A FX Spot transaction is a currency purchase or sale at the current exchange rate. Find the currency pair you want to trade. Franx will show you the buying rate and the selling rate. Based on this information, you can make a decision right away. The amounts involved in the transaction will be credited and debited on the spot date, which is generally 2 days after the transaction.
Franx charges an exchange rate markup that is incorporated into the buying and selling price. For every FX Spot Transaction, we will apply a percentage markup on top of the current interbank exchange rate. The level of this exchange rate markup is based on your annual transaction volume. The calculation of the exchange rate markup will be shown to you separately before you confirm the FX Spot transaction. As a result, you always know beforehand exactly how much you will be paying for a FX Spot transaction. Contact us for more information about the rates.
FX Spot transactions may expose you to a market risk due to exchange rate fluctuations in the currency pair in question, as the value of one currency changes when expressed in the other currency.
For further details about the conditions for using this product, please refer to our General Terms and Conditions. Check documentation for all the conditions.
A FX Forward transaction allows you to determine the current exchange rate for future currency conversion. This product is particularly well-suited for managing currency risks. You can hedge your future currency risks by exchanging cash flows in foreign currencies at a fixed rate. The exchange rate for your cash flow in the foreign currency is fixed. We will automatically deposit the money into your multi-currency account on the settlement date indicated. FX Forward transactions are available for all 34 currencies supported by Franx. Select the currency pair you want to trade in and Franx will display the buying and selling rates in real-time.
Franx charges a mark-up which is calculated into the buying or selling rates. For a FX Forward transaction, we charge a percentual mark-up on the actual interbank rate. The amount of this mark-up is based on the annual volume of your transactions through Franx. You can view the calculation of the mark-up before you accept the quote for the FX Forward, and it’s displayed separately. So you know exactly what you will pay for a FX Forward transaction. Contact us for more information about the costs.
Once the rate for the FX Forward is fixed, you will no longer benefit from exchange rate fluctuations that would be to your advantage. You cannot terminate an ongoing FX Forward contract before the settlement date but you can change the settlement date of an open forward contract in case of a delay in your receivables (sell currency cashflow) or if you need to pay (buy currency) earlier than anticipated. You can do this by executing a FX-Roll (a variant of a FX Swap).
Franx will ask you to provide collateral in order to cover the associated credit risk.
You can read more about the terms and conditions governing the use of this product in our Foreign Exchange Derivatives Service Terms & Conditions. You can find the terms and conditions and other documentation concerning our derivatives service at documents.
What is a FX Swap?
A FX swap or foreign exchange swap (also known as currency swap) involves two simultaneous currency purchases, one (mostly) on spot and the other through a forward contract. The product is designed to hedge against currency risk with a FX swap consisting of two transactions – the purchase and sale of identical amounts of one currency for another, with both transactions entered into at the same time.
A FX swap can be used to change the settlement date of existing FX forwards. It can also be used if your business has an excess of one cash position in one currency say, euro and a shortage of another currency say, dollars. You can then temporarily swap the currencies for a fixed period. This is simpler and saves money if you compare it to the common buying and selling of currencies.
A FX Swap maturity could be as short as Tomorrow, which is called over-night swap. Companies generally execute short term (over-night or tom-next) swaps for liquidity or cash management purpose. Alternatively a FX Swap could consist two forward legs, called forward swap or forward-forward swap.
What is a FX Roll?
Franx also offers the FX Roll - a variant of a FX Swap. The FX Roll allows you to extend or shorten the settlements date of an open FX Forward position. Like a FX Swap, a FX Roll has two underlying transactions that are executed simultaneously. One transaction to reverse the previously executed FX forward transaction on the original settlements date and one transaction to realize settlement on the new desired date. This product is particularly suited for managing settlement risk if there is a delay in incoming cashflows or if you need to pay earlier than anticipated.
FX Roll transactions can be applied to open FX Forward contracts on the Franx platform: select the trade you want to change the settlement date for; Franx will then display the real-time rates applicable for the new settlement date.
Franx offers these different types of swaps in all major currencies with maturity up to one year.
FX Swaps - An Example
A European firm selling products in the U.S. might want to change U.S. dollars to euros to finance its European operations. However in a month’s time it will need dollars to pay its American suppliers. If it changes dollars into euros now, and then changes euros back io dollars in a month’s time, the dollar may appreciate against the euro and the firm will have to pay more euros to obtain the same amount of dollars.
In order to avoid such losses the company performs a FX swap. It changes dollars into euros at the spot rate while simultaneously taking out a one-month forward contract for the same amount of euros. This allows it to repatriate U.S. profits to the EU and to access the dollars it needs to meet its U.S. payment commitments in a month’s time - this without any currency fluctuations.
Franx provides a web portal that allows you to execute a FX swap in just three simple steps. Select the currency pair which you would like to Buy/Sell on near or far leg, enter the currency amount and select the near and far leg value (or settlement) dates. Franx displays the buying and selling rates in real-time. If you accept the rates you can execute the trade.
Good to note: there will always be some difference between the all-in rate of the near-leg and the far-leg (called the swap points); this is due to interest rate difference between the two currencies.
For additional explanation and a video guide click here.
