Based on an interview Bizweek conducted with M SaJid Bodhy, Head of Transactional Services, Absa Mauritius.
1) i. To begin with, how does Absa currently position its Transactional Banking and Trade & Working Capital offerings in an environment marked by tighter liquidity and ongoing pressures on global supply chains?
Absa Mauritius has positioned itself as a digitally led transaction bank that helps clients move value with speed and certainty, both domestically and across borders, while insulating their cash cycles from today’s supply-chain volatility.
The dynamics and depth of the global marketplace is changing at a much faster pace than ever before in the history of mankind. Global maritime trade, for example, is still feeling the effects of rerouted vessels and elevated freight costs; UNCTAD expects maritime trade growth to slow to 0.5% in 2025 after 2.2% in 2024, while freight costs are rising faster than volumes due to Red Sea diversions. This translates into longer transit times, higher working capital needs and more volatile supplier terms for our clients.
As a partner, we are invested in our client stories and take it as our responsibility to first understand and thereupon carve our service offerings to match the specificities of each person, each entity and also matching that with each peculiar situation.
In more concrete terms, we do acknowledge the growing tight liquidity environment and ensure that access to financing doesn’t impair the proper functioning of businesses that bank with us. The partnership we build with clients helps us anticipate their requirements in order to pre-empt their liquidity requirements in the current dynamic operating landscape.
ii. How do these two functions work together to support businesses, particularly SMEs and corporates with cross-border operations?
We operate as one team around the client’s cash conversion cycle. Transactional Banking ensures fast, well-tracked payables/receivables, while Trade & Working Capital provides documentary risk mitigation and balance-sheet-friendly financing (e.g., LCs, guarantees, supply chain finance) tailored to shipment milestones. For SMEs, the backbone of Mauritius, contributing over 40% of GDP and about half of national employment, we integrate low-cost digital collections with scalable trade instruments to keep liquidity turning even when freight is delayed.
Our Pan-African connectivity increasingly matters for cross-border clients. Absa Group has concentrated efforts to narrow Africa’s trade finance gap estimated around US$100–120bn, with a focus on SMEs, women and youth-led businesses as well as sustainable funding we seek to provide Mauritian corporates access to deeper liquidity pools against the daily reality of supply chain stretches.
2) Trade Finance and International Trade Dynamics
i. What are the main challenges facing Mauritian and regional companies engaged in international trade today?
The operating dynamics of the Mauritian business is no less complex than any global organization given the open trade-economy and dependencies of both import and export trades. Three headline challenges are increasingly apparent:
1. Logistics unpredictability and cost: Red Sea rerouting has extended transit times and raised freight volatility; Suez Canal tonnage was some70% below 2023 levels by May 2025, pushing up freight costs and globally tightening capacity. For exporters/importers here, that’s working capital strain.
2. Container and port pressure: African lanes have seen surcharges and congestion spikes, e.g. peak season surcharges to East Africa and 3–5 day port delays reported mid-2025 thus affecting regional distribution and inventory buffers.
3. Regulatory tightening and data demands: More rigorous AML/CFT expectations and cross-border exposure guidelines mean treasurers must invest in data quality not just cash balances.
These challenges are at play against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions which makes cost predictability very difficult, hence working capital predictability becomes erratic.
ii. Have you observed a shift in client needs when it comes to trade finance instruments such as letters of credit, guarantees, and documentary collections?
Yes, there is a definite pivot back to risk-mitigated instruments in the wake of a highly volatile environment, coupled with data-rich execution. ICC’s 2024 Trade Register reaffirms that traditional trade finance products carry low default rates across regions, which is why we see more exporters demanding confirmed LCs and buyers preferring standby LCs or guarantees to secure performance and delivery. While open account still remains very relevant, clients are demanding higher visibility of flows to address the variations in working capital needs and move towards a more data-led business model.
iii. How does Absa help companies secure their trade transactions while improving operational efficiency?
We combine structured risk mitigation (LCs, confirmations, supply chain finance, Structured Trade and Commodity Financing) with digital execution:
· Our digitalisation agenda has helped us reinforce our risk and fraud mitigation capabilities and we can proudly say that over 98% of our eligible client transactions are done through our Digital Channels.
