• UK small and medium businesses plan to make an average of six hires in the first quarter of the year
• 2022 has started well, with SMEs expecting Q1 earnings to grow by an average of 13.5 per cent year-on-year
• However, two thirds are concerned about the impact the rising cost of living, inflation and energy bills will have on their business
• The quarterly SME Barometer combines billions of merchant transactions, processed by Barclaycard Payments, with research data to provide an in-depth look at the UK SME economy

Two in five (40.0 per cent) small and medium-sized businesses in the UK plan to hire, on average, six new employees before the end of March, following a promising start to the year, according to the latest quarterly Barclaycard Payments SME Barometer*.

The news comes as 56.2 per cent of SMEs report a rise in earnings in the last quarter of 2021 against the same period in 2020. Data from Barclaycard Payments, which processes £1 in every £3 spent in the UK and services over 350,000 SMEs, supports this trend – with transaction volumes up 42.3 per cent for in the last three months of 2021, compared to the same period in 2020**.

2022 has started positively for many SMEs despite concerns around economic uncertainties, with almost three fifths (58.1 per cent) predicting an increase in revenue this quarter compared to the same period last year when the UK was in the third COVID-19 lockdown.

On average, businesses forecast a year-on-year increase in Q1 turnover by 13.5 per cent. Perhaps unsurprisingly, hospitality and leisure operators – whose physical premises were closed this time last year – expect the largest turnover increase (33.6 per cent), followed by retail (16.5 per cent), transport and distribution (14.6 per cent) and financial services firms (11.2 per cent). This is likely due to the impact of coronavirus settling and SMEs feeling more confident to invest or seek investment – evidenced by 32.7 per cent of UK SMEs who plan a ‘high level’ of investment in their business over the next 12 months.

Year-on-year payments volumes also demonstrate a feeling of confidence amongst SMEs across the UK, with leisure and entertainment, food and drink and retail SMEs seeing an increase by 471.0 per cent, 110.8 per cent and 54.1 per cent respectively***.

Overall, there is a quiet confidence among small and medium-sized company leaders, that they are on track to have a positive finish the financial year, despite a broader atmosphere of uncertainty among rising inflation, the cost of living on consumers and the lingering impact of the Omicron variant.

The research, which polled 577 senior staff working in UK SMEs, found that overall business optimism is beginning to build, scoring 55 out of a possible 100, up from a low of just 40 points in Q2 2020. This quarter equals the highest levels recorded (with Q1 2020, Q2 2021 and Q3 2021 recording 55 each), since the Barclaycard Payments SME Barometer started in February 2020, before the first lockdown****.

Yet, while almost half (48.7 per cent) are optimistic about the outlook for their firms, confidence in the broader economy is less pronounced, with those reporting a neutral sentiment (39.6 per cent) outweighing those who are optimistic (23.8 per cent).

Just under two thirds of SMEs (64.6 per cent) are worried about a rise in the cost of living and inflation and a similar proportion (66.6 per cent) highlight a feeling of nervousness about increases in their energy bills, with four in ten (39.4 per cent) stating that it will impact their ability to remain competitive, while 9.5 per cent will reconsider the need for a physical retail outlet as a result.

When asked to select the number one challenge for this year, SME leaders now view the rising cost of living as a bigger headwind than the ongoing uncertainty around the pandemic. Over a tenth (10.6 per cent) of the respondents to the Barclaycard Payments study selected a rise in inflation as the issue causing them the greatest concern, this was followed by the stability of the domestic economy (10.2 per cent) and the difficulties associated with COVID-19 (6.6 per cent). In contrast, SME leaders ranked the pandemic (22.0 per cent) as the biggest challenge of 2021, followed by the domestic economy (8.2 per cent) and the cost of materials (7.8 per cent).

As a result of the challenging economic backdrop, SMEs have a mixed view on how this will impact consumer spending throughout the year. While four in 10 (41.7 per cent) SMEs expect it to fall, a further 29.2 per cent believe that, although shoppers will spend cautiously, they are likely to spend more on loved ones to help lift their spirits.

