The many definitions of supply chain finance (SCF) are standing in the way of corporations receiving the solutions they need from their banking partners. Very large associations of banks and treasurers have recently taken a stab at clarifying what SCF really means. The following are some works on SCF from international associations: In December 2010, the Bankers’ Association for Finance and Trade (BAFT) and International Financial Services Association (IFSA)  published the document, “Product Definitions for Open Account Trade Processing and Open Account Trade Finance.” In September 2009, the Bank of England (BoE) asked U.K. stakeholders to form a working group, … Continue Reading →

This follow-up to last month’s post will discuss how the experience of B2B solution providers is relevant to financial institutions involved in developing global transaction services (GTS) on platforms. The examples come from Ariba, whose vision has enabled companies to facilitate and improve B2B procurement processes via the Internet. In 2006, Ariba decided it was time to approach a lower-tier marketplace that comprised small and midsize companies. Technology innovation enabled the shift, thanks to the introduction of the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) delivery model. Ariba also completely re-engineered its product suite in line with the SaaS model; as described by one of … Continue Reading →

“What’s past is prologue,” wrote Shakespeare in The Tempest. Nothing can be truer if we compare what financial institutions (FIs) are doing with their global transaction services (GTS) platforms with what some software and information technology services providers have done with their B2B platforms over the past 10 years. Although they play in different fields, FIs can learn from the pasts of technology providers. For their global transaction services, banks offer platforms that aim to incorporate cash management, trade finance, payments, and basic FX as a one-stop shop for their corporate clients.  In my frequent meetings with banks, I frequently … Continue Reading →

On Thursday, March 3rd, I was involved in a TweetJam (#INFAtj), organized by Karen Hsu of Informatica, on business-to-business (B2B) payments, SEPA, and integration. In conversation with Chris Skinner of Balatro Ltd., I stayed (mostly) within the 140-character message limitations of Twitter while the hour flew by. The conversation began with the importance of payments to banks’ revenue, and veered into segmentation of European Union banks by payments business model in response to the Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA). As Chris said, “SEPA splits EU banks into three — those big enough to do it, those small enough not to, … Continue Reading →

An Aite Group client asked me a rather simple question regarding my recently published report, Trends in Bank-Supported, Business-Initiated Payments. This led to an interesting conversation about what I am seeing in the market regarding combining retail and wholesale banking platforms (given that small businesses frequently behave like consumers), and banks’ need to consider their customer segments when planning for their payments future. An interesting topic, to be sure. I do not think that every bank should — or will — collapse all of their payments capabilities into a single platform. It is always important for a bank to consider … Continue Reading →