Allocate client money accurately
Reduce payment rejection rates from error-prone payment references
How it works
Virtual IBANs (VIBANs) are fast becoming an indispensable tool for ambitious businesses handling high payment volumes with multiple counterparties – customers or suppliers. Under a single account, an unlimited number of unique, client-specific VIBANs can be created – almost instantaneously – removing the need for manual reconciliation and payment reference numbers.
BlockFills has adopted BCB Group payment accounts in US Dollars (USD), Sterling (GBP), Euro (EUR), and Yen (JPY) for its fiat currency operations. BCB is also providing virtual IBANs, allowing BlockFills to efficiently manage and reconcile payments in and out of its accounts. BCB Group payment accounts also have access to BCB’s proprietary payments system BLINC, which enables instant and fee-free transactions between all BCB account clients.
“Working with BCB Group has enabled BlockFills to deliver streamlined payment solutions to our clients, speeding up transactions as well as on and off-boarding between crypto and fiat,” said Nick Hammer, BlockFills CEO. “We have also increased our own operational efficiencies through multiple currency accounts and virtual IBANs.”
Nick Hammer
BlockFills Co-founder and CEO
Benefits
Our payment accounts can now be partitioned into any number of sub-accounts that you can label with your clients’ names, identified individually by virtual IBANs, and which roll up to your account’s main IBAN.
Smarter solutions
Improve straight through processing rates and overall customer experience.
Virtual IBANs remove the need for payment reference numbers and enable you and your customers to send and receive payments using universally recognisable account details
Improve Open Banking settlement
To collect open banking payments and instantly issue payouts
Faster payments. Smoother transactions
Virtual IBANs speed up the payment process by simplifying how funds are collected and dispersed. They smooth the reconciliation process and allow you to have better oversight of payments and receipts
Trade cross border
Virtual IBANs can be set up in GBP and EUR and are particularly useful for businesses that regularly trade across borders. Not only do they improve overall customer experience, but they can also improve business reach
Who uses Virtual IBANs?
Frequent vIBAN users include cross-border businesses such as import/export firms, ecommerce companies, foreign exchange traders and international property businesses
-
Compliance and anti-money laundering challenges are reduced, through clear segregation and improved transparency of funds.
-
Our vIBANs cut costs and complexity, giving businesses time back to focus on strategic goals and other vital corporate tasks.
-
Enhancement of security through account privacy and reduction of manual processing.
-
Reduce risk
Compliance and anti-money laundering challenges are reduced, through clear segregation and improved transparency of funds.
-
Cut costs
Our vIBANs cut costs and complexity, giving businesses time back to focus on strategic goals and other vital corporate tasks.
-
Secure
Enhancement of security through account privacy and reduction of manual processing.
Contact us
To find out more about using virtual IBANs speak to your BCB customer service representative or contact us today.
FAQs
- What is a virtual IBAN?A virtual IBAN, or vIBAN, is a unique account identifier used to route payments into and out of an underlying account. It looks and functions like a regular IBAN to external banks and payment providers, but it does not hold a balance itself. Instead, it acts as a dedicated payment route linked to your main account, helping you identify customers, improve reconciliation and deliver a smoother payment experience.
- How do virtual IBANs work?Everything operates primarily through our API. Here is the standard flow:
- Creation: You use our API to request a virtual account within your account and assign it a specific name (e.g., your customer's name). You then share these bank details with your payer.
- Receiving Funds: When a deposit is made into the virtual IBAN, the funds actually credit your main account balance. You receive a notification of the deposit along with virtual IBAN details, making it easy to reconcile who the payment came from.
- Paying Out: You state the beneficiary details for the person associated with the virtual IBAN, and request to route funds out. This debits your main account, but the payout comes from the virtual IBAN.
- What are the main benefits of using virtual IBANs?Virtual IBANs vastly improve both your internal reconciliation and your customer’s experience:
- Automated Reconciliation: Easily identify exactly who is paying you without relying on reference fields.
- Improved Customer Experience: Customers can pay into, and receive payouts from an account in their own name, rather than your business's name.
- First-Party Transactions: Because the account is in the user's name, it appears as a first-party transaction to the sending/receiving bank, reducing friction.
- Familiar Capabilities: Virtual accounts (available in GBP and EUR) share the same payment capabilities as your account.
- How are virtual IBANs different from traditional IBANs?Externally, they are indistinguishable. To a sending or receiving bank, a virtual IBAN looks and functions exactly like a traditional IBAN.
Internally within the BCB system, the main difference is that virtual IBANs do not hold balances. They are simply a routing and segmentation method tied to your account, designed to improve the accuracy of reconciliation and allow you to name the virtual IBAN after your client. - Who should use virtual IBANs?Virtual IBANs are well suited to businesses managing high payment volumes across multiple counterparties. This includes cross-border firms such as ecommerce platforms, import/export businesses, foreign exchange providers and international property companies. They are particularly valuable where accurate allocation of client funds and efficient reconciliation are critical.
- Can I create a virtual IBAN for each customer?Yes. BCB enables the creation of an unlimited number of virtual IBANs under a single account, allowing businesses to assign a unique identifier to each customer or counterparty. These can be generated almost instantaneously, supporting scalable onboarding and payment processing as client volumes grow.
- Do virtual IBANs eliminate the need for payment references?Yes, they generally remove the need for customers to enter manual payment references when issued to identify who is paying in, freeing up the reference field for other purposes.
More importantly, virtual IBANs significantly reduce payment risk. Because they support systems like Confirmation of Payee (CoP) & Verification of Payee in the UK/Europe, the sender gets verification that the account name matches the details before they send funds. This builds confidence that they are paying the right account and drastically reduces errors compared to manually typing a reference code to route funds to a specific account. - Can virtual IBANs support multiple currencies?At BCB, we offer virtual accounts in multiple currencies (such as GBP and EUR). However, individual transactions on a specific virtual account are single-currency only. You will use specific GBP virtual IBANs for GBP routing, and EUR virtual IBANs for EUR routing.
- How quickly can virtual IBANs be created?They are generated in a matter of seconds. Typically, via our API, the creation time takes between 1 to 5 seconds.
- Are virtual IBANs secure and regulated?Yes. Virtual IBANs are fully supported within BCB’s regulated payment infrastructure and are subject to the same security and compliance standards as underlying payment accounts. This includes robust controls around fund safeguarding, transaction monitoring and operational resilience, ensuring that clients can use virtual IBANs with confidence.
- Do I need a separate bank account for each IBAN?No. All virtual IBANs sit within your normal account. However, virtual IBAN capability is not turned on by default. You will need a specific account configured and enabled by us to start generating them.
- How can I integrate virtual IBANs into my systems?Virtual IBANs can be integrated directly into your systems via API. This enables businesses to automate the creation, allocation and reconciliation of IBANs within their existing workflows, supporting a more streamlined and scalable payment infrastructure.