Colin O’Flaherty, Head of Small Business at Barclaycard Payments, said: “Small and medium-sized businesses have had a positive start to the year and it’s encouraging to see so many seeking to add to their workforce. SMEs are also remaining resilient by continuing to focus on areas within their control, such as by improving their operating models to overcome the hangover to supply chain disruption which peaked at the end of last year.

“The coming months will no doubt present continued challenges for British SMEs and the impact of rising costs will remain front of mind. Businesses will need to call on the same spirit for innovation and specialised support that has propelled them through the last two years.”

Jo Fairley, Co-Founder of Green & Blacks and SME Investor said: “The strong start to the year for British small and medium-sized businesses, who are looking forward to an average anticipated uplift of 13.5% in earnings over Q1, is really great news. But it comes at a time where two thirds of SMEs are also acutely aware of the challenges posed by the rising cost of living, inflation and energy bills – potentially a perfect storm.

 “From my own experience running multiple ventures, I know all too well that trying to weather economic turbulence while growing a business can be daunting on top of the day-to-day fire-fighting. Nevertheless, the last couple of years have shown that the British consumer is keener than ever before to support smaller and local businesses, and this should prove really positive for SMEs, helping them not just to cope but go grow in the months ahead."

Earlier this month, Barclays launched a package of support aimed at boosting small businesses, with the bank set to host 50 masterclasses a month this year, which will focus on managing cash flow, business growth and support for wellbeing. The classes are open to all small business owners, with national events focused on the hospitality and care home sectors. Find out more at https://labs.barclays/business-health-hub

Banking options for Latin American startups who establish their holding companies in Cayman and in the US are historically bureaucratic, expensive and slow; Trace Finance upends this experience and significantly expands access to FX, banking and credit products.

 In the continuity of the reorganization of HPS Group implemented on January 1, 2022, the Board of Directors met on February 3^rd 2022 to validate the creation of a new organizational entity: the entity “Business Innovation.”

The new Business Innovation entity

To support its development plan, HPS Group has decided to structure and set up a team dedicated to identifying and developing new business opportunities around payments.

The rapid changes in the payment industry favour the emergence of new players and/or new business models for which the Business innovation Entity will develop solutions and offers adapted around the PowerCARD technology. These new activities will be carried by the Business Innovation entity until maturity, where they will then be taken over by the other entities of the Group to make them new sources of growth.

The Business Innovation entity will have the following mission:

• Identify new areas of growth around the payment business
• Build complete offers around PowerCARD to address the identified needs and support these new activities until maturity
• At maturity, transfer these activities to other Group entities to bring their development to an industrial scale
• Identify opportunities for external growth to accelerate the launch of new activities within HPS Group

Management of the Business Innovation Entity

The General Management of the Business Innovation entity is entrusted to Garry Ceaplen.

Garry Ceaplen began his career in the payment industry in 1986 when he joined TSB Trustcard, one of the then leading card issuers in the UK. With more than 35 years of experience, including Visa, American Express, and various banks, Garry has a very solid understanding of the payment industry and the future challenges related to its rapid transformation. He was Chairman of the Kuwait Banking Association’s Bank Cards Committee from 2016 to 2018, and was a member of the Visa CEMEA Risk Board.

Garry Ceaplen, as Managing Director – Business Innovation, will be a member of the Group Executive Committee.

Nordic Secondary Fund joins robust investor roster along with Siena Secondary Fund in €6million secondary transaction

TransferGo, one of the world’s fastest growing money transfer companies, has today announced the sale of secondary shares, valued at €6million. This transaction closely follows TransferGo’s $50m Series C fundraise in September 2021, and reinforces its ambitious commitment to grow 5x in the next 3-4 years within a global remittance market estimated to be worth over $500 billion according to the World Bank, and at the same time expand its product offering to go after the digital wallet opportunity. 

The secondary transaction is led by Nordic Secondary Fund (N2F), a specialist Nordic fund focused on start-ups with a proven and scalable business model. N2F is also accompanied by Siena Secondary Fund, and together they will support TransferGo to scale its workforce, open new offices, launch new send and receive markets, and build new pay-out options so it can continue to champion fairer, more accessible global payments for migrants. 

