If you are wondering how to open a UK bank account as a non-resident seller on eBay, Amazon, or Etsy, keep reading as we are going to give you a full guide. In order to be able to sell on eBay, Amazon, or Etsy in the UK market, you must have a non-resident company registered with a company house in England and then open a bank account. There are several ways to quickly register and form a company in the UK; you may look for a service provider that can do that for you at minimal cost while also providing a virtual office and address, which will be needed for the bank account opening. Reach out to us, and we will give you a list of providers for e-commerce company incorporation in the UK. After Company Is Formed, Steps To Open A UK Bank Account As A Non-Resident As a non-resident director, or UBO, you can open a UK bank account for your e-commerce business if you can provide the necessary information and documents as discussed previously. Here are the basic steps: Choose the right bank for you: research and compare different UK-based banks or payment providers in order to determine which one is best for you. If you don’t have time for research, contact us, and we will provide you with a list or a free consultation. Gather required documentation: most UK banks will require your passport or ID, proof of address (PoA), description of your business activity, company incorporation documents and registration details, and proof of address of your company (we can help there too). Application to open an account: normally, you can apply for an account opening online. It might take a long time to process your application if you are using publicly available channels. To speed things up, we can provide introductions to responsible people within some digital banks that will take care of your application right away. In addition, you might receive questions or requests for more documents once the application is reviewed; our advice is to respond to such requests as soon as possible. Waiting for approval: once the application is submitted, the compliance department will review it, make the necessary public checks, and determine if your business is eligible for bank account opening. As I said, you might also need to provide additional information after the initial review. Funding the account: once the account has been approved, you will need to deposit money into it. This can be done by international wire transfer or by already receiving revenue from e-commerce activities generated on eBay, Amazon, or Etsy. It's important to note that the requirements for opening a UK bank account for non-resident eBay, Amazon, and Etsy sellers vary by bank, as each has its own client acceptance policy. What Should Non-Residents Look For When Choosing a UK Bank Account? As a non-resident, choosing a UK bank account can be challenging. However, we have compiled a few key points to look at before choosing the right one for you: Eligibility. In general, banks and payment providers have restrictions (jurisdictions, business, risk, etc.) on who can and cannot open an account.Make sure you understand their eligibility criteria and fulfil them. Alternatively, you may contact us for a free consultation and introduction to top-tier banking platforms in the UK. Fees. It is important to understand the fee structure, as it can help you save a tonne of money. Make sure you understand if there are any monthly fees, account opening fees, maintenance fees, or others. In addition, as a non-resident business owner, you will probably be remitting money back to your home country. This means you will need international wire transfers that might be costly. Contact us to make sure you get the best conditions for international money transfers. Exchange rates. If you will be making regular transactions in a different currency than your revenues, consider a bank that offers competitive exchange rates. Moreover, the exchange rate softens depending on several factors, such as currency, annual volume of exchange, and liquidity. Contact us to get an introduction to the best currency platforms in the UK. Online banking platform Check the bank’s online banking system and ensure that it is user-friendly and secure. Customer Support. Look for a good reputation for customer service and response times. Even better, seek out a personal relationship manager! Reputation. Consider checking the reputation and reviews of the bank or payment provider that you are going to use for your UK business. Trustpilot or similar is recommended. Conclusion All in all, opening a UK bank account as a non-resident requires research, preparation, document gathering, and budgeting. Feel free to use our team’s help in choosing and preparing for bank account opening.

Why Are Inexpensive Supplier Payments Important? If you’ve ever been wondering what the best way is to make overseas supplier payments, then please keep reading on. The digital economy is connecting businesses around the globe, so the need to make cross-border payments when paying overseas suppliers is increasing. Paying overseas suppliers in foreign currencies can be expensive and confusing at the same time. Thus, choosing a good payments provider is crucial and can make a difference in avoiding expensive transactions due to bad FX rates. Automate Supplier Payments and Improve Business Cash Flow A good supplier payments provider can also help improve business cash flows. This is achieved using certain automation tools that payment providers have. For example, automating supplier payments and doing them in bulk In other words, it is called mass payments . It is possible to not only make supplier payments in bulk but also to set the payments platform to make those payments on certain days of the month or in the future. Everyone knows that delaying supplier payments can improve business cash flow, but why bother doing it manually? Besides the mass payout solution, the integration with the supplier payment provider via API can completely automate this process. How to Pay Overseas Suppliers Inexpensively As technology and open banking are pushing payment costs down and opening new payment routes on a global scale, moving from a traditional bank to a digital bank or payments specialist is becoming the best option for SME’s. But finding a good digital bank or payments specialist isn’t easy. We talked about how to choose the best provider and explained what to look for. Finding a good and inexpensive provider, on the other hand, is a true fortune.Epico Finance team can help you with your choice for overseas supplier payments and foreign exchange matters. Reach out to us to get introduced to the best payment providers that can help you get the following banking features: Single IBAN for all payments and foreign exchange transactions Ability to receive payments in over 30 different currencies ability to send payments in 50+ currencies to 170 countries Ability to make mass payments by integrating via API or uploading an Excel spreadsheet Access to effective currency hedges for up to 2 years Process automation via API integration straight to your back-office Payment control and audit trails Streamlined beneficiary management and compliance processes The relationship manager is ready to help find the best solution and answer questions. Foreign Exchange and Supplier Payments The easiest and most straight-forward way is to hedge all FX exposures. With the right strategy in place, businesses can avoid losses arising from fluctuations in the foreign exchange market. There are plenty of hedging strategies out there; we have already written about some of them here . Nevertheless, it is recommended to speak with a foreign exchange specialist who is able to understand and advise on each different situation. Such specialists will be able to select a cost-effective solution that will keep business profit margins safe. FX specialists will also assist in the establishment of clear risk management objectives and guidelines. You can also speak with us during a free consultation or with FX specialists from our digital banking partners to get a tailored foreign exchange risk management strategy for your business. Conclusion All in all, the global digital economy is connecting businesses across borders. Paying overseas suppliers is becoming the norm, so it is important to get prepared and save money on costs. We hope that this guide will help you navigate supplier payments and make improvements.

