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.
Choosing the right international business payments provider: what should you check for?
29-04-2020 | treasuryXL | XE |
Once you’ve ascertained what you need from a provider, the next step is shopping around to select the best provider for your business.
Working with a foreign exchange (FX) specialist can greatly help your business to navigate the currency markets and protect your bottom line from potential market volatility. However, not all providers are the same because not all businesses are the same. Each business has its own currency needs and risk exposures dependent on its size, operations, and planned payments.
We recently offered a guide on understanding what you need from an international payments provider. We encouraged you to consider:
Overhead visibility of your FX requirements
How you prefer to conduct business
The simplicity (or complexity) or your FX requirements
The payments your business makes or will make.
All of these factors can greatly impact what you’ll need from an FX provider to suit your business.
Once you’ve ascertained what you need from a provider, the next step is shopping around to select the best provider for you. In addition to considering whether they can meet your needs, be discerning about each provider and whether they should be trusted with your business’s international payments.
Do your due dilligence
As with any financial services company, do your research and use your best judgment. If something feels off, it very well could be. If the rate looks too good to be true, it probably is. There are some other questions that you should ask yourself as you research each provider:
Are they registered? Companies that provide money transfer services in the UK, for example, have to be registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). You can check which ones are authorised on their site. If you deal with a firm that is authorised or regulated by the FCA, you will be covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service if something goes wrong. Confirm that the provider is registered with your country’s authority.
Are they authorised? Larger companies are called an “authorised payment institution” while smaller ones are listed as “small payment institutions”. All authorised payment institutions must meet obligations that include providing certain information to customers before they commit to using the service. This includes whether they safeguard client money, what exchange rate they will provide and whether there will be any additional charges, how the transaction will be carried out, how long the money will take to arrive, how long they will take to correct a transaction in the event of a mistake and your rights to cancel a transaction.
How does their site look? You can also take a look at the company website to see if there are any additional security measures in place. Looking at their site will also give you a quick snapshot of the business. If their site is outdated or poorly-run, it could reflect poorly on their business practices.
Can you call? Sometimes, the quickest way to get a feel for a provider is to speak with them directly. Giving the company a quick call is another way to check you are comfortable trusting them with your money and to get answers to any questions you might still have about their service. This call will also give you an idea of whether you would be able to speak to someone if you do encounter any issues with your transfer.
What should you check before deciding which provider to use?
How strong is the company’s balance sheet? If they don’t have full accounts on their website, you can check at Companies House. Xe, for example, is owned by NASDAQ-listed global payments processing company Euronet Worldwide Inc.
How big are they and how long have they been in business? A large, established company with experience in the markets will likely be better-equipped. At Xe, we’ve been in the business for almost 30 years now with offices around the world to serve our customers.
How good is their payment processing? Are they audited by reputable auditors? Can they send payments quickly and securely?
How many other businesses trust them with their international payments needs? Judge them by the company they keep. Do they work with any other reputable businesses? Do they have experience working with businesses like yours? Xe for example, serves over 13,000 businesses of all sizes across 100 industry sectors.
What online security measures do they have in place to keep your funds safe? Look out for well-known online security ‘trust marks’ such as Norton online security. For example, if the site URL begins with “https”, that makes it a secure site. A URL beginning with “http” is a warning sign of an insecure site, which you should not give your sensitive information to.
What should your business know about Xe?
At Xe, we know the currency markets. With nearly 30 years in the business, we are the world’s trusted authority with the knowledge and experience to help businesses navigate the currency business and their international payments. Today, over 13,000 businesses across 100 industry sectors look to Xe for:
Fast, secure and simple international payments
Tools and solutions to manage their currency needs
Expert FX risk management guidance
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
Treasury: the sad story about the ones that do not get it
28-04-2021 | treasuryXL | Pieter de Kiewit
The great Dutch philosopher Johan Cruijff said: “Je gaat het pas zien als je het door hebt”, roughly translated “you only see if you get it”. I recently thought about this when visiting and working with a mid-sized local company. Their treasury team was much bigger than the teams of companies in the same industry two or three times their revenue size. In this team, for example, they had two employees full-time entering manual payments. Data and instructions are gathered from a multitude of systems and typed into banking software. Time is lost, mistakes are made, staff demotivated and money lost. They refused to hire a qualified candidate who could help because his expected base salary was a few thousands of euros too high…..
Recently the Dutch regulatory body for financial markets, AFM, published this research that shows that companies would benefit from a more mature market in alternative funding. One of their observations is that new solutions, for instance in working capital, are accepted even though the rates that have to be paid are preposterous. They see the market grow, not enough focus on credit rating and doubt if the market will stabilize in a professional manner. A stronger regulatory framework is suggested. I am in doubt, who will do the audit?
Personally I hope that entrepreneurs and CFOs will train their critical thinking and only use what they understand. Cost that are hidden in the total price of their treasury solutions are regretfully accepted easier than a separate price for the right solution and one for the advice. That is regrettable because one of the effects is that companies get perhaps the cheapest but the wrong solutions.
We have a simple suggestion: digest what you know about treasury and ask the most obvious question you can think of. Ask the expert panel and pass our suggestion forward to anyone you might think have a proper question. It is a matter of time until we get it all. I am sure.
