A quiet groan or a deep sigh in the finance department? Probably yet another international payment gone south. What exactly can go wrong?

Making payments is never easy, but international payments can sometimes be a real pain. Payments in euros and in the SEPA zone usually go off without a hitch.

However, many companies regularly experience problems when making payments to countries outside the SEPA zone. What's more, finding a solution is often tedious and time-consuming. There is also an impression that international payments are shrouded in secrecy. The amount enters the system, and eventually comes out the other side. But the lead times, costs and payment dates used are often not clear enough or difficult to predict.

This impression held by companies is partially correct, explains Wim Grosemans (Head of Product Management International Payments at the BNP Paribas Cash Management Competence Center).

'SWIFT data shows us that almost 1 in 200 international payments get stuck somewhere along the line. These little hitches are then discussed and investigated by the banks. This can result in frozen payments, queries, uncertainties and rectifications, among other things. The consequences for businesses vary. For instance, unexpected costs may be skimmed off along the way, meaning that the amount received by the beneficiary is lower than intended. Other problems include payments that arrive later than expected or that are even sent back.'

So what is the reason behind these errors? There are in fact several. In Europe, we are lucky enough to have SEPA harmonisation: for payments in euros, all you need to provide is the IBAN and the name of the beneficiary. Outside the SEPA zone, it is still a real jungle of currencies and specifications. In addition, you have to respect the laws and regulations of the country in which the payment is executed, the country that is the final destination of the funds and any potential stopover countries.

Alwin Vande Loock (Senior Product Manager International Payments at the BNP Paribas Cash Management Competence Center) sums up a few of the potential stumbling blocks.

'Sometimes, certain requirements have to be met in order to be able to route the payment through the local clearing system, for example the CNAPS code for payments in yuan in China or the Fedwire code for payments in American dollars. Another problem is that not all countries use the IBAN account format. For instance: when making payments to Mexico, you have to use the CLABE format. In many countries, account numbers don't even have a set structure and there is no check digit like we have here: if you enter one incorrect digit you're already in trouble, and you don't even receive a warning. Sometimes, you also have to provide very specific information about the beneficiary, such as the tax code for payments in Russian roubles to Russia. There are many steps at which things can go wrong, usually those that are still performed manually.'

Another aspect you need to bear in mind is compliance. For legal and ethical reasons, banks must be (and want to be) 100% sure that funds are not of suspicious origin or destination, and that they are not in breach of embargos and financial sanctions. A number of countries are regarded as high-risk in that respect. During compliance checks, all transactions are passed through several filters upon reaching each intermediate banker and each clearing system. This means, for example, that payments with only an invoice number and missing a detailed description risk getting caught up in those filters for longer. The same also applies to payments where the beneficiary information is incomplete, for instance.

Do you have any problems?

Contact your relationship manager or contact person at Cash Management. Or get in touch with the help desk.

Easy Banking business

Tel. + 32 2 565 05 00
E-mail: PC banking Business Help Desk // ebb.support@bnpparibasfortis.com

Isabel

Tel. +32 2 565 28 34
E-mail: Isabel Customer Support // hdisabel@bnpparibasfortis.com

From Albania to Zambia: the BNP Paribas Currency Guide contains everything you ever wanted to know (and more) about international payments in 132 currencies.

At 420 pages long, it's quite a hefty tome to keep on your desk. Fortunately, the BNP Paribas Currency Guide is also available online. For the most recent version, click here. The guide is produced by the Cash Management Competence Center. As the head of Product Management Cash Management at BNP Paribas Fortis, Jo Germeys is very familiar with the concerns of Belgian entrepreneurs and organisations. Which is why they find this guide a useful tool.

'We try and keep our customers informed about changes in legislation or the banking world. However, companies often have so much to think about that the message doesn't always stick. This is usually not a major problem, but it does increase the risk of errors, delays and extra costs. That is why the Currency Guide is an excellent tool.'

In the past, an abridged version of this guide was available for the most common currencies, but the latest version is exhaustive, listing every currency and its associated regulations in alphabetical order. A two-page overview of each currency is provided. First of all, this overview contains clear currency guidelines. For example, that for payments in Canadian dollars you have to give not only an invoice number but also a clear description, in English, of the type of payment; for example, 'payment of travel expenses'. In addition to this standard information, the guide also explains that the IBAN format is not used in Canada. In this case, it is mandatory that you provide a full address and a nine-digit CC code. The first four digits represent the routing number, and the last five the transit number of the bank. Subsequently, there is also an explanation of how the payment must be formatted.

