London fintech launches hedging platform to protect SMEs from “currency volatility”

London based fintech Bound is an “intelligent hedging” platform aiming to simplify the process by which businesses shield themselves from “volatile” and unpredictable exchange rates.

Its arrival comes after Britain’s annual rate of consumer price inflation spiked to 4.2 per cent in October, 14 times what it was last November. With UK interest rates now expected to start rising as early as next week, “currency volatility” is increasing. In November, the GBP surged 1.6 per cent against the Euro in just 48 hours, to reach a 21-month high.

Rapid shifts in exchange rates can significantly impact any deal that involves buying foreign currency. Thus, 94 per cent of the world’s largest 500 companies have adopted hedging to manage their currency risk.

Bound offers a range of automated hedging tools that allow any firm making overseas payments to lock into the “best exchange rates”, and protect its bottom line if a currency’s value moves against them.

Seth Phillips, founder of Bound, commented: “Hedging with the big banks and forex brokers has traditionally been confusing and complicated, with processes designed for finance professionals rather than businesses. In addition, the predatory business practises used by some providers have scared many SMEs away from hedging.

“That’s where Bound comes in. Our mission is to use the power of tech to make hedging as accessible for everyday businesses as it is for the blue chips.

Stefan Cars, founder and CEO of Snowfall Travel added: Our always-on platform is a jargon-free zone and takes just minutes to set up, and once it’s running it works 24/7 to shield SMEs from currency volatility and lock in the best possible exchange rates.“

“The travel industry is rife with currency risk but Bound makes that risk easy to manage for companies of our size. It’s a gamechanger for any SME trading internationally that is exposed to currency fluctuations. Best of all, it’s affordable, easy to set up and totally free of all finance jargon.”