You ask, we answer

Frequently asked questions

iBanFirst is a financial service provider offering payment solutions to SMEs operating internationally. The iBanFirst platform offers businesses a full range of financial products designed for currency transactions. This entails sending or receiving payments in different currencies, allowing businesses to collect payments or pay suppliers, partners, and employees across the globe. Additionally, the iBanFirst platform offers hedging products and expert knowledge to protect businesses against currency risks.

If you would like to learn more about how iBanFirst can help you, feel free to contact us directly.

Any individual or company with international and foreign exchange payment volumes of more than €200,000 per year is eligible to open an iBanFirst account. Restrictions may apply depending on the country of origin, the activity of the company, or the origin of the funds.

Fill out the account opening form to be contacted by an advisor.

Nothing, opening an account at iBanFirst is completely free.

iBanFirst currently offers over 30 currencies to open accounts, receive payments, hold funds, and make payments. Currencies available include:

  • AED Emirati dirham
  • AUD Australian dollar
  • BGN Bulgarian lev
  • CAD Canadian dollar
  • CHF Swiss franc
  • CNY Chinese yuan renminbi
  • CZK Czech koruna
  • DKK Danish krone
  • EUR Euro
  • GBP British pound
  • HHD Hong Kong dollar
  • HUF Hungarian forint
  • ILS Israeli shekel
  • JPY Japanese yen
  • MXN Mexican peso
  • NOK Norwegian krone
  • NZD New Zealand dollar
  • PLN Polish złoty
  • RON Romanian leu
  • RUB Russian ruble
  • SAR Saudi riyal
  • SEK Swedish krona
  • SGD Singaporean dollar
  • THB Thai baht
  • TRY Turkish lira
  • USD American dollar
  • ZAR South African rand 

iBanFirst is specialized on offering SMEs the best possible solution for their needs. Therefore, it does not offer the same scope of services to private entities. However, in cases of significantly larger private transactions, as for instant with real estate purchases, there is a possibility to open a non-commercial account with iBanFirst.

For any specific enquiries, feel free to contact us directly.

Yes, iBanFirst offers the possibility to open multiple accounts in 30+ currencies online.

You can convert money at the real-time exchange rate between these accounts with a low conversion fee set in advance. Additionally, iBanFirst offers a complete overview of the costs involved in exchanging any given currencies before completing a transaction.

Although the iBanFirst payment solution has been optimized for global currency transactions, it is not a problem to make a non-converting currency transaction using the platform. However, if your business is only dealing with same currency transactions iBanFirst might not be the best payment solution for your needs.

iBanFirst offers a comprehensive range of payment speeds to allow companies to choose what best fits their needs.

Payment speeds can be selected when creating a payment. Available payment speeds depend on the beneficiary account, bank, and country.

Payment speeds range from instant to standard:

  • Instant – payments between iBanFirst accounts are instantaneous (and free of charge!)
  • RTGS – payments with RTGS (for Real-Time Gross Settlement) speed option are received by the beneficiary's bank in as little as one hour during business hours. Please note that depending on the beneficiary’s bank, payments may then take a little bit longer to be actually credited to the account.
  • Express – payments with Express speed option are usually credited to the beneficiary's bank account within 24 hours.
  • Standard – payments with Standard speed option are usually credited to the beneficiary's bank account within 2 to 3 business days.

Please note that payment speeds are not guaranteed and that actual payment speeds might vary depending on factors such as regulatory and compliance checks, payment cut-off times, as well as intermediary banks involved in the process.

iBanFirst offers new financial technology to businesses in the form of a payment platform to automate and improve international transactions. However, iBanFirst does not replace your bank as a financial institution. Rather, it enhances your banking experience.

iBanFirst S.A. is duly authorised and regulated by the National Bank of Belgium (under CBE number 0849.872.824) as a payment institution. It is a direct member of the SWIFT network and is certified to make payments throughout the SEPA zone. As a payment institution, iBanFirst S.A. only offers hedging solutions (forward, flexible forward and dynamic forward) connected to underlying payment transactions. iBanFirst S.A. does not offer options or any other financial instruments for investment or speculative purposes.