GTB Press

While the uptake of sweeping initiatives, such as SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst) and SWIFT gpi, tends to grab all the headlines, there remain a number of other pain points for banks and corporates that can be addressed only through close dialogue between both parties.

By Cédric Derras, Global Head of Cash Management, UniCredit and Simone Lo Piccolo, Head of Credit and Collection Management, FCA Bank and Leasys S.p.a. Italy

This article was published in TMI online

Against a backdrop of lengthening supply chains and economic uncertainty, comprehensive working capital management programmes are growing in popularity. In the article it is outlined how a holistic approach to working capital management can lead to significantly better results over time.

This article was first published in Global Finance Magazine.

Online version

The payments sector has made huge strides in recent years. In Europe, the introduction of instant domestic payment services such as SCT Inst and TIPS has stoked demand for faster payments beyond Europe’s borders.

By Cédric Derras, Global Head of Cash Management, UniCredit

This article was published in TMI online

As global trade tensions deepen, this doesn’t necessarily spell bad news for trade finance and highlights new opportunities arising as economic influence shifts to Asia.

This article was first published in Global Finance Magazine.

Online version: Global Finance Magazine

Long chided as a slow and paper-intensive industry, trade finance processes are now picking up the pace, enabled by new digital capabilities – Raphael Barisaac, Global Co-Head of Trade & Working Capital Solutions at UniCredit

“This article was first published in Global Trade Review : full article.

For more articles like this please click here: Top Stories section of the GTR website.

Click on the PDF for the full article:

Optimising working capital is a complex undertaking, yet finding the right solution hinges on answering two simple questions, says Adeline de Metz, Editorial Board Member of TRF News and Global Co-Head of Trade and Working Capital Solutions at UniCredit.

“This article was first published in Trade & Receivables Finance News (TRFnews): full article.

For more articles like this please click here: Top Stories section of the TRFnews site.

Click on the PDF for the full article:

Working capital conversations between banks and corporates have typically focused on individual bank products, rather than the speci c needs and challenges of the corporate – leaving opportunities and e ciencies on the table. But that’s all changing now, as Adeline de Metz, UniCredit’s Global Co-Head of Trade and Working Capital Solutions, explains.

“This article was first published in Treasury Management International (TMI). For more articles like this please click here:Treasury Management Website.

Click on the PDF for the full article:

Adeline de Metz, Global Co-Head of Trade and Working Capital Solutions at UniCredit, talks about the increasing demand for working capital solutions and the challenges faced by corporates against a backdrop of economic uncertainty and lengthening global supply chains.

On-line version: TRF news

At Sibos in Sydney, all the latest and greatest technologies were on display, and attendees delved into the topics that are shaping our financial futures

Click here for the article: A New Era For transaction Banking - Gianfranco Bisagni

On-line version: Global Finance website

With solutions such as we.trade revolutionising supply-chain interactions, while others, such as Project Wilson, connect correspondent banks to facilitate working capital financing, Simone Del Guerra of UniCredit discusses the shifting landscape of correspondent banking and the possibility of combining corporate-to-corporate and bank-to-bank platforms to create a network of networks.

Click here for the article: Buliding a networks of Networks - Simone Del Guerra

On-line version: tmi website

SWIFT white paper examines the drivers of payments transformation in Europe and looks at the challenges and opportunities for financial institutions. While change is underway in wholesale and retail payments across the world, in Europe, the Eurosystem has set a clear path for financial market infrastructure renewal. This, along with regulations such as the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2), is driving a period of radical payments transformation across Europe.

Click here for the article: The transformation of the European payments landscape pdf

On-line version: tmi website: SWIFT website

Corporates are coming to appreciate the value of holistic working capital management over traditional single-product offerings. This doesn’t mean abandoning old techniques, but rather rethinking their role as part of a more comprehensive approach, writes Raphael Barisaac, UniCredit’s Global Co-Head of Trade Finance and Working Capital Management.

