CIMB provides cash management services to help large corporations and SMEs with liquidity management and working capital needs. They offer a single, integrated online platform for payables, receivables, and reconciliation. Outsourcing these functions to CIMB provides cost savings and process efficiencies through automation and streamlining. CIMB is enhancing its services through improved client ERP integration systems like their CIMB Gateway host-to-host solution, and expanding Islamic cash management offerings.

1. sponsored Q&A
CASH MANAGEMENT
1. What is CIMB doing to help corporate treasurers
at large companies and small-to medium enterprises
with their cash management?
In recent times, large corporations have shifted towards
centralising their treasury functions and setting up in-house
treasuries to review their working capital funding requirements
and enhance short-term liquidity. Meanwhile, small and medium-
sized enterprises (SMEs) are looking towards establishing a cash
management relationship that will allow them to standardise
and streamline internal processes and manage costs.
Fundamentally, efficient working capital management still
presents the greatest source of opportunity for cash management
across our various customer segments. We provide effective
liquidity management structures that offer visibility and control
of a corporation’s total funding requirements and allow them to
optimise their short-term liquidity. Interest re-allocation is an
added feature that fosters greater discipline in cash management
and makes centralised treasury operations more effective. For Ravi Gopal, Cash Management - International Banking & Transactional Services
SMEs, we have enriched the functionality for payables and
receivables management through f lexible channel management includes Liquidity Management features. We distinguish ourselves
strategies to help SMEs shorten their cash conversion cycle and by offering a unified system for our customer interface while most
enhance their liquidity. other banks are still evolving their legacy infrastructure with
multiple platforms and access requirements.
2. How can companies benefit from outsourcing their Our payables management module offers on-line procurement
accounts payables, account receivables and reconciliation and real-time settlements for payment activities across a network of
functions, via web-based services, to CIMB? participating banks. This is made possible by our B2B payment gateway
that is complemented with Financial Process Exchange (FPX).
Cost and process efficiencies—these are the immediate In our receivables management module, clients can view details
benefits of outsourcing a corporation’s payables, receivables of their collections from multiple channels on a single window.
and reconciliation through web-enabled solutions. Improved This improves their ability to prepare timely reports and reconcile
visibility leads to better cash management practices and the receivables. In addition, with FPX Collections, inter-bank direct
ability to rationalise and consolidate a corporation’s financial debits are increasingly used by our customers as additional
activities. A secure web-based system acts as a platform to collection channels, allowing them to consolidate this activity
establish the right integration tools for automation, re-define through a single provider. “Virtual Accounts” for enhanced
existing processes in line with payment requirements, monitor reconciliation are also being introduced to specific market
Days Sales Outstanding and credit risks, and automate segments. Further, “positive matching” helps reduce exception
bank account reconciliation processes. These lead to better management for large organisations facing high-volume cheque
working capital management and facilitate management collections. Added features such as on-line retrieval of cheque
information reporting. images enhance our customer’s service delivery to its customers.
CIMB recently introduced its host-to-host solution - CIMB
3. How is CIMB enhancing its online collection and Gateway - a fast and eff icient delivery channel that enables our
payables offering? What has changed over the past customers to upload payment and collection f iles to CIMB and
twelve months? Also, what makes your client ERP to retrieve their account information. As a bank, we need to
integration systems better than other banks’? receive, process and transmit f iles containing highly sensitive
f inancial data under tight security for Electronic Funds
CIMB’s cash management provides a single, integrated platform Transfers (EF T), while adhering to regulations and cut-off
with the most complete on-line functionality in Malaysia that times. To meet these goals, it is crucial for our systems to be
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2. sponsored Q&A
inter-operable with our customers’ environments, which contain
disparate sets of business processes, systems and data sources.
We want to be certain that our integration with customers
is quickly and eff iciently executed with easy access to fast,
effective support. With CIMB Gateway, f iles are seamlessly
uploaded from a corporation’s pre-authorised ERP systems,
thus reducing duplication and human intervention. Security
comes in the form of hashing algorithms, encryption, check-
sum validation and PKI. This has been further enhanced with
the deployment of a web interface that provides total f lexibility
to our customers, who can use their own f ile transfer protocol,
send pre-authorised f iles or use our authorisation module for
unauthorised f iles. CIMB Gateway also comes with customer
interactive tools such as exception reporting and email alerts.
This f lexibility does not come at the expense of increased
integration costs as the system is designed to be turn-key and
plug-and-play, and to cater to customer process requirements
instead of volumes. Streamlined and straight-through processing
of transactions result in signif icant operating eff iciencies and A CIMB Islamic branch in Kuala Lumpur
cost savings.
towards the idea of automating the order-to-cash
4. What is CIMB doing to address concerns about online cycle and purchase-to-pay cycle via straight through
security and fraud when it comes to online banking? processing using banks?
