Client-bank service: purpose, capabilities and advantages

Current account is an account assigned by a bank to a legal entity or individual for storing funds. Non-cash payments are made using this account. An entrepreneur has the right to open an account in any bank, regardless of the place of registration, registration or business. It is also allowed to open several accounts in different banks, which will differ in the currency of the current account, the purpose of the funds, etc. In this article we will answer the question of where it is more profitable to open a current account for individual entrepreneurs ( relevant as of May 2020 ).

A businessman is not required to open an account when registering an individual entrepreneur: he can do this at any time or not do it at all, and make payments only in cash (for such a case, a limit of 100 thousand rubles is set). But then many opportunities will be lost that make running an enterprise easier:

• Payment for goods or services by customers by card or online.
• Accept and send payments.
• Withdrawing money to a card or personal account.
• Convenience of managing your money.

The financial market is rich in offers and therefore in this article we decided to help understand the question of where is the most profitable opening of a bank account for an individual entrepreneur.

How to choose a current account for an individual entrepreneur

Choosing a bank is an important matter. There are many factors to consider here, from maintenance costs to safety.

So which bank should you choose? The selection must be made according to the following criteria.

1. Bank reliability.
   You can rely on the rating of the Central Bank of Russia or on third-party rating centers. Here, for example, is the rating of bank reliability from Forbes.
2. Cost of opening a current account.
   In general, banks open an account for free, but there are exceptions, so it’s worth paying attention to, because in this case, other services (which are free in other banks) may be paid.
3. Maintenance cost.
   It consists of a subscription fee and transaction fees. This is one of the most important criteria. Here you need to carefully analyze and plan your future business and build on this data. Also take into account the cost of depositing cash, transferring physical. persons, commission for withdrawing cash from an ATM. If all this is needed, of course.
4. Interaction.
   Here you need to consider how convenient online banking, a mobile application, and a hotline are. Basically, these services are provided free of charge.
5. Nice bonuses.
   This is also an important point, although not the main one. Banks often offer credit lines, business cards, help with bookkeeping, interest on account balances, etc. This can be considered, if not a necessity, then a pleasant addition.
6. Availability of branches.
   If a bank has two branches per city, then this is simply inconvenient. You will still have to visit the bank, despite the fact that the main activity can be carried out online. At least even for opening and closing an account.
7. Time of the operating day.
   It's simple: the more, the better.
8. Deposit insurance system.
   It is desirable for an individual entrepreneur, who in 2014 was equated to an individual, for the bank to be included in this very system, because if the license is revoked, he can claim compensation, but only up to 1,400,000 rubles.

When the business gains momentum, it is important to pay attention to other options; for example, an entrepreneur will be interested in a profitable cash settlement for individual entrepreneurs.

The ideal bank for individual entrepreneurs, what is it like: criteria

When the decision to open a current account has been made, a completely logical question arises: “Which bank is better?” And the process of comparing options and studying proposals begins. We will tell you what criteria should be followed, how to choose a bank to open an individual entrepreneur’s current account, and also give a rating of the ten most attractive banks in terms of price-quality ratio for individual entrepreneurs.

Banks charge a commission for withdrawing money from your account, it varies everywhere, but the most favorable conditions are in Tochka, Tinkoff and Modulbank Corporate cards. When you connect cards to your current account, it is much easier to cash out funds, deposit money into your account, and pay for goods and services. Internet bank. Every bank has an Internet bank. They may differ in convenience, speed of service and additional functions.

An individual entrepreneur can open a current account in any bank he likes. There are no regional restrictions. The main thing is to choose a bank that will solve all the problems facing the individual entrepreneur.

In the selection process, we recommend relying on the following criteria:

• reliability
• convenience and service
• Additional services
• service cost
• customer focus

Reliability. Why did we put it in first place? You probably hear how often banks are deprived of their license. According to analysts' forecasts, about 10% of banks will be closed this year alone. Of course, individual entrepreneurs’ deposits are insured, but the amount of the insurance payment does not exceed 1.4 million rubles. Yes, and it takes time until you get it. Nobody needs such problems. Therefore, choose a reliable bank. Look at the ratings of independent agencies, reviews on specialized sites.

Convenience and service lie not only in the territorial accessibility of branches and ATMs, but also in how modern the bank is, whether it uses innovative technologies in its work, and what additional services it offers. Paying tribute to Russian financial institutions, it is worth saying that most of them are trying to modernize their service, bring it up to date, or have already done so. Thus, many banks already have the opportunity to submit an application to open a current account for an individual entrepreneur online, as well as manage the account remotely, without the need to visit bank branches.

