A Virtual Account (often called a vIBAN or Virtual Reference Number) is a "Pass-Through" address. From the perspective of the external banking network (SWIFT/SEPA/ACH), it looks and functions exactly like a standard bank account. However, architecturally, it is a routing pointer that maps to a single physical "Master Account."
The primary use case for Virtual Accounts is Attribution. In a standard "pooled" account, incoming wires often lack identifying data ("Reference: PAYMENT"). By assigning a unique vIBAN to every customer or invoice, fintechs can determine exactly who sent the money based solely on the destination address (the To field), eliminating the need for fuzzy matching on the Description field.
The Master Account vs. Shadow Ledger
The Physical Layer: The fintech holds one real account at a partner bank (e.g., JPMorgan). This account holds all the actual liquidity. The Virtual Layer: The fintech issues millions of unique account numbers (vIBANs) that all route to that one physical account. The Logic: When the bank receives a payment to vIBAN-User-123, it deposits the money in the Master Account and sends a webhook: { amount: 100, virtual_account: "vIBAN-User-123" }. The fintech's system catches this webhook and credits User 123's internal wallet ledger.
Hierarchy and Segregation
Virtual accounts allow for complex ledger hierarchies without the compliance overhead of opening thousands of real bank accounts (which incurs KYC costs and monthly fees). Segregation: A property management platform can issue a unique vIBAN for every rental property. Rents are collected into the master pool, but the ledger automatically segments funds by property ID based on the incoming vIBAN.
