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Frequently asked questions
General
Likwidity provides a platform that fully automates price discovery on cash with your banks. This means that by simply clicking a button, you can get interest rate quotes from up to 20 banks (your own existing banks) in a fraction of the time. You get to decide. To ensure good bank relationships, all banks are notified on your selection, and the notifications are fully automated and workflow driven.
On average, our clients benefit by 0.52% improved rates
That means you can see the benefit of using a platform. Likwidity can take the advantages of using a Deposit Platform further. Unlike our competitors, we do not get paid any commissions by any of the Banks we deal with. We have no conflicts of interest when it comes to which Bank you choose to place your funds with. We endeavour to get you the best rates available. Every time. Even after accounting for our nominal fee, you could see a benefit of up to 50% Unlike commission taking competitors, you are not limited to just dealing with the Banks on “our panel”. Being a technology platform, we enable you to transact with any Bank that you have a relationship with. Unlike some of our competitors, we do not get involved in moving any of your funds thus removing any settlement risks or potentials for delay
In addition to ensuring you get the best rates available as we mentioned, you also get improved business process automation, a full audit trail of all dealings, improved compliance and reporting. According to our data, our Clients have seen an average benefit of 43 basis points when transacting deposits over $2,000,000
If you have average balances of less than $1m, then it may not be worthwhile. But above that amount, it's worthwhile. The higher the balances, the more you stand to gain. Our data shows spreads between the Big-4 of 43 basis points. The spreads are even higher when you take international, mid-tier and smaller Banks into the mix. See our benefit calculator
Commission based platforms typically charge anywhere between 5-20 basis points per transaction in commissions. Additionally, different Banks pay different commissions making it hard to decipher what the true rate you could have received. This is never disclosed to you - the end Client. Finally, commission-based platforms will only allow you to deal with Banks that are on their “panel”. Likwidity, being a technology provider rather than a Broker allows you to deal with any Bank you want.
Many firms do not have a guide on what to do with idle or surplus cash funds. Firms should have a policy or guideline on what to with surplus cash, taking various aspect into account. We have a suggested guideline and checklist available here https://www.likwidity.com/post/master-guide-on-what-firms-should-do-with-idle-or-surplus-cash-funds(https://www.likwidity.com/post/master-guide-on-what-firms-should-do-with-idle-or-surplus-cash-funds)
All risk guidelines always caution about being dependent on a single counterparty, whether its a supplier, customer or bank. The easiest way to think about is “how would we be affected if that counterparty” went out of business tomorrow. We have illustrated this with our Likwidex tool https://www.likwidity.com/post/cash-to-asset-ratios-and-bank-failure-data (https://www.likwidity.com/post/cash-to-asset-ratios-and-bank-failure-data)https://www.likwidity.com/post/cash-to-asset-ratios-and-bank-failure-data(https://www.likwidity.com/post/cash-to-asset-ratios-and-bank-failure-data)
A credit rating is a standardized assessment of the creditworthiness of a borrower, such as an individual, corporation, or government, evaluating their ability to repay debt and the likelihood of default. Independent credit rating agencies (like Standard & Poor's, Moody's, and Fitch) assign these ratings on an alphanumeric scale to help investors, lenders, and borrowers quickly compare financial risk. To compare them, see this article https://www.likwidity.com/post/how-to-read-credit-agencies-ratings(https://www.likwidity.com/post/how-to-read-credit-agencies-ratings)
Almost never. Traditional cash management activities include consolidating the information from various systems to identify cash flows from Account Receivable, Accounts Payable, Capex, Opex and measured against current liquidity with cash at bank or available facilities.But too often, the process ends with cash in bank. And this is where the magic should happen. https://www.likwidity.com/post/master-guide-on-what-firms-should-do-with-idle-or-surplus-cash-funds(https://www.likwidity.com/post/master-guide-on-what-firms-should-do-with-idle-or-surplus-cash-funds)
