A bank account is opened by individuals and legal entities in order to accumulate cash and conduct non-cash payments with them. There are established rules for identifying each species. Visually, it is a numerical code consisting of a long combination of numbers. It contains information about the currency in which the account is opened, its type, the bank branch where it is served, personal number and key.
Types of Bank Accounts
The following types of accounts exist:
- budgetary;
- currency;
- frozen;
- the insured;
- correspondent;
- cumulative;
- saving;
- transit;
- consolidated;
- stock;
- loan;
- check;
- metal depersonalized;
- onkolny;
- general;
- current account
- payment account.
The number of any account in Russia consists of 20 digits. Such a system was adopted in 1998. The code combination is divided into 5 groups, each of which carries certain information.
What is a checking account?
A current account is opened for legal entities and individual entrepreneurs. The opening is preceded by the signing of a banking agreement. The main functions of the current account:
- Crediting fees for services rendered or goods sold.
- Other non-operating operations.
- Settlements with counterparties.
- Repayment of tax liabilities.
- Advance tax payments.
- Salary transfer to employees.
- Insurance payments and social contributions.
- Repayment of loans and other financial obligations.
Current account
This term means two types of accounts: an account tied to an individual’s card, and an account intended for servicing branches and representative offices of legal entities. Current account is a means of paying for purchases, receiving a pension, wages, repaying credit and other financial obligations of individuals.
Both individuals and legal entities, open an account at their request. The presence of a bank account with business entities is a mandatory legal requirement. Opening an account should be initiated in the process of registration of the subject. Special attention should be paid to the current and settlement accounts owned by legal entities.
Legal entity current account
The current account of a legal entity has a regime that is determined depending on what tasks it will perform. The current account and the current account of the company may differ from each other or even be open in different banks. When a representative office is opened, the parent company may apply for a current account. The mode in such cases is determined automatically.
The functions of the settlement account of the representative office are as follows:
- The costs associated with the maintenance of the department.
- Tax and other payments in favor of the state budget.
- Payroll.
- Insurance premiums for employees.
This is not an exhaustive list. It can be expanded according to the needs of the organization. Settlement and current bank accounts are usually available to a limited circle of people. This can be a branch manager and accountant. Eligible persons are prescribed in the contract. In general, the range of operations for the settlement account of a representative office is also quite narrow.
Normative base
One of the important regulatory documents in this field is Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 911 as amended on October 8, 1998. In this document, among other things, the bank’s responsibility for errors made during settlement operations and violation of the terms of the contract are considered.
In particular, liability arises if the bank writes off the wrong amount of money, delays the transaction for a day or more, transfers the incorrect amount or delays the payment of funds in favor of the account holder. The penalty in all cases is 0.5% of the error amount and for each subsequent day until it is eliminated.
Another regulatory lever in the legal field is the Law on Banks and Banking Activities, adopted and practiced since 1996. According to article 31 of this law, in case of detection of erroneous operations that have occurred through the fault of a financial organization, interest on the erroneous amount is provided in favor of the client at the refinancing rate.
In other words, for those cases for which a penalty is prescribed in the first document, according to the second document, interest is calculated. It should be borne in mind that according to the provisions of the Law “On Banks and Banking Activities”, the amount of liability fixed in the original contract is not subject to subsequent changes. The current account and settlement account of companies, as well as the procedure for conducting transactions with them, are subject to these rules.
Lawyers believe that this measure, in fact, is forfeit, despite the fact that the text of the law is written as a fine. The fact is that this case fully fits the legal definition of the penalty specified in Article 330 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. According to him, a forfeit is a cash payment exacted from one of the parties in case of failure to fulfill the terms of the contract or law.
However, the law does not provide for such a factor as losses incurred due to erroneous actions of one of the parties. Therefore, to establish the ratio is also impossible. In such cases, the amount of compensation in practice counts as an offset penalty.
What is the difference between a current account and a current one?
If we talk about the difference between the accounts of the parent company and the representative office, then, in addition to a limited range of access, there are no other differences in practice. A more detailed consideration deserves the difference between settlement and current accounts for legal entities and individual entrepreneurs.
An IP can theoretically use a personal bank card or account to pay for expenses of a company or its business. But difficulties will arise when reflecting these operations in the accounting documentation.
The current account and the current account differ among themselves in several essential parameters, each of which should be considered in more detail.
Interchangeability
The current account in some circumstances can be used as a current account. For example, if you need to buy something or pay for services. Of course, all this will be reflected as operations in the interests of the company.
However, a current account cannot replace a settlement account. In particular, it cannot be used to make transfers to a current account. In the same way, it is impossible to receive funds if it is not about the employee card and the current account of the employer company.
In other words, the current account and the current account can replace each other only in one direction. However, the current account has slightly more options, since they can be used for personal purposes of persons who have legal access to them (the manager or his authorized representative).
Interest rates
Banks are interested in as many transactions as possible through them. Therefore, marketing strategies are often aimed at both individuals and legal entities. One of the common chips is interest on the balance amount.
If we are talking about the current account of an individual, then there is a very wide range of banking products where interest rates are provided. In addition to them, today almost all bank cards practice returning interest on the amount spent - cashback, which can also be considered a client’s profit.
Given the daily need for both types of accounts, you can often come across the question: what is the difference between current and settlement accounts? Consider another distinguishing feature. For example, a settlement account rarely relies on an interest rate.
At the same time, the current account is under the strict control of state bodies. For example, if a tax debt is formed or there are unpaid fines or penalties, then a transaction can be easily banned. In some cases, the restriction is imposed on the amount of debt, in other cases - on all funds on the balance sheet. But there are legal ways to lift the ban - pay off the debt, notify the tax authority and inform the bank. Usually, access is opened no later than the next day.