A letter of authorization is a formal document that does two things. First, it lists every individual who will have access to the business account, whether that is to view activity, initiate transactions, or manage the account in any capacity. Second, it confirms that those individuals have been formally authorized to do so by the business itself, through a quorum of its directors or director equivalents.
Think of it as the business officially saying, in writing, here are the people we have approved to access this account, and here are the signatures of enough of our directors to make that decision binding.
This document is provided by us as a template. You complete it with the names and details of all authorized individuals and then obtain the required signatures before submitting. It cannot be replaced with a document of your own design. The template contains specific compliance language that is required, and a different format will not be accepted.
A business is a legal entity, not a person. When individuals interact with a business account, we need formal confirmation that the business itself has sanctioned those interactions. Without this, we have no way of knowing whether the people accessing an account have genuinely been approved to do so by those who run the business.
Requiring a quorum of directors to sign is there to protect you and your business. It ensures that any decision to grant account access has been formally approved by the people who run the business, rather than by a single individual acting alone. This matters because it means no one person can quietly add themselves or someone else to an account without the knowledge and agreement of the broader leadership team.
It is also a safeguard against potential bad actors, whether that is an employee acting outside their authority, a third party misrepresenting their access rights, or any other situation where someone might attempt to gain access to your business assets without proper authorization. The quorum requirement means there is always a collective decision behind who can touch your account.
This is a standard requirement in corporate account onboarding and forms part of the Customer Due Diligence process required under US federal regulations.
The completed letter of authorization must include all of the following:
Required information | Details |
|---|---|
All authorized individuals | The full legal name, role or title, and scope of access for every person who will have access to the account. This must be a complete list. Individuals not listed on this document will not be granted access. |
Entity name | The full legal name of the business the authorization relates to, matching exactly what appears on your formation documents. |
Quorum of director signatures | The document must be signed by a quorum of the board of directors or their equivalents. For most entities this means a majority of directors. For entities with a single director, that individual must sign. For partnerships, the required signatories will be the general partners or managing partners. |
Date of signing | The date the document was signed by the directors. All signatures should be dated. |
Not every business structure uses the title of director. The table below shows what we consider to be a director equivalent for each common entity type:
Entity type | Director equivalent and quorum |
|---|---|
Corporation | Board of Directors. A quorum is typically a majority of the sitting directors unless your bylaws specify otherwise. |
LLC | Managing Members or Managers as defined in the operating agreement. A quorum follows the terms of the operating agreement. |
Limited Partnership | General Partners. All general partners should sign unless the partnership agreement allows for a majority decision. |
LLP | Managing Partners or Partners with management authority as defined in the LLP agreement. |
Trust | All Trustees, or a majority of Trustees where the trust deed permits majority decisions. |
When listing the individuals who will access the account, you should also indicate what level of access each person is being granted. For example, some individuals may have full transaction authority while others may have view-only access. Clearly stating this on the letter of authorization helps us set up the account correctly from the outset and avoids back and forth later.
If access levels change after the account is opened, for example if a new employee joins or an existing employee leaves, an updated letter of authorization will need to be submitted. We cannot add or remove individuals from an account without this document being reissued and re-signed.
The Letter of Authorization template will be provided to you as part of your onboarding pack. Complete all fields, ensure every individual who will have account access is listed, and obtain signatures from the required directors or their equivalents before submitting.
If you have not received the template or cannot locate it, contact our onboarding support team and we will send it to you directly.
If you are unsure who counts as a director equivalent for your entity type, how many signatures constitute a quorum under your governing documents, or how to describe the access levels for each individual, contact our onboarding support team before submitting.
Getting this right upfront avoids delays and means your account can be set up exactly as your business intends.