# The vocabulary of getting paid across borders
> IBAN, SWIFT, routing numbers, the mid-market rate and 4 more terms explained in one sentence each, with the numbers that matter attached.
Canonical: https://fasset.com/business/glossary/

Eight terms worth knowing before your first international invoice, each explained in one sentence with the numbers attached.

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Client funds are held separately from Fasset’s own.

- **IBAN:** The up-to-34-character account number used across Europe, the UK and the Gulf, and why your US client has never seen one.
- **SWIFT:** The messaging network banks use to talk to each other. It does not move money, which is why wires take 1 to 3 days.
- **Routing number:** The 9-digit code that identifies a US bank account, and the only number a US client needs to pay you by ACH.
- **Mid-market rate:** The real exchange rate, no markup, the one on Google. Banks add 2 to 4% on top before they show you a number.
- **Safeguarding:** Why client funds are held separately at licensed institutions instead of on a company's own balance sheet, and how that differs from deposit insurance.
- **Stablecoin:** A digital token designed to track a currency. USDT is designed to track the US dollar and settles in about 20 seconds.
- **Escrow:** Funds held by a neutral third party until both sides confirm the work is done, released by milestone. In development at Fasset.
- **Correspondent bank:** The intermediary a SWIFT payment passes through on its way to you, and why $15 to $30 goes missing at each hop.

Plans start with a free tier. The pricing page has the current schedule.

## Common questions

#### What is an IBAN?

An IBAN, international bank account number, is a standardized account identifier of up to 34 characters used across Europe, the UK, the Gulf and more than 80 other countries. The United States never adopted the standard, so a US client asking for your IBAN usually needs a routing number and account number instead. See the full breakdown on the IBAN page.

#### Why do SWIFT wires take 1 to 3 business days?

SWIFT is a messaging network, not a settlement rail: it tells banks what to do, and the money still has to move through one or more correspondent banks to get there. Each hop can take a business day and typically deducts $15 to $30 in fees. The full teardown is on the SWIFT page.

#### What is the mid-market rate?

The mid-market rate is the midpoint between the buy and sell price of a currency pair, the same rate shown on Google and Reuters, with no markup added. Most banks add 2 to 4% on top of it before quoting you a number; Fasset converts at the mid-market rate plus a per-plan conversion fee, stated on the pricing page. Details on the mid-market rate page.

#### Is Fasset a bank?

No. Fasset Business is a technology platform, not a bank. Banking, payment and card services are provided by licensed third-party institutions in each market, and client funds are held at those institutions, separately from Fasset's own money.

## Open your account

The application runs entirely online. Or walk through the product first, with sample data and no signup.

- Open an account
- See the demo

Client funds are held separately from Fasset’s own.