If you are wondering how to open a bank account for your CBD business, then please keep reading as we are going to share our tips and experience with you. In recent years, CBD has seen a tremendous growth in terms of volume and adoption of CBD-based products, starting with nutrition to cosmetics and even clothing. According to this study, the market for CBD products in the EU and the US is growing at a rate of more than 30% per year. However, this adoption is still in the infant stage when it comes to banks and opening bank accounts for CBD businesses. Why are CBD businesses struggling with banking? Between the traditional banks and their compliance and due diligence policies, CBD is widely misunderstood in regards to being a drug. However, digital banks are opening their minds in regards to what the differences are between THC and CBD and what the value proposition of the CBD business is. Another reason is a high number of chargebacks or reversed payments. Naturally, a lot of banks attach a high-risk label to such business and carefully consider whether there is a necessary appetite for risk with such reversed payments or chargebacks. Moreover, CBD and hemp cultivation are becoming mainstream agriculture businesses and should be treated as such. In some countries, it is supervised or even licenced activity that adds a layer of trust for digital banks. Real Estate in CBD and Hemp Cultivation In our consulting experience, we have seen a business model where some companies build facilities for CBD cultivation but do not grow the plants directly but rather rent their facilities to farmers who then grow the plant. When we were helping our client open an account, we had to pitch the bank with a business plan and prove that the client was not directly involved in hemp cultivation. It was strange that the bank was so reluctant, as several months ago we successfully opened an account for a CBD grower from Canada. It is important to be clear about the main line of planned business and the purpose of the bank account. Our job as advisors is to help clients prepare for the bank’s due diligence and explain their business in as much light as possible. CBD and Hemp Business Banking: How to Open an Account? Anyone who has tried to open an account with a traditional domestic bank knows that it is a hard mission. Traditional banks are very slow and have increasingly difficult AML and KYC due diligence, and on top of all that, they are not familiar with CBD business. An alternative strategy that we use to help our clients open accounts with reputable financial institutions is digital banking, or PSPs (EMIs). As we have a strong background in banking and a wide network of partners, we already know which institutions are willing to look at CBD and hemp businesses as potential clients. In addition, we will land named accounts for our clients, and in some instances the IBANs will be from top-tier banks in the world such as JP Morgan, Barclays, Citi, or Goldman Sachs. So if you are looking to open an account for your CBD and hemp business, reach out to us for a free consultation! Conclusion The CBD and hemp industries are rapidly expanding, and more businesses are discovering the need for international bank accounts, which are extremely difficult to obtain. Given all the complexities, there are still many options for bank account opening, especially with EMIs and digital banks. Send us an email, and we will reply with a list of CBD-friendly banks and payment providers.

