Bank accounts: types for legal entities and individuals

The content of the article

• What is a bank account?
• Universal
• Special Bank Accounts
• What are the bank accounts
• For individuals
• For legal entities
• Bank Account Classification
• Subject composition
• By appointment
• By type of currency
• By validity
• Whenever possible replenishment or withdrawal of funds
• By purpose of use
• By the volume of settlement operations
• Types of bank accounts for individuals
• Current accounts
• Deposit
• Loan accounts
• Card
• Settlement accounts for legal entities
• Interbank accounts
• Correspondent in the Bank of Russia
• Loro nostro
• Why open a budget account

A client who first contacted a credit institution to make a deposit resembles a knight at a crossroads. Different types of bank accounts (current, settlement, deposit) can easily confuse an ignorant person who is poorly versed, than one type of opened balance differs from another. However, there is nothing complicated, and after spending only 5-10 minutes studying the accompanying information, you will clearly know which option is best for you.

What is a bank account?

Regardless of whether it is an individual or a legal entity, many financial transactions require an account. It is necessary for the concentration of funds and their further intended use. Such an account can be used for cashless payments between organizations, crediting funds (salaries) to an employee of an enterprise, accumulating interest on deposits and many other ways. Information on the size of the deposit and the movement of funds on it is a bank secret and is protected by law.

Universal

This is the main account on which funds are accumulated for cashless transfers or cash withdrawals. For legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, this record is called the current account, for citizens – the current account (but often these concepts are mixed, creating confusion). According to the banking service agreement, the financial institution undertakes obligations to credit, write off and store the client’s funds, conducting financial transactions with them according to his order.

Special Bank Accounts

In many cases (for example, in large enterprises with a large turnover and diverse cash flows), in order to simplify the accounting and distribution of financial resources, they use special banking services that are attached to the main balance sheet. The most common types include: deposit accounts, company letters of credit, corporate plastic cards, currency, special loan and other types. Such a special account can be opened by both the owner of the enterprise and the chief accountant.

What are the bank accounts

The classification of banking products for customer service can be varied and depend on the mobility of funds or purpose. It is also important to whom the contribution is open – to an individual, or intended to serve the activities of organizations, enterprises or individual entrepreneurs. Guided by law, cash flow is possible both in Russian rubles and in foreign currencies.

For individuals

Although financial institutions offer their customers very diverse types of bank accounts, all options for individuals have one important feature – the movement of funds should not be connected with the entrepreneurial activity of the client. The user is offered a very wide selection of banking services, designed for a variety of purposes: storage of funds, cashless purchases, loan repayments, etc..

For legal entities

These types of bank accounts are designed to serve individual entrepreneurs, enterprises and non-profit organizations, and therefore require accounting support. Taking into account the requirements of the current legislation, the flow of funds can be monitored by state tax authorities (for example, incoming and outgoing documents are checked).

Bank Account Classification

A specific problem is the current situation, when the current legislation, although it determines the type of bank account, does not contain a complete and clear classification. In such a situation, the optimal solution would be to resort to special legal literature, where the issue of the variety of bank accounts has been studied in great detail..

Subject composition

The subdivision into the types of bank accounts by subject composition provided for by law has two categories:

• Client – opened by the bank for individuals or legal entities, and may be settlement, current, deposit, etc..
• Interbank – are opened for another bank on the basis of correspondent relations, when the settlement occurs by means and on behalf of another credit institution that is part of the federal payment system.

By appointment

In accordance with this division, the following main types of accounts are distinguished, the purpose of which is clear from the name:

• settlement – for use as the main balance sheet of a legal entity;
• current – for individuals or organizations that are not legal entities;
• budgetary – for enterprises and organizations financed from the federal budget;
• deposit – for storing funds and making profit with the help of interest accruals;
• loan – for servicing credit cards and operations to fulfill a monetary obligation.

By type of currency

The current legislation divides bank settlements as follows:

• Ruble – carried out in Russian monetary units (rubles).
• Currency – which are opened in monetary units of other countries. Such accounts may require the presence of a foreign currency license of the Bank of Russia.
• Foreign currency – foreign currency deposits of residents of the Russian Federation outside the country.
• Multicurrency – in this case, by concluding one agreement with the bank, several different foreign currency deposits are made (with the possibility of converting funds between them).

By validity

For operations with foreign currency, under Russian law it is supposed to have two types of bank accounts:

• Permanent – for all current currency payments.
• Transit – funds from export operations with non-residents and other revenue in foreign currency come here. These funds can be used only after a series of mandatory procedures (identification of the received amount, etc.).

Whenever possible replenishment or withdrawal of funds

In accordance with this opportunity, there are three types of bank accounts:

• No replenishment. Money is credited here once and there are no additional fees.
• With the possibility of replenishment. It is allowed to deposit new amounts during the deposit period.
• With the possibility of partial withdrawals. You can use the money from the deposit, but there is a limit, which must remain.

By purpose of use

Depending on the target ownership of funds, the law provides for several types of bank accounts:

• Current – meaning the owner’s freedom of order regarding the expenditure of funds stored in the financial institution (including through payment orders and other settlement documents).
• Target – their purpose is determined by the contract or directly indicated by law. For example, it may be investment funds from the federal budget intended to finance specific projects.

By the volume of settlement operations

There are three types of bank accounts, depending on how many settlement transactions are acceptable for them:

• No restrictions in operations – when all operations can be performed on this account.
• With a limited range of operations – for example, on an account with trust, you cannot charge your own funds.
• Temporary or cumulative – for which settlement transactions are generally excluded. This may be, for example, a court deposit, opened by a bank to a client for crediting funds, but not pursuing the goal of commercial profit.

