15th August 2019, London. Freemarket, a specialist in cross-border payments and currency exchange, has announced the launch of its Managed Banking Platform. Freemarket gives innovative businesses access to cross-border payment and currency services previously reserved for big business, managing multiple banking relationships and associated compliance on their behalf so they can focus on growing their business across borders.
‘Managed Banking’ gives scale-up businesses access to wholesale exchange-rates and cross-border services usually only available to big businesses.
Freemarket’s Managed Banking Platform provides businesses with simple, cost-effective access to:
- A flexible, global banking network, accessed through one simple integration and compliance process completed in 24 hours
- Transparent currency exchange at wholesale bank rate or better
- An executive team that combines Tier One Bank experience with expertise in entrepreneurial and start-up payments businesses
- Major payment services including SWIFT, SEPA and Faster Payments enabling efficient cross-border payments and receipts to customers and suppliers around the world
The complexity, resource-intensiveness and lack of price transparency associated with cross-border payments and currency exchange can be hard for growing businesses to manage. Keeping track of receipts, payments and currency risk, plus managing bank integrations, relationships and regulations puts a huge strain on finance teams. Finding and maintaining the right banking relationships to support fast-growing cross-border businesses can be problematic. Establishing a domestic presence to qualify for bank accounts and dedicating technical teams to manage one-to-one bank integrations distracts valuable time and resource from growing the business.
Freemarket takes the pain and effort out of finding, integrating and maintaining the banking relationships, processes and reporting businesses need to grow across borders
Freemarket delivers a simple API integration and a once-only know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) compliance process to connect customers to the Managed Banking Platform. Through its banking partners and numerous payment service providers, Freemarket creates optimised and flexible payment infrastructures for each customer. No further integrations or compliance processes are required even if needs and banking relationships change.
Freemarket’s relationships, plus the aggregated business it provides, allow it to access the best wholesale rates for currency exchange from the banks and pass these onto its customers. Its own matching technology provides exchange rates better than any available from banks. Low commission rates with volume discounts are available and Freemarket makes no margin on spreads providing total transparency and predictability for treasurers.
Freemarket’s executive team brings together experience from some of the world’s most innovative and successful financial services companies from Tier One Banks to fast-moving start-ups. CEO and Founder Alex Hunn, was formerly at Deutsche Bank and MF Global, a leader in execution and clearing services for derivatives; CIO Sarah Gooding, was previously CIO at SaaS leader Powa Technologies; and Robert Conway, CTO, has held a number of roles scaling IT for payments and FX systems with major banks including Barclays and HSBC and at Earthport where he was latterly VP and head of technology. Rich Ricci is chairman of the board.
Founder, Alex Hunn, commented; “Currently, big business has a monopoly on the best rates and service, with innovators struggling to secure the banking relationships they need to thrive. With Managed Banking, Freemarket is providing unprecedented levels of access whilst also offering a valuable service to banks seeking to extend their customer base.”
“Our vision is to create a world where every company has the freedom to do business across borders using its own optimised cross-border payments network to make instant, transparent payments that will drive growth.”
Robert Conway, CTO, adds; “We don’t want to be a bank. We don’t want to issue cards or offer credit. We are focused on delivering the best optimised cross-border payments and currency exchange service possible. We are doing this with our own technology, experience and contacts, but also by proactively reaching out to other technology, payment, and banking service partners to create an ecosystem that can offer the best solutions to our customers.”
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Notes to editors
For media enquiries, please contact: press@wearefreemarket.com
Freemarket website: www.wearefreemarket.com
About Freemarket
Freemarket works with businesses to accelerate their growth by giving them access to cross-border payments and currency exchange optimised for their needs. We do this by blending our own technology, insights, experience and industry connections with the best technology and banking service infrastructures available.
Our Managed Banking Platform gives challenger brands access to speed and cost benefits previously reserved for the only the biggest businesses. Our vision is to create a world where every company has the freedom to do business across borders using its own optimised cross-border payments network to make instant, transparent payments that will drive growth.
