April 19 (SeeNews) - French payment services provider iBanFirst said on Tuesday that its first-quarter revenue from operations in Bulgaria came in 20% above target, as the war in Ukraine prompted local companies to seek to mitigate risks in cross-border payments.
With recent fluctuations in prices and foreign exchange rates, companies in sectors such as gas, energy, agriculture and fertilisers have flocked to additional financial solutions, iBanFirst which opened an office in Bulgarian capital Sofia last month, said in a press release.
After Russia's invasion of Ukraine started in February, European emerging market currencies depreciated to their lowest-recorded levels, with some dropping in value by 13%. A slow recovery, of around 7% for hardest-hit currencies, has yet to restore them to January levels.
"We are witnessing a new wave of currency and commodity volatility which has emerged in the context of the situation in Ukraine. In such times of instability, companies with international trade have to choose whether they want to expose themselves to this volatility completely unprotected or to protect the FX rate of the currencies in which they operate," iBanFirst country manager for Bulgaria, Dean Todorov, said.
In some instances, companies that do business with Ukrainian suppliers are turning to Turkey and other markets in Europe for alternative supplies of goods and materials. Others opt for hedging services so as to secure exchange rates in advance for delayed payments. Thus, iBanFirst's cloud-based open banking platform has facilitated cost-effective and secure transactions for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on a single interface and in over 30 currencies, also allowing clients to track payments.
"The Bulgarian office is such a pleasant surprise for iBanFirst at both regional and international level," Johan Gabriels, iBanFirst regional director for South-East Europe (SEE), said. He added that based on these first results, the fintech estimates its Bulgarian office to be one of the most dynamic in the region in 2022.
Founded in 2013, iBanFirst has more than 250 employees and serves more than 4,000 customers throughout Europe. With recently established offices in Bulgaria, Romania and Italy, the company has strengthened its presence in Southern and Eastern Europe where it mainly targets clients with an annual foreign exchange trading volume of at least 500,000 euro ($539,800).
($ = 0.9262 euro)