Click here for the article: The whole solution and nothing but the solution - Raphael Barisaac

On-line verison: GTR website

Innovation, Co-operation and Client-Focus – Developing a Winning Tech Solution. Digitalisation is thrusting all areas of the transaction banking industry into uncharted territory and to make the most of the arising opportunities, banks must strike a delicate balance between competition and collaboration by Luca Corsini, Global Head of Global Transaction Banking, UniCredit.

Click here for the article: Drivers Of Transaction Banking - Luca Corsini

On-line version: tmi website

Having expanded significantly over the last decade, mutual insurance company Itas found it had outgrown its existing cash management structures – with the sheer volume of incoming payments proving difficult to reconcile and costly to run through agency networks. Alessandro Molinari, Vice General Manager of Itas, explains how the firm worked with UniCredit on an innovative virtual accounts solution to rationalise its treasury processes.

Click here for the article: Mutual Benefits : The inside story of ITAS ground-breaking virtual accounts implementation

On-line version: Global Finance website

How can banks tackle the trade finance gap in Asia Pacific? Why industry-wide collaboration and the innovative use of new technology are crucial to reduce the trade finance gap in Asia Pacific, though analysts caution against quick fixes all these topics are discussed by Holger Frank and Siow Chin Yeo.

Click here for the article: On Trade Finance Trends In Asia - Holger Frank and Siow Chin

On-line version: The Asset website

The challenge of payment innovation is no longer developing the technology - it's keeping up with, utilising and properly securing it. Cédric Derras, Global Head of Cash Management at UniCredit, looks at how instant payments and SWIFT gpi accelerate cash, how open banking is creating unprecedented industry opportunity, and how security must be prioritised throughout.

Click here for the article: Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger: Corporate Payments Innovation Is Connecting The Industry More Than Ever Before

On-line Version: Global Finance Website

As part of its drive to support the real economy, UniCredit helps businesses of all sizes with their treasury challenges. German wallpaper manufacturer Erismann is one such example. Erismann’s Wilhelm Stark, deputy head of finance, explains how, faced with unfavourable FX rates and fees when collecting payments from its UK-based subsidiary, it partnered with UniCredit to find a solution.

Click here for the article: Erismann smooths cross-border payments with innovative UniCredit FX solution

On-line version: GTR website

Adeline de Metz, Global Co-Head of Trade Finance and Working Capital Solutions, talks about the unique professional path that brought her to the head of a 300 person department across Europe. In an article on the July issue of GTR magazine, Adeline de Metz talks through her “unconventional” career path, and how she was able to break the mould.

Click here for the article: Women in Trade Finance – Adeline de Metz

Luca Corsini, Global Head of Global Transaction Banking, discusses instant payments, cooperation and innovation at the EBAday 2018 conference in Munich.

Click here for the full article: The collaborative edge: How clever cooperation is driving winning innovation

The European Payments Council’s instant payments scheme went live across the SEPA zone’s 34 countries in November 2017: results from the first six months have already exceeded initial expectations. Cédric Derras, Global Head of Cash Management, talks about what to expect, moving forward to the next stage.

First published in The Paypers B2B Fintech: Payments, Supply Chain Finanace & E-invoicing Guide 2018

Click here for the full article: Future Gazing: Instant Payments and What to Expect Going Forward

Six months after the launch of the European Payments Council’s SCT Inst scheme, Thomas Dusch, Deputy Global Head of Global Transaction Banking at UniCredit, takes us through the lessons learnt – arguing that excellent client uptake and system stability are reasons for optimism, while collaborative solutions must still be built before instant payments become the new normal.

Click here for the article: Instant Impact: Lessons Learnt in the Wake of the Instant Payments Launch

Blockchain in Trade Finance : How blockcain will change the future.  Discussion on Hype and objectivity seldom find themselves at the same level again, even with the increasing development of technology and how BLockchain impacts on German corporates was discussed by Thomas Dusch in Corporate Finance magazine.

