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e-BAM: a Banking Connectivity Fantasy?

e-BAM: a Banking Connectivity Fantasy?

by François Masquelier, Head of Corporate Finance and Treasury, RTL Group, and Honorary Chairman of the European Association of Corporate Treasurers

e-BAM is an acronym that conceals plenty of mysteries for many treasurers. Is it a fantasy or a true message type that will really be in use in the short term? e-BAM or BAM to be more exact at the time of speaking. Let us take the mystery out of this concept by defining the outlines and the challenges of this coming era in the banking relationship.

e-BAM, bang!

‘e-BAM’: what lurks behind this onomatopoeic acronym? A term that is fashionable in treasury management? A buzzword doing the rounds? A word redolent of promise but that does not convince us that there is any substance behind it, at least not now? Finally, surely e-BAM is a very virtual concept, not really tangible. A treasurer’s fantasy, a mirage in the middle of the financial desert? Perhaps just wishful thinking? We should not be so negative. Nevertheless, we have not got very far with it.

For once, some treasurers seem quick(er) off the mark and especially more ready than their banks to take advantage of a new type of SWIFT message to manage the banking relationship (i.e., ‘electronic Bank Account Management’). Perhaps treasurers are getting too far ahead of the game? Surely supply falls far short of demand? A number of treasurers have raised a whole series of core, legitimate, questions.