BCR Publishing
We are the leading provider of news, market intelligence, events and training for the global receivables finance industry.
Working with industry leading organisations, experts, governments and universities, BCR Publications delivers expertise in factoring, receivables and supply chain finance to a global audience.
BCR has long been a beacon of innovation and excellence in the realm of receivables finance, playing an instrumental role in shaping the industry’s international landscape. Through its comprehensive conferences, insightful publications, and thought leadership, BCR has facilitated crucial dialogues and connections among industry professionals, driving forward the development of receivables finance globally.
Payment Fraud | A 750 000 euro Financial Scam that could happen even to you
| 02-06-2021 | treasuryXL | Nomentia |
Have you read the recent news on how Bol.com deposited almost 750 000 euros into a fraudulent bank account over a year ago? Simply, they thought they were making a payment to Brabantia, a household goods manufacturer. If you are not familiar with the story, here is it in a nutshell:
At the same time, Brabantia did not receive the payment, so obviously, they took a lawsuit to the court. And that was the point when the court discovered that Bol fell for a financial scam.
It all started with a legit-looking email like usually
In November 2019, Bol received an email in poorly written Dutch. Nevertheless, the email looked legit like it has been sent from Brabantia including the company’s logo. They were asking Bol.com to transfer the outstanding payment to an account in Spain.
The Bol employees fell for the trick. No surprises there, as these emails can be very well-crafted and if you have never seen one before, you could become a victim too.
The court thought the scam email was obvious and easy to recognize
Bol tried to get out of paying Brabantia claiming that the company’s employee fell for a business email compromise, and they were accused that they did not use two-factor authentication in the Microsoft 0365 environment. The story doesn’t tell if the email was really sent from Barbantia using a stolen username and password but hopefully, it still makes you want to protect your accounts with multi-factor authentication (MFA).
Despite this, the court ruled in the favor of Brabantia and ordered Bol to pay the outstanding payment. The reasons for it were the following:
How to avoid something like this happening to you?
There are a few tips that you should always remember.
When you care about security, you also show a good example to the rest of the team.
Trust your instinct and the learnings of this story and the security training
Always rather take longer to process the payment than pay a scammer! Creating good and strict payment processes and workflows can help with this. Also, trust your own and co-workers’ instinct if you feel like something is off.
Stay curious about financial scam news to know what the latest trends are and how hackers will try to trick you. Work closely with your security department! It’s in everyone’s best interest to avoid falling victim to a scam.
It’s not a question of whether you will receive financial scams and phishing emails, but when you will get them. Be prepared that you will be targeted and face the situation with confidence to avoid making a payment.
About Nomentia
Nomentia is a Nordic powerhouse for global cash management. We believe in a world in which businesses can make the right decisions no matter how unpredictable the times are. Our SaaS-based platform offers solutions for cash forecasting and visibility, global payments with bank connectivity, reconciliation, in-house banking, guarantees, and FX dealing. We serve 2,300+ clients in over 100 countries processing more than 200 billion euros annually. Cash is king!
Barbara Babati
Barbara is working in the marketing department at Nomentia. Previously, she worked in cybersecurity and data integration industries.
Why CFOs Should Foster Stronger Relationships with Banks
01-06-2021 | treasuryXL | Kyriba |
CFOs are the custodians of financial growth for enterprise business, and a key part of that role is to build and foster mutually beneficial relationships with banks and funding partners. Since banking relationships are built upon the provision of services; whether those are lines of credit, daylight overdrafts, bank account reporting, payments, foreign exchange or concentration / pooling structures, CFOs can and should maximise the value derived from partner financial institutions.
One of the first mistakes a CFO or finance professional can make is in selecting or expanding a relationship with a bank ill-equipped to handle the global nature of their business and geographic footprint.
For example, banking relationships have implications across borders as many strong financial institutions are partnered with local banks or their own local branches providing much needed local expertise. Navigating difficult tax and reporting requirements, local format and regulatory requirements or unique depository scenarios all call upon strong relationships with banks familiar with your localisation needs.
Automating your banking interactions and reporting with technology is an area of concern.
In this scenario, CFOs are not able to take advantage of the full range of banking services since lapses and gaps in technology solutions do not provide for straight-through processing of payments or the automatic posting of cash and transactional details from bank-provided daily bank statements. Banks have evolved their services to provide much more flexibility and sophistication with regards to intraday bank statements, high levels of detail within bank statements and the frequency of sharing this information up to 4 to 5 times per day. Without the right technology solution to handle cash and liquidity forecasting, CFOs are leaving value on the “proverbial table” in the form of lost opportunities to invest, grow the business, or mitigate risk. Meanwhile, the lack of finance and treasury tools and automation associated with technology solutions, keeps staff tied to daily, tactical tasks versus a focus on strategic support and projects.
How well do CFOs understand the full potential of their banking relationships?
