1. Accepting the exchange rate shown by your bank without questioning it That is the number one mistake — and the most costly one. When you ask your bank to convert euros into yuan, Indian rupees or Hong Kong dollars, it applies its own exchange rate. That rate is not the interbank market rate (the “real” rate): it includes a margin, known as the spread, which the bank quietly takes. In practical terms, for a transfer of €100,000, a 2% margin means €2,000 taken without any explicit line on your statement. Multiply that by the number of transactions each year, and the loss becomes structural. Many SME leaders never compare this rate. They trust their usual bank by default — and pay very dearly for that convenience. 2. Ignoring correspondent banking fees (intermediary SWIFT fees) An international transfer between a French bank and an Asian or African bank almost never goes directly. It passes through one or more correspondent banks, each taking a fee along the way — between $15 and $35 per bank, sometimes more. These fees are not always visible at the outset. They are deducted from the amount received by your supplier, creating a gap between what you sent and what they actually received. The practical result: your supplier is underpaid, you have to send a top-up, and you pay the fees twice. Some contracts include the “OUR” clause (all fees paid by the sender) to avoid this problem — but many SMEs do not know this. 3. Paying in euros rather than in the supplier’s local currency This is an intuitively “logical” mistake: paying in euros avoids having to deal with conversion. Except that in this case, your supplier bears the exchange-rate risk — and passes it on in their prices. By contrast, offering to pay in the local currency (yuan, rupees, dirhams, Vietnamese dong) often gives you genuine leverage in negotiation. But that assumes you manage the conversion in advance so you do not suffer a poor rate at the last moment. The key is to convert the money yourself, at the right rate, at the right time — rather than letting your bank do it when the transfer is executed. 4. Not factoring settlement times into purchase planning A SWIFT transfer to Asia takes between 2 and 5 working days in the best-case scenario. With unresponsive correspondent banks, compliance checks or local public holidays, it can stretch to 7 to 10 days. For SMEs working to tight production deadlines or contracts tied to delivery dates, that delay can push back an entire order — and lead to penalties or stock shortages. Planning for settlement is an integral part of international cash management. Yet it is rarely built into SME purchasing processes. 5. Treating each transfer in isolation, without an exchange-rate strategy Paying supplier by supplier, currency by currency, as invoices fall due: that is the approach of most SMEs. It is also the most expensive one. Why? Because it exposes the business to market volatility on every transaction. An order placed in January at a favourable EUR/USD rate can turn loss-making in March if the euro has weakened in the meantime. Companies that manage their foreign exchange risk intelligently do not just react: they anticipate. Forward contracts, spot purchases at the right time, partial hedging of exposure — these tools exist, and they are not reserved for large corporates. What SMEs that manage their international payments well do differently The leaders who have optimised their foreign-currency flows have one thing in common: they no longer use their bank for their international transfers. They use a regulated payment intermediary — a regulated entity, registered with the ACPR and ORIAS, that accesses interbank market rates and passes that competitiveness directly on to their transactions. In practical terms, the advantages are: Transparent exchange rates, with no hidden margin Transfers in more than 130 currencies, with shorter processing times A named IBAN opened in the company’s name (funds never pass through a third-party account) Accessible hedging tools: spot purchase, forward contract, automated order A dedicated contact person, not a generic customer service team OSolto — the authorised payment intermediary for your international flows OSolto is registered with ORIAS (no. 26004337) and operates under ACPR supervision. We support French SMEs in optimising their foreign-currency payments — without replacing their bank, but complementing it. Our technology partners — Ebury (majority-owned by Banco Santander) and CurrencyCloud — enable us to offer access to the foreign exchange market on terms usually reserved for larger companies. Each client has a named segregated account. No funds ever pass through OSolto’s accounts. Conclusion Paying an overseas supplier looks simple on the surface. But every stage — the rate applied, intermediary banks, the currency chosen, the timing of settlement — can quietly eat into your margin. The good news: these losses can be avoided. With the right tools and the right partner, an SME can regain control of its international payments in just a few days. 