TransferGo connects more than 3.5m customers across 160 markets, and has achieved consistent 80% year-on-year growth since its launch. The money transfer company is an attractive investment proposition having built a strong, loyal customer base in the migrant community, hitting a number of new business milestones, including processing 13.5m international and local transactions, despite market turbulence caused by the pandemic. 

Commenting on the sale, Daumantas Dvilinskas, founder and CEO of TransferGo said: “We have our committed early investors and employees to thank for our strong position today, who have worked and supported us in our mission to disrupt the remittance space. With this transaction, we’re delighted to make significant returns for these crucial stakeholders, while strengthening our position as we look to continue our path of rapid expansion and payment innovation.” 

Peter Sandberg, Founding Partner at N2F, added: “TransferGo is one of the hottest European fintechs in a space that we’ve been monitoring very closely in recent years. With a clear mission, and a strong affinity with its customer base, it is representative of what modern financial services should be, and is no doubt going to exceed its ambitious growth targets - we’re excited to be part of its journey.”

Rando Rannus, General Partner of Siena Secondary Fund, commented: “Over the course of the pandemic, TransferGo’s resilience and growth is testament to the importance of digital payments in keeping the migrant community connected to loved ones. Now, as it embarks on its next stage of growth, powered by a recent Series C raise, we can’t wait to help scale its presence in connecting Europe to the rest of the globe and beyond, establishing its service as the first choice for remittances.” 

This is the title of our article today. We are more than sure that you were searching for this request before you started to investigate Forex and want to know more about it and which criteria will help you to choose the best trading software out of stock and which differences they do have between each other. We also make our Top 3 of Trading Softwares to let you choose the best one for your demand.

How Trading Software Helps

Forex and associated trading marketplaces are one of the world's fastest expanding industries. Global currency markets recorded a daily transaction of $6.6 trillion in 2019. The market reached a worldwide value of $2.49 quadrillion USD the following year. With the trading market's continued expansion, more individuals are becoming interested in joining and claiming their part of the gold mine.

Whether you're a novice or an expert, trading software can help you optimize your trading results. There are several methods to use trading software to assist you with the deals you initiate. Understanding how various types of software operate and what they are capable of enables you to determine what to search for in an application. This section will discuss the several types of software that traders might utilize. We also consider how each of these software categories helps traders be more successful.

Trading Signals

These are applications that provide you with market trades and trend information. Trading signals are intended to assist you in identifying a good trading opportunity. Generally, trading signal software is simple to use. Certain platforms allow you to create a profile, which allows you to tailor the signals delivered to your account.

Trade Analyzer 

A software application that continually analyzes current trade statistics. The program will take into account recent expert deals as well as the history of certain assets. This aids the software's predicting capabilities. The forecasts may then be utilized to assist you in deciding which stocks or assets to trade.

Automated Bots

Bots that learn trading behaviors from top traders are created using artificial intelligence technologies. These bots are capable of attentively monitoring transactions executed by industry leaders and then applying copied trading positions to your own account automatically.

Automatic Forex Trading Software

If we told you there was a foreign exchange (forex) trader who is clever, unemotional, rational, ever-vigilant for lucrative transactions and who executes deals nearly instantaneously when the chance occurs and then sends the profit to your account, wouldn't you want to engage this person right away? We think everyone would. To be short, using automated software, you can switch on your computer, activate the application, and walk away while the software conducts the trading for you.

Automated forex trading software is based on an analysis of currency price charts and other market activities over various periods. The program analyzes signals — such as spread disparities, price trends, and market-moving news – in order to identify potentially successful currency pair transactions.

For instance, if a software program detects a currency pair transaction that meets the user-defined profitability criteria, it sends a buy or sell alert and executes the deal automatically.

There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all strategy to forex trading, and the same is true for automatic software — each program involves a variety of trade-offs.

Numerous automatic forex trading systems are available on the market; many are great, others are decent but lack full features and advantages, and a few are substandard.

While some businesses boast "over 95% successful trades," buyers should verify all promotional claims. Occasionally, software vendors will give verified trade history results to illustrate the programs' efficacy. However, it is critical to remember the oft-repeated caution — previous success does not guarantee future outcomes.

We've Outlined a few of the Most Important Selection Criteria for the Best Trading Software in the Section Below.