CFOs must be involved in understanding the health of the banking relationship and managing, or at least receiving updates on banking scorecards and other metrics to ensure the bank relationship is being leveraged to its full potential. For instance, more than ever, banks often provide or are partners in enabling Supply Chain Financing or Discounting scenarios to help both sides of the financial supply chain achieve their objectives. CFOs, again, must leverage their banking relationships while coupling them to technology options such as a solution with Dynamic Discounting or Supply Chain Finance to maximise bank services.
Additionally, visibility to liquidity in near or real-time is a must-have for CFOs.
Liquidity planning is critical for CFOs in good times and in bad. Historical market drops have highlighted the importance of having real-time access to information about your total liquidity position, understanding what level of cash is flowing through all systems, and what level of liquidity can be allocated to invest in growth opportunities or simply pay employees. CFOs in many cases can partner with banks to develop a mutually beneficial relationship. At the end of the day, Treasurers provide the CFO with the assurance that assets are safeguarded and the organisation has the liquidity required to meet obligations and fund strategic decisions. This is only possible if they too have immediate visibility into their positions.
Finally, there is risk in having all of your eggs in one basket.
CFOs should have a backup plan – having your liquidity, services and debt instruments with one bank can prove to be risky. When financial crises strike from internal or external factors (like margin calls, bankruptcies, etc.), these financial risks are mitigated when the CFO has a back-stop and other banking partner options to keep the lights on and the supply chain flowing. Having major and minor banking relationships can help keep banks competitively working for you while giving your organization financial and liquidity options to keep operations moving.
How to navigate changing currency markets when buying services from overseas
27-05-2020 | treasuryXL | XE |
When dealing with overseas currencies, changes in the currency markets and exchange rates could potentially change the amount that your business will need to pay.
If your business imports tangible objects from another country—such as goods, food products, materials, or machinery—then you’ll need to pay in that country’s currency. However, this doesn’t just pertain to tangible goods imported from overseas. If your business requires services from overseas employees, contractors agencies or service providers then you will also need to pay invoices or contracts in their local currency.
When dealing with overseas currencies, changes in the currency markets and exchange rates could potentially change the amount that your business will need to pay. When making regular payments—such as contract payments—having the right solutions to protect your business from market volatility can protect your business’s bottom line and keep your costs level.
What are your exposures?
Understanding your business’s currency risk exposures is the first step to countering them to protect your business. You’ll want to consider:
How frequently you’ll be making payments
Which currencies you’ll be dealing with
What type of payments you’ll be sending
How volatile your currency pairs are.
Use forward contracts to protect your business from market motion
If you know that you’re making payments in a volatile market, one solution you can use to reduce the impact of market motion is a forward contract.
A forward contract is a payment method that differs slightly from a typical spot transfer. Rather than making an immediate payment at the current exchange rate, it instead allows you to lock in the current rate and set a date for the payment to be sent at today’s rate.
Here is what you would do:
Specify which currencies that you’d like to exchange and provide the amount you need to pay. This will give you a quote at the current rate.
Enter the date that you’d like to send your payment.
Provide your payment information as well as your recipient’s information.
Once that date hits, the transfer will automatically send at the secured rate.
Forward contracts are a valuable tool for price protection as well as peace of mind. You can secure a favourable rate for your transfer, and you won’t need to worry about missing your payment or the markets moving in the days leading up to it. Your payment will already be secured and scheduled.
If you have a contract, then you know you’ll be making payments. With a forward contract, you can secure favorable rates ahead of time so that even if the market changes, the amount that your contract costs your business won’t.
Get Started
Working with Xe can protect your business from market motion
A knowledgeable and experienced international business payments provider can help your business to weather the currency markets and easily navigate your payments, so you can focus on your business.
At Xe, we have nearly 30 years of experience in the currency markets. We work with over 13,000 businesses around the globe and offer them the right solutions for their operations, size, industry, and currency needs.
Some of our solutions include:
Easy-to-use business payment products including spot transfers, forward contracts and market orders.
Personalised FX risk management tailored specifically to your business.
Knowledgeable support from our team of currency experts.
Get in touch with XE.com
About XE.com
XE can help safeguard your profit margins and improve cashflow through quantifying the FX risk you face and implementing unique strategies to mitigate it. XE Business Solutions provides a comprehensive range of currency services and products to help businesses access competitive rates with greater control.
Deciding when to make an international payment and at what rate can be critical. XE Business Solutions work with businesses to protect bottom-line from exchange rate fluctuations, while the currency experts and risk management specialists act as eyes and ears in the market to protect your profits from the world’s volatile currency markets.
Your company money is safe with XE, their NASDAQ listed parent company, Euronet Worldwide Inc., has a multi billion-dollar market capitalization, and an investment grade credit rating. With offices in the UK, Canada, Europe, APAC and North America they have a truly global coverage.
Are you curious to know more about XE?
Maurits Houthoff, senior business development manager at XE.com, is always in for a cup of coffee, mail or call to provide you detailed information.
Visit XE.com
Visit XE partner page