Additional services . Today, many banks are no longer providing exclusively financial services. They offer their clients legal support, online accounting, the opportunity to gain new knowledge, and register activities using built-in banking services. Of course, it is convenient when the bank becomes a full-fledged partner of an individual entrepreneur, helps him run his business, supports him, and insures him in difficult situations.

Maintenance cost. It should be profitable for you to work with your bank. It is desirable that the tariff include minimum fees for withdrawing and depositing funds, the monthly cost of account maintenance should not be exorbitant, and if there is no movement on the account, then it should not be charged at all. Typically the bank charges for:

• monthly account maintenance;
• access to online services;
• withdrawal, deposit of cash, transfer of funds, processing of payments.

You can clearly compare bank tariffs in our interactive table - compare bank tariffs for cash settlement services.

Read the contract carefully before you decide to sign it. Look what is hidden under the asterisks, in the footnotes, and printed in very small letters. Very often, the words “Free” hide the conditions under which it will work for free. For example, the bank writes on the main page that 10% cashback is credited to the card, but the footnote states that only if the purchase was made from a bank partner, some electronics store. In other cases, no cashback is awarded. In order not to be surprised by the absence of the promised conditions, it is necessary to read the links and footnotes.

Customer focus . And, of course, the best bank is customer-oriented, with whom it is convenient and comfortable to work. By what criteria can you determine the level of customer focus? First of all, this:

• free hotline and ease of dialing or chat, in general, a means of feedback with bank employees
• modern and convenient online banking and mobile application that work on any operating system and device
• speed of service in the department, comfort of stay in the waiting room
• a large number of branches and ATMs, as well as full-fledged applications for remote work that completely solve all account management issues
• long operating day, the ability to make intrabank and interbank payments at any convenient time
• high level of security for accounts and bank cards

Where is it cheaper to open a current account for individual entrepreneurs?

If we compare all the tariffs of banks, then the comparative table of banks for the cost of opening and maintaining an account will be as follows.

From this table it can be seen that all banks offer free account opening, most have no service fee and you also don’t have to pay for payment orders. But in reality, you won’t be able to choose a plan in which all these options will be free. The cheaper the tariff, the higher the cost of one payment order. For individual entrepreneurs at the initial stage, the minimum tariff is suitable, because he will have a small cash flow and a small number of payments - there is no point in overpaying.

Now to a real example. Let’s say the individual entrepreneur’s turnover is 200 thousand rubles and you need to send 7 payment orders per month. Of course, every entrepreneur strives to minimize costs, so we will place the main emphasis on low cost of service, not forgetting, of course, about the bank’s reputation. And now, based on such input data, we will create a rating.

1. Opening. A bank with an excellent reputation and one of the systemically important ones.
   Opening is free;
2. account maintenance, rub./month. – free for new and small businesses, from 490 rubles for actively developing ones;
3. PromSvyazBank. A bank with a twenty-year history. Numerous positive reviews speak about its reliability.
   Opening is free;
4. account maintenance, rub./month. – first 6 months free;
5. Bank Uralsib. One of the largest banks in Russia, providing a wide range of services to any type of business.
   Opening is free;
6. account maintenance, rub./month. – first 12 months free;
7. ForBank. The bank is small, represented only in 6 regions of the country, but most operations can be performed remotely. The rates are very reasonable.
   Opening is free;
8. account maintenance, rub./month. – free for new and small businesses;
9. Sberbank. The leading bank in Russia with state participation and the largest number of branches in all regions.
   Opening is free;
10. account maintenance, rub./month. – free for new and small businesses;
11. DeloBank. This is a universal platform for SKB Bank, created to serve small and medium-sized businesses. The bank strives to fully automate tasks.
    Opening is free;
12. account maintenance, rub./month. – free for new and small businesses;
13. LocoBank. The bank is in the top 100 by assets. Among the shareholders is an international investor. Lokobank is also one of the leaders in terms of lending volume.
    Opening is free;
14. account maintenance, rub./month. – free for new and small businesses;
15. ModuleBank. The bank is aimed at start-up entrepreneurs and small businesses. There are no branches - it works only online.
    Opening is free;
16. account maintenance, rub./month. – First 3 months free;
17. Sphere. One of the banks that provides services exclusively on the Internet. It belongs to BCS Bank, so, if necessary, you can contact their offices.
    Opening is free;
18. account maintenance, rub./month. – free for new and small businesses;
19. VTB. The bank is one of the largest in the country, and there are branches outside its borders.
    Opening is free;
20. account maintenance, rub./month. – First 3 months free;
21. Alfa Bank. A reliable bank with high ratings and foreign capital. Has the largest number of tariffs for entrepreneurs.
    Opening is free;
22. account maintenance, rub./month. – free for new and small businesses;
23. Tinkoff. The first private bank to operate exclusively online. It has many positive reviews and is one of the most “advanced” in Russia.
    Opening is free;
24. account maintenance, rub./month. – free for new and small businesses;
25. Dot. The bank is only 3 years old, but it is already a leader in the financial services market. The bank is focused on working with small and medium-sized businesses.
    Opening is free;
26. account maintenance, rub./month. – free for new and small businesses;

