An increasingly important part, maybe even the key differentiator, in TMS solutions today is the ecosystem of other suppliers and support that is integrated with the TMS. Yesterday’s announcement of  Kyriba’s partnership with WorldFirst - a leading international money transfer service, shows what is happening.

WorldFirst partnership 

Kyriba has announced it has expanded its global ecosystem by adding WorldFirst, the foreign exchange and international payments expert, as a new strategic partner to further empower financial executives. Responding to client demand for a better international payments experience and to support a growing trend for global trade, Kyriba claim that the partnership with WorldFirst will:

• streamline payment processes
• increase the speed and transparency of cross-border payments
• reduce the transfer fees associated with international payments and FX transactions. 

Need for transparency

A recent Kyriba survey[1] the majority of financial executives are unclear about the various fees applied by banks for FX payments. Fifty-four percent of respondents said they are unsure of the spread they are being assessed for their cross-border payments, while 37 percent said they don’t have visibility into what fees they are being charged per payment. 

The participants identified the top four considerations for switching to a new cross-border payments provider, including more favorable FX translation rates, reduction in bank fees, better transparency and better traceability. 

New role for TMS solutions

Jean-Luc Robert, Chairman & CEO of Kyriba, explained the new role they envisage for their solution, “With the help of highly strategic partners, Kyriba is rapidly evolving its platform to help financial executives streamline processes, reduce fees and accelerate business performance. This integration with WorldFirst gives our clients a world-class option to simplify their FX transactions and expands our market opportunity in payments.” 

Already Kyriba processes tens of billions of cross-border and treasury payments annually. 

Maniacally focused

“We are maniacally focused on identifying, isolating and eliminating inefficiencies for our clients,” said Karthik Manimozhi, EVP Worldwide Indirect Sales. “There has never been a better time for senior leaders to consolidate operational gaps and optimize opportunities with modern technologies.”   

BlackRock partnership

Earlier this year, Kyriba announced a strategic partnership with BlackRock that extended the value and breadth of the Kyriba platform. The integration with BlackRock, a global leader in cash investment management, will help CFOs and senior finance leaders invest their cash based on real-time visibility into global cash and liquidity. 

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[1] The internal survey on cross-border payments was conducted in October 2018, querying 451 executives in North America, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific. More than 70% of companies represented had annual revenue of more than $1B.

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CTMfile take: Maybe the key question now in TMS solution selection is, “What is the overall solution you can provide including your ecosystem?”