👉 Would you like to review your current flows and estimate your potential savings? Book a meeting with Mohamed Ali — it’s free and without obligation. Book a discovery call → Frequently asked questions What is an authorised payment intermediary? It is a company authorised by the ACPR (Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority) to provide payment and foreign exchange services. It is separate from a bank but subject to strict regulation, particularly regarding the protection of client funds and anti-money-laundering measures. Are my funds safe? Yes. At OSolto, client funds are held in segregated named accounts in the name of the client company. They are never mixed with OSolto’s own funds. Do I need to close my bank account to use OSolto? No. OSolto complements your bank, it does not replace it. You continue to use your bank for day-to-day operations, and OSolto for your foreign-currency payments. Which currencies are available? More than 130 currencies, including the main ones (USD, GBP, CHF, JPY, CNY) and many emerging currencies (MAD, TND, NGN, INR, VND, etc.). How long does account opening take? Generally between 48 and 72 hours after validation of the KYB (Know Your Business) documents required by regulation. OSolto — ACPR-authorised payment intermediary, ORIAS registered no. 26004337 60 rue François Ier, 75008 Paris — info@osolto.com
Powell closes the door on rate cuts — and splits his own committee
On 29 April 2026, the Federal Reserve held its target rate range at 3.50–3.75% at what was probably the last meeting chaired by Jerome Powell, whose term ends on 15 May.
But the decision itself is not the real news. What happened in the room is.
For the first time since October 1992, four members of the FOMC voted against the main decision: one (Stephen Miran, appointed by Trump) for an immediate cut, and three others (Beth Hammack, Neel Kashkari, Lorie Logan) because they refused to let the statement hint at future cuts. They believed that with inflation at 3.3% and energy prices not yet having peaked, the bias should be restrictive — not accommodative.
That split vote says it all about the situation: the Fed does not know which direction to take. It is waiting to see whether energy prices will ease. It is waiting to see whether international trade tensions will subside. It is waiting. And in the meantime, its own designated successor — Kevin Warsh, approved by the Senate Banking Committee in quick succession — is arguing for cuts. The Fed could therefore change course at the top in the coming weeks, without anyone knowing exactly in which direction.
For foreign exchange markets, this institutional uncertainty is fuel for volatility.
Why are central banks all paralysed in 2026?
Beyond the Fed, the global backdrop is the same everywhere: the war in the Middle East has created a dilemma that economists call stagflation.
On one side, soaring energy prices are pushing inflation higher. In the United States, inflation has reached 3.3%, driven by oil prices and tariffs. The ECB now expects average inflation of 2.6% for the eurozone in 2026, up from 1.9% at the start of the year.
On the other side, that same energy shock is weighing on growth. An oil price sustained above $100 a barrel could halve eurozone growth, which is already expected to be a modest 1.2%. In the United States, job creation has slowed sharply, even if the unemployment rate remains relatively contained at 4.3%.
Faced with this dilemma — raising rates to contain inflation or cutting them to support growth — central banks have chosen a third path: do nothing. And wait.
The Bank of Japan is holding at 0.75%, with an increasingly split internal vote (6 to 3) suggesting a possible hike as soon as the summer. The ECB is keeping its deposit rate at 2.0%, without committing to any path. The Fed’s next meeting is scheduled for 17 June — under Warsh’s leadership if his full Senate confirmation comes through by then.
Status quo ≠ exchange-rate stability
This is the most common misunderstanding among SME leaders: believing that if central banks do not move, currencies do not either.
That is false. In fact, it is often the opposite.
When markets do not know where policy rates are headed — or even who will lead the Fed in three weeks — they react to every signal: a statement from Lagarde, a US inflation figure, a movement in the Middle East, pressure from Trump on the Fed. This constant sensitivity drives daily swings in EUR/USD, EUR/JPY and EUR/GBP pairs that few SMEs have the tools to anticipate.
Governor Christopher Waller said it clearly before the 29 April decision: if energy prices remain high and bottlenecks persist, inflation could become entrenched across a wide range of goods and services, with second-round effects that are difficult to bring under control.
Bond markets have already drawn their conclusions: they are pricing in the US policy rate remaining at its current level at least until mid-2027. No pivot. No cut. A long period of waiting — and volatility.