Franx offers competitive pricing for FX Swaps. Franx charges a mark-up which is calculated into the buying or selling rates. Depending upon your settlement dates, we charge a percentual mark-up on the actual interbank rate. Franx is always transparent in her pricing. You can view the calculation of the mark-up before you accept the quote for the trade. The price is displayed separately for near and far leg; you therefore know exactly what you will pay on each leg of the swap transaction. Contact us for more information about the costs.
If any leg (near or far) is a forward contract then Franx will calculate collateral requirements in euro to cover potential credit risk (initial margin). This calculation is based on the far leg settlement date. For the near leg contract you don’t pay any collateral. Once the FX swap contract is concluded Franx will perform the valuation on the forward legs until it gets settled. Your collateral will be released once the far leg of the swap trade has settled. Contact us for more information about the risk.
You can read more about the terms and conditions governing the use of this product in our Foreign Exchange Derivatives Service Terms & Conditions. You can find the terms and conditions and other documentation concerning our derivatives service in our documents section.
SEPA stands for Single Euro Payments Area. The introduction of SEPA has given us one single European market for payment services with standardised payment products. A SEPA Payment comes with guaranteed receipt or delivery of euros within a certain time span, at a competitive rate. SEPA covers payments across the countries of the EU, as well as Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Monaco, and San Marino. As each of these countries adheres to the same guidelines, you will be able to rely on straightforward and quick payment processing.
Incoming SEPA Payments are free of charge. For every outgoing SEPA Payment we charge a fee of € 0.10 per transaction.
For further details about the conditions attached to using this product, please refer to our General Terms and Conditions. Check documentation for all the conditions.
With our International Payment service, you can receive or make payments in currencies other than the Euro. It is also a way to receive or pay euros into or from bank accounts outside the Single Euro Payments Area. Your Franx business IBAN gives you one single current account for 34 currencies. Apart from the Euro, your Franx account accepts payments in the following currencies:
Incoming International Payments are free of charge. For outgoing International Payments you will be charged €6.00 per transaction, plus a possible ‘OUR’ surcharge. It is up to you to agree with the foreign bank on who will cover the costs involved in the transaction. By selecting OUR, you agree to pay this surcharge. These charges differ per region. For the United States and Canada you pay €6.00 per transaction. For all other countries, you pay €12.50 per transaction. This surcharge will be debited from your IBAN account separately.
Please visit our costs page for more details.
The multi-currency Franx accounts are offered by ABN AMRO Bank to her clients. This multi-currency account pays interest over positive balances. Negative balances or overdrafts are not allowed by standard.
Interest is paid on the following foreign currencies USD, GBP, AED, AUD, CAD, CHF, CNY, CZK, DKK, HKD, HUF, ILS, JPY, MXN, NZD, NOK, PLN, RON, SEK, SGD, THB, ZAR.
The interest is calculated daily. If there is positive interest accrued, it's settled on your account after each month.
View the current base interest rates.
For further details about the conditions attached to using this product, please refer to our General Terms and Conditions. Check documentation for all the conditions.
API integration helps streamline your workflow by making it easy for you to connect the tools that you use in a fast and secure way.
The PSD2 integration (APIs) that Franx is currently deploying will allow you to share your Franx specific account information with third-party services such as bookkeeping systems, standard banking applications and more. With this connection, you will be able to share your account details, balances and real-time mutations for all your currencies. This then enables you to simplify reconciliation.
You will also be able to initiate euro and international payments from third-party services using your Franx account. Together, these integrations help to create a frictionless business process.
The solution
Franx offers third party providers an API for access to the services referenced below; this includes access to the Franx multi-currency account. You, as a third party provider, must be in possession of a valid license and eIDAS certificate. For requirements specific to the eIDAS certificate please see the documentation provided.
For TPP’s Franx has a sandbox environment available for testing of UI/API integration. You can request access to our sandbox via the link provided.
Are you ready to create an excellent client experience and add value to your client’s business? We are looking forward to your message and ideas!
Account Information
The Accounts Information service enables you to retrieve transactions and near real-time balances from Franx payment accounts. By using this service, applications can access general account information (e.g. the account holder name) or transaction information (e.g. amount and book date). Account information can only be accessed when the Franx account holder authorizes this access.
Payment Initiation
With the Payment Initiation service, we offer a service which enables you to initiate a single payment using a Franx payment account. You can also retrieve the status of a previously initiated transaction to keep track of your activity. A payment can only be initiated from an account when a Franx account holder authorizes the payment. In the documentation you find the functional definitions of our payment products.
To request the full Franx integrated UI solution, please use the request more information link below.
Now you can automate your account reconciliation process by connecting with our account insight service (AIS) API and get the end of day report automatically.
Receive relevant transaction data
Define a time range, in days, to receive transaction data from your Franx account.
Obtain real-time balances and account details
Get instant insight into your liquidity based on real-time data from your Franx account.
Discover the perfect mix of efficiency, secure FX conversions and international payments, that is the Franx multi-currency account. All the benefits at a glance:
First, we would like to know who you are. You fill in your name, the company name and address, details of authorised representative(s) and contra account details.
To save you valuable time, Franx will come to you to verify the identity details.
After you have accepted and signed the customer terms and conditions, we will welcome you as Franx customer, and you can get started right away.
If you have any questions about our services, please contact us. We are here for you from 8am to 5:30pm, five days a week. Check our contact page also for frequently asked questions about Franx.