Global non-bank lender Ebury has launched foreign exchange options to broaden its Australian product suite and meet the cross-border finance needs of its SME client base.
Ebury Australia’s head of commercial partnerships Todd Erichsen (pictured) said there are opportunities for brokers to make more commission from their existing clients through diversification.
“Most industry bodies and business advisers have been trying to push the diversification bandwagon for years,” Erichsen said.
“Aggregators are now coming on board hoping they can help their members generate additional revenue from their existing client base.”
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Erichsen said there is another channel which could be a substantial opportunity for finance brokers to leverage – their clients’ foreign exchange requirements.
“They don't need to be a product expert or do a lot of heavy lifting with this,” he said. “The key is simply identifying their clients who are making or receiving international payments and then finding the right foreign exchange partner to work with.
“Finance brokers already have a wealth of information about their clients, so asking a few additional questions to uncover new opportunities can be reasonably simple.”
Erichsen said the foreign exchange market is by far the largest and most traded financial market in the world.
“There is an estimated $7 trillion changing hands globally every single day,” he said.
“Most businesses who buy or sell products or services overseas have traditionally done their foreign exchange through the bank, which can be both costly and inefficient with a poor level of service.”
Erichsen said finance brokers could use foreign exchange as a lead generator, as once they had managed to save a prospect thousands of dollars on their foreign exchange requirements, they were more likely to give brokers the next finance opportunity.
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Sydney-based Ebury Asia Pacific managing director Rick Roache said FX options were more complicated than traditional currency hedging instruments but gave sophisticated exporters and importers access to a wider range of hedging products.
“This allows them to not only protect themselves but to also participate in currency movements in certain circumstances,” Roache said.
Roache said each of Ebury’s clients had a dedicated relationship manager who worked with the client to build a customised hedging solution based on what the client needed.
“With this [FX] launch, Ebury Australia now has the most complete value proposition of any player in our space,” he said.
Roache said Ebury Australia was the first market in the Ebury Group to offer FX options.
“The capabilities and expertise of Ebury Australia as well as the strength and growth rate of its business made it a natural test bed for the wider group, which would benefit from the roll out of FX options in other markets,” he said.
“As one of the fastest growing non-bank lenders in Australia, it is linked by a single best-in-class platform. We recently launched the ability to finance cross-border freight and advertising for e-commerce businesses that buy and sell over the internet and used its successful Australian business as a launch pad to enter Hong Kong’s non-bank trade finance lending market.”
