Concern Worldwide

About Concern Worldwide

Since its foundation over 45 years ago, Concern has been fighting hunger and poverty and working in long term development programmes worldwide.

Committed to transforming the lives of some of the world’s poorest people, Concern now operates in over 28 countries with 3,500 staff of 50 nationalities.

The challenge

90% of the funds raised by Concern Worldwide are spent on Relief and Development programmes throughout the world.

Smooth transition of funds to the destinations where it is most urgently needed is critical so the Finance team at Concern Worldwide needs to ensure that the payments system in place operates as efficiently as possible.

Naturally a significant part of the group’s payment requirement involves foreign currency.

In particular, it requires an array of exotic currencies such as Ugandan and Kenyan Shillings to pay local agencies in those regions.

As overseas costs are also denominated in US dollars, foreign exchange risk is also closely monitored as a strengthening of the dollar can adversely affect the group’s ability to carry out its planned programme of work.

The solution

Concern Worldwide partnered with Fexco to get the best value for its foreign currency payments and an integrated solution for its general payment processes.

Key services provided by Fexco include the use of its validation tool to ensure the timely delivery of payments (including exotic currencies like the Ugandan Shilling) to beneficiary accounts.

Fexco’s validation tool spots incorrect bank details, alerting Concern’s staff to any issue before a payment is sent through the banking system. Not only does its team save time processing payments, the organisation has also made significant annual savings on bank transfer fees.

Fexco works with the Finance team to ensure exposure to exchange rate fluctuation is minimal and any payment queries are addressed promptly by Fexco’s customer support team.

Fexco FileDirect integration with Concern’s accounts payable system makes payment runs transparent and hassle free.

Manual data entry is no longer necessary which enables Concern’s Finance team to focus its available resources on other key priorities.

The benefits

• First time delivery of exotic currencies like Ugandan and Kenyan Shilling.
• Huge annual savings on bank transfer fees.
• Payment validation technology reduces errors and payment delays.
• Automation means staff are now redeployed to do more value add tasks.