EXIM

If you are familiar with PayPal, Skrill or Apple Pay, then you know what an e-wallet is; an online application that allows you to deposit, withdraw, send, receive and manage money for financial transactions online. The best e-wallets will provide you with similar services to a bank account, with some restrictions (due to AML concerns) and somewhat less legal protections as they are not true banks.

Why e-Wallets?
They allow people and businesses to transact 24/7 conveniently and instantly, while also providing you with the option of connecting all your payment instruments (such as credit/debit cards, bank accounts, cryptocurrencies and others) on one seamless platform. They are faster, easier and often cheaper than traditional bank transactions.

e-Wallets for Cryptocurrency
Another category of e-wallets has become very popular over the past few years, and these are cryptocurrency e-wallets. They allow you to hold and transfer money instantly using cryptocurrencies, without involving the traditional banking system at all (except when converting to/from fiat currency). This means that they are super cheap and, because of the decentralized nature of blockchain, are also extremely reliable and secure. Bitcoin for example, has a 99.985% uptime which is higher than Apple, Google and other payment services providers.

Drawbacks of e-Wallets & Alternatives
High fees and lack of interoperability are the main drawbacks of e-wallets. For example, you cannot send money from Paypal to Skrill, or vice versa, without jumping through a series of complicated hoops, which are expensive and often insecure. Especially for SMEs, this means needing to maintain and fund multiple wallets and or incur huge fees, while still facing issues with currency conversion and other impediments to seamless international transactions.

This is where global payments platforms such as Exim Wave from Euro Exim Bank, shine. Exim Wave allows SMEs to transact instantly in over 150 global currencies, while being able to send and receive money through any globally recognized e-wallet, including cryptocurrency wallets and traditional wire transfers.

Through Exim Wave and our partnership with RippleNet, we provide SMEs around the world with cheap, frictionless and secure all-in-one global payments solutions, allowing your business to be as agile and adaptable as possible. Enjoy 24/7 access and customer support with no monthly fees or hidden costs, along with the ability to optimize your payment processes according to your needs. Speak to one of our experts to get started today!

For more info: www.euroeximbank.com

A bond is essentially a loan contract between two parties. The seller of the bond receives a loan from the buyer of the bond, for the value stated on the bond. The bond issuer (seller) then pays the bondholder (buyer) the interest due on that loan (bond), periodically for the entire duration of the bond. Upon maturation (or expiry) of the bond, the bond issuer will pay back to the bondholder the entirety of the original capital that was lent via the bond (aka the face value).

This makes bonds units of debt issued by an entity, usually a corporation or government, and this debt is non-collateralized. Thus, depending on the bond issuer, this can be a relatively safe or relatively risky investment, with interest (coupon) rates on these bonds compensating for such increased or decreased risk. Bonds are categorized as fixed income securities, as the interest generated periodically will be fixed, though variable rate bonds are also available.

Why Bonds Are Issued?
Companies and governments will issue bonds to raise capital through debt to fund business expansion or expenses. In the case of a business, it may be expansion of reach or capacity, while governments will borrow to fund development and wars. This volume of borrowing is usually significantly more than any bank is able to meet and thus bonds, through public debt markets, provide an excellent route to raise the funds needed.

Bonds Are Thus Tradeable
Once issued and sold to the public or investors, bonds then become tradeable as securities on centralized exchanges or in OTC markets. The price of a bond will be affected by applicable interest rates, with interest rates having an inverse relationship with the price of a bond; i.e., when rates rise, prices fall and vice-versa. Bond prices are also impacted by forces of supply and demand in the market, credit quality of the issuer, time to expiration and coupon rates vs. interest rates.

Important Terms
Here are some important terms you come across when dealing with bonds:

Face Value – This is how much the bond will be worth at maturity and it is also the reference amount used to calculate interest payments. Basically, it is the amount that was originally borrowed via the bond, regardless of the current price of the bond. For example, in the case of a bond with a face value of USD 1,000; whether you buy it at 1,050 or 950, you will still receive only 1,000 at maturity.

Coupon Rate – This is the interest rate the issuer will pay on the bond.

Coupon Date – This is the date(s) on which interest payments are made.

Maturity Date – The date on which the bond will mature.

Issuing Price – Original price the issuer sold the bonds for.

For more info: www.euroeximbank.com