Plain-English guides for people who have never hedged before. No jargon without a definition.
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If you've never thought about FX before, read this once. Everything in the app will make sense after.
If your business pays or receives money in a foreign currency, the exchange rate between now and the day the money moves can change. That movement can quietly add cost or shrink margin. That uncertainty is FX risk.
Example: you owe a US supplier $250,000 in four months. If the pound weakens against the dollar between now and then, that same invoice costs you more in pounds.
The budget rate is the exchange rate you assumed when you built your plan, set your prices, or quoted the deal. It's your line in the sand. If the market gets worse than this, your margin starts disappearing.
A forward is a contract that lets you fix today the exchange rate you'll use on a future date. You agree the rate now and settle the money later. No cash changes hands up front; you just remove the uncertainty.
You don't have to cover everything with one contract. Splitting a large exposure across a few forwards on different dates averages the rate out. That's a structure your BLK.FX specialist can set up for you, since the app itself doesn't place trades.
Unhedged means you do nothing and convert at whatever rate exists on the day, which could be better or worse. Hedged means you've locked some or all of it with a forward at a rate you already know.
You rarely have to choose one or the other. The Blend your position slider lets you set any hedge ratio between 0% and 100% and shows what it does to your numbers. Hedging isn't about winning; it's about making the bad outcomes less bad and the result predictable.
Indicative guidance to support a conversation with BLK.FX, not financial advice or a quote.
Go further on specific topics. Still jargon-free, written for CFOs, FDs, and founders.
Understand how exchange rate movements affect your bottom line, and what leaving them unmanaged can cost.
Hedging isn't speculation, it's the financial equivalent of insurance. See why many businesses value certainty over hope.
The most common hedging instrument in FX. Understand how forward contracts work, when businesses use them, and what they cost.
How limit orders and stop losses execute automatically, how businesses pair them, and how they differ from rate alerts.
Hedging is not three separate techniques. It is one line from 0% to 100%, and blending is everywhere in between.
What the exposure tile, the rate move control, the at-risk figure, the timeline and the range of outcomes are actually telling you.
Four hypothetical case studies showing how different businesses use hedging to protect their margins.
Seven pitfalls that cost businesses money, and what businesses do instead.
A practical framework for creating an FX hedging policy that satisfies governance requirements and protects your business.
The rate your plan assumes: how to choose one, how often to revisit it, and what the numbers show when the market drifts away from it.
FX exposure is the amount of money a business has riding on exchange rates. Here is how to measure it, net it and read it.
A spot deal exchanges currency now. A forward fixes today the rate for a future date. Here is what each does and what each leaves open.
Cover is a ratio between 0% and 100%. See what each ratio does to the risk on the same payment, and what finance teams weigh when they choose one.
Forwards are one of several ways to reduce FX risk. Here are the main options, what each does and what each costs, in plain English.