expert. Deze strijd is per 1 augustus voorlopig even gestreden. Om ervoor te zorgen dat de Bitcoin een eenvoudiger wereldwijd betalingssysteem wordt dat iedereen kan gebruiken, moet de Bitcoin over de groeipijn heen geholpen worden. Er is nu voor de oplossing gekozen om een ​​hele nieuwe valuta te maken met soortgelijke blockchain software.

Wat betekent dit nu?

Laat ik beginnen met te zeggen dat uitgeven van de Bitcoin moeilijk en ingewikkeld is.
Bitcoins zijn gebouwd op iets dat blockchain heet. De Bitcoin blockchain is een openbaar grootboek dat alle transactiegegevens bevat van iedereen die Bitcoins gebruikt. Transacties worden toegevoegd aan “blokken” ofwel de koppelingen van codes die een keten (blockchain) vormen. Elke transactie moet in een blok worden opgenomen. Maar deze blokken zijn vol en dit levert een grote vertraging op in de betalingen. Momenteel zijn er gemiddeld ongeveer 1.700 transacties die per Bitcoin block kunnen worden opgeslagen, bij ongeveer drie transacties per seconde, zegt specialist Manain. Dat is niet heel veel. (Visa, bijvoorbeeld, handelt duizenden transacties per seconde).
Omdat de Bitcoin blockchain te druk wordt, kan het gebeuren dat iemand iets betaalt met een Bitcoin, maar dat het heel lang duurt voordat de betaling goedgekeurd wordt. Het verschil is de grootte van de betalingsblokken. De originele Bitcoin heeft blokken van 1 MB die snel vollopen met opdrachten, waardoor het verwerken van betalingen veel tijd kost. En dus duurt het lang voordat de partij waar de betaling aan verricht wordt kan zien dat hij/zij het geld ontvangen heeft. Dat is niet goed voor het vertrouwen. Bij Bitcoin Cash zijn de blokken 8 x zo groot, waarmee de betalingen veel sneller kunnen worden uitgevoerd. Er is ook een poging gedaan om dit probleem op te lossen door een regelwijziging toe te passen op de software. Deze werd genoemd: “Segregated Witness” (gescheiden getuigen. SegWit2X). De regelwijziging zou mensen in staat stellen om meer transacties op elk blok te zetten. Dit wordt in technische termen een “soft fork” genoemd. Sorry, ik kan er ook niks aan doen.  Dit zou niet hoeven leiden tot een hele nieuwe cryptocurrency. Deze nieuwe regel zou moeten worden ingevoerd in november. Dit vergroot de grootte van de software van 1 MB naar 2MB. Voor sommigen was dit niet genoeg. Daarom een tweede Bitcoin: De Bitcoin Cash.

Wat is de Bitcoin Cash?

De Bitcoin Cash is een zogenaamde “hard fork” (sorry, ik heb het niet bedacht). De makers zorgen voor een volledig nieuwe software, die het aantal transacties per blok acht keer groter maakt ( 4 x na SegWit2x). Geen idee hoe dit precies werkt. Dit betekent dat Bitcoin Cash transacties veel sneller kunnen worden verwerkt. Bitcoin Cash is niet hetzelfde als de “normale” Bitcoin. Op 1 augustus was een eenheid van Bitcoin Cash USD 240 waard. De echte Bitcoin was toen meer dan USD 2.700 waard.
Bitcoin Cash valt of staat met het vertrouwen van de markt, net als de gewone Bitcoin. Het zal alleen succesvol worden als mensen vaak beslissen om de blokken voor de Bitcoin Cash blockchain te creëren (minen of vinden, zoals u wilt). Het eerste blok is aangemaakt dinsdag 1 augustus.

Hieronder het koersverloop van de Bitcoin Cash tegen de USD van de eerste week:

Wat het betekent voor consumenten en bedrijven?

Voor iedere “oude” Bitcoin die u bezit, bezit u ook een Bitcoin Cash. Echter, niet alle Bitcoin-uitwisselingsplaatsen (de plek waar mensen hun bitcoin opslaan, waar je je Bitcoin wallet hebt een soort van Bitcoin portemonnaie) zullen Bitcoin Cash accepteren. U krijgt alleen Bitcoin Cash erbij als u zelf  uw Bitcoins beheert of als u bij een Bitcoin Cash-vriendelijke Bitcoinbeurs zit.
Dit kan een belemmering zijn voor de wereldwijde acceptatie van de Bitcoin Cash. En om Bitcoin Cash te gebruiken voor gewone transacties zoals koffie kopen, zullen bedrijven het moeten accepteren, ongeacht of ze de gewone Bitcoin al accepteren of niet. De toekomst zal uitwijzen of dit gebeurd of niet.  “Dit hele proces zal ons veel informatie geven over hoe we in deze toekomst met deze systemen omgaan,” zegt Manain. “Het zal een blauwdruk zijn voor toekomstige ontwikkelingen in de wereld van cryptocurrencies op basis van blockchain. We gaan hier heel veel van leren.
De vraag blijft: welke versie gaan de miners ondersteunen? Bitcoin-miners zetten de enorme rekenkracht van hun computers in voor het ‘ontdekken’ van nieuwe bitcoins. Om dat te kunnen  doen zijn ze verplicht om betalingsopdrachten te verifiëren. Zo fungeren ze als verwerkers van de Bitcoin betalingen en zijn dus essentieel voor een betrouwbaar systeem.
Het is mogelijk dat alle Bitcoin-miners overstappen naar de nieuwe versie, waardoor de oude variant niet meer functioneel is omdat er dan niemand meer is om de opdrachten te controleren. Maar de kans bestaat ook dat alleen maar een deel van de miners overstapt. Dan ontstaan er dus zelfs drie versies van de Bitcoin. Het is nog niet klaar met de Bitcoin ontwkkeling.

Hieronder nog het koersverloop van de “gewone” Bitcoin tegen de USD van de afgelopen maand:

Als u vragen heeft hoor ik het graag. Alles rond Bitcoins is flink ingewikkeld. Ik weet niet of ik meteen de antwoorden weet, maar ik ga er in ieder geval naar op zoek.

Erna Erkens

 

Erna Erkens

Owner at Erna Erkens Valuta Advies (EEVA)