Types of bank accounts for individuals

Modern Russian banks offer Russian citizens a wide range of financial services that take into account the most diverse needs. So, the types of accounts of Sberbank for individuals include current, deposit, card and currency deposit options. This greatly expands the client’s ability to choose different banking products for their purposes..

Current accounts

This bank account for individuals is designed to serve the daily needs of the owner – this lists the salary, and from here the services or goods are paid in stores. Using such an account has several features:

• It should not be used for business purposes..
• Service is possible only in bank branches (by linking a debit card to your account, you can significantly expand the functionality using ATMs and payment terminals).
• Interest on the balance of the amount is not calculated here or they are purely symbolic.

If necessary, the client may have several bank balances at once, for example, to make settlements with different currencies. To open such an account, you must provide the following package of documents to the bank:

• application and customer profile,
• passport (other identification card),
• contract,
• TIN.

The cost of service depends on the particular bank, but often it is symbolic (for example, in the Russian Standard – 50 rubles per year). If you intend to stop using the services of a financial institution, the client should write a statement about closure, after which the rest of the funds will be issued in cash at the cash desk or transferred at the specified details.

Deposit

This account is created in accordance with the instructions of the Bank of Russia for the long-term storage of funds with interest income. The determining factor here is the amount of the deposit and the period for which the money is placed. Depending on the mode of use of finance, deposits are of two types:

• Poste restante. Partial or full withdrawals are allowed, therefore the interest rate is not very high – up to 1%.
• Urgent. They have a storage period of one year, a higher interest rate than “on demand”, but it will be problematic to withdraw money from them before the end of the contract with the bank. Term deposits are divided into savings, savings and settlement, characterized by nuances of replenishment and withdrawal of funds.

The interest rate on term deposits in leading financial institutions of the country (Sberbank, BTB 24, etc.) is 7-10%. Small financial institutions (Loko-Bank, Yar-Bank, Riabank) can offer higher rates, more than 13%, but this happens only in the framework of special promotions and with deposits from 300,000 rubles, so not all can take advantage of these offers..

They open deposit services at a bank with the same package of documents as for the current balance, but in some cases a military ID or pension certificate may be required. Closing a bank deposit implies the expiration of the contract, the accrual of the prescribed interest and the transfer of money to the client or transfer to another account.

Loan accounts

To service a loan, a loan account is opened, which reflects the movement of funds on payments. It may have a negative balance and on its basis, cash receipts are kept for payment of debt by credit institutions. If the borrower is an individual, then commission for opening or servicing is not allowed. Currently, the following types of interest payments on loans are used in banking practice:

• The annuity method involves a fixed monthly payment. This form of payment is very convenient for the lender, because he knows in advance exactly what kind of income he is expecting, but for the debtor who plans to repay the loan ahead of schedule, it will not work.
• The differentiated method provides for the calculation of the minimum contribution, which the client may exceed at his discretion. In this case, the size of payments is periodically recalculated, and the overpayment on the loan is reduced. This method is not very beneficial to financial institutions, so it is not used often in lending.

Card

For servicing plastic cards, accounts (SCS) can be used, allowing you to use ATMs to receive cash and terminals for cashless payments. The procedure for opening such a card is not difficult – often only a passport is needed from documents. Issue and annual maintenance involves payment (for example, Zenith Bank’s Standart card – 600 rubles per year), but if the card relates to salary projects, then the services will be free for the client. Card number consists of 16 digits (there are twenty in the usual balance).

Settlement accounts for legal entities

Special types of bank accounts for legal entities take into account the peculiarities of their activities, providing more opportunities under banking rules than for individuals. In order to open an account, you need to submit to the bank:

• application and application form,
• signature and stamp samples,
• identity card of the founder and chief accountant,
• certificate of absence of tax debt,
• copy of constituent documents and registration certificate.

The opening cost as of mid-2019 is from 2,000 to 5,000 thousand rubles, depending on the bank (for example, Sberbank – 4,700 rubles). Annual maintenance in a minimal configuration will cost from 17,280 rubles (Otkritie Bank), but at the same time many of the necessary functions, such as cash withdrawals or online banking, were not taken into account.

Interbank accounts

The settlement procedure between banks is regulated by special legal decrees and basic legal documents (for example, article 860 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), determining for this special types of bank accounts – currency or ruble correspondent ones. The general organization of such interaction can be centralized or decentralized, depending on who is involved in servicing correspondent relations.

Correspondent in the Bank of Russia

According to current legislation, a correspondent account with the Central Bank of Russia must have every bank whose activities are carried out in our country. In case of centralized interbank cooperation, this correspondent account will be used for cashless payments between two credit organizations. The participation of the Bank of Russia (the Settlement and Cash Center acts on its behalf in the agreement) is an additional guarantee for the participants in the transaction.

Loro nostro

If the correspondent account is not related to the Central Bank, then it has the type of “Loro-nostro”. The specific name of the envy of the viewing angle:

• For a bank that opens an account with another credit institution, to regulate financial issues, this will be a loro account.
• For a bank in which this account is open, such a correspondent account is called “nostro”.

Why open a budget account

This type of bank account occupies a special position among financial products, because it is used for transfers of budget funds for the purpose of their intended use. In accordance with the legal regime of our country, structures of the Federal Treasury that have the right to financial transactions using the budget and state extra-budgetary funds open such a special account with the Bank of Russia. In exceptional cases, the functions of the Central Bank may be performed by other credit organizations..