Introducing a new service: Virtual IBAN’s

We are pleased to make a new offer to you: you can obtain a virtual IBAN (International Bank Account Number) with our assistance. Both private individuals and corporate entities should be interested in this opportunity.

A virtual IBAN allows redirecting incoming payments to a ‘physical’ bank account. For the person who is making the payment, a virtual IBAN will work just like a regular IBAN account: when he or she sends the money, it will eventually arrive to the physical bank account that is linked to the virtual IBAN.

How does a virtual IBAN work for the company that receives payments? This company can assign a separate virtual IBAN to each client. In fact, an individual virtual IBAN can be used for a single transaction! All the virtual IBAN’s that the seller distributes to the clients are linked to a ‘real’ IBAN with a physical bank and thus all the payments made with the use of multiple virtual IBAN’s arrive to the physical bank account very fast.

Virtual IBAN’s help save on the service fees that banks impose for setting up accounts as you do not have to open may bank accounts in many different countries. Only one account will suffice if multiple virtual IBAN’s are linked to this physical account number. Besides, virtual IBAN’s allow saving on currency exchange rates, which is of particular importance in case your clients pay you in different national currencies.

In addition to that, your customers will not have to enter any data by hand when making payments. All they have to remember is their virtual IBAN’s and nothing else as their payments will be automatically rerouted to your ‘real’ bank account. Arguably, when it is easy for the client to make the payment, there are better chances that he or she will be disposed to make it!

Below please find an incomplete list of the benefits that virtual IBAN’s can bring to regulated financial service providers in particular:

• An electronic wallet provider can issue a different IBAN to every wallet holder, thus providing an individual virtual bank account to each customer.
• A company issuing prepaid cards can use virtual IBAN’s to simplify the process of reloading the cards for the cardholders.
• A bank can use virtual IBAN’s that link the payments to its ‘physical’ correspondent account. This feature will be beneficial for the clients who receive international payments frequently. The bank instructions will become easier to manage, as entering ‘for further credit’ details will be unnecessary.
• A FOREX business can acquire virtual IBAN’s in the countries whose national currencies it trades in, thus making it easier to receive payments in local currencies. For instance, the company can obtain a CH IBAN for payments in Swiss Francs, a NOK IBAN for Norwegian krone payments, and so on.

Financial institutions will especially benefit from obtaining virtual IBAN’s as they supply a multi-currency and multi-jurisdictional banking solution to payment service providers: the need to establish many different banking relationships virtually disappears.

Without doubt, there are compliance requirements that you have to meet when obtaining a virtual IBAN. Such an IBAN will allow an offshore company, for example, or a bank from a ‘non-cooperating’ jurisdiction to gain direct access to the SEPA zone. With this in mind, you have to realize that the compliance issues are quite sensitive here.

At the same time, the fin-tech specialists at Offshore Pro Group have already arranged virtual IBAN’s for a number of our clients. We will be happy to do it for you too but please bear in mind that there is a set-up cost involved and an upfront payment is required. Please expect your total expenditures to come up to around 10,000 to 15,000 EUR. The process of obtaining a virtual IBAN also involves a large amount of paperwork, so it will take some time as well.

In addition to virtual IBANs, Offshore Pro Group’s fin-tech specialists will gladly help you apply for a license, a foreign bank account, or a second passport of an onshore or an offshore jurisdiction. We provide a wide range of professional consultation and intermediary services. Please contact us today via [email protected] and arrange for personal call!