What is the real risk for your SME?
If your business buys or sells in foreign currencies, you are mechanically exposed to exchange-rate risk. That risk exists even if you go through your traditional bank — it may not necessarily tell you about it.
Here are the most exposed situations right now:
USD importers: the transition at the Fed adds another layer of uncertainty to the dollar’s path. Warsh in favour of cuts vs. a divided FOMC = predictable instability in EUR/USD in the coming weeks.
Businesses with yen (JPY) flows: the Bank of Japan is on the verge of a turning point. A rate hike as early as the summer is possible — the yen is undervalued and could revalue quickly.
Any SME that pays suppliers at 30, 60 or 90 days: the rate you have in mind today is not the one you will pay at maturity. With a Fed that is institutionally divided and a successor whose monetary policy still has to be proven, the exchange rate in 60 days is particularly hard to forecast.
What well-protected SMEs do in this environment
Companies that manage currency volatility calmly in times of monetary uncertainty do not try to predict the markets. They hedge.
In practical terms, that means:
Fixing an exchange rate in advance on future payments via forward contracts, so as to secure margins regardless of future Fed or ECB decisions.
Choosing the right time to convert their currencies thanks to regular monitoring of rates in real time.
Avoiding the hidden fees of traditional banks which, in addition to volatility, often take a 1 to 3% margin on each conversion without this figure appearing clearly on the statement.
This is not reserved for large companies. As soon as you exceed a few tens of thousands of euros in annual foreign-currency flows, putting a simple exchange-rate strategy in place becomes worthwhile.
How OSolto helps you through this period
OSolto is an authorised payment intermediary (registered with ORIAS, supervised by the ACPR and the Banque de France), specialising in B2B international payments for French SMEs.
Our positioning is simple: to give you access to the same foreign-exchange hedging tools used by large companies, without you having to change banks or transfer your funds to a third-party account. Your cash stays with you.
Concretely, we enable you to:
Compare in real time the exchange rates offered by our partners (Ebury, CurrencyCloud) and your bank — and see the difference.
Put simple hedges in place tailored to your volume and payment schedule.
Reduce your FX costs by up to 50% compared with the fees charged by traditional banks, with fixed and transparent fees on each transaction.
Benefit from a dedicated contact, a human being who knows your file — not a chatbot or a form.
Whether you pay a supplier in dollars, pounds or dirhams, each transaction is processed within a regulated framework, with full traceability and AML/KYC compliance at every stage.
Conclusion
The Fed has just ended the Powell era without clarifying the path for rates. Its successor wants cuts, its FOMC colleagues are divided, and inflation is not easing. The ECB and the Bank of Japan are in a similar position. No one will tell you when a clear trend will resume.
What you can control, however, is how your business protects itself against the jolts of this period. The good news: solutions exist, they are accessible to SMEs, and they can be put in place in less than a week.
→ Get a free analysis of your foreign-exchange costs in 15 minutes. Contact OSolto with no obligation: osolto.com
FAQ
Will the Fed cut rates in 2026? Bond markets expect rates to remain unchanged until at least mid-2027. With Kevin Warsh arriving at the helm of the Fed — and in favour of cuts — a shift is possible, but it will depend on the evolution of energy inflation and Warsh’s ability to rally the FOMC.
Why does currency volatility increase when central banks decide nothing? Paradoxically, uncertainty generates more volatility than clear decisions. Markets react to every signal — inflation figures, a governor’s statement, geopolitical developments — because there is no established monetary trend. The transition at the Fed adds an extra layer of unpredictability.
Can an SME really hedge against exchange-rate risk without changing banks? Yes. OSolto works alongside your main bank. You keep your existing accounts and your usual flows — we intervene only on your foreign-currency transactions to optimise and secure them.
From what transaction volume in foreign currencies does hedging become worthwhile? From around €50,000 a year in foreign-currency flows, a simple hedging strategy generates savings that more than cover its cost. Below that, we can still help you reduce your conversion fees.
Is OSolto regulated in France? Yes. OSolto is registered with ORIAS and supervised by the ACPR (Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority), under the supervision of the Banque de France.
