<h3>The Challenge</h3>
<p>As Celltrion continued to grow and expand across Europe, the regional treasury hub in Hungary became the primary purchasing entity. This Hungarian center would sell the purchased products to Celltrion subsidiaries around the world, receiving payment from the subsidiaries in each of their local currencies. Celltrion Healthcare did not wish to open accounts in all the currencies of the subsidiaries, as it knew that this would be complicated and costly from an efficiency perspective. Instead, it sought an automated solution which would provide FX centralization, full control, and instant visibility so that it could mitigate currency risks and more effectively manage cash. The currencies initially in scope were Danish Krone, Swedish Krona, Norwegian Krone, Swiss Franc, Pound Sterling and Romania Leu.</p>
<h3>The Solution</h3>
<p>Citi has been providing Celltrion with global cash management since 2018, and we have formed a strong relationship with the company that allowed us to understand the challenges and suggest an integrated FX solution that could simplify operations. Citi proposed a process for Celltrion Hungary whereby FX spreads could be pre-agreed and locked in when the subsidiaries were sending local currency payments. The Hungarian entity would receive the payments in a single currency, at the expected exchange rates, without having to open multiple accounts. The speed of implementation was also important for Celltrion. Citi was able to set up the solution in under 24 hours, and the day after implementation the company was up and running, immediately benefiting from the solution. After the success of the initial currencies in scope, Celltrion has already started adding more, such as Canadian Dollar, and continues to look for further opportunities.</p>
<h3>The Benefits</h3>
<ul>
<li>Speed: No technological implementation needed</li>
<li>Automation: Automated FX conversion without manual interruption</li>
<li>Cost efficiency: Negotiated pricing in advance, no foreign exchange markups from suppliers, and reduced 3rd party bank charges on local currency payments</li>
<li>Simplicity: Simple, straight through wire payments that allowed the company to redeploy resources to other important tasks</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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Case Study: Multi-Currency Payment Solution for Healthcare Company

Tasnim Ghiawadwala, Global Head of Citi Commercial Bank, Jackie Callaway, CFO of Coats plc,  and Emily Watson, Director of Payments and Global Banking at Flywire, talk about how  Citi helps mid-sized companies to expand internationally.

Helping Clients to Grow and Progress

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The Challenge ODEON Tourism has relationships with thousands of different hotels across almost 40 countries. In line with industry practice, ODEON Tourism must make payments to these hotels in advance of customer checkins. Typically, cross-border transfers can take up to two days. In order for hotel rooms to be released before this, ODEON Tourism sends proof of payment (usually a SWIFT message) to the hotel detailing the transaction date, amount, currency, sender and other details such as fees. In high season, ODEON Tourism sends as many as 1,000 separate payments to 1,000 hotels each day. For each of these payments, the ODEON Tourism finance team must individually forward SWIFT proof of payments to the hotels, imposing a significant operational burden. Hotels often contacted ODEON Tourism to inquire about payment statuses as the use of correspondent banks can result in payment delays. Keen to reduce its huge workload, ODEON Tourism needed a solution that would automate the process of sending payment notifications to the beneficiaries and reduce payment inquiries. The Solution Citi implemented the Global Beneficiary Services Payment Tracker for ODEON Tourism. Unlike traditional solutions that only provide tracking details to the sending bank, the Global Beneficiary Services Payment Tracker sends an email or SMS directly to the beneficiary whenever a payment is made. Even if they are not a Citi client, the beneficiary can click on a link included in the payment notification/alert email and access real-time payment statuses. Given the critical nature of hotel bookings to ODEON Tourism, it first tested the Global Beneficiary Services Payment Tracker with payments to a few of its own group entities. Once it was clear notifications arrived as anticipated and that real-time payment information was available, ODEON Tourism gave the go-ahead for Citi to implement the solution. The implementation process — which included designing a custom portal with ODEON Tourism’s branding — took just two weeks. The Result With the Global Beneficiary Services Payment Tracker fully implemented, ODEON Tourism no longer forwards SWIFT proof of payments to hotels before guest check-ins. The company now has implemented a streamlined operational process that fully automates payment and proof-of-payment notifications. ODEON Tourism’s finance team has been freed up to focus on value-added tasks rather than forwarding proof of payments. At the same time, the hotels the company works with are able to benefit from the improved convenience and satisfaction that comes with being able to monitor payment statuses in real time. These hotels can also save themselves — and ODEON Tourism — time by resolving queries related to payments delayed in corresponding banking networks.