· Transaction tracking on cross-border payments gives end-to-end status and fee transparency. In fact, industry data indicates that circa 89% of SWIFT transactions are now credited within an hour. This makes reconciliation and supplier communication faster.
· Our Group Financial Institution team is continuously broadening our partnerships with global institutions worldwide and helping in ensuring that our client transactions are effected instantly and are tracked at each stage within the process cycle.
3) Working Capital and Cash Flow Management
i. In a context of rising costs and tighter financing conditions, how can companies better optimise their working capital?
We encourage clients to treat working capital as a board-level KPI tied to ground realities. Three disciplined actions will prove helpful:
1. Shorten receivables with data: faster turnaround is key to success and tracking the receivables pointers can only add value with better decision making.
2. Synchronise inventory: With the reality of ever-changing cost components (freight, logistics, wage bill, inflation) CFOs should rebalance safety stock only where service levels require it and offset with supplier term renegotiations secured by bank guarantees or standby LCs rather than pure price concessions.
3. Adopt supply chain finance selectively: Given the evidence of low risk in trade instruments, receivables finance can unlock liquidity at competitive spreads even amid macro uncertainty.
ii. What practical solutions does Absa offer to help businesses strengthen their day-to-day liquidity and cash flow management?
· Spark Business: A first-in-Mauritius collection suite enabling real-time, low-cost, omni-channel payments (MauCAS QR, Tap-to-Pay via cards, Pay by SMS) to any settlement account, plus cash/credit recording and sales dashboards, reduces reconciliation friction and collection costs for SMEs and merchants.
· Digital Banking: We offer a suite of Digital Banking platforms (Absa Access Online, Host-To-Host and Trade Management Online) that helps Cash Flow and Liquidity Management. These digital tools allow consolidated view of pan-African Absa accounts, instant domestic transfers, international payments, full suite of Trade transactions and are designed to seamlessly integrate client’s backend systems for increased efficiency.
· Digital onboarding, recognised in Digital Banker MEA Awards 2024, compressing time-to-cash with backend integration for faster account opening.
iii. Are you seeing increased awareness among companies of the importance of actively managing working capital?
Absolutely. Mauritius’ business community has been responding to wage, cost and logistics pressures and CFOs see the need to move from passive to predictive liquidity management.
The pressure on margins, tight liquidity environment and increased competitive landscape are all adding to pressure for positive jaws on numbers (higher turnover, lower costs) - these urge CFOs to find ways and means to improve cash velocity and optimize cash turnaround.
More than ever, managing working capital is a key element to competitive success that is essential for survival.
4) Digitalisation and Innovation
i. How is digitalisation reshaping transactional banking and trade finance services at Absa?
Digitalisation has become the cornerstone of our client experience. We have received recognition as “Most Innovative Digital Banking Services – Mauritius 2024” and for excellence in digital innovation, “Best Trade Finance Bank” in Mauritius by The Asian Banker, four years in a row speaks volumes of our tangible capabilities.
For trade, we are preparing clients for the ISO 20022 end-state and we acknowledge the need for structured data across payables/receivables to improve screening and matching of transactions. SWIFT Transaction tracking, backend integration and offering a diverse suite of Digital Channels are the stepstones for us to ensure we are at the forefront of technological developments in the banking environment. Our Digital Asset Teams are actively involved in exploring opportunities, in stablecoins, tokenization and digital asset custody space.
ii. What tangible benefits does this bring to clients in terms of speed, transparency, and transaction tracking?
Three measurable wins:
· Speed: With industry migration to SWIFT GPI and ISO 20022, crediting within an hour is becoming the norm across many corridors; fewer exceptions mean faster cash posting and fewer manual reconciliations.
· Transparency: End-to-end payment tracking combined with enriched remittance data enhances payment visibility and supports audit readiness under stricter AML/CFT regimes.
· Backend integration: It is not only a matter of providing seamless experience but reduction of client cost and fraud/risk mitigation.
iii. How do you balance technological innovation with risk management and regulatory compliance?
