Can Corporations Have a Savings Account?

Having a corporate checking account allows businesses to cover their immediate expenses. However, corporations sometimes have more funds than are necessary to cover immediate needs. In this case, a company might want save its revenue separately from the checking funds that cover immediate liabilities, particularly if it can get a better rate of interest. This raises the question of whether corporations can have a savings account.

Typically, corporations can use savings accounts in order to store the funds not already invested in other tools. This can be advantageous if a corporation is still deciding what to do with the funds.

If you plan to get a corporate savings account, the bank will follow a slightly different protocol than when a person opens a personal savings account. Because more people are involved in a corporation than normally are listed on a single or joint savings account, the bank will take extra care to verify that there is authorization to open the account. When you go to open the account, you will need documentation from your company's board of directors that shows the board members have approved the opening of the savings account. The documentation also should show that you are authorized to open the account on the company's behalf. Finally, the board documentation should say which people from your company may have signature cards, such as debit cards, that link to the account and who is authorized to make deposits and withdrawals. You always should have at least two people authorized to make withdrawals and deposits in case one authorized person is sick or passes away.

Each bank can offer its own services so long as those services are in accordance with local, state and federal laws. This is what allows banks to offer different types of accounts and to compete. This means that one bank may offer better savings account deals to your corporation than another, just as with personal accounts. Many banks have minimum balance and initial deposit requirements for corporate savings accounts that are higher than those for personal savings accounts, because banks assume that a corporation has more funds to put into an account than an individual. Additionally, some banks may have a minimum number of employees you must have before they consider the account to be a business account, but most simply put the minimum at one in recognition of sole proprietorships.

The banking guidelines outlined in Regulation D apply to corporate savings accounts. This means you cannot make more than six withdrawals in a statement cycle from the corporate account. It also means the bank might reserve the right to ask for seven days notice for withdrawals. Banks are more likely to do this for corporate savings withdrawals than personal savings withdrawals because the amount of withdrawals from corporate accounts tends to be larger. The bank does not keep most of its deposited money on site, instead keeping it at the Federal Reserve, so when a bank gets a large withdrawal request, the seven day notice gives the bank time to request deposited funds back for you. This is something to consider if your business needs money immediately.