Key Insights from the LPEA CFO Club at ATEL Tech Day: Enhancing Payment Security and Efficiency
On 7 November 2024, financial professionals gathered at the ATEL Tech Day Conference in Luxembourg for the LPEA CFO Club. François Masquelier, President of the Luxembourg Association of Corporate Treasurers (ATEL) and Jonathan Prince, CSO and co-founder of Finologee, shared insights on the critical role of automation in payment management to reduce risk and improve efficiency.
François Masquelier emphasised that secure and efficient payment processes are essential, especially as economic uncertainty and fraud risks grow.
“Today, more than ever, payment process optimisation is vital for any corporation, family office or fund manager”
he noted, emphasising that in an environment of economic volatility and evolving regulatory demands, payment security is not just a procedural necessity but a strategic imperative.
CFOs must streamline and secure their payment processes to mitigate risks effectively and ensure operational resilience. The key pain points include:
- Complex bank onboarding: Manual steps and limited automation slow down onboarding, increasing errors and fraud potential.
- Inefficient treasury processes: Relying on Excel sheets and tokens for approvals makes these processes prone to delays and errors.
- Need for standardisation: Introducing a Bank Single Gateway (BSG) can consolidate payment systems, reduce costs and improve internal controls by enabling secure, paperless payments.
He further outlined that BSG systems standardise payment approvals, use double-signature protocols and offer a centralised view of cash flows, reducing risks and costs.
Jonathan Prince introduced LYNKS, Finologee’s banks and accounts management platform to streamline payment management for financial professionals facing operational challenges.
“Our objective with LYNKS is to enable organisations to mitigate risks and streamline controls through a unified digital platform”.
he explained. Key features include:
- Enhanced authentication: LYNKS offers two-factor authentication to simplify access and increase security without requiring multiple tokens.
- Counterparty verification: Through SWIFT Pre-Validation, LYNKS verifies counterparty details, reducing fraud and error risks.
- Audit trail and risk management: An integrated audit trail ensures accountability, while optional modules like e-signature and KYC screening support regulatory compliance.
Both presentations highlighted the importance of digital solutions in addressing the growing challenges faced by CFOs, from streamlining payment processes to ensuring secure transactions in a complex regulatory environment. For organisations experiencing similar pain points, LYNKS offers a solution that could help mitigate risks, enhance efficiency and improve control over payment workflows.
Especially for Luxembourg-regulated entities, LYNKS stands out due to its compliance with local outsourcing regulations. This ensures that organisations can modernise their payment management systems while maintaining adherence to the stringent regulatory standards that govern financial operations in Luxembourg.