If you are looking to open a bank account for your gambling business, then keep reading as we are going to share key tips for application success and a list of gambling-friendly banks. It is no secret that many banks and payment providers do not have a risk appetite for gambling companies. Especially with an offshore licence. That is why it is deemed a high-risk business, and banks that onboard such businesses require premium fees for banking services. Where To Open A Bank Account For Gambling Business? Most likely, traditional banks won’t open accounts. The easiest way is through PSPs (payment service providers) or EMIs (Electronic Money Institutions). There are plenty of PSPs and EMIs that support gambling businesses with account opening. However, not all of them are good solutions, and here is why: Multi-currency accounts. Most EMIs and PSPs are unable to offer multi-currency accounts for gambling companies. In order to build a scalable business, we suggest having a multi-currency banking solution. Fees. The vast majority of EMIs will charge account opening fees, monthly fees, and premium transaction fees. It is important to have a sensible pricing structure in order to be profitable. Banking restrictions. Be aware of all banking restrictions and any additional charges that might arise from such restrictions. Jurisdictional support. The majority of EMIs will be interested in EU-licenced businesses only. If you have an offshore licence, it can become tricky to open a bank account. If you have at least one entity in the EU within your group structure, we suggest starting by onboarding the EU entity and then the rest of the group. This will help with the risk profiling of your group and open doors for offshore entities. Client support. Make sure you will have a point of contact, a relationship, or an account manager within the company opening the bank accounts. API integration. It is of great importance to have the ability to integrate via API and automate your payment operations, at least in part. Banking providers that are gambling-friendly have licences mostly in Lithuania or the United Kingdom. If you would like to get a list of the best banking service providers for the gambling industry, reach out to us, and we will share this with you. If you need help building a strong application for account opening, reach out to us for help. Conclusion It is not easy to open a bank account for a gambling business. Traditional banks do not want to touch this industry; therefore, alternative banking providers are the next best option. Reach out to us for a list of the best institutions based on your business case.

If you are looking to open investment bank account for your trading or your investment portfolio, then keep reading on as we are going to share some tips for you. There are many options for investment or brokerage account opening, especially with Neo brokers, various investment apps (start-ups) and classical brokerages. However, there is a huge difference between regular stock broker and investment bank. Why It Is Important To Have Your Investments With Investment Bank? There are many reasons why you would be better off having your portfolio with an investment bank rather than a neo-broker. Custody. It is important to know who is the ultimate custodian of your assets. The majority of brokerages and neo-brokers use custodians and sub-custodians for client asset safeguarding. It is high risk with small brokers that they might be cutting corners to get cheaper custody or earn additional revenue from client assets. An investment bank would be a broker and a custodian. Or be using another top-tier institution to safeguard clients assets. Asset segregation and good standing. All financial institutions are obliged to segregate their own assets from their clients assets. But how can you be sure it is done properly? With an investment bank or top-tier brokerage firm, you can always check their financial statements or management reports. Not only the listed brokers and banks provide such information. Top-tier private banks are transparent as well. Deposit guarantees. Investment banks are covered by the EU's deposit guarantee schemeosit guarantee scheme. We can help you open an investment bank account with a top-tier bank in the EU. Reach out to us. Transparent fees. As investment banks are heavily regulated, they must strictly comply with the regulations. On top of that, an investment bank will protect its reputation and will never charge hidden fees. Access to global markets Investment banks usually have access to global markets and a variety of instruments that will not be available with local or neo-brokers. If you seek diversification or regional investment opportunities, an investment bank is able to provide more instruments for you. Investment research. Most investment banks offer free investment research from in-house analysts. Market news and research material can help generate investment or trading ideas and enhance portfolio returns. Portfolio tools and ready-made investments Investment banks often offer various portfolio tools and ready-made investments. On top of that, many investment banks also give access to mutual funds. Wealth Management. Investment banks also offer wealth management services next to the brokerage account. Cost structure. Many consider investment banks a costly alternative to neo-brokers or investment apps. However, everything depends on the portfolio size. Investors that have portfolios above 1 million euros can effectively negotiate investment service costs down. We have helped many clients get cost-competitive accounts with investment banks. Reach out to us to learn more. Relationship manager. Many experienced investors know that once you make a registration with a regular brokerage, you will receive a salesperson's call promising many things. But once the account is opened, it's really hard to get any help. Sounds familiar? Investment banks do provide personal relationship managers to assist clients. If you would like to receive such service, reach out to us, and we will introduce you to senior relationship managers at top-tier investment banks. Account Opening Process With Investment Bank Investment banks have similar onboarding processes as regular banks. They perform due diligence, AML/KYC checks, etc. Sometimes there is more emphasis on the source of wealth for private individuals than opening a regular bank account, but that depends on the jurisdiction the individual is from. As the due diligence and account opening process is so similar to that of a traditional bank, you must prepare to wait and respond to the bank's compliance questions for at least a few weeks if you are onboarding as a corporate account and several days if you are onboarding as a private individual. Investment banks are not as quick as FinTechs or neo-brokers. Conclusion All in all, there are many advantages to opening an investment bank account rather than using a local brokerage or investment app. This is especially true if you have a sizable investment portfolio. If you have a portfolio that is below 50.000 EUR, reach out to us for a list of the best neo-brokers or investment apps to kick-start your investment journey!

