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North American manufacturers stockpiling to buffer against tariffs - Industry roundup: 18 December

North American manufacturers stockpiling to buffer against tariffs 

Global supply chains had their smallest level of spare capacity since June in November, according to the GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index. The indicator, which tracks demand conditions, shortages, transportation costs, inventories and backlogs based on a monthly survey of 27,000 businesses, rose to -0.20, from -0.39 previously.

Driving this increase was Asia, as suppliers to the region reported stretched capacity for the first time since July. This was caused by a surge in procurement activity by manufacturers in the continent, and especially in China, as new orders rebounded sharply. This could reflect greater production requirements stemming from domestic stimulus measures, as well as from international clients, who may be stockpiling to mitigate the risk of higher import costs under the Trump administration. Only India reported a greater rise in raw material purchases than China in November. Preparations to ramp up production further were evidenced by our data showing factory procurement activity across Asia rising at its fastest pace for three-and-a-half years.

Indeed, in North America, reports of safety stockpiling were at their most pronounced since July, highlighting how procurement managers have already implemented changes to their inventory strategies as a result of the incoming US administration’s public commitment to impose significant tariffs. Subsequently, a pickup in activity across North American supply chains resulted in fewer vendors with idle capacity. In fact, our index tracking the region’s supply chain activity hit a four-month high in November.

Meanwhile, in Europe, suppliers feeding this part of the world saw spare capacity rise further — a contrast to elsewhere — primarily because of the continent’s worsening industrial recession. Factories went deeper into retrenchment mode, according to the data, as demand for inputs from manufacturers here was its weakest since December 2023. Germany continues to be at the forefront of this prolonged and significant slowdown.

“In November, US manufacturers, particularly in the consumer goods sector, increased their safety stocks to help blunt any immediate tariff increases,” said John Piatek, vice president, GEP. “In contrast, Chinese manufacturers are getting busier as a result of government stimulus and growth in exports, led by automotives and technology products. Strategically, many global companies have a wait-and-hope approach while simultaneously planning to remake their global supply chains to respond to a tariff and trade war in 2025 and beyond.”

 

Tietoevry Payment Hub integrates Visa B2B Connect

Tietoevry Banking has announced the integration of Visa B2B Connect, a Visa Direct offering, into its Tietoevry Payment Hub. This move will enable the hub’s client financial institutions to offer corporate customers Visa B2B Connect payments, which are designed to deliver faster, more cost-effective and transparent payment options when transacting across borders.

For decades, cross-border payments between businesses have been fraught with obstacles – and many of these problems have been getting worse. The 2024 Global Treasurer/Tietoevry Banking “Future of Corporate Cash Management” survey reveals almost half (48%) of businesses surveyed said they had challenges in correctly identifying and authenticating their payees – up from 40% in 2022. At the same time, the number of businesses reporting problems with the real-time visibility of their money during the transaction process rose from less than half (43%) in 2022 to almost two-thirds (63%) this year.

Issues associated with B2B payments can include the layering of unnecessary or expensive foreign exchange transactions on top of initial charges, slow processing and settlement times, and a lack of transparency over the status of funds – as well as charges from the recipient bank. Especially when it comes to so-called rare or “exotic” currencies, there can also be issues with sufficient liquidity – a problem which can further slow transactions down, or add more cost into the process.

Designed specifically to address these problems, Visa B2B Connect is a multilateral payment network which offers an alternative to the unpredictability corporate clients associate with current cross-border correspondent banking processes. 

“Businesses of all sizes, but especially SMEs, have long struggled with high costs, complexity and lack of transparency when paying other businesses across borders,” commented Jarkko Turunen, Head of Payment Products and Services at Tietoevry Banking. “The integration of Visa B2B Connect provides our clients with an API-based solution that accelerates time-to-market with minimal additional investment. In turn, their corporate clients will benefit from end-to-end visibility of funds, faster and more secure transactions, predictable costs and access to optimised pools of liquidity.”

 

Northern Trust and National University of Singapore look to innovate green finance 

Northern Trust has entered into a three-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National University of Singapore (NUS) to drive innovation in green finance and promote the adoption of green finance frameworks and blockchain technology.

The collaboration will focus on fostering cutting-edge research and developing actionable solutions to address the challenges of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) finance. A centrepiece of the partnership is a tokenisation initiative leveraging Northern Trust’s Matrix Zenith platform, aimed at bringing the green credentials of bonds on-chain. This development will enhance transparency and streamline investors’ regulatory reporting obligations, aligning with global sustainability standards.

