Named vs. virtual accounts.
A “U.S. account” in someone else's name is not the same as your own.
Two things called by the same word.
A named account is a U.S. account in your company's own legal name. A virtual account is a sub-ledger inside an intermediary's master account, labeled for you but legally theirs.
Where the difference shows up.
On a named account, payments arrive addressed to you and clear cleanly. On a virtual account, the beneficiary name on an incoming payment and the account's legal owner can differ, and some banks return those payments.
Why it matters.
Counterparties, auditors and regulators treat an account in your name differently from a reference number inside someone else's. Named accounts give you ownership, portability and cleaner reconciliation.
Before you sign.
Ask whose legal name holds the funds, and whether you can keep the relationship if you ever change providers.
How we help.
We place clients on named U.S. accounts, held directly in their own name. Talk to us.