Tag Archives: France

News

Introducing Ibanista Savvy Currency Solutions For The French Property Market

Ibanista, a specialist Anglo-French content-creation-led currency broker, announces its official launch. The business offers competitive and secure international payments for private clients and ex-pats navigating the complexities of the French property market.

Co-founded by entrepreneurs Benjamin Small and Maxime Guibert, Ibanista is headquartered in London UK. The business emerged from the fusion of Ben’s and Maxime’s networks in France – transforming the pair’s former rivalry into a strategic partnership. Recognising the overlap in their key clientele, and a shared ethos towards exceptional customer service, they opted to unite capabilities, addressing the inefficiencies and user-hostile experiences that are all too common among leading brokerage firms.

Benjamin distinguishes himself in catering to the needs of the English-speaking expats in France, while Maxime’s tenure at a corporate brokerage allows him to extend sophisticated currency management solutions, traditionally the preserve of professionals, to private high-net-worth individuals. This joint approach has driven the business to secure a foothold within the luxury client segment, positioning Ibanista as a pioneer in French wealth management tools for non-resident clients – a service that remains a rarity in a market flooded with currency brokers.

Commenting on the launch; Benjamin Small, Co-Founder says “Ibanista was a long time coming for me, addressing the hugely ignored needs of the expatriate community. Despite the challenges of entrepreneurship – the joy of assisting remarkable individuals on their unique adventures has made the journey worthwhile. Redefining financial services for expatriates is an intricate and sizeable mission. We are committed to providing seamless and secure solutions tailored to meet the distinct needs of expats globally.”

Maxime Guibert, Co-Founder adds “The flexibility provided by Ibanista enables us to handpick partners and tailor our services specifically for non-resident clients. This is a significant shift from the status quo model where clients have to conform to pre-existing industry offerings. This strategic change is instrumental in drawing in high-profile individuals, including U.S. television celebrities and leading corporate executives.”

The business collaborates with fintech firms located in the UK and France, all of which are regulated by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).  Ibanista ensures its clients have access to competitive wholesale exchange rates while also providing a safeguard against fluctuations in currency.

In addition, Ibanista offers comprehensive care packages that streamline the relocation process, simplifying tasks such as bank account openings, utility service setups, and securing telecommunications contracts.

News

Quadient Launches its Accounts Payable Automation Solution Beanworks in UK and France Amidst Rising Demand

London–UK, Quadient a leader in helping businesses create meaningful customer connections through digital and physical channels, today announced the launch of Beanworks by Quadient in the United Kingdom (UK) and France. The leading accounts payable (AP) automation solution provides accounting teams with a faster, more secure and easier way to approve invoices and pay vendors from anywhere.

Beanworks by Quadient has been growing in North America since 2012, with businesses now processing more than €14 billion a year through the platform. The cloud-based AP workflow provides a multitude of benefits to accounting and financial teams looking to simplify time-consuming invoice management processing, reduce fraud risks and manage AP with remote workforces.

The solution offers teams robust features such as automatic data capture, multi-level invoice approval channels and purchase order matching. Users also benefit from real-time status updates on invoices, access to AP inboxes, payment approvals and workflows that reduce the need for time consuming and error-prone data entry. The Beanworks AP solution currently integrates with market-leading financial software including QuickBooks, Sage 50, Sage 100, Sage 200, Sage 300, Sage Intacct, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Xero, and NetSuite.

Accelerated by the global pandemic and the increase of remote work, the global market for AP automation is experiencing significant growth. Adroit Market Research predicts the AP automation market will reach $4 billion by 2025. UK and French businesses of all sizes are beginning to reflect on the benefits of digitising their financial processes and shifting to electronic payments with the emerging e-invoicing regulations in these countries.

“The launch is very timely for midmarket accounting teams in these two new markets, as the UK recently implemented electronic invoicing legislation that requires public companies to process digital invoices, as well as in France, where a similar mandate between taxable persons will be enforced by 2024,” says Chris Hartigan, Chief Solutions Officer, Intelligent Communication Automation, Quadient. “Considering the rising demand for e-invoicing in these regions, we are confident that the secure workflow automation we provide will not only be beneficial, but also indispensable to the accounting teams looking to digitise AP processes.”

