Refusal to open a business bank account: there are solutions!

When setting up a new business, certain steps can quickly become a real obstacle course. Between choosing a registered office, making the necessary inquiries andopening a businessbank account dedicated to the new activity, it's all too often the case that obstacles stand in the way of future entrepreneurs. In fact, despite the simplification of the formalities involved in setting up a company, there are still a number of administrative hurdles which, unfortunately, can lead to the procedure being put on hold.

This is particularly the case when a bank refuses to open a business account.

Don't panic, however, because in such a case, the intended business can still come into being, as there is an alternative procedure for entrepreneurs who have been refused an account.

The business bank account

A business bank account is an account used exclusively for receipts and disbursements related to a company's business. As such, holding such an account is an obligation for the vast majority of companies located in France. However, craftsmen, farmers, artists and the self-employed are exempt from this requirement for the time being. But for all others, breaking the law by failing to have abusiness account can result in relatively heavy penalties. Indeed, in the event of a financial audit, theentrepreneur could well be subject to a tax reassessment for having deliberately confused his business finances with those of his household. What's more, the entrepreneur could also be banned from carrying out management acts, a catastrophic situation which could lead to the loss of his job, and therefore his business.

In any case, even if you don't have to, it's a good idea to keep your business bank account separate from your private financial affairs, to ensure maximum clarity.

Refusal to open a business bank account: what are the valid reasons?

While a bank can justify itsrefusal to open a business account with a valid reason, it doesn't have to have one in order to do so. A future business owner should be able to provide his bank with all the required supporting documents, preferably a market study and projected balance sheets, to demonstrate that he is in a position to manage his own interests. Once this has been done, and the bank has also checked the Banque de France 's central cheque file and the personal credit incident file, the bank may or may not accept the opening of the business bank account.

However, in the event of a refusal, it is generally because the latter considers that the company is not viable in view of the various elements presented.

However, if the refusal does not need to be justified, it is the bank's responsibility to provide the applicant with an attestation of refusal to open a business bank account as soon as possible.

The right to a professional account

Although a bank can refuse to open a business bank account without giving any explanation, the Banque de France offers an alternative solution. In fact, the refusal certificate issued by the initial bank expressly states that the applicant may now apply to the Banque de France to designate a credit institution to open the account. In this way, the State ensures that companies domiciled in France are not put in difficulty or penalized by the system, with a right to an account enabling them to access basic services free of charge from an automatically designated banking institution.

How do I obtain the right to an account?

Thanks to the right to an account procedure, a company has the opportunity to obtain the opening of a business bank account.

To do this, the applicant, with his or her certificate of refusal, must go to a branch of the Banque de France to apply for the right to an account. Once the application has been completed and accompanied by all the required supporting documents, the Banque de France, on receipt of the application, automatically designates (within one working day) a banking establishment which is then obliged to open a deposit account for the company within 3 days of receipt of the application. From this point onwards, the company director, even if he or she has been banned from banking, is entitled to a range of basic services free of charge, such as direct debit and collection of bank transfers, cheque cashing, account management, remote account consultation and various other basic services.