Genome

Genome is an electronic money institution licensed and supervised by the Bank of Lithuania, offering multi-currency business accounts designed for European companies that need to hold and move money across different currencies without the friction of traditional international banking. Rather than forcing everything through a single account and the associated currency conversion costs, Genome gives you separate real accounts in up to twelve currencies, each with its own IBAN. This approach is common among modern fintech platforms but still relatively rare among traditional banks, and the regulatory foundation matters here: as an e-money institution, Genome's client funds are safeguarded under Latvian law, not covered by a banking deposit guarantee scheme, a distinction that is crucial to understand when choosing where to keep your working capital.

The core offering is straightforward. You establish an initial business account in EUR with full KYC verification, which typically involves identity confirmation and address proof. Once that account is live, you can add accounts in any of the other eleven supported currencies, GBP, USD, PLN, CHF, JPY, CAD, CZK, HUF, SEK, AUD, and DKK, directly from your dashboard in seconds without additional paperwork. Each account holds its own IBAN and can receive payments from abroad using real local banking corridors, meaning international senders can use a genuine GBP account number to pay you in pounds, a USD account number for dollar payments, and so on. This eliminates the routing delays and foreign bank fees that come with routing all inbound money through a correspondent bank, and it keeps currency conversion to deliberate moments when you actually need to move funds between accounts rather than incurring it on every payment in or out.

Transfers between your own accounts are instant and free. If you receive a pound payment and need to access it in euros, you can convert on demand inside Genome's app at rates that move with the market, viewing the exact rate and fees before you commit. Outbound payments work through multiple channels depending on the currency and destination. EUR payments use SEPA Instant and SEPA Core Credit Transfer for payments within the eurozone, with EUR reaching other banks the same day or next business day depending on timing. Non-EUR currencies rely on SWIFT for cross-border payments, which involve a longer settlement window but are the standard international rail for moving money in pounds, dollars, Swiss francs, and other currencies. Genome also supports Faster Payments for GBP transfers within the UK and can handle TARGET2 transfers for larger institutional payments if needed.

Genome provides both physical and virtual Visa debit cards tied to your business account. The virtual cards can be issued instantly and used for online spending or testing integrations before requesting a physical card. Physical cards ship to your business address and can be set with spending limits, category restrictions, or geographic controls depending on your compliance needs. Cards draw from your chosen currency account and can be assigned to team members with role-based access controls, making them useful for distributed teams where you want to lock spending to specific people, departments, or purposes. The app and web platform both show real-time transaction history, and you can set up rules to trigger notifications when spending hits certain thresholds. Team management is built in from the start, not bolted on later: you can invite colleagues with granular permissions so some can only view, others can approve transfers, and others can manage cards, depending on your governance structure.

Pricing for Genome follows a transparent annual subscription model based on the services you use. The business accounts themselves have no per-transaction fees for transfers between your own Genome accounts, making internal rebalancing free. When you exchange currency, Genome applies a markup on top of the interbank rate, typically in the range of two to three percent depending on the corridor and size of the transfer. Outbound SEPA payments in EUR are charged per transaction at modest rates around the €0.50 to €1 range, with SWIFT payments for other currencies starting higher, typically in the €5 to €15 range depending on the destination and your subscription level. The company advertises a transparent fee structure with no hidden charges, and quotes are shown in the app before you execute a payment so you can decide whether the cost is worth it. Businesses with higher volumes or more complex requirements can contact Genome directly for enterprise pricing, though the public tiers should cover the needs of most early-stage European companies.

Genome's market position within the multi-currency business banking category is the most straightforward all-rounder. It does not specialize in any particular corridor or currency, and it is not tied to a particular geography or industry. Instead, it is built for the generic case of a European company that needs to operate across multiple currencies, wants real local accounts to simplify receiving payments, and prefers instant settlement over correspondent bank delays. The platform competes most directly with other consumer and SMB-focused fintechs like Wise Business, Revolut Business, and Wamo, each of which offers similar multi-currency account structures. Genome's advantage is its simplicity and its straightforward regulatory model: it is neither trying to be a bank nor hiding behind complex structures, just an e-money provider operating under clear European licensing. Its disadvantage for some use cases is that it does not hold banking licenses or deposit insurance, and its account minimums and compliance requirements can be stricter than some challenger banks aimed at tiny startups.

Genome works best for European founders of companies with recurring international revenue or expenses that would otherwise churn through currency conversion costs. If you receive client payments in pounds, pay vendors in euros, and employ contractors in dollars, Genome eliminates the need to constantly convert through a default EUR account and pay the spread on each conversion. The low or free transfer fees between your own accounts make it practical to hold a small float in the currencies where you spend most money, further reducing the cumulative drag of FX costs. It is also useful for companies using multiple payment methods: if you run both a subscription business (receiving money in multiple currencies) and a marketplace (where vendors pay in different currencies), the multi-account structure maps cleanly onto the cash flow model. The platform works less well if your business operates entirely in a single currency and you need a local account in an exotic currency not on Genome's list, or if you rely on features like overdraft facilities or credit that e-money platforms cannot offer.

For European founders managing multi-currency operations, Genome offers a reliable and cost-effective alternative to traditional correspondent banking and the complexity of holding accounts at multiple banks. The transparent fee model, straightforward multi-currency account structure, and instant settlement within its ecosystem make it a strong choice for early-stage companies that want to reduce the friction of international cash flow without the overhead of relationship banking or the regulatory complexity of holding accounts at institutions in different countries.