We see technological innovation as an excellent medium to improve risk mitigation and enhanced regulatory compliance opportunity both for our clients and ourselves. We are committed on ensuring that we challenge legacy practices and embed risk and compliance at each and every product delivery. Our Enterprise Risk Management Framework ensures that every component of our steps in technological innovation are in sync with values that uplift our corporate culture.
Our Digital Asset Teams are actively involved in exploring opportunities, in stablecoins, tokenization and digital asset custody space.
At Absa, we believe technological innovation is an integral part of the client-bank ecosystem, with the relationship component remaining at its core and that is what constitutes of our competitive edge.
5) Strategic Support for Businesses
i. Beyond products and services, how does Absa position itself as a strategic partner for companies pursuing regional or international growth?
We bring pan-African connectivity, local execution, and sector depth. Absa’s Trade & Working Capital leadership engages across continents in shaping conversations on supply chain finance, sustainability and SME inclusion. That thought leadership translates into practical deal structuring for Mauritian businesses scaling into Africa and beyond.
We take pride in handholding Mauritian corporates in foraying in Africa and we have a well-established network of physical presence in Africa adding to representative offices in New York, Beijing, London and more in the pipeline.
ii. How do you tailor your solutions to meet the different needs of SMEs versus large corporates?
It is important for us to match the ground realities of our clients with our offerings, as the requirements are quite separate.
SMEs: Emphasis on real-time, low-cost collections (Spark Business), digital onboarding (Digi), and working capital lines that flex with sales cycles—plus education on selecting the right instrument (e.g., standby LC for securing distributor performance without over-collateralising). This is vital in a market where SMEs contribute over 40% of GDP and over 50% of employment.
Large corporates: Multi-bank payment file integration, Backend integration, SWIFT monitoring across borders, Structured Trade & Commodity Finance and capex flows, and Forex & treasury analytics. Add that the need for Advisory services, Custody business and Investment banking needs.
6) Outlook and Key Takeaways
i. What major trends do you believe will shape transactional banking and trade & working capital solutions in the coming years?
1. Data-rich payments become the default: Completion of SWIFTs ISO 20022 migration ushers in an era where structured data reduces friction, supports faster investigations, and enables AI-led exception management—shifting treasury workloads from manual to analytical.
2. Digitisation of trade documentation: The shift to Digital channels is a basic tenet of doing business today. With Mauritius legally recognising electronic bills of exchange, expect increased adoption of digital trade platforms.
3. Liquidity resilience as competitive advantage: Basel III monitoring shows global banks are maintaining higher buffers; corporates will mirror this by building contingency liquidity and multi-route supply options as freight costs stay elevated.
4. Pivot back to secured risk-mitigating instruments in the wake of a highly volatile environment, such as LCs, Guarantees and Escrow accounts.
5. Backend integration: Financial Institutions are increasing becoming API-friendly and adopting Open Banking platforms in order to allow backend integration with client ERPs. Beyond the obvious cost reduction, the benefits of seamless integration and risk mitigation there is a definite pattern for AI driven credit analytics and on-the-spot credit approval algorithms that will address the needs of the clients for transactional based working capital financing.
ii. Finally, what message would you like to share with businesses seeking to secure growth while maintaining strong cash flow in an increasingly uncertain economic environment?
Treat cash velocity and transaction visibility as your strategic goals. In a world of rerouted vessels and fluctuating surcharges, winners will be those who see cash movement in real time, de-risk shipments with proven instruments and align treasury data to ISO 20022/SWIFT standards for fewer exceptions and faster posting.
Foremost, partner with institutions that combine digital execution with risk discipline. Our job is to compress your order-to-cash timeline, expand your liquidity options and back you with pan-African capacity when you cross borders. For Mauritian SMEs and corporates, this is a moment to grow—smartly. We are keen on building the expertise and extending assistance to our clients… one story at a time.
The right banking partner will elevate discussions beyond products towards operating discipline in a volatile world. If your payment data is structured, your shipments are risk-mitigated and your treasury is instrumented for speed, you will outpace disruption.
Our role at Absa Mauritius is to make that discipline practical, backed by technology, compliance, and pan-African scale and to help our clients grow confidently, even when trade winds shift.