• The most popular trading systems will trade the most liquid currency pairings, including USD/EUR, USD/CHF, USD/GBP, and USD/JPY.

• Trading strategies will range in risk, from scalping a few points to placing bigger bets. The user should be able to determine which method to take, and the strategy should be reversible.

• Online customer product reviews are an excellent source of information about the software. It is highly recommended that you read them before purchasing.

• Consumers today benefit from price competition, so browse around for the greatest value without sacrificing quality. Prices for trading packages range from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

• Seek out a company that provides a good degree of technical and customer care assistance. This is critical for traders of all skill levels, but it is especially critical for novices and newcomers.

Our Top 3 of Forex the Best Trading Softwares

MetaTrader — The most popular software for Forex trading. Its user-friendly interface enables users to view bids and offers of 60 currency pairs on nine-time frames, set alerts, and more. This program also provides advanced technical analysis tools such as Bollinger Bands, MACD, and Stochastic. Its graphical user interface also allows users to create their own custom columns and watchlists.

TradingView — Best For Chart Analysis is a simple-to-use software that includes a day trading assistance system. With day trading, you want data that is up to the minute accurate. Your deal is only valid for the duration of the trading day, which means you cannot depend on historical data, even if it is based on recent information. TradingView's objective is to provide day traders with a comprehensive perspective of market patterns. The charts may be configured to display data from the previous 24 hours, which is very handy for day trading. TradingView additionally includes other criteria and filters. Charts for bonds, cryptocurrencies, futures, currencies, and indices are included in the app.

Robinhood app — Best For Novices. If you're new to trading and looking for a place to start, Robinhood is an excellent option. This is a complete platform created by professional investors. Although the platform is geared for novices, it contains features that make it an effective tool for more expert users. This enables you to continue utilizing the Robinhood software as your image and experience in the field grow. The program provides you with the tools necessary to ascertain which investment possibilities will yield the highest profits. There are pooled investing options available, and you may even earn income on funds remaining in your account. Numerous money management tools are also accessible on the platform - and getting started is completely free.

Verdict

Whatever degree of competence you have in forex trading – whether you are a novice, an experienced trader, or a seasoned trader – trading software may assist you in becoming successful.

Despite the obvious benefits of automated forex trading platforms, these programs are far from perfect, and users should be aware that this software does not promise an infinite stream of profitable transactions.

While there are always dangers associated with trading in any market, trading software may assist you in preventing substantial losses. Most importantly, maintain a checklist of the key features you're searching for in a program, the amount of customer service, and, of course, the fact that no trading system can promise 100 percent winning trades and that previous success is no guarantee of future outcomes.

Create Forex broker startup with B2Broker

Together with B2Broker you can launch a full-fledged White Label forex broker with services including FX, CFD, commodities and cryptocurrency trading solutions. White Label broker is based on MT4/MT5 platform and includes leverage up to 1:100, multi-level client accounts (basic, professional, etc.), back-office and payment gateways, including cryptocurrency.  

Unlimint, the award-winning global fintech company, announced that it has added Brazil’s real-time payment system, Pix, to its local payment methods portfolio, enabling merchants access to 107.5 million Brazilian customers.

Brazil is the fifth country in the world with the largest online population. Around seven out of 10 Brazilians are online and nine out of 10 access the web on a daily basis. It is predicted that in 2022, around 77.87% of the Brazilian population will have access to the web with the internet penetration rate in the region reaching 83% in just 3 years’ time.
Statista predicts that by 2025 digital payments will account for over 95% (https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1115661/brazil-fintech-users-segment) of the almost 147 million fintech users in the South American country, and PIX is the start of this revolution. In October 2021, the system processed 72% of all of Brazil’s transactions – a total of 1.2 billion operations. Today it has 107.5 million registered accounts, accounting for more than half of the country's population, and its payments volume is already equivalent to 80% of debit and credit card transactions.

“At Unlimint, we are constantly monitoring global trends to guarantee that our customers are prepared for tomorrow and are able to take advantage of it. This is why we are glad to expand our merchants’ payments toolkit with PIX and strengthen their positions in one the world’s biggest eCommerce markets – Brazil. Pix opens the door to instantaneous payment for e-commerce purchases and we are certain that it will help boost Brazil’s already dynamic eCommerce growth even further,” said Unlimint’s Chief Customer Officer, Irene Skrynova. “This addition also strengthens our local offering even further, allowing us to provide our customers with all available payment methods in the region today.”