Why International Payments Fees Are Important? If you’ve ever wondered how international payments work, then please keep reading on. It is important to understand how international payments work and how the fees for such payments are derived. On top of that, to comprehend the impact of the correspondence banking network (or payment routes) and currencies, and why this process can be complex sometimes. For businesses or individuals wishing to make international transactions, transaction fees might impact the final cost of such transactions and become a burden if these transactions are needed on a frequent basis. Another reason to understand those fees is that it will help reduce them. Using a well-established banking partner or payments specialist can save tonnes of money. They are going to use smart payment routing to avoid expensive correspondent banks and ultimately make the transactions cheaper. Understanding the International Payments Process By initiating a transaction to send money abroad, a complex system of reconciling and balancing between banks and financial institutions starts. For a bank to implement a cross-border transaction, it must have both currencies or exchange one currency for another in order to execute the payment. The bank will have a relationship with other banks to conduct a foreign transaction that is outside of their own network. Because of this, international payments involve more financial institutions than you can see. Here comes the term "correspondent banking. The correspondent bank will be used by a domestic bank to service such international payment requests from a client by leveraging the correspondent bank's payment routes, or in other words, banking relations. The correspondent bank will be holding different bank accounts with different banks nostro and vostro accounts . In general, banks in correspondent relationships will hold accounts for one another in order to transact internationally. Logically, if more institutions are involved in a transaction, there will be more fees. So choosing a provider or bank that manages its payment routes efficiently is important if you wish to save on fees. Currency Exchange for International Payments Most of the international payments will be conducted in foreign currency. For that reason, the currency exchanged is involved in the transaction and can be a huge part of the total cost. Moreover, it is reasonable to compare the exchange rate offered by your bank to a mid-market rate or a currency's current buy/sell value on the FX market. If this analysis is done correctly, it will reveal what margin is being charged by the bank for a simple currency exchange transaction. While banks get direct market access to foreign exchange, they pay mere fractions of a percentage for their own conversions. While end clients are being charged sometimes up to 2–3% for their conversions. One reason why independent payment platforms are more transparent and flexible is that they are focusing solely on delivering the best experience and cost-value ratio for payments and FX, while traditional banks have a variety of focuses or lack business development efforts to optimise in specific areas. How Do I Make International Payments? The natural question is how to make international payments and save money not only on sending the funds but also on the currency conversions. And why some payment specialists are able to offer those services cheaper. The best payment specialists will offer cross-border payments at lower costs by negotiating bulk deals with banks around the globe. Such providers are also able to offer clients greater flexibility, efficiency, and advice, besides the lower fees. On the foreign exchange part, some specialists are also getting very small fees for FX as they are buying in bulk. So their aggregate volumes are very high, and it makes sense for the prime broker to do wholesale business. To find a payments specialist that can provide cheap payments and currency conversion, you need to do some homework. We have an article on this topic here . Furthermore, we recommend our readers reach out to us to get a free consultation or a list of the best-in-class payment providers. How To Receive International Payments? Sometimes traditional banking accounts are not capable of receiving multi-currency payments. And it can cause some difficulties for businesses that have clients or partners overseas. A multi-currency solution via a single account is the best option for ALL international payments and currency exchanges that you or your business have. We can help you get named multi-currency accounts with top-tier institutions that will enable you to receive payments from across the globe in 40 different currencies and send payments in 50+ currencies to 170 countries. Reach out to us to learn more. Conclusion All in all, understanding how fees for international payments are derived and what the process looks like will help you save a great deal of money. We hope that this article was helpful!

Why Is Choosing a Reliable Payment Service Provider Important? If you’ve ever wondered how to choose the best payment service provider, then please keep reading. This guide will help you sort out the good ones and save a lot of money. Nowadays, there are plenty of payment service providers claiming to be award-winning, most trusted, and so on. But the truth is that the majority of them are not awarded, trusted, or even good at international money transfers. This is because they lack basic correspondent banking relations, have bad technology, or are undeveloped. Having a well-banked and technology-based payment service provider will improve your business operations and save a great deal of money. What Is a Good Payment Service Provider? [3 Tips] There are multiple ways to check the legitimacy and quality of any PSP available. Even more, there are many technical ways to do that. But it is not going to necessarily help the reader perform such technical analysis by So I have decided to look at this from a different angle. Here are a few quick tricks that will help everyone have a better understanding. 1. Management team First and foremost, it is important to check who is managing the company. You can easily look up the employees on LinkedIn . Moreover, you will be able to see the past experiences of the people who run the company. Also the number of all employees and how often they are changing. The key people should have relevant banking and payments experience along with a perfect reputation. Furthermore, because today's PSPs are highly technical, having a diverse developer team is advantageous.It also signals that you won’t have issues with the payment platform in the future. In a similar vein, you will be able to see where those people are located. This is useful when employees are based in one country but the EMI license is obtained in another. That should automatically raise some questions. For example, you want to open an account with a UK-licensed payment service provider, but all employees are based in Russia. Wouldn’t that look strange? 