Effects of Currency Fluctuations on American Express international operations. In the 2015 annual report, American Express reported a loss of $545 million because of foreign currency translation adjustments. American Express has employees in over 40 countries. Management has an accurate number of employees in each country, the budget for employee expenses, and the exchange rate for that country. However, the unknown factor is unexpected fluctuations in exchange rates. A business cannot afford to withhold payroll because of exchange rate fluctuations. In India, American Express is rated as number two in best places to work. This indicates the company is consistently meeting payroll obligations. American Express has been exchanging currency since the 1800s and provides an international payment service, FXIP to the world. American Express provides an online currency exchange service to its customers and small businesses. To maintain competitiveness, the company must ensure that their service is secure, easy to use and cost effective. There are innumerable and continuous opportunities for the company to take advantage of other companies or businesses that need to manage foreign currency and exchange rates. The opportunities exist in established markets as well as emerging markets. The increase in access and usage of the internet makes it easier to find buyers or suppliers even in remote places ("Online Currency Exchange", 2016). The impact of technology on costs
Convenience way of operating banking transactions: Online banking is a highly profitable channel for financial institutions. It provides customers convenience and elasticity and can be provided at a lower cost than traditional branch banking (Williamson, 2006). The convenience of online banking is helping people gain greater control of their finances and contributing to changing patterns in cash withdrawal and day to day money management. (Beer, 2006)
(5) No Geographical Barriers- E-Banking provides unlimited network to the number of branches. World has become a global village
Payment processing has become more universal. Each transaction, whether it's in-store, eCommerce or mobile, needs to deliver a seamless integrated buying experience at any time of the day and on any device being used.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is one of the world’s oldest, biggest and well-known financial institutions. With over 200 years of history, it has a significant and lengthy story to tell. Since their founding in New York in 1799, they have grown and succeeded by listening to their customers and also meeting their needs (“The History of JPMorgan Chase & Co.,” 2008). As a global financial services company with operations in over 50 countries, JPMorgan Chase & Co. combines two of the world’s foremost financial brands: Chase and J.P.Morgan. The firm is a leader in financial services for consumers, investment banking, commercial banking and small business, processing financial transactions, private equity, and asset management. (“The History of JPMorgan Chase
Due to the geographic diversity of countries where BHP Billiton has extended to, the variation of foreign exchange rate obviously plays a crucial role on its financial performance. According to the annual report of BHP Billiton (2015), US dollar is not only the functional currency utilized in majority of sales and transaction, but also the presentation
Major Considerations Security Internet-enabled business, including online financial transactions, has evolved significantly over the past decade, from blue-sky vision to practical tool and enabler. Despite the recognized progress, security remains a legitimate concern in considering online payments – as much in terms of the transaction and the flow of payment, as in terms of the overall risk profile of a transaction. While PAD is generally focused on retail sales, the company is looking at larger shipments to certain markets, and may face exposures as high as $150,000 in a single deal. Open account Banks across the globe are recognizing that importers and exporters are shifting significant business volumes – in fact, the majority of trade – to open account terms. Some of the financial institutions have interesting offerings in this space, and Palate-Able Delights could benefit from doing business on open
As their name suggests, they only execute their operations online. Customers can only be in contact with their money over the internet since they do not have any physical branches. Because online-only banks require lower overhead costs, they have the capability to offer more free services and higher interest rates compared to a traditional bank. Online banking provides many customers the convenience of handling their business at any physical location as long as they have access to internet. This is possible because of the variety of services that online banks provide despite limiting interaction to only the internet. Some of their services include applying for loans online, transferring funds and paying bills online. While the convenience of being able to access banking through the internet is worthwhile, there are limits to it. For example, making large deposits to the bank is limited and can only be made through the mail, they don’t service cashier checks for transactions, and withdrawing money from the account is very inconvenient. Luckily, the role of the internet in financial transactions is becoming increasingly prominent so that spending money online is more accessible, but it is important to understand both the benefits as well as restraints of online banking. Nowadays, many large brick-and-mortar banks have caught on and provide some online services in attempts to
Wells Fargo is an international banking company that provides financial services to its customers. As an international, well known company, Wells Fargo is among the many that follow basic business management aspects. For one, Wells Fargo has a competitive advantage over some of the other companies in this type of business. For one, Wells Fargo major advantages is in the retail banking stores. It has one of the highest numbers in stores/spaces and it’s due to its large network allowing Wells Fargo to be a leader in retail banking. Another advantage this company has is the fact that is has had some changes in regulation which has allowed it to increase profits.
Banks that offer financial products and services through the Internet must be able to meet their customers’ expectations. Banks must also ensure they have the right product mix and capacity to deliver accurate, timely, and reliable services to develop a high level of confidence in the customers. Customers who do business over the Internet are likely to have little tolerance for errors or omissions from financial institutions that do not have sophisticated internal controls to manage their Internet banking business. Likewise, customers will expect continuous availability of the product and Web pages that are easy to navigate.
- Customers can get online or use smartphone application to manage account, pay bills, etc. from anywhere in the world.
If I oversaw American Express, I would allow the employment of smokers. It is the firm’s legal, ethical and social responsibility to not discriminate against smokers. Although, many other companies are refusing to hire smokers due to the employment costs of employing them. I will engage with smokers in a way which will benefit the entire society. I’d achieve this by providing incentives for smokers to quit such as: counseling, nicotine quitting aids, cheaper health care rates, only one designated smoking area and the same number of breaks as non-smokers. Also, I will take the proactive strategy to increase the firm’s relationship with society by doing more than they expect. Likewise, I will display discretionary responsibility by going above and beyond society’s legal, ethical and social expectations.
Currency fluctuations are the result of floating exchange rates. This can a negative or positive outcome for the company. This is mainly due to supply and demand factors in each individual market. In many instances nations can adjust their exchange rates. A common fallacy that most people harbor is that a strong domestic currency is a good thing (“The effects of currency fluctuations on the economy, “2013) this might seem like a good thing, but it can hurt the company in the long run.
However, speculation can only be expected to smooth exchange rate movements if underlying economic processes are relatively stable. If there is a great deal of uncertainty over future government actions and their economic impact, expectations will not be strongly held. Thus expectations can change dramatically from day- to-day, leading to rapidly fluctuating exchange rates.
American Express has plans to establish some more companies in other parts of the world which compares with the recommendations offered for the next three years, since it is recommended that the organization should establish other branches in different areas with an aim of attracting a large market share. The recommendation of advertising also compare with that of American Express since they have a plan to identify online services to attract many customers. American Express also considers partnership with other organizations which will
The online payment marketplace is experiencing an explosion of innovative ideas, plans, and announcements, which one commentator has likened to a “goat rodeo”, a chaotic situation in which powerful players with different agendas compete with one another for public acceptance, and above all, huge potential revenues. Others liken the payment marketplace to a battle among the four platform titans Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon. Each of these titans have their own versions of a future payment system that challenges the other players. And let’s not forget PayPal, the reigning power in alternative online payment, or the credit card companies who process over 70% of online payments, or the