How to open a current account - instructions for opening a current account for individual entrepreneurs and LLCs + review of the TOP-8 banks where they can open a bank account for organizations profitably and quickly

Why does an LLC need an account?

Opening an account is necessary if the company plans to accept payments or pay other companies not in cash, but by bank transfer. 100,000 rubles is the maximum amount of a transaction between legal entities that can be carried out in cash (Instruction of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation No. 1843 of June 20, 2007).
In this case, the payment must be officially recorded through the cash register. Owning an account is very convenient, since transactions today are carried out directly from the office, there is no need to go to the bank. To do this, they open an Internet banking service.

Without a current account, an organization cannot be considered complete, regardless of whether the legal entity is a resident of the Russian Federation or a non-resident.

For those companies that purchase goods abroad or sell and provide services to other companies outside the Russian Federation, it is proposed to open parallel accounts in foreign currency, for example, in US dollars. By law, an organization has the right to open as many accounts as it wants to carry out its activities.

Opening a current account – a right or an obligation?

This material was prepared based on the questions most frequently asked by clients of our law firm. 1. Question: How long after registering a company do I need to open a bank account?
Answer:

The Company has the right, in accordance with the established procedure, to open bank accounts on the territory of the Russian Federation and abroad. This provision is contained in the Federal Law “On Limited Liability Companies” - Article 2, paragraph 4, as well as in the Federal Law “On Joint Stock Companies” - Article 2, paragraph 6.

In other words, a commercial organization has the right to open current and other accounts with credit institutions, but is not obligated. Accordingly, no deadlines have been established within which an account must be opened after state registration of a company.

If an organization does not operate for some time after its creation, that is, does not conduct financial and economic activities, it does not need a bank account. Therefore, today there are ready-made companies that were created quite a long time ago - several years ago, but only opened a current account now.

2. Question:
How many accounts can be opened for one company?
Answer:

The Company has the right to open any number of bank accounts in any credit institutions both in the Russian Federation and abroad. The types of bank accounts and their number are not limited by law.

However, this was not always the case. In the recent past, there was a period when a legal entity was allowed to have only one bank account. This was prescribed by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 1006 of May 23, 1994 “On the implementation of comprehensive measures for the timely and full payment of taxes and other obligatory payments to the budget.” A year later, this decree was canceled.

3. Question:
Can a company operate without a current account at all?
Answer:

Yes maybe. However, it is necessary to remember this: Article 861, paragraph 2 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation states: “Settlements between legal entities, as well as settlements with the participation of citizens related to the implementation of their business activities, are made in cashless manner. Settlements between these persons can also be made in cash, unless otherwise provided by law.”

In accordance with the Directive of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation dated June 20, 2007 N 1843-U, cash settlements between legal entities, as well as between a legal entity and an individual entrepreneur, as well as between individual entrepreneurs, within the framework of one agreement concluded between these persons, can be made in an amount not exceeding 100 thousand rubles.

This means that all payments between these persons in an amount exceeding 100 thousand rubles under one agreement must be carried out non-cash, that is, through current accounts.

In addition, we should not forget that cash payments are made with the mandatory use of cash register equipment. Accepting cash without using a cash register or in violation of the procedure for its use is an administrative offense for which a fine is provided:

• for citizens (individual entrepreneur) in the amount of 1,500 to 2,000 rubles;
• for officials (general director of the organization) in the amount of 3,000 to 4,000 rubles;
• for legal entities in the amount of 30,000 to 40,000 rubles.

4. Question:
What is the procedure for opening a bank account?
Answer:

The procedure for opening and maintaining bank accounts is regulated by federal laws and legal acts of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation:

1. Civil Code of the Russian Federation - Chapter 45.
2. Federal Law of December 2, 1990 N 395-1 “On Banks and Banking Activities” - Article 30.
3. Instruction of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation dated September 14, 2006 N 28-I “On opening and closing bank accounts and deposit accounts.” Appendix No. 1 “Card with sample signatures and seal impressions”

Typically, credit institutions that offer settlement and cash services to their clients post information on the procedure for opening accounts and the required list of documents on their official websites.
If the company was created recently, then to open an account you need to collect approximately the following set of documents:

