No matter where you live, opening a bank account is necessary to conduct all monetary transactions in the country. This is because all transactions through a bank get recorded under your name and identity.
Opening a current account online in the USA is no easy task. This is because opening a digital account is a rigorous process where lots of steps and documentation. Therefore, opening bank accounts digitally is a very time-consuming process.
However, opening a digital current account is not impossible. Read this step-by-step guide to prepare yourself to open a current account for your business.
What Is A Current Account?
A current account is more or less a savings account that is opened for a business instead of a person. However, the main difference between a savings account and a current account is that the latter allows you to conduct international monetary transactions with other foreign companies and current accounts as well.
A current account can only be opened by businesses that do international transactions with other companies. Current accounts have two parts: the current account and a capital account. The capital account stores all the money earned through the income of a company.
It considers all the transactions between the companies like the imports and export transactions, services given and hired, and other payments such as employee salaries and other expenditures.
What Do You Need To Open Digital Current Account?
If you want to open a digital current account in the USA, you need to have the following things ready before you head into the bank:
1. Personal Information
Information about yourself and your company is required to open a current account. This includes information about yourself like your birth certificate, personal identification card, driving license, and other such documents. In addition, if you are an immigrant, then you need to show your immigration documents.
When it comes to information about your company, information and verified documents are necessary. This includes information like your company’s name, its documents of establishment, and other essential documents that can change from bank to bank.
2. Contact Information
You need to provide contact information about yourself and your company so that the bank can reach you if they ever need to contact you. This includes your phone number, email address, company phone number, email Id, and any other contact details the bank might ask of you.
3. Funding Information
Funding information refers to the amount of money you are going to deposit. If it’s a large sum, you need to state from which bank account you are going to transfer the money or is it entirely in cash (which might seem absurd in 2022) or business loans from another bank.
4. Signatures
If you want to open a current account digitally, you need to provide your signatures. Now, depending on how you will provide those signatures, you will need to go to the bank. They will either record your signature by making you sign the documents physically or scan your signature and create an e-signature out of it.
Why Is It Hard To Open A Digital Current Account?
There are many reasons why opening a digital current account is an arduous process in the US. Some of them are:
1. Outdated Digital Banking Infrastructure
The online banking infrastructure of almost all banks in the US is made to make online transactions easier for their clients. However, opening a current account digitally is still very difficult since lots of documentation is involved and many verification and signings.
2. Rigid Process
Since the process to open current accounts in the US has almost remained the same for years (sans a few updates), the process is still very rigid. The banks still open current accounts using old techniques that do not take advantage of modern-day technologies and the internet throughout the process.
3. Poor UX
All major banks in the US have a website of their own. This allows its users to conduct banking transactions using the website. Now, due to the digitization of processes, it has become easier for users to conduct net banking activities using the smartphone applications of the banks, like file income tax returns.
However, even if you can make individual transactions easily, the same can not be said when opening current accounts. This is because the opening of accounts requires a physical visit to the bank anyway at the end.
Therefore, not much development has been made in that regard regarding the UI of the applications and the banking websites regarding opening digital current accounts.
Steps To Open A Digital Current Account
If you want to open a digital current account, you can do parts of the process online, while the ending part of the process has to be done physically. Again, this is for all banks in the country.
To open a digital current account, you must:
1. Go To The Bank Website
The first obvious step that you need to do is go to the bank’s website. You will keep tabs on all the essential facilities through their portal, including opening a new account. There, you will get the option to view current mortgage rates, and how to open a current account – that you need to click on and follow the process.
2. Fill Out The Application Form
When you follow through with the process of opening a zero balance digital current account, you will need to fill up an application form. This form will ask you for all the required details, like your name, address, email ID, name of your company, nature of business, existing savings and current accounts, application for a credit card apply online, etc.
3. Provide Signatures And Documents
After the application form gets filled out, you will need to provide your signature and other verified documents to the bank. This can be done in two ways – either digitally or physically. You are in luck if you can do it digitally. You are in luck since most banks do not provide that. You will then need to provide scanned copies of your documents and an e-signature to the bank.
4. Visit The Bank
The final step is to visit the bank physically for verification. You will need to provide physical copies of the documents and signatures, if not given digitally before, along with your photograph.
Frequently Asked Questions:
A current account is a bank account made for businesses to conduct international transactions.
The four types of current accounts are:
• Premium Current Account
• Standard Current Account
• Foreign Currency Current Account
• Packaged Current Account
No, cheque accounts are not the same as a current account.
Yes, you get an ATM card with current accounts.
Conclusion
Opening a digital current account is difficult because there are many steps and documentation involved in the process. You need to provide many details about yourself and your company when opening a digital current account.
To open a digital current account, you need to go to the bank’s website and fill out the application form. After that, you need to provide digital copies of all your documents and your signatures and complete the process by physically visiting the bank.
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