Proxtera launches Emerging Markets Currency  Exchange (EMCX- Beta) – enhancing digital access  to foreign exchange options for select ASEAN &  African currencies

Proxtera, and foundation FinTech partners WorldFirst, Liquid Group, Thunes and Wise have launched the beta version of a multi-currency exchange platform, at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2022, starting with the Ghanian Cedi and the Philippine Peso against the Singapore and US dollar. 

With the advent of the global digital economy and the diversification of supply chains,  Singapore businesses and SMEs have been actively expanding into emerging markets for new  trade and services opportunities. These growing business demands require access to agile,  efficient, and competitive access to emerging market foreign currencies flows. Leading FinTech  Foreign Exchange providers have taken the initiative to work with Proxtera, to trial a new  approach towards an open and seamless foreign exchange discovery and action hub – called  the Emerging Markets Currency Exchange (EMCX). The EMCX digital hub is being trialed by  active Singapore SMEs trading across Africa and Asia, noting reduced costs, faster foreign  exchange and seamless, digital onboarding compared to traditional approaches. 

SMEs will be able to avail of accurate exchange rates to conduct their cross-border payment  settlements in their local currencies – all through seamless connectivity to Proxtera’s FinTech  partners. The SME can further use the WorldFirst Digital Wallet and additional services to track  and record all their multi-currency transactions. Businesses signing up to the EMCX (Beta) will  also have access to the Proxtera network and its ecosystem of trade, financing other service  providers.  

Saurav Bhattacharyya, Chief Executive Officer of Proxtera, said “We are excited to provide  SMEs with yet another tool to optimize their cross-border trades involving foreign currencies.  EMCX (Beta) also increases the transparency in exchange rates in ‘exotic’ currencies allowing  businesses to make informed decisions on their payment options. This will increase their  confidence and profitability in participating in the digital trade journey. EMCX (Beta) is a part of  the Proxtera suite of products which cover the end-to-end digital trade journey for SMEs. We  are confident this will help in reducing the $1.7 tn global trade financing gap1 Covid19 left  behind – one small transaction at a time, and reduce the rejection rate of financing applications  for SMEs.” 

Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), said, “It is  important that our FinTech players stay agile and forward-looking in tandem with the dynamic business landscape. MAS is supportive of initiatives that address the need for faster and better  emerging markets foreign exchange (FX) discovery and offerings. The EMCX is a transformative  step towards greater transparency and smoother FX experience for the SMEs and MSMEs that  wish to grow in these new markets.” 

Proxtera is proud to operate this pioneering effort with the following like-minded partners who  share the spirit of collaboration. 

WorldFirst, Head of Commercial for Southeast Asia, Daniel Chua said, “WorldFirst’s mission is to  make it easy for SMEs to do business anywhere. We’re excited to partner with Proxtera in  providing businesses a hassle-free way to pay and get paid globally. This partnership will be an  instrumental move in creating growth opportunities for Singapore MSMEs navigating new and  emerging markets.” 

Liquid Group, CEO Jeremy Tan said, “It is our pleasure to be part of this collaboration. As a  leading provider of Cross-Border B2B Trade Payment Services, we enable SMEs and  Marketplaces to price and accept payments in their preferred currency using our highly  competitive onshore FX rates. We look forward to supporting Proxtera and their ecosystem in  the exciting journey ahead.” 

Thunes CEO, Peter De Caluwe shares – “The ability to manage payment flows can be a critical  component to the success of a business. That’s why Thunes is proud to enter the alliance with Proxtera, and make cross-border payments for Singapore SMEs more efficient and affordable,  wherever their overseas business partners are located. We are looking forward to seeing this  collaboration evolve and boost economic cooperation between countries in the region. This is a  crucial step in modernising the cross-border payments infrastructure, and we are proud to be  playing a role in making it happen” 

Wise, Platform Regional Head, Vinay Palathinkal said: “At Wise, our mission is to make moving  money faster, cheaper and more transparent for everyone, everywhere. Companies here are  increasingly international — an earlier study found that Singapore is home to the highest  proportion of micro, small and medium sized businesses operating internationally. Yet, many  see their global ambitions impeded by expensive, slow, and frustrating old-school international  payments systems. Today’s partnership is set to benefit such businesses the most, and we’re  delighted to partner with Proxtera to give SMEs access to quick and low cost transfers with no  exchange rate markups or hidden fees.”