Import Foreign Currency Bank Statements into Exact Online

The problem

Exact Online rejects MT940 files with non-NL IBANs for foreign currency bank journals. This affects users of Bunq Local Currency, Wise, Revolut and other banks that issue foreign IBANs for USD, GBP or other currency accounts.

When you try to import an MT940 file with a GB IBAN or US IBAN, Exact Online displays the error “Bank account not found” — even if the bank account has been correctly set up in the administration.

The cause

Exact Online matches an MT940 file to a bank account via the :25: field in the MT940 format. This field contains the bank account IBAN. For foreign currency journals, Exact Online requires a NL IBAN, but many foreign currency accounts inherently have a non-Dutch IBAN.

A concrete example: Bunq offers Local Currency accounts for USD and GBP. These accounts are managed through The Currency Cloud as banking partner. A Bunq GBP account therefore has a GB IBAN (e.g. GB84TCCL...), and a USD account uses a US routing number. Exact Online cannot match these foreign IBANs to a foreign currency bank journal.

The solution — step by step

The workaround is to use a fictitious NL IBAN for the foreign currency account in Exact Online. StatementBridge automatically inserts this fictitious IBAN into the MT940 file, so you don't need to manually edit the file.

Step 1: Set up the currency in Exact Online

Verify that the desired currency (USD, GBP, etc.) is activated in your administration. Go to Financiëel > Valuta - Wisselkoersen and add the currency if it is not yet available. Set the exchange rate if needed.

Step 2: Create a separate bank journal for the foreign currency

Create a separate bank journal in Exact Online for the foreign currency account. Go to Financiëel > Dagboeken and create a new journal of type Bank. Set the currency to the correct foreign currency (e.g. USD or GBP).

Step 3: Generate a fictitious NL IBAN

Generate a fictitious NL IBAN via testnummers.nl. This IBAN is syntactically valid but does not belong to a real bank account. Note this IBAN — you will need it in steps 4 and 5.

Step 4: Set up the bank account with the fictitious IBAN

Go to Financiëel > Bank en kas > Bankrekeningen and create a new bank account (or modify the existing one). Enter the fictitious NL IBAN as the account number and set the currency to the correct foreign currency (USD or GBP). Link the bank account to the journal you created in step 2.

Step 5: Enter the fictitious IBAN in StatementBridge

Upload your bank statement (CSV, Excel, PDF or other format) in StatementBridge. Follow the steps and enter the fictitious NL IBAN at step 4 (Import settings). StatementBridge places this IBAN in the :25: field of the MT940 file, so Exact Online correctly matches the file to your foreign currency bank account.

Step 6: Export the MT940 and import in Exact Online

Export the MT940 file from StatementBridge and import it in Exact Online via Boekhouding > Bank en kas > Afschriften > Import. Exact Online recognises the fictitious NL IBAN and matches the transactions to the correct foreign currency bank account.

Bunq Local Currency accounts

Bunq offers Local Currency accounts that allow customers to hold money in foreign currencies. These accounts are not managed by Bunq itself but through The Currency Cloud as banking partner:

• Bunq GBP account: Uses a GB IBAN via The Currency Cloud (e.g. GB84TCCL04040400000000). This is a valid British IBAN, but Exact Online does not accept it for a GBP journal.
• Bunq USD account: Uses US routing and account numbers via The Currency Cloud. Since the US does not use the IBAN system, this account has no IBAN at all — making import into Exact Online even more difficult.

In both cases the solution is the same: generate a fictitious NL IBAN via testnummers.nl and use it in both Exact Online and StatementBridge. This way Exact Online matches the MT940 file to the correct bank account, regardless of the actual IBAN of the account.

Common problems and solutions

Problem	Cause	Solution
“Bank account not found”	The IBAN in the MT940 file (foreign IBAN) does not match a bank account in Exact Online	Use a fictitious NL IBAN in both Exact Online and StatementBridge (steps 3–5)
“Currency mismatch”	The currency in the MT940 file does not match the currency of the bank journal in Exact Online	Verify that the bank journal and bank account are set to the correct currency (USD, GBP, etc.)
Duplicate IBAN conflict	The fictitious NL IBAN is already in use by another bank account or administration	Generate a new unique fictitious NL IBAN via testnummers.nl and use it for the relevant account
Exchange rate missing	The currency is not activated or no exchange rate has been set in Exact Online	Go to Financiëel > Valuta - Wisselkoersen and activate the currency with the correct rate
Balance mismatch	Opening or closing balance in the MT940 file differs from the administration	Check whether previous statements have been imported correctly and always import statements in order

Convert bank statements for Exact Online

With StatementBridge you can convert bank statements from Bunq, Wise, Revolut and other banks to MT940 — including the correct (fictitious) NL IBAN for foreign currency journals in Exact Online. Upload your file, enter the fictitious IBAN in the import settings and download the ready-to-use MT940 file.