Getting in on The Act: How Will Central Bank Digital Currencies Change the Way We Make International Payments?

Posted on the 24th May 2024 by Hamish Anderson in Founders' blog, Business, Finance

For a few years now the central banks have observed the rise of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets like NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and stablecoins. Much has been written about digital assets and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are at the forefront of a revolution which is poised to reshape foreign exchange markets and alter the financial operations of UK-based SMEs and international payments users.

Navigating the Waves: FX Risk Management for Small Businesses

Posted on the 19th April 2024 by Hamish Anderson in Founders' blog, SME blog, Business, Finance, Founder Insights

In an era where macroeconomic uncertainties seem to be the only constant, businesses venturing into the global marketplace face a multitude of challenges, not the least of which is managing foreign exchange (FX) risk. However, fear not! By adopting strategic FX risk management practices, businesses can shield their bottom lines from adverse movements and turn a potential threat into a competitive advantage. In this month’s blog, we explore some strategies to master the art of FX risk management.

Unraveling the Xero Effect: A Game-Changer for Accountants and Clients in the International Payments Realm

Posted on the 13th March 2024 by Hamish Anderson in Founders' blog, SME blog, Business, Finance, Founder Insights

For the UK's fintech sector and its users, the emergence in recent years of accountancy platforms like Xero has been nothing short of revolutionary. As a fintech company focused on navigating the intricacies of making payments across borders, we've witnessed firsthand (and experienced ourselves) the transformative impact Xero has had on our partners in the accountancy sector and their clients. In this blog we will delve into the core of this transformation, exploring how Xero has not just solved problems but has also redefined the financial landscape.

Revolutionising the World of Numbers: How Fintech and Digital Tools have Transformed the Accountancy Profession

Posted on the 15th December 2023 by Hamish Anderson in Founders' blog, SME blog, Business, Finance, Founder Insights

The days of crunching numbers with a calculator and manually balancing books are fading into the past. Today, fintech and a plethora of digital tools have emerged as the driving force behind the transformation of the accountancy sector. In this blog post, we'll dive into the exciting ways in which fintech businesses like ours, and digital tools, have reshaped the world of accountancy.

Bank of England's Interest Rate Decision and Its Currency Market Impact

Posted on the 2nd November 2023 by Hamish Anderson in Founders' blog, General news, News, Business, Finance, Founder Insights

In today's global economy, the decisions made by central banks can have an impact on businesses worldwide. One such decision was made today by the Bank of England when it chose to hold interest rates steady at 5.25%. In this blog post, we will contemplate the Bank of England's decision, its influence on currency markets, and why businesses should pay close attention.

Navigating the Currency Landscape: What Scale-Up Businesses Need to Know

Posted on the 26th October 2023 by Hamish Anderson in Founders' blog, SME blog, Business, Finance, Founder Insights

Navigating the intricate global currency landscape is key for fostering growth and ensuring the success of your business. In this post, we will dive deeper into the essentials that scale-up businesses must grasp when it comes to currency management.

The Vital Connection: Paying Suppliers and Global Commerce

Posted on the 12th October 2023 by Hamish Anderson in Founders' blog, SME blog, Business, Finance, Founder Insights

UK businesses today are, by default, global. Regardless of sector, they operate in a fully interconnected world, compete with international companies, and must reach across borders to find customers, partners, and suppliers.  

In order for all of this to function though, money must always be able to move across borders smoothly, reliably and at low cost.

Reflecting on a Decade of Fintech Transformation

Posted on the 18th July 2023 by Hamish Anderson in Founders' blog, Business, Finance, Founder Insights

Last week I wrote about Money Mover’s journey over the last decade. At the time of founding the business, I was working at HSBC and it’s fair to say that the financial sector looked vastly different ten years ago. 

Looking back, I am amazed by the rapid evolution and revolutionary changes we have witnessed in the fintech landscape in recent years.

Money Mover launches multi-currency wallets

Posted on the 28th September 2021 by Alex Garbutt in News, Business, Finance, Money Mover News, General news

Running foreign currency bank accounts is often expensive, complicated and time-consuming, but there is an easier way. Money Mover’s multi-currency wallets give you and your business access to virtual accounts in 25+ currencies, all fully integrated within Money Mover’s cloud-based platform. Receive funds with your own IBAN, BIC/SWIFT, account number and sort code, hold funds in currency wallets, convert at bank-beating exchange rates and make payments to over 200 countries around the world. 

