International Payments for an International Institution
About NUI Galway
Established in 1845, NUI Galway (NUIG) is a long established university with a strong tradition and proven track record for high standards in all facets of academic achievement including teaching, learning, research, administrative/support services, community engagement, regional development, and internationalisation.
Today, NUIG is a dynamic and ambitious university committed to achieving excellence in innovation and leadership through distinctive programmes of academia, research, and scholarship.
The challenge
The university’s impressive international connections and increasing global reach, generate a significant demand (both in terms of volume and value), for foreign currency payments.
Examples include payments for imported goods and services, payments to visiting tutors, deposit refunds to returning overseas students, and procurement spending on everything from spectrometers to stationery.
The university’s finance department needed a payments solution that was cost-effective but that would also streamline the international payables process for added efficiency.
The solution
NUIG’s Finance Division made extensive use of the forex payments module developed by Fexco in partnership with Agresso – the renowned financial accounting software.
This partnership has enabled NUIG to lever significant value and service in processing its foreign currency payments. The Fexco system has been seamlessly integrated into NUIG’s accounts payable package, providing solid payment records that facilitate accurate reporting and line-by-line reconciliation of payments to supplier invoices.
Additional services provided by Fexco include payee authentication and query management.
These tools make the foreign exchange payables process more efficient because they (a) identify invalid bank account data before a payment is processed, and (b) ensure a swift resolution of queries on payments that have already been submitted to the international banking system.
By reducing errors and ensuring quick resolution of queries, Fexco ensures that large payment runs are hassle-free.
The benefits
- Streamlined the process for International payments
- Reduced payment queries from suppliers and students
- Enhanced reporting capability with accessible payments data
- Significant savings on FX and payment fees
Any issues with international payments are quickly dealt with by Fexco who put a trace on the payment and pursue a resolution in the shortest possible time frame. They work closely with our own payables team and are flexible when it comes to identifying the best way to make an international payment. This partnership approach has benefited NUIG not only in the form of reduced transactional charges but also in terms of team building and job satisfaction.
