Thought Leadership Courtesy of FiREapps

The top factors expected to impact currency markets in 2019—and how to prepare for events you aren’t able to predict.

Since the financial crisis of 2008, currencies seem to be in a near-constant crisis. From Brexit to the plunge of Brazilian real and recent volatility in emerging markets currencies like the Turkish lira, global currency volatility remains top of mind for CFOs and treasury professionals, making the desire to automate currency management processes even greater.

By utilizing both BI tools and enterprise currency analytics (ECA), finance and treasury professionals have access to a common currency data platform, making it easier to deliver accurate insights into company performance.

Building an effective FX roundtable takes company buy-in, with many players bringing their own unique insights to the table. But a successful roundtable can weather any FX storm and be built to scale with the business as it grows and changes.

Despite the excitement around blockchain and distributed ledger technology, it is not yet the panacea finance professionals have been waiting for. It remains a work in progress.

An increase in negative FX impacts to earnings sheds light on the problem of under-hedging.

In the case of corporate foreign exchange (FX) programs, blockchain provides a way to leverage efficiency, transparency and trust to generate greater visibility into currency exposures and FX-related losses – which cost multinationals billions of dollars each year.

Although some banks have long considered fintech companies as foes – concerned that financial technology innovations are usurping their customer base – the future of banking to include strategic relationships with fintechs can better serve consumer needs and create a competitive advantage for financial institutions.

In a world where consumers expect transactions to be completed in milliseconds — and technology has delivered on those expectations — a government-approved digital dollar is inevitable.

As we look forward to the new year, three factors will have a large impact on currencies around the world: the changing landscape of digital currencies, U.S. tax reform, and the continuation of the U.K.’s split from the European Union.