Understand forex: A list of different countries and their currencies

Foreign exchange markets are largest, most liquid financial markets in the world. Their exchange rates have a causative effect on the economies of the world.

Why are foreign exchange and foreign exchange services so important? At the very least, they help transfer our currency into international currency, and vice versa. However, forex has the following important key functions:

It facilitates international trade. Foreign exchange markets and services exist primarily to facilitate the transfer of goods and services among international markets. With reliable foreign exchange service channels in place, the transfer of payments can be effected seamlessly and correctly. The import and export channels depend primarily on foreign exchange to function smoothly.

It promotes the growth of global investment. Foreign exchange supports investments by offering diversified benefits to those trading in international currencies when buying or selling assets and other securities abroad. Besides, it helps companies and investors gain access into international markets, thus creating a spirit of global economic growth.

The Internet makes forex trading easier. The normal foreign currency exchange platform entails a network that links buyers and sellers. With the proliferation of the Internet, foreign currencies can be easily traded online. Identifying newer markets also becomes easier.

Forex rates can shake Governments. Any fluctuations on the global stage – for example, the recent Brexit campaign – has a ripple effect on global foreign exchange currencies. This effect may shake the tallest establishments or the man on the street, because they determine the prices of all commodities that we consume and the rate at which our economies make money. Thus, it is important to know the forex rates on every business day, whether you are travelling abroad or are a company dealing with international exports.

Setting forex benchmarks with IDFC Bank

IDFC Bank deals with the foreign currency exchange of the following countries:

                                   BILLS                       TELEPHONIC TRANSFER

Currency pairing	Bank buys	Bank sells	Bank buys	Bank sells
AED-INR	17.33	18.87	17.38	18.83
AUD-INR	49.74	52.17	49.87	52.04
CHF-INR	66.90	70.21	67.08	70.04
EUR-INR	73.21	76.29	73.40	76.11
GBP-INR	84.74	87.90	84.95	87.68
HKD-INR	8.37	8.78	8.39	8.75
JPY-INR	0.6438	0.6752	0.6454	0.6375
NZD-INR	47.32	49.62	47.45	49.50
SEK-INR	7.38	8.20	7.40	8.18
SGD-INR	47.91	49.95	48.03	49.83
USD-INR	65.45	67.52	65.62	67.35

Has mobile banking entirely replaced physical banks?

Not yet, but the day will soon come when the bank will only be an entity on the mobile phone.

The proliferation of mobile phones in our country has been astounding, to say the least. Touted as being an ‘expensive’ technology that only the rich could afford when mobile phones were launched in India in the 1990s, today, everybody sports mobile phones. Besides, a hitherto unconsidered demographic – daily wage workers, rural populations and slum dwellers – is a keen user of mobile phones.

The entry of affordable smartphones in the Indian market caused a seismic shift in thinking for service providers and industries. Where there are mobile phones, there will be mobile phone users, right? And where there are mobile phone users, they are going to demand mobile-only services. Hence, banks quickly devised mobile banking platforms that helped users conduct all their transactions using only their mobile phones.

Mobile banking apps today

All prominent Indian banks have developed some really good mobile banking apps for their customers. These apps provide a variety of uses: from paying bills to transferring money, and from opening bank accounts to recharging phone and DTH. Many others also accept payments and seamlessly transfer money between mobile phones. 

The question is: if the bank is available on the phone, are physical bank branches needed?

Will mobile apps replace physical banks?

While mobile banking platforms are quite robust in countries like the US and UK, the phenomenon is relatively new in India. Abroad, mobile banking platforms even allow cheque deposits via the phone; the user simply takes a photograph of the cheque and uploads it to the app. The bank then starts processing the payment. However, this functionality – and others like it – are not yet present in India. Thus, the physical bank branch is still needed for such tasks as depositing cheques and submitting account opening forms.

However, we are slowly moving towards this state of affairs. Some mobile banking apps allow fixed and recurring deposit account opening. Some others are set to allow zero balance savings account opening. Current apps comprise such functionalities as NEFT/IMPS money transfers, account statement access, and even setting preferred tasks on the home screen. Banks are also providing banking apps in regional languages – thus including the rural hinterlands as well.

Can the EasyPOS system work on my Apple MacBook?

Unlike most other POS systems, EasyPOS is designed to work well with iOS and Mac, thus increasing its efficiency across all platforms.

Apple’s Mac OS and Mac OS X are two excellent operating systems for its Mac books and desktops computers. They offer high functionality for graphics and sound editing, and also provide a host of useful applications for education and new media. Anyone using the Mac OS is hard pressed to find a better operating system anywhere else.

This poses a problem in the world of POS (Point Of Sale) software for retail businesses: most POS systems today are designed for Android and Windows OS! Many of the most popular POS software run well on Windows and Android, but not on Mac. Hence, retail businesses wishing to stick to Mac for POS find very limited options.

But this is not the case with EasyPOS – it is one of the few POS systems in India to run an excellent Mac POS software for Apple users.

Why choose Mac POS software

Though Mac OS has very few bugs and can run for longer periods of time without requiring an upgrade, not many systems are allied with it yet. This is another reason why retail businesses are hesitant to use Mac POS software, because they are often limited by lack of associated accounting and payment software that can integrate with it. If the POS software has limited functionality with other systems, it will impede business operations.

However, EasyPOS circumvents this problem with an easy Android and Mac POS software. All its major modalities, from selling to daily reporting, are available for Mac and these are seamlessly merged with associated systems for a clear interface. Hence, dedicated Apple users need not switch from their preferred Mac OS to Windows or Android platforms.

