Lee McDarby, Managing Director, Corporate Foreign Exchange and International Payments at moneycorp, offers Finance Monthly his advice for SMEs and corporates looking to keep their financial requirements stable as they expand.

With Brexit on the horizon, and COVID-19 likely to be around for a little while yet, it’s more important than ever that businesses across the UK have access to experts, and know that they can access their money at any time, wherever they are in the world. In the past decade, the payments sector has moved at an increasingly fast pace. With this continuing to develop, there’s a need to further drive innovation that supports financial inclusion for all corporates, SMEs and individuals, to enable international success.

If you’re currently looking at expanding your business to different markets, or adapting your supply chains, and thus payment routes, it’s important that your banking partner can take the stress out of your financial requirements, enabling you to focus on elevating your business. So, what should you be on the lookout for when it comes to your banking and FX needs?

Multi-currency International Bank Account Number (IBAN)

The multi-currency IBAN supports British businesses looking at international expansion. We know that some traditional banks require you to open multiple bank accounts for different currencies – bringing an increasing amount of hassle to the simple act of receiving a payment. It can also take months to open multiple euro and/or dollar accounts, so a modern multi-currency IBAN is the hassle-free and significantly simpler option.

With one multi-currency IBAN, businesses can receive international payments in varying currencies across the globe. Supporting UK corporates to enhance their supply chain and take their business to the next international step in their global expansion.

With one multi-currency IBAN, businesses can receive international payments in varying currencies across the globe.

Security of funds

When choosing a provider for your payments and foreign exchange needs, it’s important to ensure it has safeguards in place to protect your funds. There are a number of specifics you can look out for to ensure the security of your accounts. These include:

  • Ascertaining where your money is held. Client funds should be held in safeguarded segregated accounts.
  • What your FX provider does with any margin provided by a customer. Many firms use the margin provided by customers as security for forward contracts to fulfil their own margin requirements – using client money to secure their liabilities. At moneycorp, we only ever secure positions with our banking counterparties with our own funds.
  • Whether your provider has external audits to ensure it is managing and holding client funds securely.
  • If the provider has been subject to any regulatory, investigations or sanctions.

The human touch

Customer service is key when it comes to the relationship between a business and a bank. While it is imperative that customers have 24/7 access to their account regardless of where they are in the world, talking to a person at the other end of the phone is just as important.

While our society has moved to be digital-first, when there’s an issue, the first thing the customer wants is to speak to someone. As such, access to a support team, across a multitude of channels, is irreplaceable when you need it most. To support all of your customers across the entire spectrum, it’s imperative that customer services are multi-faceted.

Ease and speed

Varying customer needs are echoed in the diverse range of Application Programming Interface (API) solutions. For an SME, corporate, or individual trading in various currencies across the globe, a seamless API that integrates ease of user experience, along with speed of delivery is crucial. However, one API doesn’t fit all.

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At moneycorp Bank, we’ve been able to seamlessly align the agility of fintech with substantiative banking networks to create bespoke API solutions, dependent on the client requirements. In addition, the central API endpoints built as part of the programming allow clients to have access to the core banking facilities on a multi-currency wallet, peer-to-peer facilities for instant transfers, global and local beneficiary validation, view balances, 24/7 multi-bank dealing, international payment and transactional and statement capabilities as standard.

Having a banking system that offers API integration gives you access to an array of benefits that leave you with more time to invest into your business. It also gives customers the capability to monitor exchange rates and automate conversions at a desired value, putting FX hedging tools right in the palm of their hands.

Looking ahead

Fundamentally, whilst we are currently navigating extraordinary times, there are also opportunities afoot for UK businesses to look at expansion. At moneycorp Bank, we believe that by picking the right partner for their payment needs, businesses can assemble best-in-class services when it comes to technological advancements in the sector, security, and customer service – without needing to trade one for the other. This in turn, will allow companies to start a new journey on the international stage, putting their best financial foot forward.