2. Media check-up . Media is a good tool to check for negative news on the particular PSP. Maybe this company had received a fine from the regulator for money laundering? Or maybe they were involved in some scandals? The negative light on company practices is a red flag. It is extremely important to work with reputable and transparent banking providers. 3. Payment routes . PSPs use other banks to route payments for their clients. So in many cases, your recipient will see the name of the bank that routed the payment. Now imagine the payment service provider is using a Russian or Latvian bank to route their payments. Your payment can be rejected by the recipient's bank. If your funds are going through high-risk countries, it isn’t great. So you should ask your payment provider who they bank with. And more importantly, where they keep your money. In other words, safeguard . A truly good payment service provider will partner with top-tier banks such as Barclays or Citi. On top of that, being a wholesale partner of a top-tier bank enables PSP to access a vast correspondent banking network. Such a partnership would also enable extremely good pricing capability, which is the key to competitiveness. What Is the Best Payment Service Provider? Having in mind all that was said, there are several good banking providers out there. Because each client is different, it all comes down to a unique business case.Epico Finance assists business owners in locating the best digital banks for their specific business operations and model. Reach out to us to get a list of banking platforms that are best for your business. We can also help you to: · Get EU or GB named IBANs for all payments and foreign exchange. · Introduce you to mass-payments by integrating via API or uploading an Excel spreadsheet. · Access to effective currency hedges · Exchange of currencies using reasonable and competitive pricing · A cost-effective solution for low-value international payments · Implement payment control and audit trails. · Get your best relationship managers ready to help find the best solution and answer your questions. Please do not hesitate to contact us for more information or account opening under better terms here . Conclusion There are numerous payment service providers on the market, but not all of them are of high quality. It is important to distinguish quality from tricky marketing campaigns. Use the three tips above and you will be able to distinguish quality payment firms.

3 Reasons Why Digital Bank Is Better Than Traditional Bank If you have ever wondered why you should choose a digital bank over a traditional bank, then please keep reading. We will look into advantages and disadvantages that will change your mind. With rapid innovation in the digital banking sector, businesses have to carefully consider and choose between a digital bank or a traditional bank. Some prefer the stability of old banking styles, while others like to be in the trend of digitalisation thus choosing online banking. Here are the reasons why this change is happening: 1. Digital banks are gaining traction due to the high degree of internet and mobile app usage. The technology has evolved, creating the everyday convenience of banking online via user-friendly digital banking platforms. Those platforms allow users to send and receive payments as well as track their financials and get personalised insights. The latter part is powered by artificial intelligence that is embedded in today’s digital banks. 2. Another reason is that digital banking solves both the attractiveness and functionality problems at once. For example, the amount of clicks it takes to open an account with a digital bank versus a traditional bank is incomparable. The online bank simplifies the functionality of daily banking operations by minimising the steps and time spent on the banking platform. On top of that, the digital bank offers an attractive user interface that does not scare users away but actually makes using the digital bank a fun experience. In addition, they create the comfort of using the necessary services from one's bedroom. 3. The price of services offered by a digital bank is significantly better than the ones offered by a traditional bank. The most popular consumer-focused online banks are selling their services at no cost, thus creating unprecedented price competition in the banking sector. This is not going to last for ever, but a digital bank will never be so expensive as a traditional bank is. For example, traditional banks still charge fees for account maintenance or card servicing, even though they make money from card schemes and invest users unused money balances in government bonds. What Is a Typical Traditional Bank? Traditional banks have been in business for hundreds of years and are very well present in local regions. Their services are well known among people because of their long history. Traditional banks also offer personalised services via their branches and solve problems on the spot. Their service scope is not limited to only payments or currency exchange; they are also able to offer loans, leases, insurance, investment products, and more. In other words, a traditional bank is an organisation with a local presence and a full banking service portfolio. It has less of a technological presence but a good understanding of the banking industry and lending money. What Are The Drawbacks Of Digital Banks And Traditional Banks? On the other hand, digital banking is a completely online service. In the event that a user has a problem that cannot be solved using standard customer support, getting help might cause headaches. On a positive note, digital players are getting banking licenses that by default offer funds insurance up to 100k euro. Even so, some still do not have such licenses, and users' funds are unprotected (but still safeguarded).The good news is that no online banks with EMI licenses have gone bankrupt thus far. Traditional bank clients need to go to branches, wait in lines, and deal with loads of paper work to get sometimes even the most basic services. In addition, a typical traditional bank hasn’t changed its pricing model and is often too expensive in comparison to the digital bank. Traditional banks are also slow to resolve customer issues or adapt to new trends. How To Get A Digital Bank Account You might be wondering how to get a digital bank account in Europe or the UK. The online registration process with a digital bank is fairly simple and straight-forward. It can be done without leaving the comfort of one's bedroom. Finding a good one might be a bit more difficult. That’s why we recommend checking out our tips on choosing the best digital bank or payments provider. Conclusion All in all, it comes down to reputation and physical presence versus technology and convenience. It is important to understand your own goals to make the right choice between the two. If you wish to save costs on your transactions and your valuable time and nerve, reach out to us to get a list of the best digital banks in the market.