The MoU underscores Northern Trust’s commitment to advancing green finance by integrating technology into sustainable investment practices. The partnership seeks to create a framework for tokenising green assets, enabling issuers and investors to verify ESG claims better and fulfil regulatory requirements for increased accountability in their portfolios.

The partnership will also contribute to academic engagements through Northern Trust’s partnership with the Singapore Blockchain Innovation Programme (SBIP), a research lab at the NUS School of Computing (SoC). Research fellows and PhD candidates at SoC will be involved to brainstorm, design and develop the solution to support the development of talent in the fields of blockchain technology.

 

Ripple USD launches globally 

Ripple, a provider of digital asset infrastructure for financial institutions, has announced that Ripple USD (RLUSD) is now available on global exchanges. RLUSD is an enterprise-grade, USD-denominated stablecoin that the firm says is created with trust, utility, and compliance at its core, backed by Ripple’s years of experience working with crypto and the existing financial system.

RLUSD will be initially available on Uphold, Bitso, MoonPay, Archax, and CoinMENA, with additional listings on platforms such as Bullish, Bitstamp, Mercado Bitcoin, Independent Reserve, Zero Hash and others expected in the coming weeks. Each RLUSD token is fully backed by US dollar deposits, US government bonds, and cash equivalents. This is designed to ensure its stability, reliability, and liquidity. Ripple says it will publish monthly third-party attestations of RLUSD’s reserve assets conducted by an independent auditing firm.

“Early on, Ripple made a deliberate choice to launch our stablecoin under the NYDFS limited purpose trust company charter, widely regarded as the premier regulatory standard worldwide,” said Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple's CEO. “As the US moves toward clearer regulations, we expect to see greater adoption of stablecoins like RLUSD, which offer real utility and are backed by years of trust and expertise in the industry.”

Early next year, Ripple Payments will use RLUSD to facilitate global payments for its enterprise customers. Ripple Payments has served $70bn in payments volume and counting and has near-global coverage with over 90 payout markets, representing more than 90% coverage of the daily FX market. RLUSD is available on both the XRP Ledger and Ethereum blockchains, offering flexibility and scalability for various financial use cases.

 

Two collaborates with ABN Amro to launch B2B BNPL

Nordic fintech Two has joined forces with ABN Amro to launch a “Pay on Invoice” solution in the Dutch market. This collaboration is designed to bring a secure, flexible, and frictionless payment experience to B2B e-commerce, allowing businesses to focus on growth while eliminating the risks and cash flow issues traditionally associated with offering payment terms.

By merging Two’s payment and risk technology with ABN Amro’s financial infrastructure, the solution aims to eliminate risk for sellers while providing buyers with the flexibility they need to succeed. Sellers can extend 30-day net terms to their customers without worrying about delayed payments, thanks to the fintech’s instant credit decisions and the bank’s guarantees. Sellers can extend 30-day net terms to their customers via instant credit decisions, knowing payments are guaranteed, while buyers can pay later.

The pair say that this collaboration creates a seamless payment experience for businesses, bringing the convenience of consumer e-commerce into the world of B2B. The solution works for businesses of any size, handling everything from small orders to large transactions.

“This solution represents the future of B2B payments - fast, secure, and tailored to how businesses operate today,” said Andreas Mjelde, CEO and Co-founder of Two. “Our mission has always been to remove the complexity of offering net terms, and partnering with ABN Amro allows us to deliver this on a much larger scale.”

 

KEO World and American Express launch B2B platform in Brazil

KEO World (KEO) has partnered with BTG Pactual Bank that will allow the fintech to expand its operations in the Brazilian market. As part of the partnership, KEO’s Workeo solution, in collaboration with the Amex Business Link Platform, can help thousands of medium and large businesses in Brazil digitise their B2B invoice payments, which could result in significant cost efficiencies and increased purchasing power.

The Workeo solution, supported by KEO’s credit processing, provides businesses with a working capital line of credit through a digital wallet within a multi-product payment and billing rails, available via Amex Business Link. Additionally, KEO offers its own proprietary blockchain payment rails, known as KEO Rails, to help make payments even easier.

“Expanding the value proposition of the Amex Business Link platform is one of our priorities so that buyers and suppliers can make real-time decisions that optimise their working capital and improve their operational-administrative and reconciliation processes,” said René Centeno, Supply Chain Solutions Global Head, American Express. “Thanks to this expansion, companies in Brazil will be able to access an innovative and 100% digital ecosystem that offers digital payment and billing tools for local and international transactions.”

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