International trade relies heavily on collections for goods and services. Commercial banks have historically been the only economic entities operating in this area, but the status quo is being challenged due to dynamic changes related to the FinTech sector.

The legal framework within which international trade finance functions is also subject to change. In January 2018, PSD2 and MIFID2 introduced a wide array of new regulations beneficial for business. The position of an individual against financial institutions has been strengthened. A new environment for payments allows the development of new, better tools for setting accounts. One of such solutions is Ebury's Get Paid, that is currently in the state of advanced development. This service will allow firms to receive payments for invoices with the use of financial architecture in the UK and across whole world.

Ebury is one of the leaders in the financial services sector. It is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. In November 2017 Ebury received its E-Money Licence in the UK. In March 2018, the company joined the Faster Payments system, being the first non-bank institution in the UK to be approved in the initiative. Thanks to the new solutions, Polish exporters are able to collect payments from their British contractors without having to cover the additional cost of transnational transfer.

A British customer has to pay British banks around £50-£100 to use the SWIFT network, which allows settling accounts with a Polish exporter. With the use of Get Paid, Polish exporters will receive a real-time payment to a dedicated account in the UK. This amount of money may later be exchanged for a convenient exchange rate to zlotys, euro or another currency. Alternatively, it can be used for later transactions through the use of payment services on eburyonline.com.

Joining Faster Payments is a breakthrough in the history of Ebury and the entire payment services industry in the UK in general. What does this mean for Polish entrepreneurs? Faster and cheaper settlements with contractors in the UK. The service allows instant transfers in real time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The operation takes place in the UK, meaning that the funds will appear on the account a few seconds after the transfer.

These instruments are officially available to clients in Poland and other European countries. Participating in a modern billing system is a very attractive solution, especially for companies that intensively export goods to the UK and those, which receive many fragmented incoming payments. Solutions are available from the level of one transaction platform.

Here we can access a complete service of the trade process. This includes processing the payment, currency exchange and collection of receivables. This groundbreaking solution is the result of two years of work on the British payment system. A significant role in this process was played by Poles, headed by our specialist from London, Dalia Budnicka, who cooperated with Form3 and Barclays Bank. The former enabled connection to the billing infrastructure, the latter supported us as a sponsor. Barclays has made its billing accounts available, which has been approved by the Bank of England.

This service is available only for Ebury customers. After becoming our client, the next step requires creating a payer account and uploading an invoice on the eburyonline.com platform. The customer then receives a notification informing them about details of the transaction. After collecting the payment, the funds are immediately available for the Polish exporter at their disposal. The money may be later spent, exchanged, or used for another business payment. The income from sales may be secured and protected from exchange rate risk through the use of a forward contract.

Registering online bears no charge – after creating an account, a new Ebury client is given access to settlement accounts in pounds sterling and 29 other currencies. Not only does it save time and money, but also allows the same for their business partners. No longer do they have to face the risks related to the costs of international transactions.

Besides settling the accounts, payment services, currency exchange and securing the risks of the exchange rate, Ebury provides services of financing international operations (import and export) between contractors in Poland and UK.

More information on ebury.com