Foreign Exchange Guide
CONTENTS WELCOME TO CORPORATE ONLINE Page 3 1. FOREIGN EXCHANGE INTRODUCTION Page 3 1.1 INITIAL SET-UP OF DEALING NAMES & SSIs Page 3 1.2 LOGIN AND ACCESS RIGHTS Page 4 2. FOREIGN EXCHANGE DEALS Page 5 02 2.1 DEAL INPUT Page 5 2.2 RETURNED QUOTE, SIGN & SUBMIT Page 7 2.3 ENTER PIN Page 7 2.4 CONFIRMATION Page 8 3. FIND A TRADE Page 09 3.1 INITIAL VIEW Page 09 3.2 SEARCH Page 10 4. EXCHANGE RATES Page 11 4.1 INDICATION RATES Page 12
WELCOME TO CORPORATE ONLINE Welcome to the next generation of online banking from Bank of Scotland. Corporate Online brings together all of your accounts in one, purpose-designed application, including international currency accounts, payment transactions and foreign exchange. Simple, secure and quick, it s little wonder that the Bank is an industry leader in online banking. But we re never content to sit back on our achievements. That s why we constantly review and develop our online banking service in close consultation with customers just like you. It s all part of our commitment to offering customers the very best service both online and off. 03 1 FOREIGN EXCHANGE INTRODUCTION The Foreign Exchange facility allows you to undertake live foreign exchange (FX) contracts, out to one year, directly with the Bank at an agreed conversion rate for example, moving your funds held in your GBP account into your USD account. A working demonstration can be found at www.corporateonline.co.uk/bos/demo The service is available between 07:45 and 17:00 on UK bank working days*. 1.1 INITIAL SET-UP OF DEALING NAMES & SSIs We want to make your experience of FX within Corporate Online as straightforward as possible. That s why, as part of your application process, your Relationship Manager and Treasury Sales Manager will be happy to discuss your direct dealing needs and preferences to tailor the service to meet your requirements. This will include the establishment of Standard Settlement Instructions (SSI) and Dealing Names see below for definitions. In addition, your Relationship Manager will allocate a suitable financial limit for the overall exposure created by FX Deals. FX deals must be performed between bank accounts in a single legal entity (or if your Corporate Online agreement covers a group of companies, then between these companies), so it is important to set up your accounts in the most efficient way. If you have multiple accounts in the same currency or if you wish to transact FX across different legal entities then we recommend you speak to Treasury who will advise you on the most efficient method to set up your accounts. Contact: Treasury Operations 0845 300 3008 If you require a list of your current SSIs, these can be provided by your System Administrator from the Account Permissions screen. You can also ask the Corporate Online Helpdesk for further assistance. Standard Settlement Instruction (SSI): Dealing Name: To be able to deal, the Bank must know the account from which the funds must be taken (in one currency) and the account to which the funds should be credited. Treasury will settle the FX Deals to your pre-agreed bank accounts. These accounts are owned by you and called SSIs for example an existing or new USD account in your company s name. All FX settlements for a given currency and a specified Dealing Name will be routed to the same bank account. It is only possible to trade between currency pairs for which you have agreed SSI s. Each Dealing Name identifies a collection of available currencies supported by SSIs. The Dealing Name is your defined friendly name followed by a reference number (consisting of both numbers and letters) that refers to your direct dealings with Treasury. *The availability of the FX service is subject to change without notice. Telephone calls may be recorded for security purposes and monitored under our quality control procedures.
1.2 LOGIN AND ACCESS RIGHTS The FX Service Pack within Corporate Online provides three features relating to Foreign Exchange. If you experience any difficulties, an error message will be displayed directing you to contact the Corporate Online Helpdesk on 0845 300 6444 for technical enquiries, or, should you wish to place an immediate deal, Treasury on 0845 300 3008. FX Dealing Lets you trade FX by moving funds between your sterling and/or currency accounts on a cross-currency basis. 04 Find A Trade Provides you with a detailed view of the FX Deals undertaken across your company. Exchange Rates Displays indicative FX rates correct at the close of business on the last working day. IMPORTANT: Service User Access: Your access to some or all of the FX Service Pack facilities will depend on the agreement between your business and the Bank, and on the permissions allocated to you by your System Administrator. All Service Users will have access to Exchange Rates, but access to FX Dealing or Find A Trade may not necessarily be available. If you don t have access to the FX facilities, your System Administrator can allocate Service User rights to you. Your Relationship Manager can provide a company-wide facility.
