Banking Circle Debuts B2B Payments On Behalf Of Customers

For customers of Banking Circle, new services for transparent payments and collections are now available under the customers’ names both locally and across borders, according to information on the company’s website.

The services include Payments on Behalf of (POBO) and Collections on Behalf of (COBO) features, meaning the banks and payments businesses can show sender details while processing B2B payments, according to the company. In addition, they can collect funds into Banking Circle’s Virtual International Bank Account Number (IBAN) accounts in their customers’ names. The IBAN is used for letting companies send and receive cross-border payments in real time.

By using the new services, efficiency is boosted and reconciliations can be done more easily for payments across different jurisdictions, the company stated. It’s an improvement over the old days in which the payments could only come in the name of the payment provider or bank.

The services are now available globally via SWIFT and local clearing in 12 jurisdictions, including the U.K. and SEPA, the company stated. The services are available for payments businesses in 12 currencies and for banks in euros and British pounds, although more currencies and local capabilities are coming.

Banking Circle was also licensed by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier to do business in Luxembourg earlier this year. The move into France was an expansion from the company’s work in the U.K., Germany and Denmark. Luxembourg’s status as a leading European financial center made it an obvious choice for Banking Circle, according to Pierre Gramegna, Luxembourg Minister of Finance.

Last year, Banking Circle partnered with Ixaris for a new way to boost travel payments through streamlining. The partnership consisted of Ixaris using Banking Circle’s Virtual IBAN to existing payments for the travel industry, which would do away with the need for Ixaris’ corporate clients to have physical bank accounts everywhere they do business around the world.