Multi-Currency IBANs
Multi-currency IBANs: receive in any currency, convert on your terms, not the bank’s.
Receiving is not the same as converting. A multi-currency IBAN lets money land in euros, dollars or more and stay there, so you convert when the rate suits you or pay a foreign supplier straight from the balance.
The market, in numbers
What is a multi-currency IBAN?
A conversion is charged only when you move money between currencies. The practical win is that receiving is not the same as converting: money can land in euros and stay in euros.
You convert on your timetable, at a rate you compare, or not at all if you have euro costs to pay from it.
Most providers pair the IBAN with local account details in other markets, so customers pay you like a local rather than sending a costly international wire.
Named IBANs, virtual IBANs and local details
Three phrases get used loosely. Untangling them tells you what to ask a provider for.
Virtual IBAN
A unique account number that routes to an underlying master account rather than holding funds itself. One business can run many under a single account.
Named IBAN
A virtual IBAN issued per client or entity, so each customer pays into an account number that is theirs alone. It tells a platform whose money just arrived.
Local account details
The per-market receiving credentials, a UK sort code, a US routing number, so you can be paid domestically in each place.
The account itself
The wallet holding balances in several currencies. The IBAN and local details are the credentials that let money reach it, not the account.
The reconciliation payoff
This is the operational win, and for many businesses it is bigger than the FX saving.
When every client or project has its own named IBAN, an incoming payment identifies itself. You stop matching mystery credits to invoices by hand, and you stop relying on a customer to quote the right reference.
For a platform, an agency or a group with many entities, that saving is the reason to bother.
It also cuts the number of real accounts you run. You collect locally in several countries without opening a bank account, or a legal entity, in each one, and we see that operational saving decide the choice as often as the FX does.
How much a multi-currency IBAN costs
The pricing splits in two, and only one half is where the money goes.
Receiving is usually cheap or free on local rails, and holding a balance is normally free. The cost lands on conversion, the exchange-rate margin when you move between currencies, so that is the number to compare.
Wise converts at the mid-market rate with a fee from around 0.33%, and Airwallex charges 0.5% over the interbank rate on major currencies and 1% on others.
Broker-style providers price the margin into the rate and quote case by case. Because the whole point is to convert less and on your terms, we weigh a low, clear conversion margin more heavily than a headline monthly fee.
Named IBAN, or virtual IBAN?
Both route to the same underlying account. Which you need depends on whether you must tell customers apart at the point money lands.
- ◆You need per-client reconciliation, so each customer pays into an account number that is theirs alone.
- ◆You run a platform, an agency or a group of entities and want incoming money to identify itself.
- ◆You are tired of chasing customers for the right reference before you can match a credit.
- ◆You mainly want to hold several currencies and convert on your own timetable.
- ◆You collect from a handful of counterparties you can already tell apart without a dedicated number each.
- ◆Your priority is the conversion margin and the currencies held, not sorting who paid what.
UK multi-currency account providers, side by side
Verified from provider websites and the FCA register. Currency counts and pricing change, so confirm on the provider’s live pages for your currencies.
| Provider | Hold / local details | Conversion cost | Protection |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wise Business | 40+ currencies; local details in 20+ | From 0.33%, mid-market rate; £50 one-off to receive | Safeguarded, not FSCS |
| Airwallex | Local details across 130+ countries | 0.5% over interbank (majors), 1% others; plans £19–£999+/mo | Safeguarded, not FSCS |
| Revolut Business | IBANs for major currencies; 25+ balances | Free FX to plan limits, then a margin | UK accounts with Revolut Bank: FSCS to £120,000 |
| WorldFirst | World Account, 20+ currencies with local details | Margin quote-based | Safeguarded, not FSCS |
Important — read before you send
Safeguarding is not the same as FSCS protection.
Most multi-currency IBAN providers, Wise and Airwallex among them, are e-money or payment institutions, not banks. Your balance is safeguarded, held separately so it can be returned if the firm fails. It is not covered by FSCS.
The FSCS £120,000 deposit guarantee applies to bank and building society deposits, not to a balance at an e-money provider. Safeguarding is not a perfect substitute either.
If a failed firm’s safeguarding account has a shortfall, you can lose money, and getting it back can take longer than the FSCS’s usual timescale.
One useful exception exists here. Revolut’s UK business accounts sit with its UK bank, so balances there carry FSCS cover to £120,000, unlike the safeguarded-only providers. The FCA is also tightening safeguarding for the rest from May 2026.
Holding euros instead of converting on arrival.
The account’s real value is the choice of when to convert, and the option not to.
Worked example
Convert it the instant it arrives and you take that day’s rate, good or bad. Hold it in a euro balance instead, and converting at April 2026’s weaker-pound average would have turned the same euros into close to £508,000, around £8,000 more than a stronger-pound day.
The lesson is not that holding always wins, because the rate can move either way. It is that a multi-currency IBAN gives you the choice of when to convert.
And the option not to convert at all, if you have euro costs to pay from the same balance. That is natural hedging, and it is free.
What to check before opening a multi-currency account
Six checks, run against the currencies you actually receive.
- 01
Confirm it holds and gives local details in the exact currencies you receive, not just the majors.
- 02
Get the conversion margin against the mid-market rate, since that is where the cost sits.
- 03
Check whether you get local rails such as SEPA and Faster Payments, or only SWIFT, which is slower and dearer.
- 04
If you need per-client reconciliation, confirm you can issue a named IBAN per customer or entity.
- 05
Establish the protection: safeguarded or, in Revolut’s case, FSCS, and read the provider’s own wording.
- 06
Check the FCA authorisation of the entity you are actually contracting with.
Common questions
What is the difference between a virtual IBAN and a normal IBAN? +
A normal IBAN identifies an account that holds funds. A virtual IBAN is a unique number that routes to an underlying master account without holding funds itself, so one business can run many virtual IBANs under a single account, mainly to sort and reconcile incoming payments.
Can I get a euro or dollar IBAN without opening a bank account abroad? +
Yes. That is the core use case. A multi-currency account gives you local receiving details in several markets, so you can collect like a local without a bank account or a legal entity in each country.
Is money in a multi-currency IBAN FSCS-protected? +
Usually not. Most providers are e-money or payment institutions, so balances are safeguarded, not FSCS-protected. The exception in this list is Revolut Business, whose UK accounts sit with its bank and carry FSCS cover to £120,000. Always check the specific provider.
What does a multi-currency account actually cost? +
Receiving and holding are usually free or low-cost; the real charge is the conversion margin when you move between currencies. Compare that margin against the mid-market rate, because the design intent is to convert less often and on your own terms.
Can each of my clients have their own IBAN? +
With providers that issue named virtual IBANs, yes. Each client pays into an account number that is theirs alone, so incoming money identifies itself and reconciliation stops being manual. Confirm the provider supports named IBANs for your use case.
Tell us what you receive.
Share the currencies you collect, roughly what you move and whether per-client reconciliation matters. We will introduce you to the provider that fits, and be straight about the one that does not. No cost, no obligation.