Multibanking explained simply – with advantages

The more accounts a company has, the more difficult it is to manage and keep track of them efficiently. Multibanking provides a clever solution by presenting a clear summary of your accounts from all providers in one user interface. What exactly multibanking is, where the advantages and dangers lie and whether a multi currency account is possibly the better alternative is explained in detail in the following article.

What is multibanking?

Multibanking allows users to clearly see accounts from different banks at home and abroad on one user interface. For example, if you have bank accounts with UBS and Deutsche Bank, you no longer need to use different interfaces, but can manage your financial transactions from one central platform.

Multibanking is offered either directly by banks or independent third-party providers and even delivers more functions than individual accounts, for example the integration of payment service providers such as PayPal or Revolut.

Tresio, for example, is a Swiss multibanking system specifically designed to meet the needs of SMEs. With Tresio, users can connect more than 2,300 banks from 31 European countries, including the payment service providers Revolut, Wise, PayPal and Stripe.

What multibanking is not

In multibanking, the focus is not on sending foreign currencies to suppliers or receiving money from customers. Traditionally, dedicated foreign currency accounts are used for this purpose. Therefore, if you have an extensive global network of customers or suppliers, a multi currency account may be a better option which, at the same time, helps you reducing costs.

Important functions of multibanking

It is no longer unusual to have several accounts. This is especially true for entrepreneurs. Centralising different accounts is therefore the most important function of multibanking. Multibanking enables consumers and entrepreneurs to keep track of their finances, to analyse expenses and, as a result, to make robust decisions.

For example, depending on the provider, it is possible to create financial reports across multiple accounts. An automatic balance reconciliation allows users to always access synchronised bank accounts, including foreign currencies. This ensures complete transparency.

What are the advantages of multibanking?

Multibanking offers consumers and entrepreneurs a clear interface to centrally manage all banking transactions in one place.

The advantages of multibanking can be summarised as follows:

• All accounts, including those from different banks at home and abroad, can be managed in a single place.
• Turnover is updated in real time, so you only need to access one dashboard to keep track of account activity and turnover.
• Not only banks, but also payment services such as Revolut, Wise, PayPal and Stripe can be integrated into the multibanking system.
• Security: Trustworthy providers have a secure server network and encrypt your data. If this is not the case, payments via multibanking should be avoided so that unauthorised users do not gain access to your account data.

How secure is multibanking?

The security of multibanking depends primarily on the providers. Therefore, consumers and businesses should carefully check security precautions and functions of individual providers.

For example, some providers allow transactions to be carried out via their interface. This might be risky, however, as unauthorised users may gain access to your account data. Users should therefore pay attention to the respective data protection guidelines when making their choice.

In addition, the server location is crucial. At Tresio, all data, including bank account information, is stored and processed exclusively on Swiss servers. This ensures a high level of security and anonymity.

Differences between multibanking and multi currency account

Multibanking is simple and makes it easier to keep track of your finances. Nevertheless, some functions may not be offered at all or only to a limited extent. Some banks make it as inconvenient as possible for their customers to use multibanking services from other providers. For example, interfaces may not work flawlessly or certain functions are not enabled for multibanking.

In addition, you still pay high fees for international payments and foreign currency bank accounts. Multibanking may make it easier to keep track, but it does not accelerate transfers nor does it reduce international payment fees.

If you do not have multiple local accounts or are interested in a more efficient and much cheaper international money transfer solution, a multi currency account might be a better option for your business.

With a multi currency account, it is possible to carry out transactions in different currencies on one user interface, including exotic currencies. Users who still use traditional banks for foreign currencies face increased costs and time, as well as having to maintain different foreign currency accounts with their own IBAN.

By using a multi currency account, entrepreneurs can cancel their foreign currency accounts and save a lot of time, costs and administrative effort.

• Multibanking is primarily suitable for larger companies that already have various accounts at local banks and would like to manage them more efficiently and transparently
• A multi currency account is suitable for entrepreneurs who want to carry out transactions in different foreign currencies fast and at lower costs

Conclusion: Multibanking provides transparency, a multi currency account facilitates execution

Multibanking is the future of large companies. It is an extremely helpful means of obtaining a better overview of the entire financial flow. The prerequisite is that users have several accounts from different institutions. For transactions abroad, on the other hand, a multi currency account is the preferred solution to save time and money.