Take care, Pieter
Pieter de Kiewit
Owner at Treasurer Search
Webinar Reminder | April 28 | “Bitcoin. Is this the New Reality in Corporate Treasury or is it a Hoax?”
| 27-04-2021 | VU Amsterdam |
Have you signed up for the webinar for tomorrow? Here is your reminder call, enjoy!
This Webinar is offered to you by the postgraduate programme Treasury Management & Corporate Finance at the School of Business and Economics.
Webinar Treasury Management in short
Date: Wednesday 28 April 2021
Time: 19.00 – 20.30 hrs.
Costs: Free-of-charge
Bitcoins are in the news. Opinions vary a lot in between “the new global currency standard” and “difficult to understand in practice and governance”. Corporate Treasurers need at least to have a start of an opinion. We see Tesla and other big corporates currently buying crypto currencies. What are opinions among corporate treasury professionals? Is investing surplus cash in crypto currencies the new reality in corporate treasury or is it a hoax?
Tristan Verhagen, a student in our TM&CF programme, will introduce the topic at this webinar. Tristan will share his provoking ideas about investing surplus cash in Bitcoin. Is this the New Reality in Treasury or a Hoax? Tristan wrote an academic paper on this subject and this has added value in terms of a new insight for the treasury professional and is very useful for experts as well as laymen to be updated on the issue.
Description Academic Paper
As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important for (institutional) investors and (corporate) treasurers to understand the effects of central bank and government intervention. Especially in the context of Bitcoin and the unique attributes it possesses. The role of central banks and governments in stabilizing the economy and the realization of economic growth in the aftermath of crises is becoming ever more important. Currently central banks and governments are “all in” to cushion the effect(s) of the current crisis. The response is considered to be bigger and broader than it was for the great financial crisis. Interest rates are historically low and central bank balance sheets have expanded considerably. This led to a significant increase in the money supply, which sparked a debate among economists about the implications for inflation.
When central banks and governments worldwide enact in ‘quantitative easing’ and increase the money supply, the associated fiat currencies depreciate in value. In contrast, Bitcoin experiences a ‘quantitative tightening’ (or reduction) of new supply as halving events programmatically decrease the number of new Bitcoin entering circulation regardless the demand for the asset. This feature is native to the digital protocol and possibly makes it the ultimate ‘store of value’ asset. During times of economic uncertainty and in a world where ‘software is eating the world’ more and more (institutional) investors and (corporate) treasurers are becoming convinced of the potential of Bitcoin. The paper/discussion aims to investigate to what extent this is justified.
Speakers
Tristan Verhagen MSc MSRE graduated in Strategic Management from Tilburg University. Real estate is the cornerstone of his career. He has worked for various real estate investors and is now Director Finance & Control at Eigen Haard. A few years ago, he fell through the Bitcoin rabbit hole and since then his views on money and monetary policy have changed significantly. He is open to the idea that Bitcoin’s unique properties will in the future lead to it becoming an important (macro) asset and therefore suitable for a large group of investors (e.g. insurance companies and pension funds).
Strong ideas are worth to have strong opposition, so we have two panel members to challenge the vision of the keynote speaker.
Wilko Bolt is a Senior Economist in the Economics and Research department at De Nederlandsche Bank in Amsterdam and Professor of Payment Systems at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. His current research focuses on the payment economics, digital currencies, two-sided markets theory and antitrust implications. He has published in journals such as American Economic Review, European Economic Review, Economic Theory, International Journal of Industrial Organization, International Journal of Central Banking and Journal of Money, Credit and Banking. Bolt was awarded the Hennipman Prize by the Dutch Royal Economic Association in 2007 for his research.
Joan Schutte joined ASML back in 2014 as VP & Corporate Treasurer and is responsible for Treasury, Corporate Finance and Insurances globally. From 2010 to 2014 Joan was Director Treasury for VimpelCom (Veon) in Amsterdam. Before that, he worked 12 years for US based Sara Lee Corporation in various Treasury roles in Curaçao, Singapore and Chicago and as Finance Director for the global procurement function in Utrecht. Joan started his career in Treasury in Belgium for CSM NV and Campbell Soup Company. Joan holds a MSc in Economics from the University of Amsterdam. He serves on the Board of the Dutch Association of Corporate Treasurers (DACT) and has served on the Board of the Association of Corporate Treasurers Singapore (ACTS).
The webinar is moderated by Pieter de Kiewit, he is treasury aficionado, recruitment consultant and owner of Treasurer Search. Together with his team, Pieter finds candidates for interim assignments and permanent positions in corporate treasury. Pieter holds an MSc. in Organizational Science (Technische Bedrijfskunde, Universiteit Twente) and has over 25 years experience in international recruitment. In many ways he contributes to the treasury community by connecting people and companies. He supports educators, for example as a member of the management board of the RT programme of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. On a regular basis he blogs, presents and moderates with the purpose to make treasury known by a bigger audience and facilitate experts to deepen their knowledge.
For whom?
We specifically invite our alumni of the PGO Treasury Management & Corporate Finance and those interested to join the programme and DACT members. Of course, those professionally involved in the subject, TreasuryXL – followers, are also very welcome to join. A truly inclusive (corporate) treasury community!