Click here for the article: Blockchain in Trade Finance - Thomas Dusch 

Companies are increasingly using open account transactions to facilitate mutual global trade and, while they benefit from new levels of speed and flexibility, they are also exposed to higher risk. Adeline de Metz and Raphael Barisaac, Global Co-Heads of Trade Finance at UniCredit, outline how banks and corporates can mitigate against such risks.

Click here for the article: Advanced supply chain solutions are filling the open account gap

Working capital optimisation is one of the most relevant strategic transformation drivers of corporate commercial banking. Fabio Della Malva, Managing Director of Corporate Investment Banking and Massimo Ortino, Head of Global Transaction Banking Americas explain how UniCredit succeeds in optimising the supply chain's working capital benefits even further. 

Click here for the article: Receivables Finance Programs Can Free Up Needed Liquidity    

With SWIFT gpi, instant payments, and PSD2 all now part of the equation in the European payments market, Cédric Derras, Global Head of Cash Management at UniCredit, explains how these initiatives add up for corporates, who stand to benefit from faster, more efficient, and more tailored services.

Click here for the article: European Payments in 2018 - A Landscape Charged with Possibilities

BCR talks to UniCredit´s Global Co-Head of Trade Finance Adeline de Metz and experts from Commerzbank, BNY Mellon, GPP and ICC Banking Commission's Executive Committee about how technology is not only helping shore up supply chains, but also bring together banks and technology providers.

First published in BCR World Supply Chain Finance Report 2018: World Supply Chain Finance Report 2018

Click here for the article: How digital technology is realising tangible benefits in supply chain finance

Adeline de Metz, Global Co-Head of Trade Finance at UniCredit, looks back at the trends that emerged in 2017 and takes a view on the year ahead. Notably, there is a resurgent appetite for growth among banks, as they join forces with other industry players to bring cutting-edge solutions to the market in order to meet ever more demanding client needs.

Click here for the article: Trade Finance collaboration set to step up in the year ahead

After years of preoccupation with regulation and compliance, the industry is once again gearing up for growth. A number of new services will soon hit the market, while bank-fintech – and wider industry – collaboration is the hot topic when it comes to meeting the most challenging client needs.

Find out more in this article by Raphael Barisaac, Global Co-Head of Trade Finance and Cédric Derras, Global Head of Cash Management.

Click here for the article: Growth is Back on the Agenda

Transaction banks are responding to changes in the global trade environment by driving internal efficiencies, broadening their digital offerings, and reconfiguring their client service models. Amidst this change, the outlook for corporates is promising – increasingly digital and client-centric solutions, combined with fairer and more competitive pricing, say Raphael Barisaac and Adeline de Metz, Global Co-Heads of Trade Finance at UniCredit.

Click here for the article: A Shifting Global Trade Environment: How Transaction Bank Adaptations Will Benefit Corporates

Simone del Guerra, Global Head of Transactional Sales at UniCredit, discusses how the bank is embracing new technology, such as SWIFT gpi, and pioneering change in correspondent banking.

Click here for the article: UniCredit: Embracing The Banking Revolution

UniCredit goes live with instant payments in Italy and Germany and becomes the first bank to offer the service in the German market. The bank’s first payment was executed in the morning of 21 November between Germany and Italy.

Click here for the press release: UniCredit rolls out its cross-border instant payments solution, starting with Italy and Germany

With instant payments and the new Directive on Payment Services (PSD2) on Europe’s doorstep, the payments market is undergoing a seismic shift. Cédric Derras, Global Head of Cash Management at UniCredit, explains what these developments will mean for corporates and the wider payments community.

Click here for the article: How Businesses can Profit from the Revolution in Global Payments

Instant payments isn’t a one-horse race and UniCredit is backing a number of runners, as Global Head of Cash Management, Cédric Derras, explains.

Click here for the article: First past the post

The transaction banking landscape is transforming in front of our eyes. With the field awash with new technological capabilities, Jan Kupfer and Luca Corsini, Global Co-Heads, Global Transaction Banking at UniCredit, discuss the latest trends, their likely impacts, and how the industry can draw together to maximise the benefits for all.