Each organization may have a policy or guideline around counterparty risk (see definition of counterparty) The concentration risk refers to the potential for significant financial loss due to overexposure to a single counterparty, sector, geographic region, or correlated risk factor. In our example it means having ALL firm cash with a single bank. If that bank experiences a problem, whether solvency or technical, your firm has NO alternatives. https://www.likwidity.com/post/lessons-from-svb-and-the-importance-of-diversification-and-price-discovery(https://www.likwidity.com/post/lessons-from-svb-and-the-importance-of-diversification-and-price-discovery)
When firms operate cross border operations, it has multiple challenges including local banking laws and regulatory constraints. Many companies end up using a single international bank to conduct operations, and excess cash is then parked in a low interest account. Firms need a tool to be able to measure and compare how competitive your banks are? https://www.likwidity.com/post/cross-border-price-discovery(https://www.likwidity.com/post/cross-border-price-discovery)
Absolutely. Likwidity was designed to be multi-portfolio (entity), multi-currency and multi-bank. This could be deployed within a group structure to act as a centralised “bank” and price discovery for the group. Ensuring standardisation of processes and visibility. https://www.likwidity.com/post/automated-white-labeled-cash-management-optimization-shared-service-platform(https://www.likwidity.com/post/automated-white-labeled-cash-management-optimization-shared-service-platform)
Absolutely. In most organisations, cash makes up between 10-20% of assets. By not using comparative cash allocation procedures, organzations are flouting policies on procurements, losing money and increasing risk https://www.likwidity.com/post/procurement-policies-should-apply-to-cash(https://www.likwidity.com/post/procurement-policies-should-apply-to-cash)
Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) play a crucial role in overseeing a company's financial health and risk management. Very often, NED's will operate under the assumption that their role is not executive and hence they don't ask or are curious about operations. This is not true. In most jurisdictions, NED's are equally responsible as executive directors and should be asking all the hard questions. That is after all why they are appointed! https://www.likwidity.com/post/what-questions-should-ned-ask-about-cash-optimization-and-risk(https://www.likwidity.com/post/what-questions-should-ned-ask-about-cash-optimization-and-risk)
In simple terms, “price-discovery” means comparing different offers. Everytime you go shopping, whether for groceries, buying a car or insurance, you are doing some form of price discovery, mostly called comparing prices. Yet, most people do NOT compare rates on their cash. https://www.likwidity.com/post/what-is-price-discovery(https://www.likwidity.com/post/what-is-price-discovery)
Absolutely. The typical cash cycle process and ratios in accounting is about measuring sales conversion etc to compute how fast and efficient goods and services are converted into cash. But what happens when all that hard work results in the cash surplus left in a 0% account. That would be a substantial loss and defeat the efficiency of the cash cycle calculation. Cash optimization must be included to round off the calculation and illustrate the amplified returns. https://www.likwidity.com/post/simplify-cash-cycle-and-optimization-reimagined(https://www.likwidity.com/post/simplify-cash-cycle-and-optimization-reimagined)
In most cases, yes. Bank will showcase their cash rates to retail customers, but hardly ever show what rates are available to business customers. https://www.likwidity.com/post/why-banks-hide-rates-from-business-customers-on-cash-investments(https://www.likwidity.com/post/why-banks-hide-rates-from-business-customers-on-cash-investments)
This means converting the manual process of -price discovery -limit management -bank confirmations -reporting -spreadsheet and calendards -Into an automated and integrated process that delivers : -Better interest rate outcomes through a structured, automated price discovery process using a Request for Quote process with up to 20 banks at a time. -Complete automation of processes and significant time saver -Enhances bank relationships, and opportunity for new bank relationships -Visibility over counterparty risk and limits -Full auditability, governance, risk and compliance over organization cash funds -Automated reporting, including for board reporting -Cross-border price discovery in country currency and product https://www.likwidity.com/post/what-does-likwidity-do-automated-cash-optimization(https://www.likwidity.com/post/what-does-likwidity-do-automated-cash-optimization)