1.2 LOGIN AND ACCESS RIGHTS cont. Smartcard: Single Authority: Set-up Guidance: Only users with Smartcards can access the FX Dealing and Find A Trade features. Due to the nature of the FX market, where rates change by the second, all FX Deals must be authorised as soon as possible to guarantee the quoted FX rate. Therefore Service Users operating within the FX Service Pack do so under single signing authority. For your added protection, all movements of funds resulting from a FX Deal can only be applied to SSI accounts that have previously been established in your company s name. Should you need assistance with establishing Service User permissions, please contact the Corporate Online Helpdesk on 0845 300 6444. 05 Note for System Administrators: by setting the FX Dealing Limit to 1, you can allow Service Users to have view-only access to all the functionality of the FX Service Pack, without the ability to deal beyond the 1 value. This will allow the specified Service User to have access to: Find A Trade on all (or specified) Dealing Names FX rate enquiries in real-time, but not deal International Moneymovers with Live Rate and Cross-currency Inter Account Transfer facilities also with live rates Please refer to the separate Corporate Online Administrators Guide for full details. 2 FOREIGN EXCHANGE DEALS This facility enables you to move funds between any of your sterling and/or currency accounts previously established with SSIs. Corporate Online supports Spot and Forward FX rates in over 80 currency pairs with value dates up to one year. The rate is agreed online instantly. Not all currency pairs and/or Tenor combinations are automatically tradable. In circumstances where your specific deal cannot be provided by Corporate Online, please contact Treasury on 0845 300 3008 for guidance. Overview of FX Deal: Select Foreign Exchange from the menu Enter the details of the FX Deal (section 2.1) Obtain a live rate quote and submit the FX Deal (section 2.2) Sign to authorise the FX Deal (section 2.3) Confirmation of completed FX Deal (section 2.4) 2.1 DEAL INPUT Dealing Name I wish to buy/ credit account I wish to sell/ debit account Amount Populated with the previously established Dealing Name/s (see above). If you have multiple Dealing Names, then you must select one from the drop-down list before proceeding. Select the currency you wish to buy/purchase (i.e. your account that will be credited) from the drop-down list, populated from your established SSIs (see above). All currencies are referenced by their three character currency code, for example, your United States Dollars currency account numbered 309634 01234567 is merely shown as USD. You must select a currency and it cannot be the same as that of the sell/debit account. These are the accounts and currencies that will be used in the FX Deal and to which accounting entries will be passed. The currency and amount that you wish to trade i.e. your account that will be debited. As with buy/credit account above; a sell currency must be selected to create a currency pair. Enter either a buy or a sell amount, not both. If you enter a buy amount by mistake and wish to enter a sell amount instead, then keying figures in the sell amount field will automatically remove those previously entered as the buy amount and vice versa. It is possible to enter an exact amount (including decimals) applicable to the chosen currency, in order to match a specific invoice sum, for example. Telephone calls may be recorded for security purposes and monitored under our quality control procedures.