Click here for the press release: Building the New Financial Ecosystem

Click here for the press release: Digital Trade Chain Consortium launches we.trade, announces Joint Venture and welcomes Banco Santander

Pan-European banking and financial services provider UniCredit will celebrate 45 years of successful service in South Africa this year, having provided support for European companies entering African markets from its Johannesburg-based representative office since 1972.

Click here for the article: Pan-European bank celebrates 45 years in SA

From managing the demands of regulatory compliance, the increasing digitisation across the industry, and the opportunities and threats presented by financial technology; to the potential of blockchain, the advent of realtime payments and concerns around cybersecurity, FX-MM’s panel of experts assess what it takes to survive and thrive in the fast-changing transaction banking sector.

Click here for the article: The future of transaction banking 

Click here for the online article: The future of transaction banking

Fashion leader OTB, parent company of major brands such as Diesel, Maison Margiela, Marni, Paula Cademartori and Viktor & Rolf, is a pioneer not only in its core business, but also in cash management. In 2016, in co-operation with partner bank UniCredit, OTB implemented an innovative virtual account solution in order to gain efficiency in the centralised collections management. In this article, Gianluca Marcolongo, SSC Treasury Manager, OTB SpA explores the project in more detail.

Click here for the article: Material Gains with Virtual Accounts

This edition of TMI coincides with the EuroFinance conference, a major event in the treasury calendar, where we are likely to see a wealth of announcements of new solutions and innovative case studies. To coincide with this flagship event, Jan Kupfer, Global Co-Head, Global Transaction Banking at UniCredit talks to Helen Sanders, Editor, about some of the new opportunities for digitisation and treasury transformation.

Click here for the article: Driving innovation and Embracing Opportunity

With digitalisation at the top of corporate agendas, and increasingly expansion-minded corporates turning to open account trade, treasurers have more - and more complex - requirements than ever. Adeline de Metz, Global Co-Head of Trade Finance, and Cédric Derras, Global Head of Cash Management, at UniCredit, look at the key issues facing treasurers - explaining how they can mitigate risks, increase security and harness innovation to meet their goals.

Click here for the article: Taking stock: Treasurers' priorities
Click here for the online article: Taking stock: Treasurers' priorities

The continuing move toward open account trade and away from traditional trade finance techniques offers corporates new levels of speed and flexibility, but it also exposes them to higher risks. According to Adeline de Metz and Raphael Barisaac, global co-heads of trade finance at UniCredit, however, a number of bank-led collaborative initiatives are addressing the problem, highlighting the ascendancy of industry-wide cooperation as a means of meeting the growing needs of corporate clients.

Click here for the article: Settling the open question: Banks champion collaborative innovation ad corporates shift to open account

Leading footwear company Geox, in partnership with UniCredit, collaborated in an ambitious treasury project to rationalise cash management processes, bank relationships and connectivity across the Group. Federica Vello, Treasury Manager of Geox, explains the thinking behind the project, the challenges and benefits of full implementation, and the impact of this collaborative effort on the wider Group strategy.

Click here for the case study: Simple, Streamlined, Secure: How Geox revamped its treasury

Trade finance is beginning to undergo a potentially dramatic transformation of its secondary market. It's an innovation that will have positive knock-on effects for the entire industry, write Holger Frank, head of global transaction banking (GTB) and financial institutions group (FIG), Asia Pacific, and Siow Chin Yeo, head of trade finance, Asia Pacific, at UniCredit.

Click here for the article: Singapore banks unite to grow secondary market for trade finance

UniCredit has started testing with the first pan-European instant payment solution, RT1, in preparation for its instant payments go-live.

Click here for the article: UniCredit prepares for multinational roll-out of instant payments

Although large and multinational corporates tend to grab the trade tech headlines, when it comes to digital trade finance innovation, SMEs not only stand to benefit from digital trade finance tools, but are well placed to help drive wider adoption.