In order to ensure the security, reliability and integrity of the Organisations are evolving in various degrees and the idea and
financial information that is exchanged, we use a combination of process of achieving automation and straight-through processing
authentication, encryption and auditing mechanisms that serve is also developing in different forms across these organisations.
as a powerful barrier against all forms of system penetration and Corporations that operate along multiple business lines and have
abuse. A variety of monitoring and review measures are deployed, fully diversified business and organisation structures are looking
such as enhanced data-encryption methods, anti-virus detection towards breaking down internal complexities to unlock trapped
prevention and protection procedures, firewall barriers and liquidity not optimally utilised. These complexities can be re-
24/7 surveillance and detection. These measures are designed aligned by setting up shared service operations, and banks that can
to intercept and prevent any form of attack on, penetration renew their existing partnerships with simplified integration and
and unauthorised access into our system. In addition, from a standardisation techniques, especially in messaging and system
user perspective, the security device provides a second level of protocols, will clearly be choicepartners. Similarly, organisations
authentication and protection with advanced data encryption with less complex operations are also exploring ways to automate
algorithms. The drivers for the device are embedded from within as much as possible. By providing the appropriate solutions,
to ensure secure installation and ease of activation through the such as simplified host-to-host connections, we can encourage
use of f lash memory and simple wizard-based steps. On-line corporations to adopt ERP solutions and straight-through
tutorials on system security and features are also available for processing to manage their operations.
our customers to understand and overcome concerns.
On-line banking is still not second nature to many corporations 6. In the past, Malaysian banks were often
and the challenge lies not only in the education process, but also approached during the settlement stage of the
in nurturing late adopters so that they are comfortable and at ease client’s transaction. Does your bank now find
when activating and using the system. Our host-to-host gateway itself at the beginning part of the financial supply
has a f lexible interface that allows our customers to maintain chain process?
their existing internal processes.
With increasing globalization, business activities and
5. Is the entire process of linking payments to opportunities in emerging markets, Malaysian companies are
collections still manually monitored and tracked or more engaged in global and regional trade. Cash is considered
have companies in Malaysia become more accepting a commodity today and instead of just focusing on improving
June 2008 Alpha South East Asia 23

3. sponsored Q&A
efficiencies within the physical supply chain, companies are
looking at means to effectively manage their financial supply
chain. It is now widely recognised that pushing cost and risk
down the chain is no longer an effective proposition. Improving
efficiencies across the whole chain, and therefore improving
efficiencies for all parties, is now the ultimate goal. With this
framework in mind, banks together with corporations are not
only looking at financing as a requirement in the financial
value-chain starting from procurement, but also at credit and
risk mitigation as a means to enhance the overall interaction and
engagement in the buyer-supplier relationship.
7. Can you give us three defining examples of how
CIMB has helped companies in the country develop
an integrated bulk payment system, integrated e-
procurement system and/or an integrated receivable
management system?
On the bulk payment front, we engaged an independent third CIMB is making huge inroads into the Islamic space
party payment gateway provider as one of our key distribution
channels to capture and increase the bulk payment market revolving credit) and collections?
share in Malaysia. The project took the form of a single host-
to-host pipe between the strategic partner and the bank, which CIMB has launched its Islamic Cash Management system,
acted as a clearing agent regardless of the end-customer as part which is made available through its on-line banking portal,
of the “reseller” model. This underscores the importance of CIMB Biz-Channel. Our Cash Management system allows for
establishing partnerships not in the spirit of competition but in cross-servicing between the conventional and Islamic accounts,
mutual cooperation and benef it. including the ability to view and transact in a single view. All
On integrated e-procurement, we are advancing our our services are fully Shariah-compliant and our service offering
integration efforts and the provision of our settlement gateway is not limited to Zakat contributions, which was a service offered
by introducing our 3rd “e-communit y” through the creation of even before the introduction of Islamic Cash Management. The
an eco-system for a supplier and its end-customers. This will second phase of our service offering will extend to liquidity
include the provision of ancillar y ser vices such as insurance, management for Islamic accounts and enable customers to
which is crucial to this particular eco-system as envisaged in monitor all Islamic loans, deposits and money market activities.
our end-state model.
CIMB is also implementing a receivables management solution
for a national unit trust management company with a high volume For further information, please contact:
of account holders to enhance the collection process through
electronic means. The system will allow employee contributions
to be submitted through their employers and the individual unit
trust purchases based on availability will be validated before For enquiries, please e-mail at cashmanagement@cimb.com
contributions are accepted. The electronic clearing mechanism or contact Mr. Ravi Gopal, Director/Head, CIMB’s Cash
will definitely facilitate timely purchases, given the criticality of Management - ravi.gopal@cimb.com or Customer Relations
the market price and unit trust allocation, and help individual Centre at 1-300-888-828 (Malaysia) or 603- 2096 4000
employees in their wealth creation activities.
8. What can you tell our readers about your
Islamic Cash Management and/or Working Capital
services and how Shariah compliant are your service
offerings? Also, are your Shariah Compliant services
offering limited to Automating Zakat payments for
your clients or does it also include Loans (such as
24 Alpha South East Asia June 2008