BankStore.ai will formally launch its free Bank Index at Money20/20 USA — a major annual fintech conference — to be held October 18–21 in Las Vegas, introducing a new way for businesses to navigate one of their most consequential decisions: where to bank. A first version of the product is already available at BankIndex.io.

"Businesses should be able to learn where they stand before they spend weeks applying," said Ihor Vlasov, co-founder of BankStore.

For a company expanding into a new market, where a working bank account underpins basics such as receiving funds and paying staff, the wrong banking application can mean weeks of paperwork followed by a refusal. Bank Index aims to replace that costly guesswork with accessible information about banks, account providers and other financial institutions. Businesses can explore providers according to their needs and assess potential fit before committing time to an application.

Banks and account providers are scored from 0 to 10 on requirements such as fast onboarding, owners living abroad, fees, cross-border payments and crypto, and the index is free to use without an account.

According to BankStore, the index currently lists more than 144,000 institutions, including about 44,000 banks and account providers and roughly 100,000 other financial institutions, with new entries added daily. The company describes the free Index as a way to put knowledge traditionally held by specialist advisers directly into the hands of founders and finance teams. The live site ranks institutions against the needs of a business and, for reviewed profiles, shows the reasons and sources behind each score.

"We spent years drawing the same map for clients: which institutions serve a particular market, what they require and where an application is likely to run into trouble," said Denys Bets, CEO and co-founder. "Bank Index makes that map available to everyone."

Vlasov and Bets began their banking careers in the mid-2000s. Bets spent almost ten years in bank audit and headed an internal audit unit, while Vlasov went on to lead business development and compliance at fintech companies. Across their own work and the teams they led, they estimate they have helped businesses navigate about 10, account-opening processes. Their experience spans corporate banking, internal audit, compliance, fintech and cross-border business banking.

That experience shaped a central insight behind the product: two institutions can review the same legitimate business and reach different decisions because their customer criteria and appetite for risk differ. A company may have sound finances and complete documents yet still be turned down because it approached a provider that is a poor fit for its industry, ownership structure, jurisdiction or payment needs.

"We want that information to be clear and available to everyone," Bets said. "The final decision always belongs to the bank or provider. But businesses can make better decisions when they understand the requirements and likely obstacles before applying."

Bank Index is also designed as an entry point to BankStore's wider platform, which connects businesses with banks and payment providers. For fintech companies and financial institutions, BankStore is preparing API access to the index data. For investors, the index addresses a practical barrier that can delay a portfolio company's ability to receive funds, pay staff or enter a new market.

At Money20/20, BankStore's founders will introduce the Index to fintech leaders, banking partners, investors and businesses operating across borders. The founders will be available for interviews during the event. More information about the company is available at BankStore.ai.

The stated goal is to make finding a suitable financial institution a transparent starting point for growth, rather than an expensive search conducted through trial and error.

Source: Global FinTech Series