Click here for the article: The power of SMEs: Driving the digital trade finance revolution

SWIFT announces today that 22 additional global banks have joined its blockchain proof of concept (PoC), designed to validate whether the technology can help banks reconcile their international nostro accounts in real time. The PoC is part of the SWIFT gpi (global payments innovation) service, the new standard for cross-border payments.

Click here for the press release: 22 additional global banks join the SWIFT gpi blockchain proof of concept

A convergence of trends in the global trade environment is spurring many transaction banks to action. On a macro scale, a number of previously flourishing regions are seeing reduced demand for trade finance. The use of traditional bank-mediated trade finance instruments such as letters of credit is on the wane while open account transactions wax in lieu. Meanwhile, necessary regulatory and due diligence measures are adding further costs onto many banks' P&L statements.

Click here for the article: Future-Proofing Global Trade - How the transaction banking evolution will benefit businesses

(NYSE: IBM) today announced that it has been selected by a consortium of seven of Europe's largest banks to build and host a new trade finance platform based on IBM Blockchain powered by Hyperledger Fabric. The platform is designed to simplify and facilitate domestic and cross-border trade for small and medium enterprises in Europe, while helping to increase overall trade transaction transparency.

Click here for the press release: Seven Major European Banks Select IBM to Bring Blockchain-Based Trade Finance to Small and Medium Enterprises

Viewing custody and clearing as a commoditised industry could be putting pressure on pricing and threatening the industry, according to speakers at The Network Forum.

Click here for the article: Custody not a commodity

Long a technological backwater, the field sees banks and fintechs scrambling to bring digital systems to international commerce.

Click here for the article: Trade Finance Getting Its E-Legs

SWIFT announces on May 23 the availability of its new cross-border payments Tracker that enables international payments to be traced in real-time. The Tracker is the cornerstone of SWIFT gpi - the cooperative's new payments innovation service - which is revolutionizing the industry by combining real-time payments tracking with the speed and certainty of same-day settlement for international payments.

Click here for the article: SWIFT unveils industry's first ever cross-border payments tracker

Live since January 2017, UniCredit is leveraging SWIFT gpi to deliver an improved international payments service to their clients. 

Read the case study: Case Study

Together, transaction banks and emerging technology companies are ushering in a new era of financial services -bringing new innovations and business models. Yet,seizing the opportunities at hand will require a collaborative and customer-focused approach, say Claudio Camozzo and Jan Kupfer, Global Co-Heads of Global Transaction Banking, UniCredit.

Click here for the article: Banks and fintechs: a collaboration to drive the industry forward

With banks and emerging technology companies bringing a raft of new innovations and business models to the industry, Claudio Camozzo and Jan Kupfer, global co-heads of Global Transaction Banking at UniCredit, argue that bank-fintech collaboration alongside a customer-focused approach is essential to seize - and maximise - the opportunities at hand.

Click here for the article: Bank/fintech collaboration can take transaction banking to new heights

One of the most innovative and far-reaching technologies that has emerged in recent years is the Internet of Things (IoT), with its potential to embed communication into industrial and domestic appliances, machines and devices, to send and receive data.

Click here for the article: Linking the Physical, Digital and Financial Worlds: IoT Meets Cash Management

A head of Schwab Ley & Greiner's annual Finanzsymposium, four leading bankers in Germany discussed some of the trends and challenges in transaction banking, moderated by Thomas Schräder, Corporate Treasury Solutions, PwC.

Click here for the article: A New Era of Transaction Banking

The current environment is compelling transaction banks to re-examine client relationships, improve efficiency and step up innovation to remain competitive. Despite the impetus, it's good news for corporates - as Luca Corsini, Global Head of Trade Finance at UniCredit and new Global GTB Co-Head starting from August, explains - with benefits including fairer pricing, increased digitalisation, and new client-centric solutions based on their specific needs.