2.1 DEAL INPUT cont. Tenor and Value Date You can either select a standard Tenor from the drop-down list or choose Broken Date and key a specific date in the Value Date field below. All standard or Broken Dates will be automatically validated against the country working days of your chosen currency pair and displayed when the FX rate quotation is returned; any corrected date will be highlighted for your approval. Tenor is the period of time until the FX Deal will settle or your specified settlement date. You can either select a standard Tenor, such as 1 week, 1 year, or enter a Broken Date as your required settlement date. 06 NB: The market practice for standard Tenors will allow for Spot (see Value Date below) settlement in addition to the requested Tenor: for example, if you request a standard Tenor of 1 week on a Tuesday, then the settlement date will be the following Thursday nine calendar days. If you specifically require value next Tuesday, then enter that date as a Broken Date. Quote Value Date The date upon which FX Deals settle. Some currencies can be traded for value today or tomorrow; others require a nominal time period so that the Bank can arrange funding in your requested currency (also known as Spot ). Alternatively you may wish to agree a rate today for delivery of the currency at some future time ( Forward ). All these options can be catered for subject to the value date of a specific currency being achievable which is governed by the working days of banks in its indigenous country. For example, a value date of 4th July cannot be achieved for USD due to the Independence Day holiday in the USA. Once you are happy with the details of the deal, click Quote to obtain the FX rate. Corporate Online will validate the information you have supplied and return any error messages requesting you to amend if necessary. Once all data is correctly validated you will be presented with a new screen showing you the FX rate. IMPORTANT: Currencies & Tenors: Connection Difficulties: Not all currency pairs and/or Tenor combinations are automatically tradable. In circumstances where your specific deal cannot be provided by Corporate Online, please contact Treasury on 0845 300 3008 for guidance. If you are unable to connect to Corporate Online s FX Service to obtain a quote, please contact Treasury on 0845 300 3008. They will be able to process your instruction immediately and you will view the trade via the Find A Trade facility (see Section 3). Telephone calls may be recorded for security purposes and monitored under our quality control procedures.
2.2 RETURNED QUOTE, SIGN & SUBMIT You will be given an FX rate once a valid deal has been submitted by pressing the Quote button from the FX Deal screen. You are not committed at this stage, but the rate is only displayed for a short period of time in which you can check the rate and confirm or cancel the FX contract. In addition to the information that you input to obtain the quote, Corporate Online will confirm the Value Date (even if you chose a standard Tenor the actual date will be displayed); provide the other amount; and also display the FX rate. Sign & Submit More Cancel The screen will indicate the maximum number of seconds in which you have to submit the FX deal. If you do not accept the rate within this time frame the deal will not be executed. The normal functions of the GemSAFE esigner remain available via the 'More' button. However, if you need to print or save a copy, please bear in mind the authorisation period is only a few seconds and that, after signature, an electronic confirmation of the FX Deal is provided. You can still cancel the FX Deal at this stage. 07 IMPORTANT: Single Authorisation: FX Deals only require a Single Authority to irrevocably create a binding contract. 2.3 ENTER PIN Sign & Submit This must be achieved within the time frame detailed within the esigner box. Failure to do so will mean that you will lose the opportunity to deal at the given rate. Ensure that your Smartcard is in the card reader and click sign & submit to progress to the PIN box. Cancel OK You can still cancel the FX Deal at this stage. FX Deals only require a Single Authority to irrevocably create a binding contract. Enter your PIN and click OK. This will generate a display of the FX Deal confirmation. IMPORTANT: Single Authorisation: Connection Difficulties: FX Deals only require a Single Authority to irrevocably create a binding contract. If you are unable to achieve authorisation because of connection difficulties, please contact Treasury on 0845 300 3008. They will be able to process your instruction. Telephone calls may be recorded for security purposes and monitored under our quality control procedures.
2.4 CONFIRMATION An on-screen confirmation of the FX transaction is the final stage of the online process. In addition to this electronic confirmation, a paper record will also be issued there is no need for you to provide any further written confirmation or acknowledgement to the Bank. Dealing Name Buy Amount & Ccy Sell Amount & Ccy The friendly name and Dealing Name used for the FX Deal. The amount and currency bought. The amount and currency sold. 08 Rate Trade Date Type Value Date The contracted FX rate. The day on which the trade was dealt/the contract was made. Either Spot or Forward. Please note that all Tenors other than Spot are referred to as Forward including those of Today and Tomorrow. The date upon which the FX Deal will settle and your SSI accounts will be debited and credited. IMPORTANT: Differences: If you have any concerns with an FX Deal you have made, please contact Treasury on 0845 300 3008 immediately. Telephone calls may be recorded for security purposes and monitored under our quality control procedures.
