Business Banking & Cross-Border Payments

Categories: Plan

About Course

Choose the right business account, understand IBANs and virtual IBANs, send and receive money across borders at the lowest cost, and keep your account open and trouble-free.

This is a self-study module: six short written lessons you can take at your own pace, a workbook with comparison sheets and checklists, a 10-question quiz and a certificate of completion.

This course is general education about how business banking works. Rules differ by country: for your own situation, check with a qualified accountant or lawyer.

Course Content

Before you start
Welcome to the module. Download your workbook and see how the six lessons work.

  • Welcome & your course workbook

Lesson 1 — Business accounts explained
Banks and electronic money institutions (EMIs), what each offers, how your money is protected, and why many online businesses use both.

Lesson 2 — IBANs and virtual IBANs
What an IBAN is, how virtual IBANs work, and when they make it easier to match incoming payments.

Lesson 3 — SEPA vs SWIFT
Euro payments within SEPA (standard and instant), Verification of Payee, international SWIFT transfers, intermediary banks and who pays the fees.

Lesson 4 — Currencies and exchange
Multi-currency accounts, exchange-rate margins, the real cost of a transfer, local receiving accounts and when to convert.

Lesson 5 — Opening and keeping an account
The questions providers ask when you open an account, source of funds, the documents to prepare, why accounts get frozen and how to avoid it.

Lesson 6 — Getting paid internationally
Invoicing customers abroad, payment references, matching incoming payments, and a simple monthly routine.

Quiz & certificate
Take the 10-question final quiz. When you pass, you can complete the course and receive your certificate of completion.