What Are Mass Payments? If you want to learn how mass payments work and how to optimise your payment processes, please keep reading. Technology is disrupting the way businesses send payments. The focus of this article will be on how mass payments save man hours, reduce costs, and ease the process of making hundreds or thousands of payments to the relevant counter-parties. The Mass Payments solution gives you the ability to make payments at scale. So it works in the same way single payments work, but it supports automation and scale. The mass payments solution allows you to execute a payment in over 50 different currencies and to 120+ countries, including low-value channels. All this is done without having to maintain local currency accounts and from a single platform, in the same way you would be making a single payment. How Do Mass Payments Work? A good example is a fashion house that needs to make a thousand payments for payroll every month to a particular country in a particular currency. Rather than going in and making one thousand individual payments, there is an API connectivity or excel documents that can be exported from the accounting system with all relevant payment details (like IBAN, amounts, currency, etc.). So the company can drag and drop that excel document into the payments platform, and by doing so, they are automatically uploading a thousand payments into the platform, which are then performed in bulk. If a company has only GBP in their payments platform and payments are needed in GBP, USD, and EUR, the platform automatically exchanges currencies for these payments and executes them as it recognises which payments need to go via SEPA , SWIFT, or Faster Payments . This can also be done via an API connection, which is a very easy and straight-forward way. Another example where time can be saved would be supplier payments. A company that has hundreds or thousands of supplier payments can execute them in bulk the same way a fashion house executes its payroll payments by exporting an excel document from its accounting system or connecting via API. Mass Payments API The Mass Payments API brings all your payments together in one secure and efficient hub. Automation saves the payer time and improves productivity while ensuring better delivery to payees. The underlying technology allows the payer to respond quickly to client feedback and market needs. The API also supports local legislation to keep businesses compliant, with easy payment controls and audit trails. What Are the Benefits of Mass Payments? There are a number of different benefits of using mass payments besides saving time and money. Our advanced list of benefits below: Advanced Security - Mass Payments are protected by advanced encryption technologies with access restrictions and associated authentication steps. Sanction screening - the mass payments system is checking for suspicious payments and comparing them with black lists and agency data to prevent sanctions violations and keep the transaction flow smooth. Advanced Compliance - The mass payments solution is compliant with the latest international legislation to ensure that payments are never compromised and are always according to compliance standards. Scalability - with the help of cloud-based technology, a mass payments solution is ready to help your business scale. Cost-efficient - access to multiple wholesale liquidity providers via API ensures that the client is getting the most competitive rates and the best choice across the markets. Automatic Validation - All payments are delivered on time by automating country rules. The mass payments solution prevents returned payments because of the selected payment routes and upfront validated payment information. How To Get Mass Payments Solution? Getting a solution for mass payments is not hard. First and foremost, a digital bank account is required.The same provider that you set up your digital bank account with should be able to provide the mass payments solution. Reach out to us, and we will share a list of the best digital banking providers that support mass payments through robust payment corridors and will protect your financial data with encryption. Conclusion All in all, mass payments solutions are changing the way many companies send payments today. Whether they pay their suppliers, do payroll, or automate other functions of their businesses. Mass payments are an easy-to-use and easy-to-set-up solution that will benefit any business significantly.

