International Payments And The Global Pandemic

Jaspaul Bains, Foreign Exchange Strategist, RationalFX
As the COVID-19 pandemic forces more restrictions upon our daily lives, society’s priority is to help each other stay safe. But what about the economic impact of this unprecedented global health crisis?
Thankfully, it’s not all doom and gloom for cross-border businesses. While the economic impact of the pandemic has already driven exchange rate volatility beyond the levels experienced during the 2008 financial crisis, bringing the need to manage currency market risk into sharp focus, opportunities to capitalise on favourable market movements will present themselves.
 
Why has COVID-19 affected currency markets?
As COVID-19 continues its march around the world, governments are closing whole commercial sectors and ordering people to stay at home to contain its spread. While necessary, this has severed supply chains, stalled economies and provided all the ingredients needed to trigger a recession.
The economic fallout has precip...