Pix is a payment method for instant direct bank transfers, which is built and owned by the Central Bank in Brazil and operated by the Brazilian banks, digital accounts and wallets, and is one of the recent additions to the constantly growing portfolio of local payment methods offered by Unlimint.

Vantage, the international multi-asset broker, announces its multi-year partnership with McLaren Racing as an Official Partner of the McLaren Extreme E (MX) team. This announcement comes ahead of the launch of the 2022 season, with the first race, the Desert X Prix in Saudi Arabia, scheduled for February 19th and 20th.

Extreme E is a new concept in motorsport, that challenges teams to race off-road across remote areas of the globe, in cutting-edge electric SUV’s, to raise climate awareness. 

The partnership between Vantage and McLaren Racing is a union of like-minded, globally recognised brands who believe in the same values: sustainability and diversity as well as gender equality, inclusion and representation while championing for and advocating climate change awareness.

Vantage has partnered with McLaren’s Extreme E (MX) team because of the concept behind Extreme E. A key focus for Vantage is to provide access to trading in far flung regions of the globe, which aligns perfectly with Extreme E’s intention to raise awareness of the challenges of climate change through the locations in which it races.

Vantage joins McLaren’s MX team for its debut season in the race series, which is only in its second year, with its branding carried on the chassis side and roof of the McLaren MX race car. Drivers Tanner Foust and Emma Gilmour will also sport the Vantage colours on their racing overalls throughout this year’s 5-race season.

David Shayer, CEO, Vantage UK, said: 

“The partnership with McLaren Racing is a big step for Vantage. The company values speed and innovation in the same way we do. Throughout the course of our rebranding exercise, we did some soul searching about what kind of company we are. As part of our strategy to accelerate our exposure, we decided to explore a sponsorship in a sport we felt would raise awareness of our upgraded services. 

“Considering we are a broker that provides unparalleled technology to allow for fast trading execution, it made sense to look at something in racing, which is when we discovered Extreme E and McLaren. It became clear immediately that there were some parallels between our brands and sectors, but beyond that, we decided we wanted to engage more actively with and contribute to a sport that raised awareness about climate change and show our support to address this global issue.”

Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing, said: 

“We’re delighted to partner with Vantage ahead of our first season competing in Extreme E. It’s crucial that we work with partners who reflect our team’s values, and Vantage shares our commitment to sustainability, innovation and performance.  

“Racing in Extreme E marks an exciting new chapter for McLaren Racing, and our partnership with Vantage supports us in taking this important step in expanding our racing portfolio whilst accelerating our learnings in sustainability.”

Read more about Vantage’s partnership with McLaren at https://www.vantagemarkets.com/sponsorship/mclaren/

Banking technology platform provider, BankiFi, has partnered with TSB to launch Revenu; an app, exclusive to TSB that will allow small businesses to receive quicker payments and to better manage their business finances.

Revenu allows TSB’s business clients to collect customer payments from requests sent via SMS, WhatsApp, email and QR code. It significantly simplifies the invoice process by providing several flexible, accessible ways of receiving payment and accelerating access to working capital.

The app uses Open Banking infrastructure to allow invoices to be settled quickly and securely. In addition, the app connects to existing accounting software to streamline invoice management and liberate business owners from time-consuming financial admin – allowing SMEs to create, manage and see all invoices in one place.

On average, SMEs in the UK are owed over £6,000 in late payments. The Federation of Small Businesses also recently reported a rise in delayed payment of invoices over the past three months, meaning over 400,000 SMEs could be forced to close in 2022 – making initiatives such as Revenu even more important.

TSB is committed to supporting the UK’s SMEs with this issue – be they customers or suppliers. As part of its Do What Matters Plan, the bank goes beyond the requirements of the Government’s voluntary Prompt Payment Code by paying 97 percent of its SME suppliers on an average of seven days, and 97 percent of all suppliers on an average of nine days. d

Small Business Commissioner, Liz Barclay said:

“Given that small businesses tell us that they spend as much as one day a week chasing overdue invoices and delayed payments, technology and apps that help them get their invoices out, and payments in, quickly, is very welcome.

