Virtual accounts to optimise payroll management: the Micso case study

In recent years, digitalisation has radically transformed corporate financial management. The role of the Finance Manager is evolving, and so are the tools supporting their functions: managing increasingly complex cash flows while ensuring control, integrity and compliance is now a strategic imperative. In this context, advanced digital tools are central to making financial processes more efficient and structured.

Virtual Accounts are digital accounts linked to a real current account, each with a dedicated IBAN. This setup allows for the virtual segmentation of incoming and outgoing flows—by business unit, project or payment type—without the need to open additional physical accounts.
This innovation responds to a growing need among companies to centralise liquidity management and automate flow control.

By integrating Virtual Accounts into a dedicated platform, clients can independently manage virtual IBANs—creating new ones and deactivating those no longer needed—and define access rights and information visibility.

The efficiency of this technology is particularly evident in payroll management, where data confidentiality, flow accuracy and information segregation are top priorities.
In this article, we explore how Micso, an Italian ICT company, implemented Intesa Sanpaolo’s Virtual Account Management (VAM) solution to ensure data separation, privacy and control in payroll operations.

PAYROLL MANAGEMENT: ENSURING CONFIDENTIALITY, CONTROL AND COMPLIANCE
 

Payroll is one of the most sensitive processes within Finance and payment-related corporate functions. Every step—from payslip processing to payment authorisation—involves personal and financial data that is often handled by both internal and external parties.
In this context, companies must meet two key objectives: protect employee privacy and minimise the risk of unauthorised information disclosure.

Using Virtual Accounts dedicated to payroll allows for the creation of virtual, restricted-access areas where salary payments are managed completely separately from the main current account.

This approach offers several key benefits. First and foremost, it ensures privacy, as only authorised personnel can access sensitive data, even though all operations relate to a single account. The multi-tier structure separete financial flows and sensitive information based on user profiles, while integration with management systems automates reconciliation and simplifies checks.

Therefore, using Virtual Accounts in payroll not only enhances data protection but also represents a step towards more modern financial management based on automation and financial governance.

MICSO: A REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE OF OPERATIONAL INNOVATION
 

Micso Srl is an Italian company based in Pescara, operating in the Information Technology and telecommunications sector. For over forty years, it has provided connectivity services, data centres and ICT solutions to both public and private clients.
The group’s growing and complex structure has, over time, made financial flow management increasingly challenging, particularly in relation to payroll, which is outsourced to a third-party consultancy.

In this setup, payroll data was processed by the external consultancy and then uploaded for authorisation by Micso’s administrative staff via the Inbiz portal. Although the process was well-established, it did not guarantee full separation of sensitive data, exposing it to potential visibility risks.

Micso therefore needed to:

• Limit the internal administrative staff’s access to payroll data;
• Shield banking information and real account movements from the external consultancy;
• Reduce the risk of accidental access to or disclosure of sensitive data by implementing segregation principles.

The challenge was to create “separate and controlled access areas”, allowing each user to operate solely on information strictly necessary for their role.

THE SOLUTION FOR OPTIMISED PAYROLL MANAGEMENT: THE MICSO CASE
 

To meet these needs, Micso, in collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo, adopted an advanced Virtual Account Management (VAM) system integrated within the Inbiz portal.
This system, specifically designed for optimised payroll management, enables the creation of virtual accounts linked to a real current account, each with a unique IBAN.

These Virtual Accounts are only accessible to authorised users:

• The external consultancy can upload the payment flows without accessing the company’s real current account;
• Internal administrative staff can view only the virtual account movements, without accessing main banking relationships.

This ensures operations can be traced, managed and authorised independently, while maintaining a unified view of liquidity and protecting sensitive data privacy.

KEY BENEFITS FOR MICSO IN PAYROLL MANAGEMENT USING VIRTUAL ACCOUNTS
 

The introduction of Virtual Accounts improved both process quality and data separation, delivering measurable benefits in terms of governance and control.

• Enhanced Data Privacy
  The digital separation of accounts ensured confidentiality of payroll data, preventing unauthorised personnel from accessing flows.
• Control and Traceability
  Each operation is recorded and can be monitored, promoting transparency and internal process auditing.
• Scalability and Replicability
  Encouraged by its success, Micso is now considering extending the solution to other companies within the group to standardise payroll management across the board.

Micso’s experience demonstrates that digitalising payroll processes is not only a matter of technology, but also of culture: a shift towards more structured and aware management, where sensitive data control and governance become drivers of value.

TOWARDS MORE INNOVATIVE AND CONSCIOUS PAYROLL MANAGEMENT
 

The Micso case illustrates how Virtual Account solutions can turn the need for confidentiality into an opportunity for organisational improvement.
Adopting digital tools for flow separation not only reduces risks but also increases a company’s ability to proactively manage liquidity.

In a context where businesses must balance operational efficiency, data protection and regulatory compliance, Virtual Account Management proves to be a powerful lever for innovating payroll and building a future-oriented financial model.

Micso’s experience, along with Intesa Sanpaolo’s strategic support, shows how innovation—when implemented effectively—can strengthen governance and generate lasting organisational value.

In the digital transition process, Virtual Accounts are not just an operational tool, but a true enabler of financial governance, capable of combining control with strategic insight.

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