<div><strong>The Challenge</strong></div>
<div>ODEON Tourism has relationships with thousands of different hotels across almost 40 countries. In line with industry practice, ODEON Tourism must make payments to these hotels in advance of customer checkins. Typically, cross-border transfers can take up to two days. In order for hotel rooms to be released before this, ODEON Tourism sends proof of payment (usually a SWIFT message) to the hotel detailing the transaction date, amount, currency, sender and other details such as fees.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>In high season, ODEON Tourism sends as many as 1,000 separate payments to 1,000 hotels each day. For each of these payments, the ODEON Tourism finance team must individually forward SWIFT proof of payments to the hotels, imposing a significant operational burden. Hotels often contacted ODEON Tourism to inquire about payment statuses as the use of correspondent banks can result in payment delays.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Keen to reduce its huge workload, ODEON Tourism needed a solution that would automate the process of sending payment notifications to the beneficiaries and reduce payment inquiries.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>
<div><strong>The Solution</strong></div>
<div>Citi implemented the Global Beneficiary Services Payment Tracker for ODEON Tourism. Unlike traditional solutions that only provide tracking details to the sending bank, the Global Beneficiary Services Payment Tracker sends an email or SMS directly to the beneficiary whenever a payment is made. Even if they are not a Citi client, the beneficiary can click on a link included in the payment notification/alert email and access real-time payment statuses.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Given the critical nature of hotel bookings to ODEON Tourism, it first tested the Global Beneficiary Services Payment Tracker with payments to a few of its own group entities. Once it was clear notifications arrived as anticipated and that real-time payment information was available, ODEON Tourism gave the go-ahead for Citi to implement the solution. The implementation process &mdash; which included designing a custom portal with ODEON Tourism&rsquo;s branding &mdash; took just two weeks.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="/rcs/v1/media/citigpa/akpublic/storage/retrieveMediaFile/63248225ae7ec0031e5bbc7e.png" alt="image_93709063431663336997512.png/" /></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>
<div><strong>The Result</strong></div>
<div>With the Global Beneficiary Services Payment Tracker fully implemented, ODEON Tourism no longer forwards SWIFT proof of payments to hotels before guest check-ins. The company now has implemented a streamlined operational process that fully automates payment and proof-of-payment notifications. ODEON Tourism&rsquo;s finance team has been freed up to focus on value-added tasks rather than forwarding proof of payments.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>At the same time, the hotels the company works with are able to benefit from the improved convenience and satisfaction that comes with being able to monitor payment statuses in real time. These hotels can also save themselves &mdash; and ODEON Tourism &mdash; time by resolving queries related to payments delayed in corresponding banking networks.</div>
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<div><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="/rcs/v1/media/citigpa/akpublic/storage/retrieveMediaFile/632483bcff8b4418fd9d8741.png" /></div>
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ODEON Tourism is a travel and tour operator that provides flights, hotels and services such as transfers. Its destinations include Turkey, Egypt, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Greece and Vietnam, and its customers come from multiple CIS countries, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Germany.

Citi global beneficiary services payment tracker streamlines hotel booking process