“Small businesses need to be sure about when they will get paid. Without that certainty they can’t plan, invest and grow. I hope this will be another step along the way to getting rid of the late payment culture that’s dogged the UK for decades”.

Nick Reid, Head of Sales, Europe and North America BankiFi, said:

“The impact of the pandemic is by no means over, especially for small businesses. That’s why we’re delighted to partner with TSB and put technology in the hands of businesses that directly addresses key challenges, such as late payments, facing the 5.5 million SMEs in the UK. 

“It’s also one of the reasons we and TSB are both proud signatories to the Prompt Payment Code, committing to pay small businesses within 30 days, supporting healthy cashflow and enabling growth.”

Adeel Hyder, Business Banking Director, TSB, said:

“Britain’s small businesses have shown incredible resilience to brave the tough trading climate under the pandemic. By launching Revenu, we are proud to further help their recovery, and future growth.

“Our latest digital solution will provide a vital boost to cashflow, while equipping customers with essential business management tools – at a time when these hard-working businesses need support the most.”

FSS Technologies, a leading global provider of integrated payment products and a payments processor, announced today that Crédit Communautaire d ‘Afrique (CCA) Bank, a leading bank in Cameroon, has deployed FSS’ real-time multi-brand ATM Monitoring solution to help deliver an assured service experience to CCA customers in parallel with the management of operational costs. FSS is rapidly expanding its footprint in the African continent with a particular focus on West Africa and Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) markets. CCA Bank is the first in Central Africa to deploy FSS’ ATM monitoring solution for real-time management of its entire ATM network.

CCA Bank has operations spread over the 10 regions of Cameroon and is reliant on its ATM network to deliver remote banking services to customers. The ability to offer qualitatively superior services across a geographically distributed fleet of ATMs, especially in remote and hard to access locations is crucial to acquiring and retaining customers. A real-time operational intelligence solution, FSS ATM Monitor will provide CCA Bank deep visibility into the performance of its multi-vendor terminal network, cash consumable levels and transaction workloads for proactive services management. ATM Monitor automatically detects and alerts teams to potential performance impairment issues, enabling resolution before it impacts customers. Operations teams can receive real-time notification on-the-go over a mobile app or a web interface. 

A comprehensive view of the ATM network helps CCA Bank improve internal operating and business efficiencies. By leveraging accurate insights into cash utilization patterns at a per terminal level, CCA Bank can optimize cash replenishment cycles and mitigate overheads by 10 and 15 per cent. Further optimal functioning of the network improves footfalls and transaction revenues for customers.  

Commenting on the partnership, Alexis Megudjou, CEO of CCA Bank, said; “Our objective is to offer the best service experience 24/7 to our customers and the ATM infrastructure allows us to do this, being one of our most important customer self-service channels. Our cooperation with FSS, an experienced payments provider, will help us transform our ATM operations helping to reduce complexity and deliver an assured services experience to our customers. FSS ATM Monitoring solution meets our long-term vision of implementing best practices to simplify terminal management for our extended multi-vendor ATM fleet.”

Speaking on the partnership, Rishi Pillay, General Manager & Regional Head Africa FSS, said; “Globally ATM networks are evolving from being a transaction-centric channel to becoming a channel for building deeper engagement with customers. FSS is a leading ATM Monitoring solutions provider, and we monitor a wide estate of 40,000 ATMs globally to enable banks deliver a superior and consistent quality of service. We are proud to welcome CCA Bank to our rapidly growing portfolio of customers in the African continent.  FSS ATM Monitor will help CCA Bank to achieve dynamic service assurance, driven by powerful analytics and automation, which brings significant revenue and productivity related gains.” 

FSS ATM Monitor is easy to implement and supports switch-based monitoring and agent-based monitoring. The solution is device agnostic and leverages an advanced rule-based framework for cash management, incident management, terminal inventory management and remote service management. Rich visualizations into network typology combined with incident classification tools empower operation teams to precisely pinpoint and focus on high priority incidents, reducing the mean time to resolve issues.