Europe is the main trading partner for most of the world, and with 445 million people it is clear to see why. For countries like India, Europe constitutes 80% of its international trade and 30% for Africa. But, the trading channels are constantly stifled by the hassle of clear banking systems which allow for transactions to be processed effectively.
This is where Andrew Anastasiou, a British-born entrepreneur comes in with his solution, WireWallet. WireWallet is an online banking platform that provides virtual IBAN and payment services on a global basis. The company was founded in 2018, and since then has on-boarded Merchants from all over the world. The way WireWallet works is by offering virtual IBANs to companies that have EU operations such as importing goods, or providing services to European businesses, and then allows the Merchant to send the funds internationally.
The virtual IBANs provided by WireWallet are also in the name of the company, just like a traditional bank account, so any wire transfers being sent to the account will show as being sent to the company itself. This innovative solution ensures full transparency between the two trading parties and makes auditing and accounting much simpler. Essentially, the Merchant opens an account with WireWallet and obtains their virtual IBAN, from there they simply log in to their account and use it just as you would with online banking.
Andrew Anastasiou explained that the real benefit here is that WireWallet is fully digital, and therefore the Merchant does not need to travel to open the account, as they would with traditional banking. Through an online portal, the Merchant can sign up and upload all documentation in order to create their account and verification is usually done within 48 hours, much less than the standard 5 working days usually advised by traditional banks.
WireWallet is also in the process of obtaining its prepaid card services, which will allow its users to link a debit card to their account and make online payments and withdraw cash using the funds available in their account.
To summarize, the real benefits of banking in Europe is not just the safety of the accounts due to the strict regulation, but for non-EU businesses doing business in Europe, having a local account means faster transaction times, more efficient operations and an overall smoother trade process.
