Successful year of Alior Bank. Customers are attracted by the technology of quoting currency prices around the clock

Alior Bank currency exchange office is getting better. Over 300,000 are already using it. customers. Currency turnover increased year-on-year by 15 percent. Late in the spring there will be additional features that can only improve these statistics.

Technology sets the direction of development also in the world of finance and banking. We can feel it practically at every step. Using a watch at the checkout or payment card, deleting a tram ticket. We are less and less surprised by mobile authorization , the world of cryptocurrencies or blockchain technology, before which many experts draw a wonderful future.

Exactly the same with currency exchange. Until a few years ago, the most popular way was to visit a currency exchange office or several to catch the best price and finalize the transaction. Now, the online currency exchange offices, which can be used with a smartphone, give customers the advantages not to be underestimated. It's convenience and speed. According to Forbes' report in the fastest online currency exchange office in Poland, the average transaction time is less than 10 minutes. It is not surprising, therefore, that - according to the report "Exchange offices online. Exchange of currencies on the Internet " - only between 2014 and 2016, the turnover of online currency exchange offices increased by PLN 20 billion.

The currency exchange office of Alior Bank had a very successful year.

One of such cantors is this Alior Bank. It has been around since 2012 and allows transactions to be made 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Also by the mobile application, at the same time offering competitive exchange rates of up to thirteen foreign currencies. Since June, clients of Alior Bank's Foreign Exchange Office can add their cards and pay with the ApplePay mobile payment system , which joined the previously available Google Pay.

In 2018, the number of users using the Alior Bank Currency Exchange Office exceeded 300,000. Currency trading generated by clients increased by 15%, year to year. The bank can also boast of an increase in the number of business clients.

We enjoy the growing currency turnover, which confirms that clients appreciate the confidence and security of our currency exchange office. In 2018, customers generated 15 percent. higher currency turnover than in 2017   They also quantitatively performed by almost 10 percent. more transactions. They also became convinced of the so-called transactions with a blockade, ordering them by ¼ more comparing year to year. This type of transaction allows you to exchange currencies in a situation where   when the transaction amount exceeds the balance of funds on the account. Then a blockade of 5% is set on the client's account. the amount of the transaction for two business days, during which funds must be provided on the account for the transaction - explains Łukasz Niedobecki, an expert on the Alior Bank Transactional Platforms.

The memory of strengthening CHF is eternally alive.

For the systematic exchange of currencies one of the darkest Thursdays in life was this January 15, 2015. All because of the decision of the Swiss central bank to free franc (CHF). As a result, his rate from the previous level of 3.57 PLN went up to 4.23.

I remember the day of strengthening CHF, which from the application side and solutions adopted for that time was a real stress test. The volume of customers has increased significantly since then. Hence, during subsequent releases of the application, we pass the stress test of the entire system - reserves Andrzej Jarosz, Manager of the Mobile Systems Team at Alior Bank.

What if it will be the second black Thursday?

The freeing of Swiss franc prices had to have specific consequences. Customers have started exchanging currencies quickly to minimize losses. Although looking at the best price possible, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Now, if the situation on the currency market was to be similarly dynamic as at 4 years ago, the exchange office of Alior Bank will take care of its client accordingly.

Customer orders will be realized at the best prices provided by banks with global reach, which provide liquidity of quotes to our systems. On the other hand, the currency exchange platform itself will withstand the inflow of customers and their currency exchange orders. That's what we care for every upgrade by stress testing the individual elements of IT architecture as well as the entire platform - says Andrzej Jarosz.

Currency exchange with the best market standard.

How can we be sure that Alior Bank's currency exchange office will offer the best prices? It has to be answered by a special application made by internal IT development. The feed motor is written in JAVA and fetches FIX prices, which is the best market standard.

The prices come from the largest global banks. They are synchronized with FIX by Alior Bank directly from London. FIX is a streaming communication protocol used to exchange financial information by major institutions, including the largest stock exchanges.

Unique technology of currency quotes.

Foreign Exchange Alior Bank is to stand out from the competition primarily by the unique technology of quoting currency prices around the clock.

The starting course is always the best available for the client. Temporary or complete lack of liquidity is provided as one of the engine strategies. In this situation, a special engine mechanism is activated, whose task is to provide quotes for all currency platforms - explains Andrzej Jarosz from Alior Bank.

You can use three currency platforms.

Alior Bank knows that you can exchange currencies in several ways for different reasons. The bank's customers gain access to the best quotes via three shared currency platforms. Everything depending on the needs and nature of the business.

For example, you can use the Autodealing platform, which allows exchange of basic currencies 24/7 days a week. For demanding clients, Alior Bank offers a currency exchange office where 14 currencies are available, and exchange is possible 24h / 7 days a week. The eFX Trader platform is in turn prepared for the largest entrepreneurs who need, apart from the main currencies, also more exotic ones and the possibility of securing the exchange rate risk with forward contracts.

The currency platforms made available in Alior Bank have a common denominator. They are powered by the engine at the best available prices for the customer. The uniqueness of the solution on a global scale is confirmed by international companies with whom we cooperate on tax projects. With advanced technological and technical facilities as well as internal IT development, we can offer clients access to currency exchange regardless of the situation on the global market   - explains Tomasz Dośpiał, Director of the Foreign Exchange Platforms at Alior Bank.

Competitive advantage even at the end of the world.

The times when you could run business only within certain limits, without looking at others - have passed and will not come back. In the era of globalization, digitization and easy mixing as well as the free flow of capital and goods, access to currency exchange 24 hours is the basis for taking advantage of opportunities.

Because what will you do if you are in a Sydney restaurant, you have to pay the bill and your money account is short on funds? Or you negotiate a contract with a supplier of goods in China and by making an advance payment you can get a better purchase price? Or if you browse the websites of foreign online stores, you will find a shopping opportunity with which you can not wait until the morning.

It is possible to multiply life examples in which the sudden need to have foreign currencies allows us to achieve real benefits either for ourselves or for the company. That is why having the opportunity to exchange 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and using them at the right moment guarantees a competitive advantage and constitutes the success of the project - there is no doubt Łukasz Niedobecki, an expert on Currency Transaction Platforms at Alior Bank.

The material was created in cooperation with Alior Bank.

Successful year of Alior Bank. Customers are attracted by the technology of quoting currency prices around the clock