3 FIND A TRADE This option enables you to view all FX Deals made via Corporate Online or the telephone. The results are displayed in a manner similar to that of the FX Deal confirmation and are fully searchable across all deals. 3.1 INITIAL VIEW When you select Find a Trade from the menu option, you are presented with the Transaction History page. This will immediately show the last 20 deals made with Treasury, for all the Dealing Names that your Service User permissions allow you to see. 09 Trade ID Dealing Name Buy Amount & Ccy Sell Amount & Ccy Rate Date Type Value Date User ID F The electronic reference number for the trade. Your friendly name and Dealing Name used for the FX Deal. The amount and currency bought. The amount and currency sold. FX rate contracted. The day on which the trade was dealt/the contract was made also known as the Trade Date Either Spot or Forward. Please note that all Tenors other than spot are referred to as Forward including those of Today and Tomorrow. The date upon which the FX Deal will settle and your SSI accounts will be debited and credited. The surname followed by the first name of the Service User that created the FX Deal. If the deal was placed over the telephone then this will state Phone.
3.1 INITIAL VIEW cont. OPTIONS Download Print Search IMPORTANT: Service Users: Static View: Clicking this button creates a file in.csv format for all the visible trades. The FX Deals are printed. Commences a specific search based on the criterion entered. Please refer to the next section for full details. If you have access to several Dealing Names, then Find a Trade will show activity across all the Dealing Names regardless of the Service User who originated the deal. Although the opening page provides an immediate view of all deals contracted, it does not automatically refresh. Please refresh the page or search again to see the most up-todate trades. Note to System Administrators. By setting the FX Dealing Limit to 1, you can allow Service Users to have view-only access to all the functionality of the FX Service Pack, without the ability to deal beyond a 1. This will allow the specified Service User to have access to Find A Trade on all (or specified) Dealing Names and also to make specific FX rate enquiries in real-time, but not deal. Please refer to the separate Corporate Online Administrators Guide for full details. 10 3.2 SEARCH You can request a detailed search by entering various criteria from the initial Find A Trade screen. Dealing Name Trade ID Name of User Select a Dealing Name from the drop-down list. To include all Dealing Names leave the default value of All. Enter the electronic reference number for the trade, or leave blank for all. Enter the surname and first name of the Service User/User ID that made the deal, or leave blank for all. In addition, wild card input is supported by the * character e.g. B* will return both deals made by Brodie Jane and Brodie John.
3.2 SEARCH cont. Trade Type Trade Date From Trade Date To Value Date From Value Date To Buy Ccy Buy Amount From Buy Amount To Sell Ccy Sell Ccy Sell Amount From Sell Amount To Download & Print 4 EXCHANGE RATES Select either Spot or Forward (remembering that Forward includes all deals other than Spot), or leave the default value of All. Enter a date, in dd/mm/yyyy format, representing the starting period from which you wish the search to cover. Leave blank for an unrestricted search. Enter a date, in dd/mm/yyyy format, representing the ending period for the search. Leave blank for anunrestricted search. Enter a date, in dd/mm/yyyy format, representing the starting period from which you wish the search to cover. Leave blank for an unrestricted search. Enter a date, in dd/mm/yyyy format, representing the ending period for the search. Leave blank for an unrestricted search. Select the currency of the Buy/credit account from the drop-down list or leave the default of All. Enter an amount, representing the minimum amount from which you wish the search to cover. Leave blank for an unrestricted search. Enter an amount, representing the maximum amount for the search. Leave blank for an unrestricted search. Select the currency of the Sell/debit account from the drop-down list or leave the default of All. Select the currency of the Sell/debit account from the drop-down list or leave the default of All. Enter an amount, representing the minimum amount from which you wish the search to cover. Leave blank for an unrestricted search. Enter an amount, representing the maximum amount for the search. Leave blank for an unrestricted search. These functions can be used for all of the results described above. 11 This provides indicative rates for a selection of currencies relative to GBP at the close of business on the last working day. The very nature of these rates mean that they are not available for dealing and are provided for information only. To obtain live exchange rates for currencies that you have set-up within your Dealing Names, including crossrates, please use the FX Deal functionality, or alternatively the Inter Account Transfer or International Moneymovers with Live Rates.
4.1 INDICATION RATES Here is an example of the data provided on a close of business last working day basis: 12 We hope you have found this FX Guide clear and easy to understand. But, remember our Helpdesk team are always ready to answer any query you may have. You can reach them on 0845 300 6444 between 7.30am and 6.00pm, Monday to Friday or you can email COLhelpdesk@bankofscotland.co.uk But, please remember not to include any sensitive or confidential information as the security of emails cannot be guaranteed. To speak directly to our Treasury team, please call them on 0845 300 3008.
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