Being an entrepreneur, managing your own or family business is never easy. Being your own boss means that you probably will not have the luxury of working only between 9 to 5. You will be constantly on the lookout for new ideas to grow the business while reducing cost as well as managing currency exposure and other business risks. United Overseas Bank (UOB) appears to recognise these concerns and took the lead to set up Southeast Asia’s first dedicated Foreign Exchange (FX) advisory and trading unit dedicated to helping small businesses across the region. To complement these services, the bank has also launched a new mobile application named UOB Business to provide real-time FX information, news and research reports that will help small businesses thrive.
A survey conducted by UOB with more than 800 SMEs in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand at the end of 2012 highlighted that one in two companies with an annual turnover of less than USD9.9 million places expanding into a new market as a top priority. The statistics also showed that 14% of small business customers currently use currency conversion or hedging solutions such as spot and forward contracts as part of managing their day-to-day operations. The bank expects this to double to at least 30% over the next few years. Thus explains the placement of forex exchange rate right at the top of the app’s screen space. The data are pulled real time from a reliable source for you to keep a close watch on the forex market.
There is also a quick FX Rates Calculator to make business decisions as and when it springs up.
You are not restricted by the default SGD & USD exchange rate, you can simply go to Settings to change to your preferred currency pairing. There is also the option of having alerts being sent to you when the price of a currency reaches a specified level.
Yes, got my first currency alert within 4 hours!
Once the alert is triggered, you can use the app to instantly connect with UOB’s FX specialists who will be able to provide assistance on your FX requirements and to execute a trade. Handy!
With direct feeds from popular & reliable news channel such as Straits Times & Business Times etc, its time for you to ditch your solo news apps and do all your catching up on the move through just UOB Business. Similarly, you can select your preferred news genre from the app settings.
You will also enjoy convenient and direct access to reports from the UOB Economic-Treasury Research team, keeping you abreast with the latest economic and currency trends.
Here’s my favourite part, the direct gratification business style. Just by getting on the app, you get direct access to exclusive deals and promotions that serve to help reduce your company’s operating cost!
If you are in a business that requires frequent travel to regional cities, this 1-for-1 travel coupon will be a god-send.
UOB Business is a gem for entrepreneurs and small business owners in the region. The folks at UOB have successfully created a convenient and handy one-stop-shop app that answers to the daily grind of small businesses. I love the fact that I need not surrender my personal information to register and login before I get to enjoy the full suite of functions and deals available on the app.
UOB Business is now available for download via Apple App Store. Alternatively, you can also click here to down the app now.
