Setting up a bank account is a crucial part of operating your club/society as all monies are processed here. The following steps give you a brief guide to how this all works.
All affiliated Clubs and Societies should open a bank account. This must be a Not-For-Profit Organisational Account. It must not be any form of personal account, including join-accounts between exec members.
Any bank is acceptable as long as it offers a Not-For-Profit Organisational Account. We would suggest you choose a bank with a branch near campus that offers not-for-profit groups special accounts.
What do you need?
In order to open an account, you will need:
- Minutes from a meeting stating:
- Full name of the Club/Society.
- Full names of the signatories, their respective positions and authorisation to operate on the account.
- Method of account operation (e.g. two to sign to access funds).
- That a new bank account is to be opened.
- The club or society’s Constitution, containing a mission statement, short term goals, long term goals, and meeting frequency.
- All proposed signatories should visit the bank together, with a NZ drivers licence or passport, and;
- Certificate of Incorporation (if applicable).
- An organisation IRD number
It is recommended that you use the UCSA’s address to open the account. This should follow the form of “Club Name, c/o The UCSA, PO Box 31311, Ilam, Christchurch, 8444”.
Organisation IRD number
Due to changes in regulation in 2023, all banks now require clubs to have an organization IRD number.
To secure an IRD number you are required to ready some certified documents. Use the below drop down lists to find out what documents you need in order to apply for an IRD number.
Incorporated Club or Society
- Certificate of Incorporation
- NZ Business Number
- AGM minutes of the meeting appointing and confirming names and positions of chairpersons, treasurer and secretary.
- Personal IRD numbers of the chairperson, treasurer and secretary
Unincorporated Club or Society
- AGM minutes of the meeting appointing and confirming names and positions of chairpersons, treasurer and secretary.
- Personal IRD numbers of the chairperson, treasurer and secretary
The documents must be certified. This means that they have to be stamped or signed by a person to be a true copy of the original. The certifier must be authorised by law to take statutory declarations. These can be:
- Lawyer
- Notary Public
- Justice of the Peace
- Court official
TIP: UC has multiple Justices of the Peace working on campus and you can find a helpful list here: Justices of the Peace (JPs) on campus | University of Canterbury
Once you have all your documents together you can apply for an IRD number following the instructions outlined below
Changing Signatories on the Account
Almost every club has a yearly cycle where they elect a new Executive team at an AGM. This means that the new Executives must be assigned as signatories on the bank account by removing the old signatories. If the entire or part of the executive stays the same, this may not be applicable.
- At your AGM, a motion should be put forward that say the previous signatories to be removed from the bank account and the new signatories be put on.
The new signatories to the account should accompany the old signatories to the bank in order to change the signatories on the account.