Multi-banking connectivity: A Guide to Seamless Integration

Businesses typically engage with multiple banks when scaling the operations across globe. Given the continued reliance on multiple banking connections, time-intensive manual processes, and limited awareness about treasury management, corporate face multiple challenges to have a centralized view of their treasury, Challenges that can be overcome through multi-banking connectivity.

For corporates, connecting with multiple banks raises concerns about exchanging data to configure and maintain the internal systems, which takes considerable resources, time, and cost. In this post, we would like to highlight the key challenges of corporate banking and how leaders should navigate the way of payment modernization.
Multi-banking connectivity: A Guide to Seamless Integration

Corporate Challenges in managing their multiple banking connections:

multi-banking connectivity around the world
Having said that, corporations, irrespective of their sizes and geographical locations, must communicate effectively and securely with their banks for treasury, trade, and cash management. As soon as companies expand their horizons, most will need to work with a growing number of transactions with multiple banks. And that’s where, the problem arises and the quest of banking solutions for corporates arises.

Challenges of multi-banking connectivity:

Another big-time hurdle corporates face is multi-banking connectivity, meaning connecting to different bank accounts to gain complete cash visibility while logging on to each account individually. However, this process adds complexity and potential risks to companies’ financial processes. For instance:

Support different security protocols limits transparency and makes the auditing process more complicated.

Differ payment processes and formats increase the risk of omission, error, and payment failure.

Fragmented data from various banks restricts an accurate view of risks and cash across the business.

Adding or changing banking partners costs a fortune, so companies effectively become 'tied' to their incumbent banks.

Eventually, this impacts the ability of treasuries to support the evolving business requirements and has profound risk management implications.

Case Study: Streamlining Multibank Connectivity at Ecopetrol with IMS

Ecopetrol is a leading Colombian petroleum company with a global presence, operating in various regions and interacting with multiple banks for financial transactions. Like many multi-banked corporations, Ecopetrol faced challenges in managing data exchanges with different banks that used varying data formats. To address this challenge, Ecopetrol adopted an IMS, a comprehensive solution designed to optimize data exchange processes across multiple banks. Let’s dive deep into the reasons:
Centralized Solution:

IMS lets Ecopetrol optimize its process of receiving and sending multibank formats (HSBC, CITI, JPMorgan, BDBDC, and much more) to a centralized format of their internal system (SAP), making the process simpler and more efficient.

Data harmonization and standardization:

IMS solutions are built on a common technology stack with standardized interfaces and APIs. This standardized solution addressed the need to eliminate manual processing and off-the-grid processes to control every process under one hood of security and auditing.

Full business & banking visibility:

IMS also worked to validate data of incoming layout to guarantee data integrity from master data in ERP to reduce rejections and ultimately improve payment efficiency.

Opening the doors to multi-banking connectivity with ECS Fin

IMS for Corporates is an exclusive banking connectivity and cash management hub meticulously crafted to manage external and internal messages comprehensively. The primary objective of IMS is to furnish corporate treasury units with a seamless Straight-Through Processing (STP) framework, facilitating real-time cash management and the establishment of uniform treasury procedures across the enterprise.
Functional solution with Digital Banking Channels

A holistic Corporate Banking solution that seamlessly incorporates a comprehensive channel framework that sits across cash, trade, connectivity, standardized data, and supply chain finance operations.

Securities Settlement

IMS ́ Swift certified securities settlement process sets the standard for affirmation, confirmation, payment, and reconciliation of securities transactions to have unified revenue management and technical services for accurate data visualization and analytics.

Shared Elements in Business, Technicality, and Data

Streamlined data alignment and standardization, dynamic data presentation interfaces, expedited introduction of offerings, straightforward implementation and updates, and minimized overall ownership expenses.

Happy Corporate Banking with ECS!