Yes, we have a suggested checklist available here: https://www.likwidity.com/post/checklist-for-investing-surplus-or-idle-funds-better-cash-management-and-the-effects-of-tariffs-an(https://www.likwidity.com/post/checklist-for-investing-surplus-or-idle-funds-better-cash-management-and-the-effects-of-tariffs-an)
An organization is typically comprised of multiple stakeholders, such as investors, employees, customers etc. In the case for example of investors, they need to be reassured that the company is acting in their best interest. So for example, when an organization leaves funds in a nil interest account, that is losing money for investors, and that's why organizations have forms of governance, risk and compliance measures to monitor and measure such scenarios. https://www.likwidity.com/post/how-does-grc-governance-risk-and-compliance-impact-on-cash-management(https://www.likwidity.com/post/how-does-grc-governance-risk-and-compliance-impact-on-cash-management)
The concept of "best interest" has deep history across jurisdictions with and is considered a pillar of jurisprudence. At its most basic, it means making decisions that are in the "best interest" of the individual or entity. This has applicability across most categories whether in family law, healthcare and most definitely in financial services. https://www.likwidity.com/post/how-does-best-interest-apply-to-treasury-and-finance-teams(https://www.likwidity.com/post/how-does-best-interest-apply-to-treasury-and-finance-teams)
Many CFOs and controllers have historically viewed cash management as a minefield of compliance issues and interest rate risks, preferring to keep things simple with basic checking accounts and minimal yields.But the landscape has shifted dramatically. According to PwC's latest survey of leading companies, cash and liquidity management now ranks as the #2 (https://www.likwidity.com/likwidityblog/hashtags/2)priority for CFOs and the #1 (https://www.likwidity.com/likwidityblog/hashtags/1)priority for treasurers. The message is clear: cash optimization is no longer optional—it's essential.The modern CFO who ignores treasury management isn't being prudent; they're being negligent. https://www.likwidity.com/post/bridging-the-treasury-gap-what-the-modern-cfo-controller-fpa-and-treasury-teams-need-to-know(https://www.likwidity.com/post/bridging-the-treasury-gap-what-the-modern-cfo-controller-fpa-and-treasury-teams-need-to-know)
Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) play a crucial role in overseeing a company's financial health and risk management. Very often, NED's will operate under the assumption that their role is not executive and hence they don't ask or are curious about operations. This is not true. In most jurisdictions, NED's are equally responsible as executive directors and should be asking all the hard questions. That is after all why they are appointed! https://www.likwidity.com/post/what-questions-should-ned-ask-about-cash-optimization-and-risk(https://www.likwidity.com/post/what-questions-should-ned-ask-about-cash-optimization-and-risk)
Liquidity management is a critical challenge for businesses and financial institutions. Efficiently managing cash flow, assets, and liabilities ensures operational stability and maximizes returns. Traditional methods often rely on manual interventions, leading to inefficiencies and delays. However, automation—powered by digital marketplaces—is transforming liquidity management by enabling real-time optimization. https://www.likwidity.com/post/automating-liquidity-management-using-platforms-and-marketplaces(https://www.likwidity.com/post/automating-liquidity-management-using-platforms-and-marketplaces)
According to research by a leading finance organization for firms above $1bn, the majority of firms had between 4-6 banks. https://www.likwidity.com/post/its-time-for-banks-and-multi-banked-corporates-to-connect-seamlessly-exploring-the-next-gen-deposit (https://www.likwidity.com/post/its-time-for-banks-and-multi-banked-corporates-to-connect-seamlessly-exploring-the-next-gen-deposit)Additional research also shows the implied resilience risk based on number of banks https://www.likwidity.com/likwidex(https://www.likwidity.com/likwidex)
SVB is a prominent bank that experienced a bank failure in 2023, causing the 2nd largest bank failure in US history and caused great difficulty for many business in California. The main lesson was about diversfication. https://www.likwidity.com/post/lessons-from-svb-and-the-importance-of-diversification-and-price-discovery(https://www.likwidity.com/post/lessons-from-svb-and-the-importance-of-diversification-and-price-discovery)
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