Multi-currency IBAN: A guide for SMEs

As an SME navigating cross-border payments, you may be dealing with the following:

• You’re struggling with the complexity of making and receiving overseas payments and managing separate bank accounts for multiple currencies.
• You’re juggling several currency accounts, which makes international payments and reconciliation difficult.
• You have no visibility or control over how your international transactions are processed and no access to support when issues arise.
• The fees you’re paying for FX are unpredictable, making it difficult to plan and manage your costs, especially when dealing with different currencies.

If that’s the case, you’ll know a multi-currency IBAN account is a potential solution. However, finding the right provider can be challenging. To set you on the right path, this article will answer key questions such as:

• The benefits of a multi-currency IBAN
• The difference between a multi-currency IBAN vs virtual IBAN
• The issues with using mass market fintech providers
• Six things to look for in a multi-currency IBAN solution
• Why IFX provides a good multi-currency IBAN solution for UK-based businesses
• Why a business chose IFX for its multi-currency IBAN solution

Want to get started with a multi-currency IBAN right away? Book a call with us.

The benefits of a multi-currency IBAN

A multi-currency IBAN is easier than managing bank accounts for different currencies because it lets you send money, receive money, and hold various currencies in one single account. This saves time, reduces fees, and simplifies cross-border transactions. Here’s a breakdown of the benefits:

• Transact in different currencies without needing separate bank accounts for each currency: With a single multi-currency IBAN, you don’t need to open separate bank accounts in different countries or currencies. One account does it all.
• Improve cash flow control: Business funds in multiple currencies sit in one place. This means you can see your balances at a glance and make payments without constantly moving money between accounts. You choose when to convert, helping you to avoid unfavourable exchange rates and giving you more control over your international cash flow.
• Speed up payments and cut conversion costs: Receive payments in the original currency and send money in your recipient’s local currency without converting funds every time. This helps you avoid poor exchange rates, unnecessary conversion fees, and the hassle of frequent currency exchange.
• Generate invoices faster: Using a single IBAN for all currencies removes the need to manage multiple account numbers when invoicing. This simplifies your workflows and saves time.
• Reconcile payments more efficiently: One IBAN means you don’t have to compile transactions across multiple platforms for reconciliation. Everything you need is available in one account.

The difference between a multi-currency IBAN vs virtual IBAN

While they are often used interchangeably, multi-currency and virtual IBAN are actually slightly different things. A multi-currency IBAN is a single account that lets you send and receive payments in multiple currencies. A virtual IBAN is the unique identifier for your multi-currency account.

The issues with using mass market fintech providers

Traditional banks can make cross-border payments difficult for SMEs and, in their frustration, many turn to mass market fintech providers as an obvious alternative.

With traditional banks, onboarding can be slow, currency accounts tend to be limited to USD, GBP, or EUR, they can take weeks to set up, and costs may be higher. Their processes are rigid, and it can be hard to track payments or understand charges.

In contrast, accounts with mass market fintech providers are often easier to set up, support many currencies, and have features like digital wallets or user-friendly apps. However, while convenient, they have some drawbacks, which means they’re not always the best fit for businesses. Some issues you might encounter with these services include:

You have limited control over how payments are processed

With mass market fintech providers, you have less control over your transactions.

If issues arise, you’re unlikely to get proactive updates. Because of their scale, these providers aren’t set up to prioritise individual transactions. The first sign that something’s wrong could be when a frustrated supplier or employee gets in touch, wondering where their payment is.

You also won’t have much say over the currency routes you want to use in international transfers. For example, SEPA payments may be faster and cheaper for EU transactions, but you might end up stuck with a slower, more expensive SWIFT route simply because the provider may make that decision for you.

Their pricing is unpredictable and can increase as you grow

Mass market providers tend to offer pricing models built for individuals or very small businesses. That often means tiered, staggered, or subscription-based fee structures. At first, the costs might seem low. But as your transaction volumes grow, you may need to upgrade your plan to access higher limits or additional features.

Fees can creep up on certain plans without clear communication. You won’t always know what you’re being charged, when the pricing has changed, or why. For SMEs trying to forecast and control operational costs, this lack of visibility makes budgeting difficult.

They don’t offer dedicated support when things go wrong

These providers tend to be low-cost and low-touch, where customers have reported difficulty getting answers from customer service, which means there’s little to no personalised support if issues arise. For example, The Times reported an incident in which Revolut suspended and later closed a business account containing €300,000, preventing the company from paying its staff. Although that issue was rectified, it’s potentially a cause of significant stress for the business in the short term, eroding trust in that provider.

For smaller enterprises, you’re unlikely to get a dedicated account manager who understands your business or your transaction history. Instead, if you run into a problem, you’re often left navigating chatbots, help centres, or generic FAQs before you are eventually pointed towards opening an email ticket. Issues can drag on for weeks, potentially causing payment delays and operational disruptions.

Six things to look for in a multi-currency IBAN solution

With so many providers on the market, it’s not always clear which features matter or how they’ll impact your business. To help you choose the right fit, here are seven key things to look for:

1. Does it offer broad currency coverage?

Different solutions vary in their currency reach and ability to support international growth. So it’s important to check how many currencies a solution supports. The more currencies, the fewer barriers you’ll face when expanding into new markets.

2. Does it provide the payment details I require?

When evaluating a solution, consider what payment information you’ll be able to see and how easy the dashboard is to use. This helps with managing supplier expectations and resolving issues if payments get delayed.

