Corporate Clients onboarded to VAS use a hierarchical account model. This model provides clear segregation of funds, supports regulatory compliance, and enables fine-grained tracking of all Customer transactions.
At the highest level, each Corporate Client has:
- Parent Accounts (per currency)
- Sub Accounts (per Customer, under a Parent)
- Settlement Account (for all external inflows/outflows)
- Operational Account (separate, non-VAS, for the client’s own day-to-day operations)
A Sub Account is the core ledger used to segregate Customer funds from the Corporate Client’s operational balances.
- Always linked to a Parent Account.
- Acts as a virtual, non-interest-bearing account.
- No direct relationship with BCB — it is governed by agreements between the Corporate Client and their Customers.
- Restrictions:
- ❌ No debit/credit cards
- ❌ No cheque books
- ❌ No account statements
- No minimum or maximum balance requirements.
Use case: Corporate Clients can open one Sub Account per Customer, ensuring each Customer’s balances are isolated.
The Parent Account acts as the main ledger for a group of Sub Accounts.
- Tracks all Customer transactions, balances, and fund movements.
- Corporate Clients may have multiple Parent Accounts:
- One per currency.
- Each may contain multiple Sub Accounts.
- Provides a consolidated view across all linked Sub Accounts.
- Created for both new and existing Corporate Clients.
- Balance remains at zero:
- All credits/debits are immediately swept to/from the Settlement Account.
Use case: Developers integrating with reporting APIs will typically use the Parent Account for roll-up views across Customers.
Every VAS Corporate Client must have a Settlement Account.
- Used exclusively for inbound and outbound transactions with external counterparties.
- Transfers between Settlement and Sub Accounts are only possible via the Parent Account.
- ✅ Ensures reconciliation and audit integrity.
- ❌ Direct transfers between Sub ↔ Settlement are not allowed.
- Only the Corporate Client can initiate transfers.
Use case: Developers building payments integrations must always route external flows via the Settlement ↔ Parent ↔ Sub path.
The Operational Account is not part of VAS. It represents the Corporate Client’s day-to-day banking account with BCB.
- Existing Clients: Already have an Operational Account.
- New Clients: Open one through standard BCB onboarding.
- This account is not linked to VAS flows.
- It does not reflect VAS balances or transactions.
Use case: Developers should not expect to see VAS-related balances in Operational Account APIs. Treat this account as out of scope for VAS workflows.
- APIs that expose balances or transactions will clearly differentiate between Operational, Parent, Sub, and Settlement accounts.
- Identifiers:
- Parent and Settlement Accounts have a direct relationship with BCB systems.
- Sub Accounts exist virtually (ledger-only) but are still addressable in API workflows.
- Transfers:
- Always enforce the Settlement → Parent → Sub routing in client logic.
- Attempts to bypass this structure will return validation errors.
- Reporting:
- Parent Accounts = roll-up view.
- Sub Accounts = granular, per-Customer view.