Banks vs Payment Platforms

Guide to the right choice

‘’Dear Sir, your account falls out of the bank’s risk appetite. We are kindly informing you that the account will be closed within two weeks. Please provide alternative bank details in order to transfer the remaining funds “.

Alternative? Do I have an alternative? – Alex is confused: should he try to find out the actual reason for the account closure and try not to let it happen? Or rush into opening a new bank account? Eventually, he decided not to waste time on trying to save the bank account, but to go for a new one.

Where to open a new account for an international company?

Before the good news, let’s face some facts. Many banks optimistically promise to provide an account (sometimes even in a matter of days!) However, none of the banks mention that they could be reviewing an application for a month, as well as the compliance team could spend another two months on checking and requesting additional documents. Beware! That during this process and after all your time spent there is no guarantee that the account will be approved.

This scenario happens just because of our mindset: “ok, most of the services I will leave up to professionals but it would be easy to open a bank account ourselves, why should I pay for it”?

If your bank account application got stuck at the primary stage, or the bank did not accept you as a client, there is a 90% chance that your application was of a poor quality. A strong application should take into consideration your type of business, geography, and more importantly the expectations of the chosen bank.

Banks still open accounts for international businesses. Banks still approve applications from non-residents. It is important to know which one to choose and how to address them.

Let’s continue with the good news:

Nowadays classic banks have a strong competitor – payment platforms. More than 50 million accounts are already opened by payment platforms worldwide. Active competition between payment platforms makes the process of account opening quick (approximately 5 days). The market forces of competition and cutting edge technology enable payment institutions to offer lower fees (up to 9 times lower). Most payment platforms are fintech companies utilizing state-of-the-art technology, which makes them more efficient and cost-effective. This cost efficiency is passed to the clients.

The visible advantages are:

• fast track to company IBAN;
• same day transfers;
• no hidden fees and transaction limits;
• low fees;
• cutting edge internet Banking interface.

All these make an account with a payment platform not just an alternative to a classic bank account, but a far better solution for those who want to be up-to-date with the banking innovations. Your company would get an individual IBAN, multicurrency account, payment cards, and limitless opportunities to manage, convert and protect your funds wisely.

An account with a payment platform is convenient, easy, and safe. The activities of such payment platforms are tightly regulated, and your money is kept totally segregated from funds of the financial institution itself and/ or funds of other clients.

Account opening abroad is a procedure that requires good understanding of banking jurisdictions and financial centers. It requires knowledge of each country’s banking sector as well as previous experience with the chosen banking institution. To deal with this without professional help is difficult. All you need to do is decide whether you prefer a classic bank account or a more modern and dynamic solution of a payment platform.

Company account opening is simple. When entrusted to experts.