1. Certificate of state registration.
2. Certificate of registration with the tax authority.
3. Charter, agreement on the establishment of an LLC (if any) or agreement on the creation of a JSC (if any).
4. Information letter about registration in the Statregister of Rosstat.
5. Extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. Typically, banks require an Extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, dated no earlier than 1 month before the day it is submitted to the bank.
6. Decision (protocol) on creation.
7. Order on the appointment of a manager - general director.
8. Order on the appointment of a chief accountant. If there is no accountant yet, then the order for the appointment of the general director indicates that due to the absence of the position of chief accountant and other accounting employee in the staffing table, the organization of accounting is entrusted to the general director.
9. Documents confirming the location of the company. The requirements for this category of documents are different for each bank. Sometimes it is enough to fill out a letter in the bank form indicating the location of the organization. Sometimes it is necessary to provide a lease (sublease) agreement for the premises and a title document of the owner of the premises. Some credit institutions do not require confirmation of the company's address at all, unlike others that do on-site checks at the company's office.

The requirements for the form of certification of documents submitted to the bank are also very different.
Some credit institutions accept only a notarized set of documents, while some certify the documents themselves if the originals are available. In addition to the above set of company documents, when opening an account, you will need to fill out documents in accordance with the bank's form - bank account agreement, applications, questionnaires, letters, as well as draw up a Card with sample signatures and seal impressions. Depending on the procedures established by the credit institution, this card can be issued either directly at the bank or at a notary. If there is no chief accountant in the company yet and accounting is carried out by the manager personally, then in the “Second signature” field on the card it is indicated that “there is no person with the right of second signature.”

Card with samples of signatures and seal imprints - an example of filling.

5. Question:
Can a bank refuse to open a current account for my company?
Answer:

Article 846 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation obliges the bank to enter into a bank account agreement with any person who has made an offer to open an account on the terms announced by the bank.

The bank has no right to refuse to open an account, except in cases where such refusal is permitted by law or other legal acts. Federal Law No. 115-FZ of August 7, 2001 “On combating the legalization (laundering) of proceeds from crime and the financing of terrorism” establishes cases in which credit institutions have the right to refuse to conclude a bank account agreement with a legal entity.

Such cases are (clause 5.2 of Article 7):

1. Absence of a company at its location. This is revealed through an on-site inspection at the company’s office, or in a telephone conversation with the owner of the office premises.
2. Providing false documents about the location of the company.
3. The bank has information regarding an individual or legal entity about its participation in terrorist activities. In practice, there are cases of refusal to open an account for a company if, when checking its manager, it turns out that he had problems with the law.

In addition, to determine the degree of trustworthiness of a future client, banks practice conducting an interview with the head of the company.
The questions asked are the simplest - what the company will do, where its office is located, what turnover is expected, and expected counterparties. Whether the bank will open an account for this company depends on how confidently the manager answers. Banks usually do not explain the reasons for refusing to open an account.

And one more thing: If one of the banks refused to open an account for your company, this does not mean that the same thing will happen in another bank. Each bank has different requirements for potential clients. Try submitting documents to another credit institution.

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Is an LLC required to have one?

According to the Federal Law “On Limited Liability Companies”, an enterprise is not required to have a bank account . Its opening is the right of the company, and not an obligation to the state.

Thus, there is nothing wrong with the fact that the organization does not work for some time after opening, does not conduct business and does not own an account. If she is engaged in retail trade, and the amount of her transactions does not exceed 100,000 rubles, then there is no need to register it.

When contacting a bank with a request to open an account, the company must provide the necessary package of documents. Registration is carried out in a fairly short time; a financial institution has no right to refuse such a request if the company really exists, operates and provides the entire package of documentation.

If you are interested in how to issue an invoice, read this material.

You will find all the nuances of opening a current account for individual entrepreneurs here.

The bank does not open a current account: the main reasons for refusal

So, if a bank does not open a current account, the reasons for its actions are as follows:

The client or his representative has not provided all the necessary documents for identification or is using fictitious names or names . A bank employee must check the data of entrepreneurs, individuals, as well as beneficiaries of legal entities: full name, citizenship, date of birth, right to stay in the Russian Federation, passport details, registration. If an LLC plans to open an account, then the following is checked: name, organizational and legal form, taxpayer number, etc. Without this information, an account will not be opened for the client.

