In the U.S., banks typically organize their bills to corporate clients according to American National Standards Institute (ANSI) 822. While the statements still get lengthy, CFOs and treasurers, perhaps aided by software, stand a fighting chance when it comes to figuring out just how much, and for what services, they’re paying their different banking partners.

However, no similar standard exists outside the U.S., says Paul Burstein, formerly managing director for strategic initiatives within GE’s treasury department, and now affiliated with TWIST, or the Transaction Workflow Innovation Standards Team. Lacking such a standard, any attempt to compare one bank’s charges to another’s, or even to analyze single bank statement, becomes an exercise in futility.

That’s the reason for TWIST. The nonprofit group has been working with banks outside the U.S. to develop a bank services billing, or BSB, standard. “It’s a statement of fees from banks in a computable, readable format,” says Burstein. “The standard provides transparency and the ability to do analysis,” he adds.

While TWIST is working around the globe, much of its current focus is in Europe, Burstein says. That’s due to the number of countries there.

So far, about 16 banks are live with BSB, Burstein says. However, just a handful, including Danske Bank and Barclays, have publicly announced their involvement. The rest are waiting to announce until they’ve more broadly rolled out their initiatives.

To be sure, BSB can be used to beat down banking partners. The standard actually offers more potential as a way to work with banks to ensure they’re charging the negotiated prices, Burstein says. And, finance can use the information to encourage the employee behavior it wants — such as forgoing paper checks in favor of electronic payment methods.

While the benefits to corporates are pretty obvious, the banks themselves also stand to gain. Many have grown through acquisitions and are decentralized. As a result, they lack an overall view of the business they’re doing with specific customers. The BSB can provide that.

The information benefits both sides, according to Danske Bank. In announcing its implementation of the TWIST standard, Danske Bank said, “This creates a transparent relationship, which is an advantage to both the bank and the customer.” ###