It also widely directs an increasing volume of US domestic payments. The currency of a Nostro account depends on the country’s currency where the account is maintained. Foreign exchange involves collecting at a centre of a given currency and then giving it to the center in a different currency. Foreign Exchange takes place only if it is converted to home currency. To use a foreign currency, that particular currency must be exchanged into home currency.

For example, XYZ bank of USA maintains an account with a Bank in India in Indian Rupee such account maintained in the foreign currency at foreign center by Foreign bank is said as ‘Vostro Account’. So, the ‘Vostro Account’ of the foreign bank with Indian bank in India is said as ‘YOUR Accounts with Us’. The term vostro translated from Latin means “yours,” as in your account. From the correspondent bank’s point of view, the funds held on the behalf of other banks are referred to as vostro accounts and are denominated in the local currency. Nostro Account Home Currency of one country is foreign currency for other country.

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Nostro accounts are mostly commonly used for currency settlement, where a bank or other financial institution needs to hold balances in a currency other than its home accounting unit. With a view to securing appropriate governance and improving risk management, the central banks of the Group-of-Ten (G10) countries have been cooperating internationally in the oversight of SWIFT. The SWIFT Oversight Forum was established in 2012 to share information on SWIFT oversight activities among G10 and ten other central banks. SWIFT messaging standards are used by banks, brokers, dealers, corporates, investment managers, etc., to transmit desired information underlying foreign transactions. SWIFT is the banking language that is widely accepted and understood globally in the banking industry. SWIFT messages typically result in monetary transactions between institutions.

In this, a domestic bank acts as a custodian of the account of its foreign counterpart. Vostro accounts are maintained in the domestic currency of the domestic bank by the foreign bank. For example, a Vostro account is maintained in Indian Rupee (INR) if India is the domestic country. For both nostro and vostro accounts, the domestic bank (i.e., the bank that is holding the account) acts as the caretaker for the account and is sometimes referred to as the “facilitator” bank.

If a singapore bank holds a account in India at an indian bank with Indian currency, it is called as VOSTRO. A vostro account is the account a correspondent bank holds on behalf of another bank. Foreign Currency Account (FCA) is a transactional account denominated in a currency other than the home currency and can be maintained by a bank in the home country (onshore) or a bank in another country (offshore). For example when an Indian bank maintains a ₹(Indian Rupees) account of a bank/branch of the USA in India. Thus, we can see that Nostro account is the opposite of the Vostro account and vice versa. GTBank, a Nigerian bank, gets a lot of money sent to its customers at home from the United States in the form of remittances.

Exchange Earner’s Foreign Currency (EEFC) account is in the form of a non-interest-bearing current account. Special Economic Zones (SEZ) developers can open, maintain and hold EEFC accounts and credit their foreign exchange earnings to this account. If C does not have an account directly with FNBA’s corresponding bank, the funds may be transferred within the banking system of country B by cheque or some form of electronic funds transfer (EFT).

Foreign Currency Accounts: Nostro Account, Vostro Account and Loro Account in foreign transactions

When a bank maintains a local or home currency account of a foreign bank or branch in its own country it is called a “Vostro” account. Nostro nostro vostro loro accounts with debit balances are considered cash assets. Contrarily, vostro accounts with a credit balance are considered liabilities.

The terms are used when one bank has another bank’s money on deposit, typically in relation to international trading or other financial transactions. To do foreign exchange transactions in a foreign country, you must understand the Nostro account along with VOSTRO and LORO accounts with their difference. It might similarly be easier to think of nostro accounts definition as “our account with you” and the vostro accounts definition as “your account with us.” There is also the notion of a loro account (“theirs”), which is a record of an account held by a second bank on behalf of a third party; that is, my record of their account with you. In practice this is rarely used, the main exception being complex syndicated financing. SWIFT is based in Brussels and is the most commonly used term in international banking transactions.

