Concern Worldwide

About Concern Worldwide

Concern Worldwide is an Irish-founded international humanitarian charity dedicated to ending extreme poverty and responding to emergencies in some of the hardest-to-reach places on earth.

The Challenge

For an organisation whose impact depends on money reaching staff, partners and suppliers where and when it is needed, the finance function at Concern Worldwide must ensure that funds can move across borders in many different currencies, often into regions where financial infrastructure is not straightforward.

For Concern Worldwide, the ability to pay funds in local currencies where it is most urgently needed is critical.

But the organisation was unable to access the range of exotic currencies it needed to pay local agencies in a number of developing countries.

In day‑to‑day payments, these currencies are those that are less liquid, more operationally constrained , and/or more tightly regulated than the globally traded majors.

Agencies in multiple countries all expect to be paid in local currency like Central African franc (XAF) or the Congolese franc (CDF) .

Without direct access to those exotic currencies, the Concern Worldwide finance team are required to send funds in US dollars or euros, and rely on local banks or intermediaries to convert the funds on arrival.

For Financial Director at Concern Worldwide Cathal Callan, challenges needed to be addressed.

“When funds arrive in dollars, local teams have to convert them through domestic
banks often at less than favourable rates and with limited transparency. This can
reduce the effective value of programme funding by several percentage points,
which compounds over thousands of payments“

Operational delays could be just as damaging. What should be a quick transfer could take several days to arrive, often with deductions along the way.

For field teams, this created uncertainty and disruption, delaying the delivery of time-critical aid.

The Finance Team needed a cost effective and seamless alternative to its existing cross-border payments process. This was required across a range of currencies and payment methods.

The Solution

Fexco assisted Concern Worldwide’s payments operation to streamline the process, focusing on the seamless delivery of high-volume international
payments into developing countries.

Central to this change was direct access to a range of exotic currencies, which removed the need for intermediary conversions and correspondent banking routes.

Payments that once took days to settle could now be delivered directly into local accounts, in the correct currency, with far greater speed and certainty.

Equally important was the level of support received. Concern Worldwide gained access to a dedicated account manager and payments team with specialist knowledge of NGO funding flows, regulatory requirements, and developing country banking systems.

Queries are resolved quickly, payment status is clearly visible, and potential issues are addressed before they disrupt operations. Live tracking of payments is a welcome feature with MT103 (proof of payment) documentation available if needed by the team.

The Benefits

Direct access to a wide range of currencies, unavailable at most traditional banks, transformed how funds reach field teams and suppliers.

Payments now settle directly into local accounts, avoiding correspondent banking delays and eliminating unnecessary currency conversions.

This has shortened settlement times, giving programme managers confidence that funds will arrive when needed.

By bypassing intermediary banks and reducing hidden fees, Concern Worldwide has achieved measurable savings on international transfer costs.

Predictable FX pricing and full visibility of charges ensure that more of each euro reaches frontline programmes, strengthening budget control and improving financial planning.

A dedicated support team has given Concern Worldwide something that is difficult to measure but critical in practice: certainty. When a payment query arises, the finance
team can speak directly to a knowledgeable specialist who understands NGO funding flows and the realities of emerging markets.

Issues are resolved quickly, often before they escalate, which prevents knock-on delays for field offices. This immediacy reduces internal pressure, protects programme
timelines, and allows the finance team to operate with confidence.

This reliability is critical in fragile regions where continuity of funding directly affects service delivery and community outcomes.

For Concern Worldwide the benefits are clear. Cathal Callan added;

“Being able to pay in currencies like Central African franc and Congolese franc quickly and without unnecesary banking layers or hidden deductions has fundamentally improved how we fund our programmes. The support team at Fexco understands the realities of working in developing countries and resolves issues before they affect operations-this makes a measurable difference to delivery on the ground“