Opening an account for NPOC, NCUC and NCSG in Estonia

[farzaneh badii]

I support establishing a bank account in Canada Stephanie. We have had this
discussion before with the FC and I think it's the simplest way to go about
it. If we want a more formal structure later on, then the FC can come up
with a plan.

Farzaneh


On Mon, Jan 7, 2019 at 7:51 PM Stephanie Perrin <
stephanie.perrin at mail.utoronto.ca> wrote:

> Thanks Sam, this is very helpful.  Prior to the inception of this
> discussion, I was going to propose that I open, in similar fashion, an
> account at the Royal Bank of Canada (Canada's largest bank, with many ways
> to interact with it overseas, and an active presence in the US).  I was
> going to scout out a volunteer to be a co-signator, probably from Canada
> because that would be the easiest method.  As Farzi says, I need to have an
> account to send potential funds to, in the event that PIR wants to fund
> NCSG.  Frankly, I think that the Estonian idea is a bit too cutting edge,
> and I would be more confident using a very large internationally recognized
> banking institution (for obvious reasons).  I will propose this at the next
> FC meeting and if there is no disagreement, proceed accordingly.
>
> I realize this looks like a Canadian takeover, but we do have very good
> well regulated banks, and several Canadian members I plan to rope in to
> help out as cosignators in the event of my departure.  As Sam says, proper
> procedure is for no transactions to transpire without the signature of the
> leader of the group (in our case, validated by the NCSG EC) so really the
> banking piece is or should be a relatively straightfoward process....a
> modest role for someone who wishes to help out.   For the amount of money
> we have and transactions we process, I suspect this will suffice for this
> year.  For those who want to continue to research e-citizenship and banking
> options, by all means do so, but I really think we should be focusing our
> financial smarts on the open comment on the 5 year plan, and the excellent
> work of the SCBO.  Oh and the ABRS, which are due shortly.
>
> Stephanie Perrin
> On 2019-01-07 17:21, Sam Lanfranco wrote:
>
> Dear Farzaneh et al,
>
> I was going to post this early today but held back since it looked like
> all were hell bent for Estonia. The Canadian NPOC account story is as
> follows:
>
> The Canadian banking system will accept setting up a bank account for an
> organization that either does nor does not have a formal legal status. For
> example, I am the treasurer for a local museum's volunteer support group.
> We have no formal legal status, but we do have a bank account with a major
> National bank (Bank of Montreal). Will share process below.
>
> When Rudi in Belgium dropped out of NPOC/NCSG Joan and I opened a Canadian
> NPOC account, over a letter from NPOC at that time, stating the Joan and I
> would have signing rights (i.e., could write cheques and withdraw money).
> It took forever for NPOC to get funds transferred from Belgium and by then
> (last year) they went to Raoul in Finland, and I finally got the funds I
> had advanced to NPOC several years ago - *Thanks*).
>
> *The NPOC account exists but has never had a transaction.* We set it up
> so either Joan or I would have signing rights, at a time when we thought
> the NPOC funds would be quickly forthcoming. Usually organizations have two
> signatures but Joan and I live 150km apart so that was not practical. The
> empty account requires only one signature. Online transfers are well
> developed for Canadian banks, but for cross-currency transfers there are
> service changers.
>
> I was waiting for the NPOC/NCSG/etc banking issue to settle down and then
> get a letter from NPOC removing me as one with signature rights since I am
> no longer treasurer. I cannot just quit. The bank needs a paper trail.
>
> So, the NPOC account could be enlisted, and additional accounts could be
> created. The one sticking point is that the signatures to create the
> account, and the signatures for those with authority over the account, have
> to be submitted in person, here in Canada. No problem for Joan and I since
> the extensive branch banking system of Canadian banks has branches
> everywhere.
>
> Would that be a problem for NCSG? Not if there are one or two people to do
> the paper work here. Accountability could be maintained by only allowing
> withdrawals/payments on approval of the executive (normal practice). In my
> case with the museum, for transparency I share the monthly bank statement
> with the executive. Of course, for that to work one has to trust those
> involved..which is always the case in any event.
>
> So, the NPOC account exists and always has had a balance of zero. There is
> scope for additional accounts. Oh! The Bank now charges a $3/mo service
> change,*...unless the balance is zero (-:*
>
> *Sam L.*
>
>
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