Alwin Vande Loock (Senior Product Manager International Payments at the BNP Paribas Cash Management Competence Center):

'Most businesses only work with a few currencies, so it's not too hard to read up on those currencies in detail and make the necessary adjustments. ERP packages are often set up in such a way that you enter the same details for all countries, and that doesn't always work.'

The five golden rules of international payments

1. Write everything in full
   Don't use initials or abbreviations in the name or address of the beneficiary.
2. Provide complete information
   Clearly state the purpose of your payment. You can do this by way of a description written in English, a code indicating the reason for the payment or a combination of the two. An invoice number alone is not sufficient.
3. Use (or don't use) the IBAN format
   Use the IBAN format where necessary. This is the case for example when making payments in Albanian lek (ALL) or in Swiss francs (CHF). In Australia, the IBAN format is not in use. There, you have to indicate the BSB (Bank State Branch) code and the BIC (Bank Identification Code). 
4. Use English (and the Latin alphabet)
   Write any information in English using the Latin alphabet. Don't use the beneficiary's language or your own language.
5. Mind the decimals
   The majority of currencies accept two decimal places (numbers after the decimal point). There are some exceptions: the Chilean peso (CLP) and the Indonesian rupiah (IDR), for example, do not use decimal places.

Who pays what when you make an international payment? And when will the money be available in the beneficiary's account? The latter depends on the cut-off time.

The principal and the beneficiary decide between themselves how the costs of an international payment are to be divided. This can be done in three ways:

1. OUR

The principal pays all of the costs, including those charged by the correspondent bank and the beneficiary's bank.

2. SHA ('shared')

The costs are shared. The principal pays the costs charged by their own bank, and the beneficiary pays the costs charged by the other bank(s). Within the EEA, the 'shared' option is in principle the only one applied in accordance with the PSD (Payment Services Directive).

3. BEN ('beneficiary')

The beneficiary pays all the costs, including the costs charged by the principal's bank.

Another tricky question is the duration: when will the money be available in the beneficiary's account? This depends on the cut-off time. This is the latest time at which your bank can guarantee that the funds will be credited to the correspondent banker of the beneficiary's bank on the agreed date. Remember: this does not necessarily mean that the beneficiary will receive the money on that payment date.

Alwin Vande Loock (Senior Product Manager International Payments at the BNP Paribas Cash Management Competence Center):

'The cut-off time depends on the payment method and the currency. For an urgent international payment in EUR, the cut-off time is 4:00 pm Belgian time. In principle, a beneficiary in Europe should receive the funds on the same day. An Asian beneficiary would probably receive them the following day.'

What goes on behind the scenes when an international payment is made? We reveal all and demonstrate the various processing stages.

Better understanding results in fewer errors. Here you will find an animated film explaining the basics of international payments.

Let's look at the four steps in the processing of an international payment

1. The customer sends the payment order to the bank
The payment order is sent to the bank via an online banking system (e-banking) or a bulk upload system, in other words a file containing a large number of payments.

• Banks have their own internal e-banking systems (such as Easy Banking Business at BNP Paribas Fortis), but there are also systems that can communicate with multiple banks, such as SWIFTNet and Isabel.
• A limited number of corporates and public institutions can send large volumes of payments to the bank directly from their own ERP systems via bulk upload (sometimes referred to as 'host-to-host').

Remember to provide all the necessary information in the payment request. For transactions outside the SEPA zone, specific rules often apply. A few typical examples:

Not sure what you're doing? Check the Currency Guide here for information on all currencies. 

2. The bank validates the input and sets the payment in motion
The bank performs the necessary compliance checks. The bank has an obligation to carry out a number of checks, for example in order to prevent payments being sent to countries under embargo or to people/entities subject to financial sanctions. The EU, the US, the UN and individual countries have such embargo lists.

3. The bank chooses the appropriate routing for executing the payment
For payments in EUR in the SEPA zone, agreed clearing systems are used. Elsewhere in the world, there is no system that is able to connect with any bank in any currency. That makes things complicated, as your banker must find correspondent bankers to ensure the money is received by the final beneficiary. Banks usually have one or several correspondents in each country for the currencies they allow payments in. Matching them with one another for every payment is no small feat. When that has been done, the money can subsequently pass through each of those banks. Your bank will determine the optimal routing on the basis of a number of criteria. These are the main ones:

• 'In-house'
  For payments between accounts held with the same bank. This is an accounting movement, whereby the money does not leave the bank.
• 'Clearing
  The daily transaction volumes between banks are enormous. They are processed in clearing systems. These systems process payments on a 'net basis': all incoming and outgoing payments are listed per bank, and then the net amount to be paid or received ('settled') is calculated for each bank in question. This process takes place multiple times a day. This is called 'net settlement'. Depending on the clearing system, there is usually a focus on either large, relatively urgent amounts or greater numbers of smaller, less urgent transactions.
• ‘Correspondent banking’
  The actual settlement can only take place in the country to which the currency belongs, i.e. via a local clearing system. Often, one of the two banks involved is not connected to the clearing system of the third country. In this case, direct routing to this system is not possible.