Filling in the gaps

Posted on the 21st May 2021 by Hamish Anderson in Founders' blog, SME blog, Business, Finance

In his latest blog,  Hamish takes a look at the recent explosion in digital banking services, which is a good thing, and how the majority ignore the needs of international businesses, which is a bad thing.

Fortunately, there is a solution, and it's not even necessary to abandon your funky anodised debit card!

Four months of CBILS – what we’ve learned so far

Posted on the 30th July 2020 by Faye McDonough in SME blog, Business, Finance

It seems a lifetime ago, but it is actually only a few months since the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) was announced by the Chancellor as part of a series of government measures to support the UK’s small and medium-sized businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In this month's guest blog, Faye McDonough, Principal at BOOST&Co, recounts her story of the past four months, from the viewpoint of an entrepreneurial business and an independent lender.

Notes on a virus

Posted on the 30th June 2020 by Hamish Anderson in Founders' blog, Business, Finance

The impact of Covid-19 on Money Mover users

I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the changes in activity that we’ve observed amongst our SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) users over the last few months pre- and post-lockdown. While different countries acted at different times, lockdown in the UK started on 23 March 2020.

As Money Mover is still very much in a growth phase, we expect to add users, increase our volume and number of payments every month. Therefore our reference points are the prior month and the same month in previous years.

Money Mover drags payment tracking into the 21st Century

Posted on the 7th May 2020 by Hamish Anderson in Founders' blog, Finance, Money Mover News, News

I remember how exciting it was when I first encountered package tracking from one of the major parcel delivery firms. Knowing the exact location of my order on its journey to me felt like a big deal. Not only was it interesting to follow its progress but, knowing that it was on its way and when it would arrive somehow made you feel that you could get on with your life in the meantime.

In comparison, cross-border payment tracking has left a lot to be desired. However, the Money Mover Team has always been motivated by challenging convention, and our latest innovation is set to bring payment tracking bang up to date.

Making Sense of the Metro Bank Remedies Bungle

Posted on the 29th February 2020 by Hamish Anderson in Founders' blog, SME blog, Business, Finance, Founder Insights

Do you recall the controversy surrounding the £120m award to Metro Bank from the RBS Capability & Innovation Fund almost exactly a year ago? Eyebrows were raised at the time for several reasons. Firstly, observers and other participants in the process struggled to grasp how committing to opening additional bank branches in the north of England qualified as "developing more advanced business current account offerings", however worthy the intention. Secondly, throwing £120m at an institution which, days before, had owned up to a £900m hole in its balance sheet, had the most open-minded amongst us scratching our heads.

How long do international bank transfers take?

Posted on the 18th February 2020 by Alex Garbutt in Team blog, SME blog, Finance

International bank transfers are a simple and effective way of paying someone overseas. However, there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes and several factors that determine how long it takes for an international bank transfer to arrive with its recipient.

Don’t be a victim - how to beat the scammers

Posted on the 27th January 2020 by Alex Garbutt in Team blog, SME blog, Finance

The amount of money stolen by criminals through ever more sophisticated bank transfer scams is on the rise. In the first half of 2019, £208 million was lost to ‘Authorised Push Payment (APP)’ fraud - scams where customers are tricked into authorising payments to an account controlled by a criminal. This highlights the need always to be vigilant when making a payment, whether domestic or international.

Why banks treat alternatives managers as second-class citizens

Posted on the 20th November 2019 by Hamish Anderson in Founders' blog, SME blog, Business, Finance, Founder Insights

Money Mover has now been an AIMA (Alternative Investment Management Association) partner for just over a year. I was chatting to delegates at its recent Spotlight on Raising Assets event in London and it occurred to me that I hadn’t ever explained why this partnership is so important to us and what we think it brings asset managers.

How crisis can provoke competition

Posted on the 11th October 2019 by Hamish Anderson in Founders' blog, SME blog, Finance

Part 1 - A banking crisis

Good things can sometimes result from the direst situations.

Let’s cast our minds back to September 2007. The financial world was in turmoil and there were queues of anxious customers outside the branches of the most respected names in high street banking.

Under the leadership of its controversial chief executive Fred 'the Shred' Goodwin, The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) had been acquiring competitors aggressively and was briefly the biggest bank in the world. It was the darling of the UK stock market and feted by government and industry alike as a poster child of achievement in the sector.

However, the 2008 financial crisis signalled a dramatic reversal in its fortunes.                         

