Antique Trade Gazette – 1. How do International business transactions really work?

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One of the challenges of dealing with international buyers and suppliers is the need to manage your international business transactions effectively, especially the necessity to execute payments to your key overseas suppliers on time and without getting hit by expensive bank charges.

Any bank-to-bank transaction involving bank accounts in different countries must be made through a globally recognised system called SWIFT – the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications.

As the name suggests, the system is quick and effective mechanism for subscribers to remit payments worldwide using a secure and tested international system. Banks who subscribe to SWIFT may pay in excess of GBP0.5m per annum for access to this system, a cost which is passed onto you with a healthy profit added, of course.

Some banks have been known to charge over GBP30 per payment with the average amount being well over GBP20. Added to this is the cost of achieving poor exchange rates and trying to deal with banks if payments go wrong or get lost. These may seem like unavoidable business costs; however, a GBP10,000 banking bill over the year is something that any business would want to avoid if at all possible.

I hear you ask. “So what can I do?.” “Surely, you have to pay charges for international transactions?” Yes, you do – is the answer. However, you can use a specialist provider of international payments to bring the cost of transactions down significantly. Currencies Direct in particular is able to provide you with international transaction charges as low as GBP5 – thus topically saving you over 75% of the cost in many cases.

Furthermore, a specialist provider will also make the process easier by allowing you to place orders via the telephone, email and online; as well as checking each and every payment to reduce payment errors. So, no more call centres and hours spent on the phone.

The advantages of using specialists like Currencies Direct also include lower fees, fewer lost payments and better exchange rates which not only give you more time and money to spend on generating sales but helps you to plan ahead and think about where your business goes next.

If you would like to find out more about the impact to your business or try the facilities without cost or obligation, please contact Deepak Goyal at Currencies Direct (Deepak.g@currenciesdirect.com or phone 0207 847 9421)