FX Direct Platform Shift shows how integrated systems reduce delays, align teams, and reshape corporate foreign exchange execution.
There has been a lot of friction within Kenyan corporate firms, where cross-border payments and foreign exchange have operated in a mildly disorderly environment. This is not born from being incompetent but because of how the ecosystem surrounding the banks, the payment network and treasury teams worked – the connections between them are assumed as each danced to their own rhythm.
Here’s the logic for how these teams worked: the technology team focused on internal controls while the payments and treasury teams dealt with settlements and exposure, respectively. This mismatch meant that decisions were often made late, so that between execution and intent, lag was experienced as calls had to be made, confirmations and approvals had to wait, as well as human availability.
With that said, what is not changing is how foreign exchange remains stubbornly political, volatile and global. What is changing now is how institutions are choosing to connect these teams
These cross-border problems are something banks no longer try to solve alone. I&M leans on global infrastructure from players like Mastercard as uptime and reach are too big for any single bank. These partnerships are about borrowing scale so that local platforms can move money at a global speed.
The boundary between banks, payment networks, and global payments has become operational instead of organisational. This is important because the speed of global payments now dictates expectations everywhere. What this means is that execution delays become more apparent when slower layers become visible, and manual intervention becomes heavy.
Innovation at this stage shows up when faster payment pipelines change what everyone expects. When cross-border settlements become predictable, systems like FX Direct have to keep up and that decisions now happen right when they need to as tech isn’t the dragging factor anymore.
Collaboration now becomes inherently important when systems can speak to each making decisions sit closer
Banks have faced this crisis that comes from the process design in corporate foreign exchange. The FX Direct platform changes everything about how banks solve this dissonance. With FX Direct, the platform places routine trades inside a structured flow that moves instructions to settlement and Straight-Through Processing reallocates responsibility.
And while dealers will remain to be part of this, they are no longer the bottle neck when it comes to making everyday decisions as authority relocates as well.
This changes how treasure teams work in that instead of constantly having to babysit every move, you set your orders with specific conditions and then just let them do their thing. This has everything sitting in one spot incluidn spot and forward positions. With this, you are no longer chasing people anymore; you just have to keep your eyes on the screen. This eases how the job is done as you can now think about the data instead of getting interrupted every five seconds.
Earlier digitisation efforts to sync payments and FX didn’t lead to convergence where the two shared the same mental space. FX Direct coordinatesthe eveloving payment infrastructure and execution. The platform sits and operates next to BRISK, which makes moving cash and managing risk as one job an you don’t have to jump between multiple screens or apps to do that. You get to view how fast the money is moving, and you ultimately get to change how to price things at a moment’s notice.
When banks and global networks finally align, then everything builds on itself as treasury teams stop wasting time filling gaps between systems, risk, pricing, and moving money. people on the outside see a better experience, but when you look inside, it’s just a healthier system with fewer layers that fight each other and the fact that the tech handles the trust so you don’t have to double-check every single thing.
With the synchronicity, the job gets much easier and more organised. Well, you still have to be smart about it, as markets remain crazy and politics can mess things up. FX Direct makes the workflow tighter, as you aren’t guessing what’s happening.
The indirect result of using the FX Direct platform is that treasury teams can do their job without interruption, with only just a few annoying follow-up emails and fewer moments of questioning if the trades did actually go through.
On the outside call, people will see it as a better customer experience, but if you work in forex, you are simply doing your job and it just feels like your brain can finally breathe. The platform lets you have space to think before you make a move. The software has removed all the unneeded steps and fixed the systems that used to force everyone to do extra work to keep up.
The digital approach doesn’t make FX safer since the risk is still there, but what changes is where the danger sits. Everything now depends on the software, and if it crashes, it becomes a disaster and the fact that trust now lives on the platform.
What’s worth keeping in mind is that FX Direct isn’t meant for occasional users; it is meant for firms with regular volume, structured workflows, and which can absorb analytical capability. The platform gives teams a familiar pattern, especially when efficiency is gained much earlier, and that dynamic reshapes markets. When firms get access to efficient execution, it becomes part of the company’s competitive posture.
Banks working with global payment systems makes them shift their focus to lean on governance, pricing, and the client instead of owning every layer, making the financial world have fewer useless pauses.
FX remains hard, but with FX Direct, the system now keeps up with the market instead of forcing people to slow down. I&M’s platform is proof that speed is the baseline and that banks are finally catching up.
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