Fintech entrepreneurs launch foreign exchange risk management firm Instantia with VNG backing

Industry veterans Richard Poulton and Danny Pezeshki have joined forces with Vietnamese tech titan VNG to launch foreign exchange (FX) risk management firm Instantia that based in Australia.

The duo said in a statement on Monday that providing organizations with real-time market intelligence to make smarter financial decisions, the end-to-end platform revolutionizes foreign exchange by consolidating currency hedging positions into a user-friendly interface.

The free mobile and desktop app offers a comprehensive suite of services, including currency options, forwards, spot FX, rate orders, and cross-border payment capabilities.

With an AFS licence and backed by VNG, the founders of ZaloPay and Zalo (a Vietnamese messaging application with 75.8 million monthly active users in 2023), the statement opined that Instantia is set to become the go-to solution for importers and exporters navigating the volatile fluctuations of the Australian dollar against major currencies.

Drawing on the duo’s decade of top-level experience at AFEX and Poulton’s tenure at Corpay, the founders identified a significant opportunity for innovation in the sector, as chief financial officers (CFOs) were often reliant on outdated paper-based systems that failed to reflect current market data.

Launching now in 2024, the biggest election year globally on record, and with heightened geopolitical events and activity, the need for fiscal visibility and currency confidence has never been more critical, according to the statement.

“In 2023, the AUD exhibited a significant 13.5 percent movement range against the USD, highlighting the currency risk and the critical need for businesses to implement suitable risk management strategies,” Poulton said.

“Typically, businesses collaborate with financial institutions to execute these strategies, utilizing instruments such as forwards and options,

“However, managing multiple instruments across varying timeframes compounds this complexity,” he noted.

He opined that not maintaining real-time visibility of FX positions can often lead to dire and costly consequences, as many businesses experienced during the AUD ‘Covid Crash’ in 2020.

According to the statement, Instantia’s system accurately forecasts positions by combining real-market intel from Bloomberg Intelligence, in-house data modelling, and quantitative analysis.

“Throughout my career, I’ve had CFOs calling me in tears because they have been locked into 12 or 18-month option structures with no room for maneuver when the market has pushed up five to ten per cent against them,

“With these outdated and broken service models from financial institutions, customers don’t always understand the contracts they are entering into,” Pezeshki said.

“They are working from complicated Excel spreadsheets and have zero transparency on opportunities and risks within their portfolio,

“We built the Instantia platform to tackle all of these issues. Rather than being sales-centric, Instantia is client-centric,” he said.

Poulton added the stress in financial services can be crippling and has deeply impacted me personally.

“Following my journey, I’ve made it my mission to promote better mental health and wellbeing in the industry,
“Instantia’s dedication to responsible risk management is part of that effort,” he said.

He also noted that in Latin, Instantia means ‘to be present’ – a commitment to stay engaged with the firm’s customers throughout their entire FX journey.

“We are not a faceless corporation; we are a strategic partner,” he said.

According to the statement, the core features of the relative momentum index (RMI) interface includes Strategy Builder and Market Matrix.

Strategy Builder is innovatively guides users in customizing a hedging strategy based on their hedging experience and risk profiles.

Meanwhile, Market Matrix is a game-changing compilation of intelligent tools that analyses market data and projects deep insights like trigger level probabilities and rate expectations, facilitating fast and informed hedging decisions.

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