What Is Corporate Foreign Exchange Exposure and Risk Management? If you’ve ever been wondering how foreign exchange risk management can benefit your business, then please keep reading. Foreign exchange rate fluctuations have an impact on business organisations that operate in the global economy.Their managers are exposed to them as well as their bottom lines. Corporate foreign exchange risk management is a set of rules that help protect the value of cash flows and currency assets or liabilities from adverse fluctuations of the exchange rate. In the real world, such risk management would be implemented using various hedging strategies and instruments that we are going to talk about now. What Are the Benefits of Foreign Exchange Risk Management? As discussed already, hedges are used by businesses to manage their currency risk exposure and isolate their bottom line from FX market volatility. By entering a financial contract to hedge currency risk, the business manager is effectively protecting the exchange rate against a specified amount of currency for a predetermined period of time. One of the benefits is that the FX mitigation strategy will provide certainty and the ability to better plan financials. This means that a fixed exchange rate for a certain period of time will allow the finance department to plan and prepare for that time in advance. This ultimately gives a control over business flows and potentially increases profitability. On top of that, another benefit of currency hedging is the protection from adverse FX market movements and improved company management. So the directors can accurately forecast and implement corporate strategies with great confidence that there won’t be any surprises in currency positions. And lastly, exchange rate protection is going to fix the value of the short- and mid-term assets of the company. This creates certainty over the balance sheet and business transactions that encompass those hedged assets. What Should You Consider Before Hedging Your FX Risks? When implementing a hedging strategy, it is important to weigh the benefits versus the cost of hedging or potentially missing the appreciation of the hedged currency. In a similar vein, there are a few questions to be considered before entering into any hedging transactions: What does your company want to achieve with one or another hedging transaction? It is important to have a clear goal that will help determine the right hedging tool and strategy. What is your company aiming to achieve with a selected hedging strategy? This question should help to determine the extent of the hedge. How can you cover the costs of the hedge? It is important to understand that the hedge has a price. And that should be calculated into the profit margin and properly forecasted. Nevertheless, adjusting the price for customers can have a direct impact on profitability. As well as incurring losses from currency depreciation. The balance has to be prudently measured. How feasible is it to forecast a company’s currency needs accurately? Usually, historical data should help forecast the currency needs of your business. This is needed in order to accurately size the hedging contracts, as, for example, forward contracts require you to commit to a certain amount for the set period. Is there a revenue stream that supports currency hedging requirements? Is not only the cost to pay for a hedging contract but also the margin requirement to cover. A provider is going to ask for an upfront deposit to secure the currency contract. Even further, is your business able to pay an extra deposit in case there is a significant move in the FX market? And lastly, will your business have funds to cover the maturing contract that is in the red? Hedging means locking in the currency value regardless of the movements of the FX market. And it is important to understand that currencies not only lose value but can also appreciate, which means funds will be needed to settle the contract with your provider. What Are the Foreign Exchange Risk Management Strategies? Let’s now move onto the types of hedging transactions. There are a few that your business can use, and it is important to understand the nature of each one of them, at least in general terms. But before that, a short review of the most common instruments used to implement those strategies: Forward contract. A forward contract is a type of transaction where two parties agree to exchange one currency for another at a pre-determined exchange rate and maturity date. Spot transaction. A spot transaction is a foreign exchange transaction with a T+2 settlement (settled in two days). Basically, two parties agree to exchange currencies at the current market rate (on the spot). FX vanilla options FX options give the right but not the obligation to exchange one currency for another at a pre-agreed exchange rate on a specific date in the future. FX options are usually used to hedge uncertain business cash flows. The premium for the option is paid upfront, and there are no extra costs or losses to cover besides the loss of the premium. Moreover, we are going to review several hedging strategies that can be implemented with the mentioned products. Before that, it is important to understand that hedging solutions should be consistent with the overall business strategy and should not be used as a form of speculation. Layered hedge. A layered hedge is a series of separate open forward contracts with different expiration dates to cover certain parts of a company’s FX risk over a certain period of time. A business manager might open new contracts every week or month for specific expiration dates in line with the overall financial forecasts, thus keeping the layered hedge. This strategy enables businesses to monitor and adjust to changes in FX risk exposure. Market orders. A "market order is an agreement to transact in a particular currency at the current moment. It can also be used to hedge by opening a position opposite the currency that is being hedged. If an EU-based company is expecting $1 million of cashflow in USD in two months, the market order is being executed by entering into a spot transaction to "buy" the EUR/USD’ pair. Such a trade will produce profits in cases of USD depreciation against EUR and losses in cases of USD appreciation against EUR. Long Put. This is an options strategy to protect businesses from a potential downside in a particular currency by having the right but not the obligation to exchange it at a predetermined exchange rate. There are more hedging strategies, but it comes down to a specific business need and cash flows. In order to have an appropriate hedging strategy, you should consult with a currency specialist or your FX and payments service provider. What Is the Best Foreign Exchange Risk Management Provider? We recommend to our clients licensed payment and FX specialists that have longstanding industry experience and top-tier banking partnerships to provide quality service. Please reach out to us to get a list of the best-in-class FX and payments platforms. The Epico Finance team is working with companies of all sizes and industries. We not only help by providing the tools that you need for your unique FX risk management strategy but also have a dedicated relationship manager that will help you assess all available options. Conclusion All in all, organisations that are active in multiple markets will have exposure to foreign exchange risks and should be ready to manage that risk appropriately. There are available tools and FX risk mitigation strategies that any business can implement.

