EFT stands for ‘Electronic Funds Transfer’. It is a digital movement of money from one bank account to another.
A partner is someone who has beneficial ownership in a business whereas an authorised signatory is somebody who can sign and authorise transactions/payments on the account but may not have beneficial ownership within the business. A partner can be a signatory and vice versa.
Where only 1 signatory is required to sign on an account, this means that only 1 person is required to transact on the account e.g withdraw funds. Where there is only 1 signatory, this signatory can avail of a Business Visa Debit Card.
Where an account has two signatories to sign, no single person alone can operate the account. All signatories must be present to transact. The signatories can also transact on Business24 where there are 2 individuals required to sign i.e 1 individual sets up the payment and another individual authorises the transaction. There is also no option to avail of a Business Visa Debit Card.
A mandated Business24 user has access to Business24.ie. This allows the user to view account details such as account balances and transaction history. It also allows the user to make payments, subject to the instructions outlined on the account mandate. A Business24 user cannot transact on an account in branch.
An authorised signatory can transact online subject to being set up in a similar way to a mandated Business24 user. In addition, a signatory can also make changes to the account, for example, changing an address, changing the frequencies of statements etc. A signatory also has access to transacting in branch.