What is a checking account? Opening a current account

What is a current account, what types are there and by what criteria to choose a bank to open it, every modern person should know. The account is used for banking operations with funds both in cash and in non-cash form.

What is a checking account?

The current account is a unique number assigned to the client of a banking organization. This is an account of an individual or legal entity, the function of which is to store money and perform cash settlements. Its main advantage is the possibility of prompt financial transactions.

Who can open a checking account?

A bank account can be opened by both an individual and a legal entity. In the first case, it is called current, and in the second, the term “demand settlement account” is used.

Individuals open an account mainly to receive a salary, as well as to accumulate their own finances. All incoming funds should not be commercial in nature - this is the main condition of the bank. If the money is a payment by third-party organizations to an individual for the provision of any services, it is required to re-execute the contract.

Legal entities can use a current account for:

• settlements with financial institutions for loans and interest;
• transfer of remuneration to staff and other social benefits;
• enrollment of payments for the collection of authorized executive bodies;
• other settlement transactions.

Bank selection criteria

The location of a banking organization is far from the most important point that you should pay attention to when choosing a bank for cooperation. In the era of technological progress, almost every financial institution has an Internet banking service in its arsenal, which frees the client from a personal visit to the office.

The main criterion that requires attention is the list of services that the bank offers to its customers, the amount of the commission for servicing and maintaining the account. This information can be found on the official website of the institution.

Fierce competition in the financial services market forces banks to fight for each client. To this end, employees regularly develop new profitable offers and promotions in order to attract a larger number of people who have applied to them. Sometimes these are just advertising campaigns that should not be blindly trusted. It is best to open a current account in a fairly large and long-established banking organization.

How to open a current account for an individual?

Knowing what a current account is and having decided on the choice of a banking institution, you can proceed to draw up an agreement for the provision of such services.

An individual must write an application to a financial institution in order to open a current account. A sample filling can be found on the bank's website, or you can ask an office employee. After that, the specialists of the operational department send the received information to the common ABS database. At this stage, the account is assigned a unique number, which is then used by the owner.

When applying to open an account, an individual must provide a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation and a TIN (if any). These documents are necessary for bank employees to be able to prepare the case. In one financial institution, you can open several current accounts, each of which will be used for its own purpose at the discretion of the individual. For example, to store funds in different currencies.

Opening a current account for a legal entity

In order to open a settlement account of an organization, a legal entity must submit the following package of documents to the bank:

• notarized specimen of signatures and seal;
• a certificate issued by the Federal Tax Service or the social insurance fund on the absence / presence of debts;
• notarized copies of passports of people who will later have access to the current account (founders, chief accountant);
• copies of the constituent documents of the organization, certified by a notary;
• an extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities issued one month before opening an account;
• customer profile;
• statement;
• completed agreement on opening a current account.

Some Russian banks do not require notarized copies of documents, but certify them on their own when providing their originals.

After that, a special file is formed for the legal entity, which contains all documented evidence of the relationship between the bank and the organization.

How to find out the account number?

If a bank client has an urgent need to perform any transactions with funds, he can find out the current account number in several ways.

So, how to find out the current account?

1. You can call the hotline of a banking organization.
2. Obtain account details at the nearest bank branch by providing your ID.
3. On the official website of a financial institution, as a rule, all the necessary information regarding details is located.
4. The details of the current account number are specified in the contract.
5. A bank account can be obtained through an ATM.
6. Contact the support service on the bank's website. A response with account details will be sent to the client's email address.

Problems that may arise with the current account

According to the decision of the judicial authorities, the current account can be frozen. There are several reasons for this arrest:

• tax contributions are not paid on time;
• alimony arrears;
• making payments that are contrary to Russian law;
• imposition of penalties.

A notice of the arrest of the client's existing funds is sent to the bank at the place of registration. In this case, law enforcement agencies have the right to receive all information on transactions carried out with this account.

The tax office can also block the current account. This happens if the owner fails to pay taxes, penalties or does not provide a declaration within the allotted time. It is worth noting that tax reporting cannot cause blocking of funds on the account.

If it is used for illegal purposes, the security department blocks it and forwards all data to the appropriate authorities. To unlock funds, the owner must provide information on how the money appears on his account. After checking by specialists of all the nuances of the case, payments can be considered legitimate, and the funds become available to the client.

Having considered in detail what a current account is and how to open it, you can safely control its work, make financial transactions and know what to do if an unforeseen situation occurs.