Why Does Currency Fluctuate? If you’ve ever been wondering how to prepare for currency fluctuations and how they affect international trade, then please keep reading. The price of currencies fluctuates due to the ever-changing supply and demand in foreign exchange markets. There are people, companies, governments, and speculators making trades in the FX market every millisecond. In addition to the daily trading, there is another important factor—the interest rate set by central banks. If the interest rate increases, the value of the currency will also increase. This happens due to the international investors selling the domestic currency to buy foreign currency with higher interest rates. The investors are piling up the debt instruments that are going to offer a higher interest rate. This purchase of foreign currency increases demand, causing the currency's price to rise. Another important factor is politics and the overall strength of a country. If international players assume that the political system of a certain country is stable and its economy is thriving, that might support the price of its currency. How Can Currency Fluctuation Affect International Trade? The currency fluctuation can impact international trade both ways. Usually, when interest rates go down, businesses can borrow cheaper. Moreover, the currency then depreciates, making the price of exported goods lower. So the economy is stimulated and activity increases. This is called monetary policy . However, there is an opposite effect too. When currency prices appreciate, exported goods become more expensive, and thus economic activity slows down. To sum up, it is important to watch the general trend in interest rates set by central banks. This is the main driver for currency fluctuations in the long term. It is also important to observe the political environment and interest rates set by central banks. Significant changes in politics often trigger currency fluctuations. How To Prepare For Currency Fluctuations? Have you ever wondered about the timing when making payments internationally or looking to exchange foreign currency for your base currency? The FX market is hard to predict, and some events can trigger significant currency fluctuations that can materially affect your business. You should admit the fact of a volatile FX market and adjust accordingly, so it makes sense to transact globally or exchange domestically. Here are a few tips that might help you navigate those currency fluctuations: Set your profile. First of all, you should set your own profile in order to decide on an action plan. Questions to answer for yourself: · Are you time- or price-sensitive? Do you have a target date by which the money should be received or sent in foreign currency? · What is your risk tolerance? · How often do you transact in foreign currency? · What is the worst rate your business is prepared to exchange at? · What is more important, completing a transfer quickly or getting a better exchange rate? These questions will help you understand yourself better and have a clear goal. Set a goal. Having a clear goal will help you identify the right action plan and increase your confidence. You will be able to look up a currency chart on the internet and see where the rate is headed. If it is going up, you should act quickly; if it is going down, you should wait for a better rate. It is also important to follow market updates to see what the upcoming market events are that could trigger greater volatility in the market. If you are waiting for a better rate, maybe it is worthwhile to eliminate the risk factor and act prior to the market news? Make a plan. The FX market is rapid and hardly predictable, so being prepared can give you some confidence. Having a plan might help you not miss anything and act right away. · Create a price alert and be up-to-date with the price. · Have the available funds for the international payment in your multi-currency account so you can act right away and make the payment. · Plan for holidays and weekends so your cross-border payment does not get delayed. · You can save money on larger amounts of transactions. · Split the transfers if you are not sure about the current market rate. · Have a currency specialist consult with you. Does your provider offer a relationship manager as part of its service? Hedging. You can also effectively mitigate FX risks by implementing hedging into your overall payments and FX strategy. There are a lot of benefits to hedging, but it isn’t a simple process. We can help you by introducing you to the most frequently used hedging strategies, such as layered hedges, long puts, vanilla forwards, and others. Moreover, having a reliable banking partner is of key importance. Reach out to us to receive a list of the best banking solutions that fit your business or currency hedging needs. Conclusion All in all, currency fluctuations are an unavoidable part of free markets. The important steps are to set a goal according to your profile, have a plan, and hedge accordingly. We hope this guide will encourage you to manage your currency risks! If you would like to speak to us about bank account opening, payment, and FX optimisation, as well as other currency risk hedging topics, just drop us a message .

What is Deliverable Foreign Exchange? Deliverable foreign exchange is a term commonly used on an institutional level and less frequently on a corporate or consumer level. Term means a currency exchange with a cash settlement to the account. On an operational level, it looks as follows: the client initiates an exchange with a cash settlement to the account. This means that the provider will take, say, EUR and settle USD on the client's account. In between those two, the provider will be earning a spread (or a margin) on the transaction. Usually foreign exchange is settled on a T+2 basis, or two business days after the trade date. Some offshore currencies are settled on a T+1 basis, for example, USD/RUB. What Are First-to-First Party Payments? For some financial clients, deliverable FX settlement can be done only to the same bank account or a bank account that is in the name of the same client requesting the exchange. This is also called "first-party payment". Some financial clients will have such a requirement due to the risks of money laundering . This means that the client will be performing third-party payments with another provider after the cash settlement is done. In addition to this, some providers can require a list of correspondent banks to check the risks of money laundering, and this is called " standard settlement instructions" . So the provider will agree with the client prior to any transactions as to which banks will be used for the settlement of cash. Deliverable Foreign Exchange Provider Whether you’re paying your suppliers or employees around the world, buying assets overseas, or just looking to send money abroad, a trusted banking partner is always there to deliver the right solution for all your currency exchange needs. Our banking partners specialise in managing FX and payments for international companies. They are ready to fulfill any specific requirements and minimise the effect of currency fluctuations on clients bottom lines. If you are looking for deliverable foreign exchange services, reach out to us to get a list of the best-in-class foreign exchange service providers, and we will also help you get the best conditions. Conclusion Deliverable foreign exchange is simply currency conversion with a cash settlement to the account.