Manage your foreign exchange exposure with forward contracts
Lock in an exchange rate to secure your future cross-border payment needs, and protect your business from adverse foreign currency fluctuations.
What's a forward contract?
A forward contract lets you secure an exchange rate for a future date on a predetermined volume of currency.
Businesses typically use forward contracts to secure exchange rates for their known future international payment needs.
With WorldFirst, you can enter into a forward contract to support your business activities and facilitate the ability for you to make payments for goods and services.
You’ll be able to lock in an exchange rate for up to 24 months.
Benefits of booking a forward contract
Locking in an exchange rate with a forwards contract means you know exactly what exchange rate you’re getting, for a set time. This helps you predict your cash flow so you can be more prepared, more accurate and more competitive with your planning.
Four questions to consider before booking a forward contract
1. Will market rates move drastically?
Exchange rates can be volatile. With a forward contract, you’ll have secured a predetermined exchange rate for your future payments. This mitigates your financial exposure to currency fluctuations for those future payments.
2. What’s your risk appetite?
You must consider your cash flows and budgets when booking a forward contract. An FX forward contract is a committed contract to deliver a foreign currency payment at a predetermined rate. It may be worthwhile considering other strategies if you are unsure of your requirements.
3. What’s your purpose for using forward contracts?
You could enter into an FX forward contract with WorldFirst in order to pay an upcoming invoice in a foreign currency, or in preparation of an upcoming purchase in a foreign currency. However, you wouldn’t be able to trade forwards for speculative, personal, family or household purposes, or use it for any purposes unrelated to your business.
4. Do you have other obligations?
There’s an initial 5% deposit requirement called a margin, to be paid upfront to secure your obligations under the forward contract. This amount will be associated with the notional amount of your forward contract.
How to book a forward contract
If you're a newly trading customer with WorldFirst
You can find out more about what you need by calling our team on +65 6805 4380.
Below are key terms you’ll need to consider to ensure you’re comfortable with the forward contract:
These terms include:
- The currencies involved
- The rate of the contract
- Tenure (length) of the contract
- Determining whether you require a fixed, flexible, or window forward
- Initial margin requirements
If you're an existing WorldFirst customer
You can book a forward contract by getting in touch with our team at +65 6805 4380.
For added transparency, you’ll also receive detailed information on how we calculate margin requests. This information is important in case your rate significantly moves during the tenure of your contract, thus requiring a margin call.