Beanworks is part of Quadient’s best-of-breed and cloud-based Intelligent Communication Automation solutions portfolio, which also includes Quadient’s YayPay accounts receivable (AR) solution. Quadient’s comprehensive SaaS AP/AR automation solutions offer a simple and complete way to successfully address the emerging e-invoicing regulations and the growing demand for cash flow management solutions. Since acquiring Beanworks in March 2021, Quadient has significantly accelerated its expansion.

“As we make the Beanworks AP automation solution available to UK and French customers, we continue to advance our strategic ambition to become a leader in cloud-based business communications and financial processes automation,” added Geoffrey Godet, Chief Executive Officer of Quadient. “Quadient’s mailing automation solutions customers are looking to digitise their processes to work more efficiently and accelerate payments, and with the integration of Beanworks in our cloud-based software portfolio, our teams can now offer a wider spectrum of solutions to help businesses in their digital transition. We remain focused on maintaining our good momentum in the software business, targeting to achieve an Annual Recurring Revenue of c. €250 million for our cloud-based software solutions by the end of 2023.”

For more information about Beanworks by Quadient, visit www.beanworks.com.

Climate, News

Kunal Sawhney: UK Shows Growth in Sales of EVs, But Crucial Hurdles Still Fogging the Road Ahead

Written by Kunal Sawhney, CEO, Kalkine Group

As the economy is bouncing back from the pandemic lows, the United Kingdom has moved ahead in the electric vehicles sphere after it surpassed France to become Europe’s second-largest electric vehicle market for the first time. The domestic market of electric and hybrid car sales has seen a drastic change in recent years on the back of increased demand, greater availability of vehicles, government support, and development of the charging point infrastructure in the UK. The sales had hit a record high in March as demand for electric vehicles surged despite the pandemic.

In a report, automotive analyst Matthias Schmidt highlighted that about 31,800 battery EVs were sold in the UK between January and March this year as compared to 30,500 in France. Germany tops the list as it sold 64,700 cars in the first quarter of 2021.

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), sales of battery electric cars and plug-in hybrids in the UK was about 13.9% of the total market in 2020 as compared to 7.3% in 2019, as many customers are switching to cars with lower carbon emissions. Even the traditional car manufactures are facing stiff guidelines from respective governments and have been asked to bring down the average carbon dioxide emission in their products.

According to the data available with the UK car industry lobby group, more than 100 plug-in car models are available in the UK. Another 35 to 40 models will be available in FY2021, which is more than the proposed petrol or diesel new models in the same time period.

Explaining the situation, Schmidt said the UK would dominate the battery electric vehicle market in Europe as the UK government is offering generous incentives. But he said that some crucial hurdles, such as inadequate charging points and pricing of the vehicles, cannot be ignored. The manufacturers now have to increase their sales in the UK as the year is very crucial with the new emission limits post Brexit, he added.

EV charging points

Though UK consumers are opting for EVs, drivers say the charging points are not up to the mark and adequate in numbers. A poll of British drivers found that 76 per cent of drivers and consumers reported the charging infrastructure is inadequate as compared to other European countries.

But even then, experts opine that the situation is much better than before and will improve in the near future. Between the end of 2016 and 2020, the number of public charging points has gone up by 220 per cent.

According to a joint analysis by the SMMT and Frost and Sullivan, for a zero-emission fleet, the UK will require at least 1.7-1.8 million on-street charging points and another 1.1 million by 2035, which means 500 new points every day.

Pricing still a barrier 

A comprehensive survey and many reports in this regard have found that electric vehicles are way too expensive, and therefore, consumers are not so keen to buy them. Though the UK government is offering subsidies, battery electric cars are still more expensive than the petrol or diesel counterparts.

The SMMT has asked the UK government to extend the subsidies offered to buyers. The subsidies were withdrawn in 2019, which prompted a furious reaction from the industry.

Talking about the hurdles, SMMT’s chief executive Mike Hawes explained that until the government introduces subsidies to make the vehicles affordable, the UK will be moving in the slow lane, overlooking the industry investment and commitments by carmakers.

Environment groups feel that the best way to inspire consumers to opt for electric vehicles is by bringing bans on internal combustion engines. The UK government has committed to ban carbon dioxide-emitting engines by 2040 but might bring in the changes by 2035 or sooner by 2032.