Based on these data, we can conclude that the most profitable banks for opening a current account for individual entrepreneurs are Otkritie and Promsvyazbank.

How to install Bank Client?

The online banking system is available to all clients of credit institutions (individual entrepreneurs, legal entities and citizens). To activate the service, you must:

• Have a personal computer connected to the global network at hand.
• Go to the bank with a connection application. Here it is worth specifying the subsystem option (it can be an Internet client, a bank client, and others).
• Discuss with the institution’s staff the possibility of connecting such an option in terms of software and technical parameters. In some cases, additional staffing of the workplace is required.
• Draw up an additional agreement for RKO. Sometimes the use of Client Bank leads to an increase in the overall costs of maintaining a current account.

Where is the best place to open a current account for an individual entrepreneur?

In addition to the cost of monthly account maintenance, there are many more indicators that you need to pay attention to, if necessary. For example, some people need the percentage for withdrawals or deposits as low as possible, while others do not have time to spend on opening an account and need to do this as quickly as possible. So, in which bank is it better to open an account, taking into account all the important criteria, in addition to cost. Below is a comparison table.

But even that's not all. Banks offer accounting, legal, collection, acquiring, settlement and cash services, etc.

And here everyone must choose for themselves the bank that best suits their requirements and offers the best conditions specifically for them.

What is Internet banking and how does it differ from client banking?

Both systems have pros and cons. The “Internet banking” system is different in that all data is posted on the website of the bank providing the service, and the client only provides the technical capabilities to work via the network using a browser (usually Internet Explorer, but other options are possible). That is, all the organization’s data is stored on the financial organization’s server, and work with the system is also carried out there; work outside the network is impossible.

The advantages of working with the system include:

1. Ease of access. All you need is access to the Internet - confirmation of transactions carried out by individual entrepreneurs is carried out via SMS (as for ordinary individuals).
2. High degree of data protection from external threats. In the event of a computer failure or accidental destruction of data, nothing will happen to your banking information, since the data is stored on the server.
3. Ease of use. There is no need to update the program for correct communication with the bank server.
4. The ability to use the system simultaneously by several users located geographically in different places.
5. Inexpensive service.

Advantages of the client bank:

1. The ability to work in the program without connecting to a network - the program is entered from a computer with a specialized data encryption program installed (usually CryptoPro of various versions) and an eToken electronic USB key (in this case, new documents can be generated, but cannot be sent; statements can be printed , upload, but if they were not downloaded from the server to the system earlier, they will also be unavailable). The user does not need to be online all the time; only short sessions are needed to exchange information with the server.

What is eToken? eToken is a secure storage medium that looks similar to a regular USB flash drive. However, inside it has built-in security mechanisms that protect digital signature data from possible copying by intruders or viruses.

1. The system works faster and more efficiently. This is especially noticeable in large volumes of exchange between the computer and the server.
2. Availability of additional services, for example viewing changes in document status, advanced exchange capabilities with various accounting programs.

Thus, the choice of one of the systems for remote work with a bank depends on several criteria:

1. Volume of work of the organization, number of bank documents.
2. Technical capabilities of the individual entrepreneur: availability and quality of access to the Internet, the state of the bank client’s computer equipment.
3. Other criteria: individual characteristics of an accountant’s work, security requirements, price, the need to work from different workplaces, and so on.

If necessary, the individual entrepreneur can use both systems together.

Helpful advice

The law does not prohibit opening several accounts in different banks, so you can take advantage of this opportunity because:

• Because Banks have different conditions, it may be that in one bank transactions with cash are profitable, in others there is interest on transferring funds, in others it is storage of money at interest.
• You won't have to pay anymore, because... Now most banks do not have a subscription fee and you do not need to pay anything if there are no transactions on the account.
• If one bank has problems, you use another.
• If there are problems with your one account, you use another.