Besides, as is expected with the Mac OS, the EasyPOS Mac POS software is easy to use, has very few glitches and offers complete flexibility of use with density of operation. While other POS software users for Mac must invest more time and money in training personnel in using the Mac platform, the EasyPOS system is installed quickly and is quite self-explanatory. EasyPOS users for Mac also find that technical repairs and reconfiguration are completely hassle-free, because EasyPOS does it themselves and does not ask clients to conduct repairs themselves.

Another advantage of the Mac POS software is that there is very little chance of viruses attacking the system – and if they do, EasyPOS is on hand 24/7 to fix the problem the moment it occurs.

Retail takes the express highway with EasyPOS

EasyPOS helps retail businesses kickstart their expansion plans with an effective strategy that leverages the latest devices and the online medium.

The Internet has become such an indelible part of our daily lives that it is impossible to imagine our personal or professional life without it. It dictates how we spend our leisure hours and how we work. In terms of business, it has now become the sole determinant for companies that wish to expand to other markets – it provides remote accessibility in real time, so businesses can be connected with all offices and stores whenever necessary.

But retail businesses in India are benefiting tremendously by using excellent POS (Point Of Sale) software such as that provided by EasyPOS. EasyPOS leverages the power of the Internet with the capabilities of different operating systems to provide customers with a seamless interface on whichever gadget – laptop, desktop PC or mobile phone – that they prefer to use when tracking their business.

Here’s a look at how EasyPOS works closely with retail businesses to provide the most comprehensive and practical solutions to everyday requirements:

1. 1 Selling. EasyPOS has a veritable bouquet of retail POS solutions tailored to suit any operating system so as to optimise sales without a time lag. It is the foremost Mac POS software in India, with a functionality that allows retail businesses to exert complete control over all their sales operations. Thus, the cloud-based POS software helps companies create online marketplaces that track sales, place fresh orders, customising product orders to drive more traffic, etc.
2. 2 Management. There is a large chain of management processes that support retail operations. With EasyPOS’s retail solutions, all internal practices and customer interfaces are tracked, inventory is managed and orders are monitored for faster delivery. By automating inventory management, EasyPOS is helping retail companies drive sales, and their real time movement can be tracked by means of the Mac POS, PC or Android versions.
3. 3 Reporting. Keeping track of daily operations can become tricky, but regular reporting is essential to find out which practices to eliminate and which to replicate. EasyPOS makes the daily reporting of sales and inventory extremely simple. It has easy reporting solutions that anyone can implement, and these help in recording the entire chain of processes so that all the information is laid out for better understanding.
4. Growth. A retail business grows only when it has guaranteed, repeated business. This is possible by building a base of loyal customers and retaining them with unique loyalty programmes, discounts, special season offers, etc. EasyPOS helps out with automated reminders issued to customers via SMS or email, besides providing companies with the functionality to operate out of multiple locations with a centralised database of all business information.

4 practices retail industries should incorporate now

Retail businesses can benefit from adopting four important practices to realise their strategic objectives. We outline these essential practices.

Throughout the world, businesses operating in the retail space experience growth and progress only with strategic planning, communication with customers and suppliers, and the use of the most modern processes to do business. And yet, an astonishingly high number of businesses do not incorporate some essential practices that guarantee success, such as:

1. Working with computers and the digital medium. Maintaining pen-and-paper records of one’s business is passé, and so is working using unskilled labour and obsolete methods. In the current century, every process is driven by, and has a strong connect to, the digital medium. Computers and the Internet are vitally important to the success of the retail industry today. Processes like cloud computing, keeping records of inventory and setting up automatic payment channels with one’s bank to form a seamless interface with customers are just some of the practices that retail industries must incorporate today. All of these require an Internet presence and information fed via computers. 
2. Incorporating effective POS software in daily operations. Retail businesses do well when they are assisted with effective POS software systems. A POS (Point of Sale) software comprises a master terminal linked to two or more checkout computer terminals either locally or remotely located. The POS software keeps record of each sale, updates inventory, generates continuous reports about sales so that inventory can be refreshed and the business gets an accurate summary of customer satisfaction, and helps the business manage its merchandising and purchasing processes more effectively. A Point Of Sale software thus minimises waste, cuts over- or under-purchasing and familiarises all employees with sales history. 
3. Managing costs across the board. Providing a viable cost structure for each of its products is a challenge for most retail businesses, especially when there are several ‘me-too’ businesses offering comparable products at lower prices. Further to the above point, retail businesses can keep track of the efficacy of their costing by working with a good POS software. However, the basic principles remain the same when it comes to cost competitiveness: High quality with a competent price for a specific market, offering percentage of cost and sufficient margin for profit while providing periodic discounts and also the opportunity to set multiple price points for the same item at different times of the financial cycle.
4. Leveraging social media for sales and leads. Retail businesses can thrive with maximum interactivity with customers, and the best way to get customers heard and feel participative with the business is to engage with them meaningfully. Most businesses in the retail space falter by using social media as a one-way communicating device to announce new launches and products. However, social media engagement is about conversations with customers, and the interaction may also be about subjects unrelated to the business: For instance, a coffee shop may send tweets and Facebook messages urging customers to seek shelter on their premises during a thunderstorm or floods. Customer interaction on social media also entails responding positively and quickly to criticism, and taking useful suggestions on board while crediting the customer for making the suggestion.