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These rates are often used to determine interest on various accounts held by third parties, or Vostro accounts. Those looking at Vostro accounts may be trying to figure out what interest is due to the account holder, or what restrictions are in the financial agreement between the two parties. For example, when an Indian bank maintains its US$ account in a bank in the USA it is called a Nostro account of the Indian bank. So, it can be said that a current account of an Indian Bank or a dealer in a foreign country in the local currency of that country is termed as Nostro account. When a bank maintains its foreign currency account in a bank in a foreign country in the local or home currency of that country it is called a “Nostro” account.

International accounting transactions between local banks and overseas banks are serviced through Nostro and Vostro accounts. Nostro Account is defined as a bank account that is created by any commercial bank of a given country in some other foreign country with the currency of a foreign country. It is derived from the Italian word Nostro account meaning ‘Our.’ Simply, the money that is in your bank is in your country’s currency.

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Since GTBank does not have a physical presence in the United States, it enters into an agreement with Citibank where the latter has an account remotely opened for GTBank in U.S. dollars. This way, money received by U.S. customers and businesses sending money to GTBank account holders in Nigeria will be deposited in the account that GTBank has with Citibank. A Nostro account is a reference used by Bank A to refer to “our” account held by Bank B. Nostro is a shorthand way of talking about “our money that is on deposit at your bank.”

@ddljohn– Nostro, vostro and loro terms are used often for remittances. You can think of a loro account as being “their account with them.” Multiple banks may be working with one another when you send money abroad. To facilitate ease of doing international trades & businesses banks generally maintain three types of current accounts for the quick transfer of funds in different currencies namely ‘Nostro’, ‘Vostro’ and ‘Loro’. The nostro account is a way of keeping track of how much of the bank’s money is being held by the other bank. This is similar to an individual keeping a detailed record of every payment in and out of his or her bank account so that she/he knows the balance at any point in time.

The working of a Vostro account is just opposite to Nostro Account. For example, an American merchant is providing consultancy services to an Indian company. That Indian company has an account with Canara Bank and the American merchant has an account with Bank of America. So now when the payments are to be made for the services rendered, the Indian company will ask its banker (Canara Bank) to deposit the amount in Bank of America’s Vostro account. Once the money gets into Bank of America’s Vostro account they will transfer the same to that American merchant.

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The three major accounts related to foreign accounts are the Nostro account, Vostro account, and Loro account. Considering the importance of three current accounts today I have decided to write a blog post on What is a Nostro Account. Similarly, I will discuss on Vostro and Loro accounts as well. So basically, there are three types of International current accounts.

Similarly, when the Indian Banks makes the payment from its Nostro A/C, the Australian Bank debits the Nostro A/C of the Indian Bank. ICICI provides financial services and promotes economic development and growth. Learn about the industrial credit and investment corporation of India.

Since, many a time foreign exchange transaction becomes little cumbersome, to provide a better facility in making international transactions banks maintain these type of three current accounts. For example, an account maintained by an Indian bank with a foreign bank. In simple words, it is a cash account held under our name with you. Nostro accounts are held usually in the currency of the foreign country, and this helps in an easy and effective cash management as currency doesn’t need to be converted.

• So, the importance of Nostro Account lies in doing international trades in foreign currency i.e. a local currency to the other party.
• Once the money is received in State Bank’s Nostro account the Indian company would be informed and their account will get credited for the same.
• SWIFT messages typically result in monetary transactions between institutions.
• And since country ‘B’ maintains an account of a foreign bank in its home currency, i.e., ‘B’ currency, this will be a ‘Vostro account’ from country B’s point of view.
• Therefore, Banks generally use Nostro Account to make any transaction with other parties in a foreign country where there is no physical presence, and in foreign currency.

For SBI, Mumbai, its account in BOA, New York, will be termed a Nostro account, while BOA’s account with SBI will be termed a Vostro account. A Nostro account is opened by a bank with another bank on the underlying statement “My account with you”. In contrast, a Vostro account is maintained by a bank with another bank on the concept “Your account with me” or “My account of your money maintained by me”. Suppose a domestic bank (State Bank of India) opens a foreign account with Citigroup (the USA) in currency $ USD. For the SBI, this will be a Nostro account, and for Citigroup, it is a Vostro Account.