Africa continues to grow in importance as a market for European corporates. But while enviable growth rates and positive demographics are generating strong opportunities, corporates and their banking partners still face considerable challenges on the continent due to Africa's cultural diversity and its regulatory and political inconsistencies. Christian Nägele, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa Region at UniCredit, explains how a bespoke approach to international trade is required.

Click here for the article: Global Banking and Finance

A wave of innovation in instant payments is hitting the shores of Europe. Cédric Derras, Global Head of Cash Management at UniCredit, explains how banks and corporates are preparing for the change. The introduction of instant payments is fast approaching the European market. Meeting growing customer demands for faster, more secure and more efficient payments is nevertheless the prize that is now within reach.

Markets in Central and Eastern Europe are an increasingly tempting prospect for UK businesses - boasting enviable growth rates for those that can navigate the challenges of local complexity and counterparty risk. It's a journey made far simpler with the help of digital trade finance tools and local knowledge, explains David Vials, Head of Corporate Coverage for the UK and Ireland at UniCredit...

Click here for the article: FX-MM

Less Risk, more reward: Digital tools can help UK corporates capitalise on CEE potential UK corporates are increasingly looking to capitalise on the remarkable potential of trading with partners in Central and Eastern Europe, but heightened counterparty risk and complex local markets pose considerable challenges.

The key to surmounting these, according to David Vials, Head of Corporate Coverage for UK & Ireland at UniCredit, is using digital tools such as the BPO to mitigate risks, while enlisting the support of a trusted partner to steer a course through regional idiosyncrasies.

Click here for the article: GTR

At a media briefing at the Corn Exchange in London today (16 February), Swift elaborated on its gpi.
To support its gpi, Swift presented three banks currently using, and enjoying, gpi. Jan Kupfer from Unicredit, Raouf Soussi at BBVA, and Sergio Dalla Riva from Intesa Sanpaolo all provided praise. Kupfer says gpi's "beauty is it's an existing platform and the system is reliable and well known". Unicredit's implementation, including training, took six months

Click here for the article: Banking Technology

Pioneer in new initiatives, UniCredit is one of the first banks to use the SWIFT Global Payments Innovation (GPI) service, as announced today by SWIFT.

Along with several global transaction banks such as ABN AMRO, Bank of China, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, Citibank, Danske Bank, DBS Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, ING Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, Nordea Bank and Standard Chartered Bank, UniCredit is actively using the SWIFTgpi service, exchanging gpi payments across 60 country corridors.

SWIFTgpi enables banks to offer their corporate customers a faster, more transparent and traceable cross-border payments service. This allows banks to provide corporate treasurers with a real-time, end-to-end view on the status of a payment, including a confirmation when a payment has been credited to the beneficiary’s account. Treasurers now also have certainty of remittance information, such as invoice references, which is transferred unaltered.

Read SWIFT's press release: Press Release

Watch the video: SWIFT gpi initiative

Read the brochure: SWIFT gpi

A group of seven banks has agreed in principle to develop a ground-breaking shared platform that aims to make domestic and cross-border commerce easier for European small and medium-size (SME) businesses by harnessing the power of distributed ledger technology.

Deutsche Bank, HSBC, KBC, Natixis, Rabobank, Société Générale and UniCredit signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Brussels under which they intend to collaborate on the development and commercialization of a new product called Digital Trade Chain (DTC).

Click here for the article: Seven banks plan Blockchain platform to help European SMEs increase trade

UniCredit has been named “Best Trade Finance Provider” in both Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and in Western Europe by the Euromoney Trade Finance Survey 2017.

The bank also swept the board in the European country awards being named “Best Domestic Trade Finance Provider” in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Turkey. The survey, which received more than 4,000 responses from businesses using trade finance, recognised UniCredit’s excellence in trade finance services.

The bank’s credentials in trade finance are founded on its deep product expertise and its unparalleled market knowledge in its core European markets, which is supplemented by comprehensive coverage through an extensive international network of branches, representative offices and 4,000 correspondent banks.

Click here for the article: UniCredit crowned Best in Europe by Euromoney Trade Finance Survey 2017