Managing Risk and Supporting Growth in the E-commerce Era

Treasury and Trade Solutions 5 For many business teams that are implementing e-commerce strategies, their goal is to build brand loyalty, drive customer retention and grow sales. Too often companies fail to consider the implications of this approach from a treasury perspective. If companies are to achieve their e-commerce growth objectives efficiently, treasury must be plugged into the change process rather than reacting to decisions made by the business. When setting up e-commerce models, there are many requirements, including bank accounts, establishing relationships with card acquirers and payment providers, managing financial settlements and foreign exchange exposure. All of these activities create risks that treasury is best positioned to manage. Why treasury matters New financial counterparties Payment strategy as a lever for growth and better customer experiences Changing profile of collections and payments Minimising friction for customers and partners in the e-commerce ecosystem FX risk management for cross-border sales FX as a strategic lever for cross-border e-commerce sales Regulatory developments impacting payments Interpreting opportunities arising from market and regulatory developments Downstream impact on cash management structures Disseminating best practices to replicate across the company Despite the clear relevance of treasury capabilities when launching e-commerce channels, some companies involve treasury late in the process, leaving treasury to retroactively understand and optimise arrangements put in place by the business. To address the challenge of late engagement in e-commerce initiatives, treasury organisations are starting to evolve to include digital leads within treasury that work closely with the business to execute its e-commerce strategy. Digital treasury leads are keeping abreast of payment landscape and regulatory developments to bring insights back to the business — both in terms of emerging risks and opportunities. Managing Financial Risks Supporting Growth $ Treasury’s role in enabling e-commerce models