Looking Back

Posted on the 7th June 2018 by Amanda Nunn in Team blog, SME blog, Finance

The 9th June marks four years since Money Mover made its first customer payment. It’s fair to say that a lot has changed in that time; both in terms of the business and the FinTech landscape.

So here’s our quick snapshot of what’s changed, how we’ve grown and what we’ve learnt along the way.

Open Banking - what is it, and why do I care?

Posted on the 26th April 2018 by Hamish Anderson in Founders' blog, Business, Finance

By now you’ve probably heard about open banking. You may have even received a cryptic letter from your bank, asking for permission to do all sorts of things, and are wondering what all the fuss is about.

What is Open Banking?

As Money Mover users and supporters, you’ll probably agree with me that banking has been dominated by a small number of large players for too long.

Open banking seeks to change this by making it easier for to work with other banks and financial institutions, whether it’s to switch accounts or access new products and services.

The point of all this is to encourage innovation and improve competition in the financial sector.

Daylight Savings? Or is your current provider committing daylight robbery?

Posted on the 27th March 2018 by Giles Hutson, CEO of Insignis Cash Management in SME blog, Business, Finance

Whether saving for a rainy day, a future business purchase or an inevitable tax bill; businesses and individuals can earn better interest on their cash reserves.

Money Mover  invited Giles Hutson, the co-founder and Chief Executive of fellow Cambridge FinTech, Insignis Cash Management to talk about how to generate better returns from excess cash.

Deeds Not Words

Posted on the 26th February 2018 by Amanda Nunn in Team blog, SME blog, Business, Finance

The 6th February 2018 marked 100 years since the Representation of People Act - a watershed moment in history, which allowed women in the UK to vote for the first time.

Amanda Nunn, Money Mover's Partnerships Manager, asks how much has changed in the way of gender equality since then, and whether innovative businesses will be instrumental in leading the way for gender equality in the work place.

GBP since the rates rise - why raising interest rates doesn't always boost a currency

Posted on the 26th November 2017 by Hamish Anderson in Founders' blog, Finance

At midday on the 2nd of November the Bank of England raised its base lending rate for the first time in more than 10 years. The UK has been languishing in an unprecedented cycle of consecutive interest rate reductions, which ultimately had to reverse. Even so, the vote by the Monetary Policy Committee - the body which decides on how the UK’s interest rates should move - was divided, with 7 votes recommending the rise and two urging that things should remain the same. So what’s happened to exchange rates since the rise, and how did the comments of the Governor of the Bank of England -Mark Carney - influence the currency markets?

Why cryptocurrencies don’t add up for Money Mover and its customers

Posted on the 3rd October 2017 by Hamish Anderson in Founders' blog, Business, Finance, Founder Insights

I’ve just returned from a UK FinTech Trade Mission to Japan which coincided with the Tokyo FinTech Summit (Fin/Sum Tokyo).

A topic which came up frequently in formal presentations, panel sessions and discussions with delegates, was cryptocurrencies. No doubt this was because of the news that Japanese banks are setting up their own digital currency - J-Coin. Indeed, one Japanese FSA employee I chatted with was just about to head off to California on a mission to absorb all things cryptocurrency.

I had the chance to consider my position and thoughts on cryptocurrencies, particularly with regards to our business at Money Mover, and I thought I’d share these with you.

One price on the shelf and another at the checkout…

Posted on the 29th August 2017 by Alex Garbutt in Team blog, SME blog, Business, Finance

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is cracking down on Payments and e-Money Institutions that are using currency conversion tools in a “potentially misleading” way.

Leading the world in financial innovation

Posted on the 11th April 2017 by Dorianne Sager in Business, Finance, Money Mover News

The UK is the world’s leading FinTech hub, generating more than £6.6 billion revenue and employing over 61,000 people. To support this growing sector and cement Britain’s position as the global FinTech capital, the UK government is hosting a new, annual FinTech conference on April 12th to showcase the country’s FinTech talent.

The effect of Brexit on international payments and transfers - managing currency risk

Posted on the 16th February 2017 in Business, Finance

As the shock of last June’s vote to leave the European Union slowly wears off, the reality of a post-Brexit Britain is starting to emerge. The pound dropped to its lowest value in 31 years directly after the referendum and is currently hovering around £1.22 to the dollar. Once Article 50 is triggered sometime in March, official divorce proceedings will begin. Like any divorce, ending the relationship between Britain and the EU is guaranteed to be an emotional and drawn out negotiation. During this time, the one currency everyone will be trading in is uncertainty.