Neo, the cross-border payments fintech, has today announced it has cleared more than €10 billion through its corporate multi-currency accounts since launch in 2020. The firm which provides a one-stop-shop account for corporate treasurers has seen its cleared volume double in just under a year, reaching €5 billion in 2023 alone, reflecting growing demand from businesses for alternatives to traditional banks.

The vast majority of businesses rely on traditional banking for their FX and payment needs but the banking crisis highlighted the risks of relying on one or two banking partners. Treasurers saw the short-term liquidity issues that those who had deposited funds solely with the likes of Silicon Valley Bank suffered. As a result, three-quarters of treasurers are considering diversifying their banking pool. 

This diversification drive and the historic problems of working with traditional banks have resulted in growing demand among treasurers for a fast, cost-effective and transparent one-stop-shop for all their needs, helping Neo secure new clients and increase volumes from existing customers. 

When working with traditional corporate banks, opening an international bank account is a difficult, long and painful process. In too many cases it is simply impossible to get an account, while firms that are fortunate enough to get one have to contend with numerous operational hurdles and inefficiencies. They also can’t get support from responsive cross-border payment specialists when problems do arise.

As SMEs continue to expand and do business in different countries, many end up having different accounts for each country or currency, which adds complexity. If a business needs to onboard a supplier in a different market, it can take weeks to get the infrastructure in place; time and money which SMEs simply can’t afford to lose out on.

Neo helps them overcome these issues, having evolved from a platform offering FX hedging to become a one-stop-shop for businesses across the globe. Businesses can set up an international account with their own multi-currency International Bank Account Number (IBAN), enabling them to manage cash flows with their supply chains, hedge their FX exposures and access all transaction data, in one place. Virtual wallets enable them to organise funds and make and receive payments in more than 25 currencies, all with transparent and competitive pricing, along with professional support from Neo’s international payment specialist team.

Neo now works with more than 400 corporates across 28 countries, delivers payments in more than 100 countries and more than 8,000 banks are reachable through its Bank Identification Code (BIC) on the Swift network. Neo supports businesses in a wide range of industries such as export-import, software, asset management, payment services and alternative lending.

Neo’s client funds are always deposited with various prime banking institutions as custodians and are strictly segregated and held outside of Neo’s assets. Neo does not invest client funds in any type of security so 100% of clients’ funds are available at any time.

Laurent Descout, co-founder and CEO of Neo commented: “Accessing multi-currency accounts has literally become impossible for too many corporates across many different industries. This has been a problem for more than a decade and while the global B2B cross-border market is estimated to exceed $250 trillion by 2027, there are no signs of this getting any better. Neo is tackling this issue head on and doubling our transaction volumes in under a year is a clear mark of trust from both new and existing clients. It rewards years of work from all the Neo team to offer a seamless corporate experience alongside first-class client support. Reaching this milestone demonstrates the scalability of our proprietary core banking system technology which is machine-tooled to satisfy the growing complexity faced by international treasury teams.”