The "E" in EBAM - Not just electronic, but easy and efficient too!
You won't seem as surprised when you realise that even a single treasury
division at an MNC might open as many as 70 new bank accounts, close
150, and service maintenance requests for another 950 every month. What
is remarkable, is that most corporate organisations still manage their
bank accounts manually, (and with each bank separately) sending reams of
documentation back and forth, in a process that is inefficient, time
consuming, expensive and error-prone.
Hope has arrived in the shape of a collaborative initiative taken up by SWIFT along with global banks and technology companies to 'electronise' Bank Account Management. EBAM or Electronic Bank Account Management enables banks and their corporate banking clients to trade messages in standardised XML, ISO 20022 format for opening, maintaining and closing bank accounts. The thing to note is that with EBAM, a company can manage all its accounts, across banks and geographies, using a single online portal.
By enabling automation, EBAM alleviates all the concerns associated with traditional bank account management. It saves loads of time and effort, is cost effective, and makes it easier for all parties to comply with audit and statutory requirements. Not to forget, it is secure.
EBAM calls for a certain amount of investment towards technology setup, software and integration with back end systems and may be implemented either with the bank owning and hosting a proprietary system that their clients connect to, the exact opposite arrangement, or one in which multiple banks and corporate entities are linked through a common communication standard.
If there's one serious limitation of EBAM, it is that it does not support KYC clearance, hence may only be used by clients with an existing banking relationship. Once that is overcome, the future outlook of EBAM, which already looks bright, will simply shine.
Have you heard of any other innovations in the corporate or wholesale banking space? We'd love to know.
Hope has arrived in the shape of a collaborative initiative taken up by SWIFT along with global banks and technology companies to 'electronise' Bank Account Management. EBAM or Electronic Bank Account Management enables banks and their corporate banking clients to trade messages in standardised XML, ISO 20022 format for opening, maintaining and closing bank accounts. The thing to note is that with EBAM, a company can manage all its accounts, across banks and geographies, using a single online portal.
By enabling automation, EBAM alleviates all the concerns associated with traditional bank account management. It saves loads of time and effort, is cost effective, and makes it easier for all parties to comply with audit and statutory requirements. Not to forget, it is secure.
EBAM calls for a certain amount of investment towards technology setup, software and integration with back end systems and may be implemented either with the bank owning and hosting a proprietary system that their clients connect to, the exact opposite arrangement, or one in which multiple banks and corporate entities are linked through a common communication standard.
If there's one serious limitation of EBAM, it is that it does not support KYC clearance, hence may only be used by clients with an existing banking relationship. Once that is overcome, the future outlook of EBAM, which already looks bright, will simply shine.
Have you heard of any other innovations in the corporate or wholesale banking space? We'd love to know.
