Our client is a leading provider of payables and working capital solutions, supporting global organisations in optimising working capital and enhancing financial flexibility. Its proprietary Bank Pool funding structure, delivered in partnership with international banks, provides a scalable and resilient financing funding platform across multiple geographies.
The Challenge
As the business continued to grow, banking costs were becoming increasingly material to overall profitability. However, pricing structures and payment arrangements had not been recently benchmarked against the market.
At the same time, evolving payment capabilities, particularly faster payment schemes, presented an opportunity to enhance service delivery and client experience.
Our client engaged Oxygen to answer some key questions:
- Were its current banking costs competitive?
- Can payment speed be improved without increasing risk?
- Were surplus cash balances generating optimal returns?
- What payment / account structures should be considered for the future?
Oxygen’s Approach
Oxygen delivered a structured review across banking, payments and liquidity.
- Market benchmarking: Assessed existing pricing against peers and current market standards.
- Bank engagement: Tested competitiveness across providers, pricing models and payment rails.
- Faster payments assessment: Evaluated adoption of SEPA Instant and similar solutions.
- Liquidity review: Analysed deposit pricing on overnight balances.
- Strategic Options: Analysed alternative rails, including Direct Debit and virtual accounts.
The work was delivered with minimal disruption, enhancing existing banking relationships while providing full market transparency.
The Impact
The engagement delivered immediate and measurable value, including:
- c 15% reduction in actual banking costs
- Faster payment processing and beneficiary crediting
- Improving operational efficiency
- Enhanced client proposition through improved payment speed
- Optimised returns on surplus liquidity
Overall, the programme delivered a clear bottom-line improvement, supporting EBITDA.
uplift and strengthen financial performance.
Key Insight: Unchallenged banking relationships can become a hidden cost burden as
businesses scale. By introducing independent benchmarking and targeted market
engagement, the Client unlocked significant value without disrupting established
relationships, whilst positioning its infrastructure for future growth.
“This engagement demonstrates how targeted optimisation across banking, payments
and liquidity can deliver both cost efficiency and strategic advantage, particularly for
businesses operating at scale.” David Brook, Managing Director, Oxygen Consultancy
