Silicon Valley Bank Account Opening For Tech Startups
Since we facilitate company formation in all the US it’s important for every company to get a bank account because there are many banks out there offering business accounts, however, a few banks can do what Silicon Valley Bank can offer.
You can get a bank account with SVB in a matter of days without visiting them. Imagine you start out incorporating your tech startup in Delaware but you need a bank account. Very few banks offer bank accounts for businesses if they are not registered in their state. Usually, if you fly to Delaware to open your business bank account, the bank account will be opened the same day following the due diligence approval. Most of the investors or tech companies register in the state of Delaware, there is no surprise that more than three-quarters of Fortune 500 companies registered in this state. The Delaware SoS (Secretary of State) reported over 200,000 companies registered in 2016! This is a really high number! So there is a big benefit for registering in Delaware, however, this raises the question if, in addition, you should register in another state – this is for another blog post. If you operate in more than one state, have office or employee, you should register in the same state as well in which case you can open a bank account with a local bank.
The advantage is that SVB will not require you to visit them. They run their own KYC (Know Your Client) so you might be pretty much surprised that you might not meet the banker. All documents are signed over the DocuSign – electronically. But it is better to generate your own signature rather than using the DocuSign signature style. This will allow you to avoid meeting the banker in person.
SVB requirements:
- SVB requires you to register a US-based entity
- Must be in the tech industry (pharmaceutical, internet, hardware, IoT, etc.)
- Detailed business description
- Company documents: Articles of Association, EIN, Minutes of Initial Meeting of Directors Breakdown of Company Ownership (25% or greater) – you will need their mailing address, date of birth and social security number or government ID information (no need of physical documents, you will just upload them over their online onboarding system)
- Personal document: Driving license, Passport or National ID, The founder should have SSN (SSN is a big help if not National ID)
Fees: SVB Startup Solution does not have a monthly account fee for the first three years. It also waives the fees for Online Banking, Bill Pay, and Mobile Deposit. Additionally, you receive 2 domestic outgoing wires, 1 international FX outgoing wire, and 5 USD incoming wires at no cost.
Time/duration of bank account opening: 3-5 working daysIf you’re interested in opening a bank account for your Tech company, please e-mail me; I’m happy to introduce you, however, you need to be an Incparadise client and have a company registered with us. The bank will only accept tech companies. I know a few employees from SVB and they are all very helpful for legit business! If you’re not a legit business, please don’t contact me. I’m ONLY interested in tech businesses where the founders are serious and dedicated people to their endeavor.