Case Study: Amplify5

How a Scaling BPO Can Hedge Currency Exposure While Preserving Flexibility

A growth model built across currencies

Amplify5 was built with a clear perspective: business process outsourcing does not have to feel rigid or transactional. Founded in 2020, the company entered a period of rapid growth in 2024, later supported by private equity investment.

Today, Amplify5 supports clients across multiple markets, with operations spanning the UK and South Africa and expansion into the US identified as a key growth market.

Managing a currency mismatch

Amplify5’s operating model creates a structural currency dynamic common across the BPO sector. The business generates most of its revenue in pound sterling, while its largest cost base is denominated in South African rand.

That creates a currency mismatch. When exchange rates move, margins can expand or contract without any corresponding change in business performance. Forecasting also becomes harder to anchor.

For Amplify5, foreign exchange became something to manage continuously, not periodically.

Managing FX exposure without losing flexibility

For a fast-growing business, hedging currency exposure is rarely straightforward. Known costs can be matched against known revenues, but Amplify5 does not operate in a static environment.

The company invests ahead of demand, building capacity early so it can respond to client growth. That approach supports expansion, but it also makes future cost requirements harder to forecast.

The challenge was to reduce FX exposure without overcommitting to future currency needs that may not materialize.

When traditional approaches limit working capital

Many hedging solutions require sizable deposits to secure hedging positions. For a scaling company, that can create a clear disadvantage.

Allocating significant working capital to foreign exchange management can limit the ability to invest in hiring, infrastructure, and growth. At the same time, relying only on spot transactions leaves the business exposed to short-term market movements.

Neither approach fully aligned with the realities of a high-growth BPO.

A measured approach to hedge currency exposure

amplify5 chose to hedge a defined portion of its cost base using forward contracts, while continuing to manage the remainder through spot trades.

In practice, this meant covering roughly 30% of its exposure, enough to create a degree of stability while retaining flexibility as business conditions changed.

Rather than seeking complete certainty, amplify5 introduced protection where it was most needed, while keeping room to adjust as growth evolved.

Reducing volatility and improving cost predictability

The value of this approach became clearer during periods of currency volatility. When the rand strengthened against sterling, placing pressure on margins, the hedged portion of costs provided a buffer.

This helped reduce unpredictability in the business. Financial planning became more grounded, and the range of possible outcomes narrowed.

For Amplify5, the goal was to create greater predictability around future operating costs in a volatile currency environment.

Managing FX as part of scaling the business

Working with Corpay Cross-Border, Amplify5 developed an approach to foreign exchange management that reflected the realities of a high-growth business.

Rather than treating FX as a standalone financial activity, amplify5 incorporated it into a broader framework for managing costs, planning for growth, and navigating uncertainty as it scaled.

For a business built across currencies, managing the balance between flexibility and control is not just a financial exercise. It is part of building a more resilient BPO.

Learn more about Corpay Cross-Border’s currency risk management solutions.

Read the full case study to see how Amplify5 manages currency exposure while scaling its BPO model.

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