Floppy Disks and Debts Across the Sea

Just as I had finally learned the ropes of the first-floor counter operations, I began sitting at the Foreign Exchange counter on the second floor to broaden my experience. It was a place far removed from the hustle and bustle of the first floor, where the shouts and the sounds of cash machines echoed. All that flew around were English technical terms like "L/C (Letter of Credit)," "usance," and "B/L (Bill of Lading)." On the desk sat an English-English dictionary and a dedicated terminal with glowing green text. It wasn't so much stylish as it was exotic, with a strange atmosphere that seemed to blend the humid heat of Asia with the scent of the sea.

Senior S's English and the customer who runs in

At the center of that section was a woman named Senior S. She wore crisp shirts and responded to overseas calls in fluent English. The English that resonated through the receiver was just like Mariah Carey singing at a night karaoke session—smooth and pleasant.

And the accounting manager of the import wholesale company, whose work I was assigned to assist, was also an impressive person.

Every morning, she would run up the stairs and dash to the counter, out of breath.

As she said this with sparkling eyes, she exuded the easygoing air unique to work connected to the other side of the ocean. For someone like me, who only worried about discrepancies in numbers and seals, I wanted to touch even a fragment of the "joy of international trade" that they cultivated.

The 'transformation' of debt and the never-ending relay

Wanting to keep up with their work, I desperately followed the company's trade flow. What I saw there was the gritty, long-term reality of cash flow behind elegant international transactions. This company was asset-rich, holding mountains of stocks and real estate. However, the profits from their core business were razor-thin, and their balance sheet was bloated with accounts receivable and inventory. They were what you'd call a "cash-poor rich company." Senior S, without stopping her hands from typing on the terminal, told me quickly.

First, to bring in goods from overseas, the bank issues an L/C (Letter of Credit) to guarantee payment. Even when the goods arrive at the port, there is no cash because they haven't been sold yet. So, they use "import usance" to have the bank cover the payment. Even when they are finally sold to a major domestic retailer, what is paid is a "promissory note due in three months." So, this time, to repay the usance, they borrow money using that note as collateral. This is a "note loan." Starting from an L/C, to usance, and then to a note loan. The debt tied to a single product changes its form (transforms) one after another, taking over half a year to finally turn into cash. The bank continues to support the entire process within a credit limit called

"aggregate limit"

.

When I muttered this, Senior S whispered without taking her eyes off the screen.

"If we look at it strictly, they'll go bankrupt!"

Once you understand the trade flow, the meaning of the finances also becomes clear. At one point, I received a cold call from headquarters regarding the company's rating (self-assessment).

I know. I know why the inventory is bloated and why the collection cycle is long. I know the unreasonable demands from major retailers in the background and the customer's struggle to swallow them to protect their trade flow. That's why I wanted to protect them, too. I gripped the receiver and accidentally let my true feelings slip.

On the other end of the phone, the examiner was speechless, followed by a roar of fury.

Senior colleague S sighed in exasperation beside me and silently returned to work.

The 'Secret Manual' on a Floppy Disk

Although foreign exchange work was becoming interesting, it was incredibly complex and there were no textbooks.
Business flows differed from company to company, and for tasks like creating export documents, not even a single spelling error was tolerated.
Faxes from customers were always black with correction stamps (commonly known as 'choppers').

I wanted to work smarter. One night, I took a forbidden step.
Physical copies of L/Cs and B/Ls for each client. Secret notes written by my seniors. I stuffed them into my bag and took them home. (*This is not allowed now, but back then it was a simpler time where even if it were discovered during an audit, it would barely result in a deduction.)

Night after night, I sat at my home computer and typed them into Excel.

Due date management for Company A's import usance, special clauses for Company B's export documents.
I systematized the flow of money and goods for each business flow, complete with diagrams.
The storage medium was a 3.5-inch floppy disk.Click—that light sound felt strangely comforting.

A few weeks later, I nervously showed the completed“Complete Guide to Foreign Exchange by Client”to Senior S.

She flipped through my manual and her eyes went wide.

It was the first time since joining the company that I had been genuinely praised.
I felt like I, a 'dropout,' had been of some use to the team.

Perhaps it wasn't just about organizing paperwork, but that my attitude of trying to understand the 'flow' of the customers' business had gotten through.

Namie Amuro and the Vanished Floppy

That night, we went to karaoke for the department's wrap-up party.
As I listened to Senior S belt out her signature Namie Amuro and Mariah Carey songs, I drank a beer of relief.
Her singing voice sounded gentler than usual.

A quarter of a century has passed since then. That floppy disk is, of course, no longer in my possession.
The Excel manual, too, has surely been swallowed by the digital wave and disappeared.
However, the lines I wrote during those late nights were undoubtedly filled with my youth and my awakening to work.

Dreams Beyond SWIFT and the Gritty Wall of Compliance

Times have changed, and when I go to DX conferences, speakers on stage talk with sparkling eyes.

That is certainly true. Technically, it is correct.
However, as someone who knows the front lines of foreign exchange, I sometimes feel a slight sense of discomfort with that overly beautiful future vision.

The essence of foreign exchange is not just sending money.
It is a human drama where 'cargo arriving from across the sea' and 'trust in someone you have yet to meet' are intricately intertwined.

The 'spot the difference' game where we used to frantically search for spelling errors (discrepancies) in L/Cs now includes an even more advanced and heavy 'find the person' task: 'Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and economic sanctions checks.'

Even if AI detects suspicious transactions, the final judgment is ultimately made by human eyes and experience. Still, the times are definitely moving.

Personally, there is news that made me stand even straighter than digital currency.

Wiseconnected to the Zengin System for the first time as a funds transfer service provider. The door to the 'Zengin System,' a sanctuary allowed only to banks, was finally opened to a foreign non-bank company.
They declare loudly:

When I heard those words, I felt that perhaps a powerful ally had come from across the sea to this complex and gritty world of foreign exchange.

The door to the sanctuary has been opened.

There are no longer barriers between banks and non-banks.
The baton of 'trust across the sea' that we desperately connected with choppers and floppy disks back then is being received by those in the digital world, who will accelerate it even further.
To increase the number of smiles on the faces of customers who ran up those stairs. The new scenery has already begun.

#NostalgicBankerSeries #ForeignExchange #ImportFinance #SelfAssessment #NamieAmuro #Wise