3. Does it offer flexibility over payment routes?

Different routes (SWIFT, SEPA, Faster Payments, etc.) have different speeds and costs, depending on the payment destination. Look for a provider that gives you control over which route to use, so you can choose to prioritise speed or savings depending on the recipient’s location or the urgency of the payment. In this way, you can avoid higher fees and prevent unnecessary delays.

4. Does it offer transparency and control over FX costs?

Knowing your cross-border payment costs upfront is essential for planning and cost management. Ideally, the solution will offer competitive exchange rates and low processing fees, which you can see upfront, so you always know what you’re going to pay. Additionally, currency fluctuations can make it hard to predict and manage your payment processing costs. So it helps if your provider lets you lock in rates and protect your profit margins from market volatility.

5. Does it provide personal support and dedicated account management?

Disruptions happen. If this does happen, you need human support to find a resolution quickly, not self-help tools. So you’ll want to ensure your chosen solution offers human support and a dedicated account manager with knowledge of your business. In this way, you can be sure you’re not left handling payment issues alone.

6. Does it provide multiple sub-accounts under a single IBAN?

If you want to organise payments by supplier, brand, or region, look for a solution that offers multiple sub-accounts under your main IBAN profile. Each sub-account should come with its own IBAN, making reconciliation and reporting much simpler.

Why pick IFX for your multi-currency IBAN solution

Managing international payments doesn’t have to be complicated. IFX Payments is a purpose-built solution for UK-based SMEs that need to send and receive money overseas.

We bring 20 years of expertise in cross-border payments and a solution designed to streamline international transfers for SMEs across a range of industries, such as shipping, ecommerce, and travel.

Here’s what sets us apart as a leading multi-currency IBAN solution:

Start sending international transfers in as little as 48 hours

You don’t have to wait weeks to get started with a multi-currency IBAN. At IFX, we focus on automation and speed, aiming to get corporate clients that are not financial institutions onboarded within 48 hours, if all goes well. Throughout the process, your dedicated account manager will be on hand to support you and ensure everything runs smoothly so you’re live and transacting quickly.
Send 70 currencies, receive 46 currencies, and open up to 1,000 sub-accounts

Use our multi-currency IBAN to send mass payments in 70 currencies and receive and hold in 46 currencies. You won’t have to switch between different currency accounts or deal with costly conversions: you can send and receive from one account.

If you want to manage payments to different suppliers, brands, or regions separately, you can open as many as 1,000 sub-accounts, each with its own unique IBAN. No need to go through the whole onboarding journey again. In many cases, only a short check will be required and if everything looks good, you can get up and running swiftly. Each sub-account is available under one dashboard, giving you full flexibility in how you organise, track, and report on your funds.

Choose the payment network and more

For greater control over your payments, we give you flexibility to choose between payment networks like SWIFT, SEPA, and Faster Payments. You’ll always have the flexibility to choose the best route for each payment based on speed, fees, and the destination. That way, you could save and avoid unnecessary delays.

To help you plan ahead, you can set payments to be sent as soon as possible or schedule them to send on a specified date, so that you have greater control over your payouts. Plus, our dashboard provides key information about the payment, giving you greater visibility. If there’s ever an issue, you won’t be left chasing answers – we’ll proactively contact you and help resolve it.

Get clear pricing and upfront quotes

Unexpected fees and hidden FX costs can quickly eat into your margins. That’s why IFX offers transparent pricing. During onboarding, you’ll get a full breakdown of our fee structure including what you will be charged for currency exchange. When sending mass payments you can clearly see the fees attached to each transaction, and our currency exchange charges are competitive, often beating traditional banks.

To help you manage FX volatility, we’ll let you hold funds in multiple currencies so you can lock in rates and protect your budget from market swings.

Work with an account manager with relevant experience

Delayed payments, compliance checks, and FX complications can all escalate fast, causing operational delays and unhappy suppliers.

That’s why, as a service-led provider with a 4.5-star rating on TrustPilot, we ensure you always have the help you need. From day one, you’ll be assigned an account manager who understands your business, has experience working with a number of industries, and is familiar with your transaction history.

That’s someone who’s always on hand to guide you through the process and help you navigate challenges as they come up. Whether it’s helping assess a payment issue, or providing market updates, your account manager is there to keep your payments on track and support your business in running smoothly.

Why an international business picked IFX to make daily payments at all hours

A company making thousands of payments to vendors and employees across Europe and the Middle East needed flexibility when managing their payments.

The company also needed to know exactly when payments would be sent and how much they would cost upfront. IFX tailored their customer service to suit them and provided a solution that enabled it to:

• Submit payments anytime, with clarity on when payments will be sent.
• Schedule to send payments in advance.
• See upfront pricing on thousands of payments in mass payments.

Overall, the company values the flexibility, transparency, and control IFX provides and which they couldn’t get from previous providers.

Choose a multi-currency IBAN that promises reliability, transparency, and dedicated support

As an SME navigating the challenges of cross-border payments, a multi-currency IBAN can make a significant difference. It’s a simpler, more efficient way to send, receive, and hold multiple currencies, without having to manage multiple bank accounts or deal with unpredictable fees.

By prioritising solutions that offer broad currency coverage, transparent and upfront FX costs, flexible payment routing, and real-time tracking, you’ll reduce operational risk and improve cash flow visibility. On top of that, dedicated account support will ensure you can resolve issues quickly, protecting your business from delays, fraud, and unnecessary costs.

And, finally, the right provider won’t just meet your current needs but act as an active growth partner, scaling with your business and ensuring cross-border payments drive you forward instead of holding you back.

The contents of this article do not constitute financial advice and are provided for general information purposes only. Links to third-party websites are included for convenience only, and IFX Payments holds no responsibility for the content, services, products, or materials on those sites.