The client or his representative is not present in person during the preparation of documents for opening an account. Here many people will immediately have a question - after all, many banks open an account within a few minutes after submitting an online application from its website. There is such a service, but the mode of operation of the account is limited. It only works to accept payments, but the client will be able to send money only after the identification procedure.

The client was included in the list of persons associated with extremism and terrorism . Each individual and organization, as well as beneficiaries of legal entities, are checked against the relevant databases, and if they are mentioned there, the bank does not open a current account.

Cost and opening times in various institutions

First of all, you need to figure out how successful the choice of bank will be. There are many different credit institutions in our country, each of which offers its own conditions for registration and a number of account management operations. Before concluding an agreement, you must carefully study all the clauses of the agreement.

Using examples of the conditions for opening and maintaining accounts of large banks, we will consider various options and differences in work.

Alfa Bank

This bank is one of the largest in Russia, with about 110 branches and representative offices around the world. It serves both individuals and legal entities. Using an example, we will consider the conditions for opening and maintaining accounts for residents, their branches and representative offices:

• Opening takes about 3 days .
• There is no limit on the number of open accounts.
• Opening the first current account – 2500 rubles .
• Opening the second and subsequent ones - 1000 rubles.

The cost of monthly service depends on the type of payment orders provided:

• If they are provided electronically – 800 rubles.
• If they are provided electronically and on paper – 3800 rubles.
• If they are provided only on paper – 6900 rubles.

In addition, there is a separate fee for making a transfer using the Alfa Online system - 30 rubles per transfer, and when providing instructions on paper - 0.1% of the payment amount (this amount cannot exceed 440 rubles). Services are provided to reduce this cost.

Sberbank of Russia

One of the most popular banks in the Russian Federation. According to his statistics, 70% of the country’s population uses the services of the institution. A large number of branches, which has now reached a figure above 17,000.

Registration of an invoice takes no more than two days . At the moment, the bank is conducting a promotion to open within 5 minutes with the participation of the client in some service programs.

Sberbank tariffs vary depending on the region. Consider prices in the city of Moscow:

• Registration of an invoice – 2400 rubles .
• Maintenance when making payments electronically – 600 rubles per month.
• Maintenance when making payments on paper and in case of combination – 1800 rubles per month.

Payment for translations is carried out at a rate of 30 rubles per payment, regardless of the type of translation medium. When paying from an organization's account to an individual's account (if the payment is not a salary payment to an employee), 1% of the transfer amount is charged.

VTB 24

One of the leaders among commercial banks in the country. This institution offers to issue invoices urgently, and the period can be no more than 4 hours .

• The cost of registration is 2500 rubles .
• The cost of urgent opening is 4500 rubles .
• Opening an account in foreign currency will cost 50 US dollars.
• Maintaining an account when using the Internet payment service “Bank-Client Online” – 1100 rubles per month.

Payments and transfers are charged as follows:

• Payments within the bank – 6 rubles per payment.
• Payments to accounts in other banks – 30 rubles per payment.

Bank of Moscow

A universal bank serving clients of various levels. It is also part of the VTB financial group.

Registration of accounts and their maintenance at the bank is carried out according to the program of several tariff plans, which provide for a monthly payment for services included in advance in the package. Let's look at all the tariffs:

• "Cashless" . It includes the registration and maintenance of a client’s account, including a range of services such as certification of signature cards and seal impressions, certification of a package of documents of the organization, copies of which are made by the employee of the institution himself, and not by the client. The package also includes transfers to any accounts and work via the Internet Bank-Client system. Payment is made by writing off the amount of 2500 rubles monthly.
• "Trading" . Includes everything, but additionally provides the client with a checkbook and the ability to withdraw cash. Funds are credited via a corporate card. Payment – ​​4000 rubles per month. For those who withdraw large amounts, the third tariff is suitable.
• "Trading VIP" . The only difference from the “Trading” plan is that withdrawals will be limited to a large amount - 500,000 rubles per month, and deposits - 2,000,000 rubles. Payment – ​​5800 rubles per month.

