Why is Social Security Number (SSN) required when opening a US bank account?

U.S. Banks are required to capture this information for all beneficial owners.

All U.S. Banks are required to capture SSN for all beneficial owners - see a summary of the rule provided by FFIEC here.  This means we need to collect the SSN for anyone owning 25% or more of the entity AND the information of at least one control person.  The control person is typically the Managing Partner, Head of Finance, or some high level executive with the authority to open the bank account.  

how to apply for a bank account on an investment management platform

Covercy only asks for a social security number when you are submitting an application to open a bank account in the US. 

 

FAQs:

Who can see my SSN?  

Choice Financial Group (Member FDIC), Covercy LLC, and Unit Finance (banking as a service platform). Covercy does not store SSN on our servers.   For more details, please refer to Covercy's Privacy Policy. 

Will providing my SSN impact my credit score?

no

Is this a standard practice?

This is required by all US banks according to FFIEC (Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council). 

Who needs to provide the SSN?

Each individual who directly or indirectly owns 25% or more of the company/partnership must provide a SSN.

How many beneficial owners can there be?

There can be between one and five per company - one Officer and up to four other individuals who own 25% or more directly or indirectly.