The challenge While facilitating large office refurbishment projects in Romania, Ahrend faced considerable challenges when it came to making payments to subcontractors, workers and service providers. As the company does not have a dedicated treasury team in Romania, there were no personnel present to manage cross-border payments and monitor foreign exchange (FX) transactions. UK-based subcontractors wanted to be paid in GBP, which presented problems for operations in Romania. Other subcontractors were located throughout Europe, including the Czech Republic. Ahrend was reluctant to open accounts in the currency of each jurisdiction because it would complicate financial operations and necessitate additional resources in its finance department to manage tasks. Mounting pressure to get projects started in Romania meant Ahrend was anxious to find a solution that could be implemented rapidly. To address its urgent cross-border payment needs, Ahrend turned to banking partner Citi. The solution Recognizing Ahrend needed a versatile payments solution that could streamline operations and free up time to complete projects, Citi implemented its Cross-Border Funds Transfer (CBFT) solution. Ahrend was able to make GBP payments from its Romanian Leu (RON) account — including 1.5 million British pounds entirely cashed using CBFT. Citi’s solution has been a game-changer for Ahrend. Instead of having to open accounts in different jurisdictions, the company can administer payments through one additional account and streamlining its reporting process. Most importantly, payments are much more efficient, and projects can quickly move forward. The results Since implementing CBFT, Ahrend has been able to focus on core activities rather than on complex payment and collection operations. Citi’s solution streamlined cross-border transactions for Ahrend — saving the organization time and effort when managing and reporting its account-opening documenation and reporting. By eliminating the need to create and manage new accounts in local currencies, CBFT has helped open the door for Ahrend to future initiatives in other regions where payments and collections are not conducted in euros or U.S. dollars. “In Romania, we have been operating in the interior fit-out furniture business for more than 25 years,” explained Cristian Dinu, General Manager at Ahrend. “Citi’s simplified cross-border payment solution enabled us to effortlessly respond to our international client requests, without opening sub-accounts for each jurisdiction. This aligns with the sustainability philosophy which we are embracing, and it also allows us to focus on our core activity and bringing greater value to our clients.”

<div><span style="font-size: 24px;"><strong>The challenge</strong></span></div>
<div>While facilitating large office refurbishment projects in Romania, Ahrend faced considerable challenges when it came to making payments to subcontractors, workers and service providers. As the company does not have a dedicated treasury team in Romania, there were no personnel present to manage cross-border payments and monitor foreign exchange (FX) transactions.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>UK-based subcontractors wanted to be paid in GBP, which presented problems for operations in Romania. Other subcontractors were located throughout Europe, including the Czech Republic. Ahrend was reluctant to open accounts in the currency of each jurisdiction because it would complicate financial operations and necessitate additional resources in its finance department to manage tasks.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Mounting pressure to get projects started in Romania meant Ahrend was anxious to find a solution that could be implemented rapidly. To address its urgent cross-border payment needs, Ahrend turned to banking partner Citi.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>
<div><span style="font-size: 24px;"><strong>The solution</strong></span></div>
<div>Recognizing Ahrend needed a versatile payments solution that could streamline operations and free up time to complete projects, Citi implemented its Cross-Border Funds Transfer (CBFT) solution. Ahrend was able to make GBP payments from its Romanian Leu (RON) account &mdash; including 1.5 million British pounds entirely cashed using CBFT.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Citi&rsquo;s solution has been a game-changer for Ahrend. Instead of having to open accounts in different jurisdictions, the company can administer payments through one additional account and streamlining its reporting process. Most importantly, payments are much more efficient, and projects can quickly move forward.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>
<div><span style="font-size: 24px;"><strong>The results</strong></span></div>
<div>Since implementing CBFT, Ahrend has been able to focus on core activities rather than on complex payment and collection operations. Citi&rsquo;s solution streamlined cross-border transactions for Ahrend &mdash; saving the organization time and effort when managing and reporting its account-opening documenation and reporting.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>By eliminating the need to create and manage new accounts in local currencies, CBFT has helped open the door for Ahrend to future initiatives in other regions where payments and collections are not conducted in euros or U.S. dollars.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>&ldquo;In Romania, we have been operating in the interior fit-out furniture business for more than 25 years,&rdquo; explained Cristian Dinu, General Manager at Ahrend. &ldquo;Citi&rsquo;s simplified cross-border payment solution enabled us to effortlessly respond to our international client requests, without opening sub-accounts for each jurisdiction. This aligns with the sustainability philosophy which we are embracing, and it also allows us to focus on our core activity and bringing greater value to our clients.&rdquo;</div>
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Founded in 1896, Royal Ahrend has been an international leader in commercial furniture for more than a century. Headquartered in the Netherlands and present in over 25 countries, Ahrend is committed to creating vitalizing workspaces for end-users around the world.