Case Study: Hyphen’s Treasury Transformation Sets the Foundation for Regional Growth

Multinational companies (MNCs) are busy establishing and growing their operations in the Middle East, encouraged by the region’s structural reforms and growth opportunities. For instance, in 2023, the UAE received USD30 billion of foreign direct investment, a record highⁱ. According to the Dubai International Chamber, 207 international companies set up in Dubai in 2024, including both MNCs and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - a growth of 56% over 2023.ⁱⁱ

One such business that has invested heavily into growing its presence in the region is Hyphen, a global professional services firm. Alongside its existing presence in Europe, in recent years it has targeted and expanded quickly in the Middle East. This culminated in the company opening new offices in Saudi Arabia and Qatar in 2024, adding to its presence in the UAE. With ambitions to become a leader in high-growth markets, Hyphen turned to HSBC to collaborate on a new partnership that would elevate the efficiency of its treasury infrastructure.

Hyphen required robust financial operations and treasury management – as well as new banking solutions – to support this growth. The company is committed to agility, not least in its treasury systems, where it has adopted the latest technology to make its processes and procedures as efficient as possible.

Facilitating growth ambitions

Hyphen sought numerous operational and treasury-related upgrades to ensure its financial infrastructure could accommodate its rapid expansion across the region and capitalise on opportunities.

One area the company wanted to improve upon was its treasury function with a focus on operational efficiency and scalability. In particular, they were keen to streamline information transfer between its ERP system and local banking platforms, as well as use technology to replace some manual components of its processes.

Furthermore, there was a desire to improve reconciliation and cash flow forecasting. The company’s existing procedures did not automatically incorporate transactions in real time, giving rise to a time-consuming process the company sought to overhaul.

With Hyphen operating across multiple currency accounts — AED, USD, SAR, and EUR — the business also needed infrastructure that could support real-time forex margins management. The company relied heavily on Excel spreadsheets to analyse account transactions, whereas a more advanced service would offer the chance to predict future cash flows and liquidity positions with greater accuracy.

Hyphen's cash flow management also offered scope for improvement, with existing systems relying on a manual element even while working with multiple banks, entities and currencies. That desire to upgrade existing processes also extended to forecasting analysis and the graphical representation of key financial figures for senior management.

In short, Hyphen recognized that its growing customer base and international expansion meant it was time to look for more advanced, efficient and scalable banking arrangements.

To consolidate and accelerate its growth, the company needed a banking partner capable of providing scalable digital payables, receivables, and liquidity solutions, along with a real-time integrated dashboard for enhanced cash visibility and control.

“We took the time to really understand Hyphen’s business and their needs from a treasury perspective,” says Amr Khalil Konsowa, Global Relationship Manager at HSBC in Dubai. “This allowed us to deliver a tailored packet of next-level solutions that would serve as a platform for the company’s regional expansion.”

To improve Hyphen’s treasury operations, HSBC proposed a comprehensive suite of digital and automated treasury solutions:

1. Corporate API Connectivity & Automated Payments:

• HSBC’s API solutions enabled Hyphen to automate payment processes, reducing manual intervention and ensuring faster, real-time transactions.
• Local UAE merchants were paid in under 60 seconds using the country’s Instant Payment (IPI) clearing system.
• Staff received debit cards to improve the company’s expense management and make life easier during business development activities. HSBC also created a separate account only for the debit cards for easy reconciliation and tracking.
• International payments were processed through HSBC’s priority payment system, ensuring seamless cross-border transactions.

2. Enhanced Account Visibility & Reconciliation:

• APIs enabled real-time viewing of multiple currency accounts, with account balances retrieved in less than 60 seconds.
• Automated receivables tracking matched incoming payments to outstanding invoices in Hyphen’s ERP system.
• A centralized treasury solution facilitated payments and receivables management across different currency accounts directly from the ERP.

3. Liquidity Optimization & Return on Surplus Balances:

• HSBC provided a credit interest solution for Hyphen’s overnight USD operational balances, ensuring a return on surplus liquidity. This helped Hyphen optimise working capital and improve financial planning.

4. Data-Driven Forecasting & Control:

• HSBC’s Cash Flow Forecasting Tool (CFF) was adopted, allowing Hyphen to accurately forecast its global liquidity position. This integrated solution helped to forecast all cash movements that impact Hyphen’s day-to-day cash position, based on information captured from Hyphen’s bank accounts and transaction-level data.
• Hyphen’s finance team can generate and consolidate real-time data across all countries using HSBC’s dashboard, tracking key performance indicators instantly.

HSBC also plans to work with Hyphen and third-party banks to send the end of day statements (MT940s) straight into HSBC's engine for further data inputs to the cash flow forecasting tool.

Benefits & Impact

The scalability of HSBC’s banking solutions has provided Hyphen with the treasury infrastructure needed to support its ongoing expansion. "Expertise is at the core of our business and this partnership with HSBC follows this principle. It allows us to focus on our core business and our growth strategy," says Dr. Erhan Ermis, Co-Founder of Hyphen.

As the company continues to establish itself in new markets, HSBC’s existing presence in those markets and advanced treasury solutions are playing a crucial role. By leveraging cutting-edge financial technology and automation, Hyphen has successfully future-proofed its treasury operations, ensuring agility and efficiency as it executes its ambitious expansion strategy.

“We always try to anticipate the future when setting up new treasury systems,” says Charbel Samir Bacha, Senior Vice President, Technology and The New Economies, Global Payments Solutions at HSBC in Dubai. “This allows us to put solutions in place that have the ability and agility to deliver that future to our customer.”

Hyphen’s partnership with HSBC exemplifies how digital treasury transformation can leverage operational efficiency and financial control to drive growth. Hyphen successfully overcame its initial treasury challenges by integrating HSBC’s API solutions, cash flow forecasting tools, and liquidity management services.

"We worked closely with HSBC to achieve our objectives and together we have exceeded our expectations in creating a future-proof banking function that has enabled us to be more agile as the business demands have increased," says Magdalena Dziurzyńska, Head of Finance at Hyphen.

Thanks to this integrated solution and the partnership that has developed, HSBC has supported Hyphen in its regional expansion. This includes opening accounts for the company in KSA and Qatar, while Hyphen is also considering entrusting its European activities with HSBC as its global banking partner.

The enhanced efficiency, automation, and scalability of HSBC’s banking solutions have positioned Hyphen for sustainable growth and financial stability in a rapidly growing region.