Moneycorp Teams With BankClarity to Ease FX Troubles

Foreign exchange (FX) and payments provider Moneycorp has joined forces with banking technology firm BankClarity to offer customers easier cross-border payments.

“The partnership means that BankClarity’s clients can now achieve more competitive foreign exchange and straight-through processing (STP) of cross-border payments, using cutting-edge [application programming interface (API)] technology and global payments solutions,” U.K.-based Moneycorp said in a news release Monday (Nov. 28).

Customers will get access to live market rates, compiled from 14 of its partner banks. The company said in the release that this move will enhance BankClarity’s suite of banking and FX partners.

The partnership will “hugely benefit global providers of administration services to international corporations, trusts and funds,” according to the release.

PYMNTS spoke with Moneycorp Europe CEO Bryan McSharry last month after the company saw a wave of small- to medium-sized business (SMB) clients reach out for help when the British pound began to drop in value.

This has meant trying to determine the nature of both their current and future exposures, while also discussing “hedging strategies that are available to them to mitigate the foreign exchange risks,” McSharry told PYMNTS.

And Eoin Walsh, head of trading at Moneycorp Ireland, added that when there is a swift rise in volatility, such as what was seen this fall, a level of panic sets in, “not just for those who are impacted negatively, but also for those who are impacted positively.”

PYMNTS research has found that close to two-thirds of financial institution (FI) executives say cross-border payment solutions are sufficient for addressing the cross-border pain points faced by SMBs, which leaves 37% saying that those tools are less than effective.

However, FIs — and their smaller clients — are embracing the tech required to improve those operations. APIs can help streamline and automate the communications that need to flow across borders between corporate back-ends and with FIs, lowering the need for friction-filled manual activities.

PYMNTS’ research has also shown that 56% of U.S. businesses see enhanced cash management capabilities as an advantage to cross-border payment solutions.

For all PYMNTS EMEA coverage, subscribe to the daily EMEA Newsletter.