The solution? A 'correspondent bank' that does have access to the local clearing system. Many banks have a worldwide network of such correspondent banks. They hold accounts with them (called 'nostro' accounts) via which they can route payments. The correspondent bankers then settle the amounts so that the beneficiary bank receives the money and can pay the final beneficiary.

4. The customer receives the details of the payment
The entire process concludes with reporting: the customer sees all credit and debit information on their bank statements.

Watch out for 'restricted' currencies

Only convertible currencies can be used to make international payments. Some currencies are 'restricted': this means that in accordance with local legislation, these currencies are not permitted to leave the country. As such, it is not possible to open an account in Belgium in this currency or to use it to make international payments.

An example of a 'restricted' currency is the BRL, the Brazilian real. Banks have a workaround for this problem. They conclude an agreement with a correspondent who does have access to the currency. They send the equivalent value in EUR or USD, convert the amount into the local currency in the country (in this case BRL), and forward that amount to the beneficiary.

What is SWIFT?

To ensure routing is successful, banks communicate with one another via the SWIFT network (Society for Worldwide Financial Communication). SWIFT is owned by financial organisations worldwide. There is a specific standard for each form of communication, for example MT 101, MT 202, etc. In the case of SWIFT, a specific address is also required: the BIC (Bank Identification Code).

The bill to introduce this obligation in Belgium has been submitted to the Federal Parliament. If the draft bill is approved, B2B e-invoicing will become mandatory from 1 January 2026. Our experts explain why Belgium wants to introduce these new rules, what the implications are for your company and how we can better support you.

“The bill is consistent with international developments and initiatives at the European level,” says Nicolas De Vijlder, Head of Beyond Banking at BNP Paribas Fortis. "Europe's ambition is a harmonised digital standard. Structured e-invoicing between companies will also reduce the administrative burden of invoicing, enabling companies to work more efficiently and increase their competitiveness. The automation of VAT declarations will also help governments prevent tax fraud and adjust economic policies based on more qualitative data.”

Evolution rather than a revolution

“The new legislation is an evolution rather than a revolution,” adds Erik Breugelmans, Deputy Managing Director at BNP Paribas Factoring Northern Europe. "Digitalisation is becoming pervasive at all levels of society, as we have seen with the increase in electronic payments, as well as the additional obligations in recent years regarding electronic invoicing to the government. In this sense, the bill for mandatory electronic invoicing between companies is a logical next step. Our bank is happy to contribute to this process, although we do not intend to offer the same services as accounting software or fintechs. However, we are happy to help our customers with payments and financing."

The impact on businesses

“Customers need to be aware that the new regulations will have an impact on their internal and external processes,” continues Erik Breugelmans. "The majority of Belgian companies mainly serve an international market, which means that the introduction of electronic invoicing will be more complex for them than for companies operating in the domestic market. As the legislation will be introduced in one go, they need to start preparing now."

“The new rules will affect a company’s accounting department as well as its IT department,” emphasises Nicolas De Vijlder. "The procedural requirements are key, otherwise the automated process will not work. However, one of the main benefits of advanced automation is that everything can be done faster and more efficiently. The time between sending an invoice and paying it will be shorter and cash flows more predictable. In addition, it will also reduce the risk of error and fraud, as all transactions will pass through a secure channel."

Ready to offer you even more and better support

“Thanks to the far-reaching digitisation resulting from the new regulations, we will be able to further optimise payments,” concludes Erik Breugelmans. "As a bank, we need to finance our customers’ receivables as quickly and efficiently as possible, so that they have easier access to their working capital. In addition, because we have already gone through an entire process in terms of large-scale automation, we will be able to adapt quickly to the new rules. We can also draw on the expertise of the BNP Paribas Group, which is currently developing an e-invoicing solution for large companies."

Want to know more?

Listen to the episode on B2B e-invoicing :

• French version
• Dutch version