Managing bank relationships is one of the key responsibilities of the Treasurer. Part of that management function is to work with vendors as well as banks when implementing SWIFT or a Treasury Management Solution (TMS). An undertaking such as this requires both parties to be transparent and responsive with one another. This is easier said than done and is the reason why when selecting a vendor, knowing how they operate with a bank is crucial to the corporation’s success on any treasury related project.
A little background on the project. The Client was connecting to SWIFT through our Service Bureau; going from a manual process to an automatic process of obtaining their bank statements (from Citibank) into their TMS. The manual process required the client to pull each account statement from the respective banks’ portals, which was very time consuming. After the upgrade to SWIFT they were able to receive their intraday and prior-day statements from Citibank in a single file using FileAct. FileAct allows the transmission of multiple intraday or prior-day statements from one bank in a single file going to the client. This greatly reduces the number of individual messages that needs to be sent or received through the SWIFT network.
Citibank along with Axletree Solutions worked hand in hand to implement the solution for The Client. This process is complex, and can become even more daunting when a vendor is not responsive to the bank. In this case Citibank and Axletree worked tirelessly to meet the agreed upon deadlines. Chryssa Kasparian, Vice President-Senior Implementation Manager, Citibank, stated that “not all vendors are as responsive and transparent as Axletree Solutions. Working with Axletree was one of the best experiences that I have had,” further stating that “Axletree’s Implementation Team was always willing to join calls and responded to my questions in a timely manner, which made the process run smoothly.”
This outcome was not something that happened by chance. Being the first SWIFT Service Bureau in North America, we have over a decade and a half of experience onboarding banks for clients. When working on a complex project such as this, it is imperative that a vendor as well the bank work together in a responsive and transparent manner to accomplish the goals of the client in a timely manner. Knowing who you can depend on is essential for a successful implementation experience. Whether you need to onboard a bank for SWIFT or a TMS, we have a great working relationship with the banks to get you connected quickly. Citibank and Axletree Solutions are two companies that Corporates can depend on to get the job done right, the first time around.