Unicredit

This is a Russian bank with foreign participation, all shares of which belong to the Austrian bank UniCredit. His tariffs are as follows:

• Registration of an invoice – 1200 rubles .
• Opening subsequent accounts – 650 rubles.
• Maintenance in rubles for payments through the online service – 1000 rubles per month.
• Maintenance in rubles for paper payments – 1500 rubles per month.
• The fee for transfers in Russian rubles through the Internet banking system is 25 rubles per transfer.
• The fee for transfers in Russian rubles when providing an instruction on paper is 100 rubles per transfer.

The features of opening bank current accounts for organizations and individual entrepreneurs are outlined in the following video:

Why is the bank unhappy?

It is no secret that many quibbles are subjective, but clients are forced to take into account the bank’s decision. Having received a refusal from one credit institution, you can turn to another or start litigation over the bank’s arbitrariness.

However, there is another way out: carefully study the banking conditions and bring your company into compliance with the requirements, if this is practical.

The most common reasons for a bank to refuse to open a current account are:

• claims against the director or founder of the company;
• problems with the address at which the company is registered;
• composition and content of documents submitted by the applicant.

Poor choice of company director

Having suspected a company of having a nominal management, the bank will most likely not cooperate with it. Therefore, it is inappropriate to appoint a person registered in this status in several other companies as director of an enterprise.

Attention! Registration of the same person as the founder, manager and chief accountant of the company will not inspire confidence in the bank and will provoke it to refuse to open a current account for the applicant.

One should approach the personality of the leader very responsibly. Having a criminal record and overdue loans may be an argument against the legal entity.

A prerequisite for opening an account is client identification. For enterprises, the person who has the right to act on his behalf without a power of attorney is the manager. Its appearance, along with the submitted documents, will be assessed by bank employees. A sloppy suit or inappropriate behavior associated with alcohol or drug intoxication will definitely cause a negative reaction from bank employees and will reduce to zero the likelihood of concluding an agreement for cash settlement services in this institution.

Company registration address

The address of the company indicated in the registration documents makes it possible to identify it with the highest degree of probability and obtain information that can either dispel suspicions of the company’s unreliability or confirm them.

Tax authorities and banks have lists of addresses that appear most often in company registration documents. Therefore, the presence of such an address as the place of registration of the executive body of the company will arouse increased interest on the part of the bank’s security service, which will necessarily initiate a thorough verification of this fact through telephone conversations or with employees visiting the site.

A direct indication of the applicant company’s dishonesty may be the detection of the following inconsistencies:

• registration of a company at a non-existent address;
• at the company’s registration address there is another enterprise that does not have information about the applicant;
• The landline telephone number specified in the application is not in service or belongs to another subscriber;
• the applicant is registered at an address belonging to the unfinished construction project;
• In addition to the applicant, several other companies are registered at the specified address.

Important! Any doubts of the bank regarding the discrepancy between the legal and actual addresses of the company are interpreted by it not in favor of the applicant and are assessed as a fact of concealment of important information, which, in turn, leads to a refusal to open a current account.

Documents of the organization or individual entrepreneur

Problems with the preparation and execution of a package of documents necessary for concluding an agreement for settlement and cash services are familiar not only to legal entities, but also to individual entrepreneurs.

These problems are of a formal nature and must be corrected by the applicant at the direction of the bank:

• absence of one or another paper in the submitted package of documents;
• an incorrectly drawn up or certified document;
• errors, inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the text of the constituent documents;
• expiration of the term of office of a manager who has the right to act on behalf of a legal entity without a power of attorney.

List of required documents

For registration you will need a package of documents. The procedure can be formalized either by the founder of the company or its director . You can also authorize a person, but this will require a power of attorney. An important attribute when opening is the organization’s seal.

The list of main documents will be as follows:

• Charter
• Certificate of registration or certificate of the Unified State Register of Legal Entities.
• Certificate of registration with the tax authority.
• Extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities.
• Passport of the person opening the account.
• Card of the seal impression and signatures of persons authorized for this procedure.