WhitesPay Blog

The potential benefits of the Africa free trade area in general to attract trade within and outside of Africa to make it attractive for FDI

Depending on the nature of the business, playing music within a work environment is fairly common nowadays. Whether it's an employee's favourite album, a playlist from head office or everyone's

An evolution in technology appears to have coincided with an increase in a white-collar workforce - manual labour is being replaced by autonomous systems and more administrative roles have grown. As a result, flexible working has become more commonplace, as has working from home.

British politics isn't exactly enjoying its finest hour. With contrasting inter-party views aired publicly, PM May deciding enough's enough by handing over her tenure at no.10 and then there's the elephant amongst it all, the catalyst - Brexit.

We talk with manufacturing businesses of all sizes and differing industries on a daily basis and hear first-hand about problems they face. Their struggles are very real, and with that in mind, we have outlined the most pressing hurdles and give insight into how manufacturers can and have addressed them head-on.

It's pretty common knowledge that starting up your own business is not easy. In fact, it's often said that more than half of new businesses fail during the first year. However, according to the Small Business Association, only 30% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 50% during the first five years and 66% during the first 10.

E-commerce has fast become one of the greatest opportunities for brands worldwide. Whether you're in startup mode or a more mature company, the challenges of hiring the right team can take your marketing to the next level or be a huge drain on resources.

Over time, the way we use and move money has changed evolved. My parents and their parents used to walk into a bank, more often than not stand in a queue and get their money for the day or week over the counter and speak with bank managers - who'd probably know them by name. Using the now almost redundant cheque book was common place too.

We've had some frank and honest conversations with several private and corporate clients surrounding ongoing uncertainty around Brexit's role on overseas property.

Branding is not just a name and logo, it is actually so much more than that. Many companies are trying to secure customers in a crowded and busy marketplace, which means it's essential to standout.

Sustainability is something that businesses around the world are starting to think more about. It is essential to retain this wonderful world around us and we should all be conscious of becoming more green. Customers, whether existing or potential are actively searching for companies that take a sustainable approach, and if you haven't already, your business must have a plan in place.

We all want our businesses to be a success, however, it isn't always easy working out the route. Of course, you do need to put in the time and effort to drive your business forward, however, what you may not realise is sometimes all you need is the right mindset.

If there's a major drawback of living in a modern and connected world, it's the vulnerability we face every day. Identity theft has become a major issue with the media becoming all too aware of this growing issue.

In order for any business to be successful there needs to be growth and change. However, knowing where improvements need to be made and the right changes to make can be tricky. Especially when you consider just how many different business models there are.

Businesses, no matter their size, no matter the industry they fit into, need to keep ahead of the times if they are to compete with other companies out there. This means being aware of the latest trends that can help your business to run smoothly and your customers to have the very best experience possible.

Like many industries currently, concerns over the Brexit trade deal means wines businesses up and down the country are also falling foul of ongoing negotiations.

Christmas parties are planned, presents have been purchased and the Christmas tree is up - the 2018 festive period is well and truly here. However, one thing you may not have considered in your Christmas planning is how to effectively shut down your office for the festive period.

Last year, there was a huge surge in online shopping and we witnessed the rise of online marketplaces, which has had a significant impact upon how business takes place, both on and offline. In fact, it's predicted that the e-commerce sales of $1.85 trillion from 2016 will more than double within the next five years.

High street banks are being challenged by digital only banks, but what's the attraction of this new wave of banks that are threatening to change the face of banking?

While corporate travel takes up a lot of time and resource, it also eats away at budget, with business travel spend around the world expected to reach $1.7tn by 2021.

Last year, there were 1,579 data breaches that exposed the data of around 179,000,000 records across multiple companies and industries. Naturally, this suggested that a lot of businesses aren't actually putting as much emphasis as they should on their internet security.

If you’re responsible for your company’s finances, then you’ll no doubt be constantly on the lookout for new ways to cut costs and improve profits.

China has established itself as the world’s leading trading nation and largest exporter since 2009. With its vast-population, comes job scarcity, which in turn means labour and the manufacturing is therefore cheap.

Global event organisers have earned a reputation for connecting the world’s most recognisable brands with their audiences via live, engaging and experiential activations.

If you haven’t had your head buried in the sand for the past 12 months, then you will no doubt be familiar with the cryptocurrency surge towards the latter end of last year. Despite Bitcoin cementing itself as the main player with prices touching $20,000 for a single coin, believe it or not, there are other coins with equal popularity. Whilst critics struggled to make sense of the bizarre growth, largely because many coins don’t have a strong business roadmap or purpose, the technology behind one coin is beginning to take the overseas payment world by storm - Ripple.

We recently wrote about the importance of managing currency fluctuations. Briefly touching on how politics and economic news such as interest rates and unemployment announcements can alter exchange rates. This article will explore other key factors that cause exchange rate movements.

Importing goods is essential to the survival and growth for many of the 250,000 UK businesses currently buying from overseas suppliers. If done right, importing can give your business a competitive edge over your rivals.

When it comes to GDPR, if your company wants to process data about a client, prospect, employee or supplier, it must follow the 6-lawful basis for doing so. The blog aims to provide details on each of these.

For many businesses and startups, the introduction of technology could be a vital step towards improved operations and increased profits but the daily demands of running a business often means it's difficult to implement such systems.

Following our initial GDPR blog, in which we outlined 6 simples steps, there are a number of definitions you should familiarise yourself with. We've simplified things to give you a better understanding of what they mean and how they might be relevant to you.

With over a quarter of a million UK businesses importing goods internationally and emerging markets continually surfacing, sending and receiving money has become a necessity.

It's been banished around for well over a year now, and whilst you might feel it doesn't apply to your business, it most certainly does. GDPR is a new EU regulation, which is intended to strengthen and align data protection for individuals within the EU.

As part of the Take Five to Stop Fraud Week, WhitesPay is proud to ‘Take Five’ in support of the national awareness campaign from Financial Fraud Action UK and the UK Government.

GBP/USD performed well in 2017, moving from 1.20 in early January to close around the 1.35 mark. This occurred on the back of the Pound not only strengthening but the dollar consistently weakening throughout the year.

Thomas is WhitesPay’s Lead FX Trader and joined the business in 2015. In addition to his trading desk skill-set, Thomas is our chief economic content creator and responsible for our market updates.

In this week’s Insider Interview, WhitesPay talks to Gemalto’s Joe Pindar as we explore the introduction of blockchain and its imminent impact within the world of banking and finance.

Sunday marked the Supercar Driver Cars at the Castle event, which was proudly sponsored by WhitesPay.

After months of late nights, early starts and an overwhelming team effort, WhitesPay is now live. It’s a journey that began in 2016.