Bankers, If You Can’t Produce a BSB, You Are Late
We have reached the tipping point in bank billing transparency globally, and it is exciting. The vision of creating a global standard for bank fee reporting started with a few individuals willing to do the work, a few large corporations willing to apply pressure, and a few global banks willing to be leaders in providing transparency to their customers.
Top 3 Year-end Checklist Items for Bank Fee Analysis
By the end of the calendar year (and for many of us, fiscal year-end), we have a growing mountain of tasks to complete – close the books, conduct our annual budgeting exercise, get ready for the audit, and review upcoming changes to regulations that may affect our cash.
What’s Driving the Risk Appetite of Your Potential Financing Banks?
The building blocks that shape a bank’s risk profile
The Payment Card Settlement Lacks Long-term Relief
If history tells us anything about the card network and card issuing bank interchange system, it is this: the proposed terms of the settlement will not provide greater transparency or reductions in interchange fees moving forward. Merchants will continue to face complexity, obscurity and substantial costs in the long term, writes Chelsey Kukuk, payment card expert at Redbridge.
The Complex World of Payment Card Surcharging
With the recent lifting of the ban on merchant surcharging, the U.S. payments industry has not seen widespread adoption. However, as fees continue to climb, card-not-present volumes increase, and there are fewer options to lower fees, merchants are finding themselves backed into a corner.
Will Corporates Feel the Benefits of the Recent Reduction in FDIC Surcharges?
When fuel prices rise and fall consumers expect airline tickets and other prices to follow suit. With the recent reduction in FDIC surcharges, many large corporations are wondering if their banks’ “deposit assessment fees” will also be reduced.
Account and Transaction Controls through Account Analysis
In our bank account management (BAM) blog series, we strive to look at the problems of bank account management from a modern perspective. Our first installment focused on proper bank account management practices in the risk-focused world.
The Alternative Represented by Trade Finance Funds
The limited capacities of the banks have led to the emergence of alternative finance such as trade finance funds, which are typically launched by industry professionals willing to get involved with transactions that are not in the interest of traditional banks. The universe is still in its infancy with only around 15–20 such funds around the world and total assets under management of less than $10 billion.
Acquisition Finance: Are Banks Advisors? Playing Both Sides of the Fence
Banks position themselves as trusted advisors with the capability of facilitating large financing deals on behalf of their clients. While banks are capable of providing financing advice, they often have interests that conflict with the interests of their clients. Banks are in the difficult position of serving their clients while also maximizing their own profits and protecting their own balance sheets.
The Challenges of Obtaining and Understanding International Bank Fee Statements
Analyzing international bank fee statements requires in-depth knowledge of international banking structures, accessibility and visibility into local bank fees, and copious amounts of time and resources. Many treasurers do not make it past the first step of obtaining their international bank fee statements in useable formats to then progress to understanding their fees across multiple countries.