The largest and most popular banks — known as high-street banks — provide all of the services that customers expect to receive. But, over the past several decades, new fintech companies and electronic money institutions (EMIs) have pioneered alternative financial services, setting themselves apart from the major financial institutions of the past.
In this article, we’ll explain how EMIs like Payset differ from traditional banks. You’ll learn how these new services can provide a valuable alternative to your standard bank account.
Easier Account Opening
Opening a traditional bank account takes time and effort. You need to book an appointment during business hours, fill out paperwork, and provide ID in person, and wait for approval.
Even if you can begin your bank account application online, you’ll typically need to visit a brick-and-mortar branch to complete the process.
By contrast, EMIs like Payset offer fully online registration. This means that you can apply for an account on your phone, tablet, or PC just by filling out an application and uploading your ID. You’ll never need to travel to open a multi-currency account with Payset.
We aim to provide rapid approval by opening most accounts within 48 hours.
Variety of Features
Banks and EMIs provide similar financial services in a basic sense. Both allow you to send and receive funds while maintaining an account balance.
However, EMIs offer several advanced and additional features that can help you use your money more effectively. For example, Payset offers:
- Multi-currency accounts so that you can store various foreign currencies
- Real-time currency conversion so that you can swap currencies with maximum insight into the exchange rate
- Free transfers to and from other Payset users
- Permissioned user accounts so that members of your company can view and access funds according to rules that you set
- Bulk payments so that you can send money to multiple recipients at once
- Transaction status details that let you see how close a money transfer is to completion
It’s important to note that EMIs can’t provide every service that banks do. If you need loans, credit, mortgages, or investment services, traditional banks are usually the best option. But for money transfers, EMIs are a strong alternative to bank accounts.
Affordable Fee Structures
Banks and EMIs both charge fees, including monthly fees. However, EMIs often offer fee structures that are more affordable and proportionate to transaction size.
For example, Payset users can:
- Transfer funds globally for 0.55% or less after other fees and transfer minimums
- Receive funds globally for free
- Send funds to other Payset users for free
Traditional banks, meanwhile, usually charge flat fees to send or receive wire transfers. Depending on the bank, wire transfers may cost senders and recipients up to $50 per transaction alongside standard monthly fees — a potentially expensive fee model.
Banks can also charge overdraft fees and ATM fees, both of which can make it more expensive for you to maintain and use your account.
Sometimes, banks will waive fees if you meet conditions or choose an account with limited features. But in most cases, bank account fees can quickly add up, meaning that EMI accounts are highly cost-effective for anyone who makes transactions.
Better International Service
EMIs usually serve clients around the world.
Payset is no exception: we allow clients to send and receive up to 34 currencies to 180+ countries through our IBAN multi-currency accounts.
We offer a strong combination of fast transactions, affordable international fees, and access to several payment networks, providing a superior experience compared to traditional banks. See our wide variety of permitted jurisdictions and supported currencies for all of your options.
Traditional high-street banks usually are less convenient and more expensive when it comes to international transactions. Though these banks do provide wire transfers, they usually focus on serving local customers providing affordable domestic payments.
It can be difficult to obtain a foreign bank account to gain access to another country’s financial system, meaning that EMIs are often ideal for cross-border payments.
Better Online Experience
Online banking is as old as the internet. As a result, most high-street banks offer online banking — but those same systems are also becoming outdated.
Customers often complain that online banking websites are slow, hard to navigate, and offer minimal support for mobile devices. Outages are also common: one 2022 report from the BBC suggested that major banks often suffer more than one outage a month.
EMI services like Payset offer online-first services, including a streamlined web experience, better feature organization, wider device compatibility, and high-quality remote assistance.
And although EMI services are not immune to service disruptions, EMIs are motivated to reduce downtime as much as possible due to their heavy online focus. In short, EMI services can often provide a better online experience than regular banks.
Rapid Customer Support
Traditional banks rely on a combination of call centers and in-branch employees to provide customers with assistance. This approach is reliable and familiar, but popular banks may suffer from long wait times due to high demand from large numbers of customers.
EMI services like Payset offer similar traditional support and combine this with other options.
At Payset, we include personal support agents who can help you via phone or via our web support desk during our regular business hours. We also maintain an extensive help database so that you can find answers to common questions after hours.
Other EMIs are employing cutting-edge tools to improve their support systems, including AI chatbots, support channels on social media, and personalized recommendations based on user data — trends that could reshape all online financial services in the future.
Insurance vs. Safeguarding
One key difference between banks and EMIs is the way in which funds are protected.
When you use a traditional bank, your funds are typically insured according to local regulations. In the UK, the FCSC provides £85,000 of insurance per customer per eligible bank. In the US, the FDIC provides $250,000 insurance per customer per bank for each account ownership category. Insurance means users can recover their funds if an insured bank collapses.
EMIs, including Payset, generally practice safeguarding, meaning that we segregate 100% of user deposits from our business funds. This means that we cannot use customer deposits for operational expenses, nor can we lend out customer deposits.
Safeguarding is different from insurance but is in line with U.K. regulations and banking standards. It is intended to help customers recover funds if a company fails.
Security
All financial services operate according to security regulations and standards, meaning that banks and EMIs are both highly secure options.
At Payset, your account is protected with a password and two-factor authentication (2FA), ensuring that only you can access your account. We also protect your personal information in accordance with the EU’s GDPR privacy rules.
While Payset strives to provide strong security, individual users must also protect themselves from fraud and scams. If you are a victim of fraud or theft, report it immediately, either through Payset’s fraud reporting instructions or the service where the incident took place.
Note that account security is distinct from safeguarding and insurance. Services may be able to stop or reverse fraudulent transactions, but safeguarding and insurance do not cover fraud and theft impacting individual accounts.
How Payset Can Help
If you’ve found banks to be an expensive and sometimes inconvenient way to send and manage your money, consider Payset as an alternative.
You’ll benefit from fast transactions, affordable fees, a streamlined online experience, and strong customer service, plus strong account security and fund safeguarding.
Setting up an account is easy for businesses and individuals alike: just click below or contact our sales team for more information.
