Charity or community bank account: opening checklist
A charity or community group should normally keep organisational money in an account held for the organisation, not in a volunteer’s personal account. The difficult part is usually proving the group’s legal structure, authority and who is allowed to operate the account.
Prepare the governing document, minutes or resolution authorising the account, details and identification for trustees or signatories, and a clear description of what the group does and where its money comes from. Requirements vary by provider, so match the application to the organisation’s actual legal form rather than choosing a personal account because it looks easier.
Start with the organisation you actually have
A registered charity, charitable incorporated organisation, charitable company, trust and unincorporated community group are not the same legal structure. Banks need to know who owns or controls the account and who has authority to act. If the application describes the group one way while the constitution or Charity Commission record says something else, onboarding can stall even when everyone involved is genuine.
Before applying, write down the organisation’s exact name, legal form, registration numbers if any, main activities, expected annual turnover, typical payment methods and the people who will operate the account. That short profile makes it easier to compare providers and answer compliance questions consistently.
Practical check for this section: A community group expects £12,000 a year in donations and wants two people to approve larger payments. Compare that record with legal structure, charity registration where applicable, governing document, signatories, beneficial-control information and the bank’s mandate options. The point is to separate what you know from what you have only assumed. Choose the mandate before choosing the bank. Dual approval, cash access and online permissions can matter more than a small monthly-fee difference for a volunteer-run group.
Prepare the evidence before the bank asks for it
Common documents include the constitution, trust deed or other governing document; minutes or a resolution approving the account; details of trustees or committee members; and identity/address evidence for people who will control or sign on the account. A registered charity should also make sure its public Charity Commission details are current.
The Charity Commission notes that some providers offer community accounts to unregistered charities and groups that are still registering. That can be useful, but the provider can still carry out identity and anti-money-laundering checks on the people behind the organisation.
Put the decision into a small worksheet rather than relying on the headline. Use A community group expects £12,000 a year in donations and wants two people to approve larger payments. as the test case and list the money at risk, the deadline or status, and the result of checking legal structure, charity registration where applicable, governing document, signatories, beneficial-control information and the bank’s mandate options. Choose the mandate before choosing the bank. Dual approval, cash access and online permissions can matter more than a small monthly-fee difference for a volunteer-run group.
Build controls into the account mandate
For a small volunteer group, the account is part of the internal-control system. Decide who can view balances, who can create payments and who can approve them. Where the provider supports dual authorisation, it can reduce the risk that one compromised login or one person’s mistake moves the organisation’s money.
Imagine a group receives a £12,000 grant. If one volunteer can add a new payee and send the whole £12,000 without a second check, the bank account has not solved the governance problem. A sensible mandate might allow routine payments to be prepared by one person but require another authorised person to approve them.
Build the evidence file while the event is still fresh. For a case like A community group expects £12,000 a year in donations and wants two people to approve larger payments., keep constitution or trust document, registration details, meeting minutes approving the account, trustee or officer identification and expected activity. That is more useful than sending dozens of unrelated screenshots. Choose the mandate before choosing the bank. Dual approval, cash access and online permissions can matter more than a small monthly-fee difference for a volunteer-run group.
Compare service, not just the monthly fee
A free community account can be poor value if the group regularly pays in coins and the nearest usable counter is 20 miles away. Compare cash and cheque handling, online access, multiple-user permissions, card availability, payment limits, international payments and the process for changing trustees or signatories.
Also ask what happens if the group becomes more active. A community account that works for £8,000 of annual income may become awkward at £80,000 if transaction charges, cash limits or user controls no longer fit. Choosing a provider that matches the next two or three years can save a disruptive switch.
Worked decision example: A community group expects £12,000 a year in donations and wants two people to approve larger payments. Before acting, compare the best-case, expected and worst-case outcome using legal structure, charity registration where applicable, governing document, signatories, beneficial-control information and the bank’s mandate options. If the action is reversible, record what should happen next and set a date to check it. Choose the mandate before choosing the bank. Dual approval, cash access and online permissions can matter more than a small monthly-fee difference for a volunteer-run group. This converts a vague banking problem into a sequence you can verify.
Keep the account records ready for the next change
Charities must keep proper financial records, and the bank’s transaction history is only one part of that evidence. Keep invoices, receipts, grant paperwork and approval records so each payment can be explained. The Charity Commission says charities should keep financial records such as cash books, invoices and receipts for at least six years.
When a trustee leaves, do not leave their access active because changing the mandate feels inconvenient. Update the bank promptly, record the decision in the minutes and review all online-banking users. Good account administration is not bureaucracy for its own sake; it is what protects the group when volunteers change.
Set an escalation trigger instead of waiting indefinitely. For A community group expects £12,000 a year in donations and wants two people to approve larger payments., decide in advance what result or deadline would make you contact the bank, provider or other organisation again. Keep constitution or trust document, registration details, meeting minutes approving the account, trustee or officer identification and expected activity. If the application stalls, ask exactly which verification item is missing and keep a single checklist so different trustees do not repeatedly send inconsistent information.
Sources and verification
Oliver Grant
For a small charity, I would choose the bank account only after writing a one-page operating profile: how money arrives, how it is spent, who approves payments and how often cash or cheques are handled. That turns the comparison from “which account is free?” into “which account actually fits our controls?”. The biggest avoidable mistake is mixing organisational money with a trustee’s personal account simply because onboarding is faster. It weakens the audit trail and creates a problem precisely when the organisation needs to prove that its money was handled properly.
MyBankAnswers uses official provider and UK regulatory sources wherever practical. Information is general and does not constitute financial advice.