How do we move our HOA's bank accounts to a new bank without missing payments?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised November 2, 2026

A treasurer's plan for moving HOA bank accounts: board resolution, signers, owner autopay and lockbox, vendor payments, reserve CDs, and closing the old account.

Part of the HOA board handbook: treasurer and money.

Plan on two overlapping months

Open the new accounts first, run both banks side by side for 60 to 90 days, and close the old accounts only after every deposit and payment has moved and the last outstanding check has cleared. Almost every problem in a bank switch comes from closing the old account too early: an owner's bill-pay check goes to the old address, a vendor's autopay bounces, or a CD gets broken with a penalty the board did not need to pay. A 60-home association can do the whole move with a treasurer, one other director, and a checklist. This guide covers the order of steps. Your bylaws and any state rules for your association still control who may open and sign accounts, so check them first. This is general education, not legal or financial advice.

Get the board vote and the paperwork right

Opening an account for the association is a board decision, so pass a resolution at a properly noticed meeting and put it in the minutes. Sample motion: 'Move to open operating and reserve accounts in the name of Maple Ridge Homeowners Association, Inc. at First County Bank; to name the president, treasurer, and secretary as authorized signers; to require two signatures or approvals on any payment over $2,500; and to close the accounts at Old National Bank once all activity has moved, no later than March 31.' Most banks will ask for the resolution, the articles of incorporation, the EIN letter, and ID for each signer. Under the federal customer due diligence rule, 31 CFR 1010.230, a bank must identify the people behind a legal entity customer, but an entity set up as a nonprofit corporation only has to name one individual with significant control, such as the president or treasurer. Because the association is a new customer at the new bank, expect to fill out that certification in full. A FinCEN order issued February 13, 2026 (FIN-2026-R001) lets a bank skip repeating it each time an existing customer opens another account, so adding a project account later may take less paperwork, though a bank can still ask. Open the accounts in the association's exact legal name and EIN, never a director's.

Deposit insurance and how many accounts you need

The FDIC insures the association's deposits as one depositor at each bank, up to $250,000 per corporation or association, not $250,000 per owner or per director. If operating cash plus reserves exceeds that at one bank, the switch is the right time to fix it: split reserves across banks, or use CDs at different banks, so no single bank holds more than the limit. Most small associations need an operating checking account, a reserve account, and sometimes a separate account for a special assessment or a large project. Set up online banking with two users, not one shared login, and turn on dual approval for payments, alerts, and positive pay if the bank offers it. Our guide on protecting HOA bank accounts from fraud explains which settings matter most.

Move owner payments without losing a single one

Owner payments are the hardest part, because the board does not control how every owner pays. Make a list by payment method. Owners who mail checks need the new remit address and a reminder on the next two statements. Owners who use their own bank's bill pay have to change the payee address themselves, and many will not. Keep the old address or lockbox open through the overlap so those checks still land. For owners on association-pulled autopay, ask your payment processor whether the existing authorizations carry over to the new deposit account. Under Regulation E, 12 CFR 1005.10(b), a recurring debit from a consumer's account needs a signed or similarly authenticated authorization, so if the processor says the old ones do not transfer, collect new ones before the first draft. Send a notice at least 30 days before the change. In Texas, owners on a payment plan under Property Code section 209.0062 can lose eligibility for a new plan after a default, so if a plan draft fails because of the switch, note in the file that the failure was the association's, not the owner's.

Sample owner notice

Keep it short and put the date first. 'Starting March 1, Maple Ridge HOA is moving its bank accounts to First County Bank. Your dues amount and due date are not changing. If you pay by check, make it payable to Maple Ridge Homeowners Association and mail it to the new address below. If you pay through your own bank's online bill pay, please update the payee address before March 1. If you pay by automatic draft through the HOA's payment portal, you do not need to do anything unless we contact you. Checks sent to the old address will still be accepted through April 30. The association will never ask you to change payment instructions by text or by email alone. If you get a message like that, call the treasurer at the number on your statement.' That last line matters. Payment-change announcements are exactly what fraudsters imitate.

Vendors, CDs, and the outgoing side

Pull a year of transactions from the old account and list every recurring payment: the utility autopays, insurance premium drafts, the management or bookkeeping fee, the payroll service if you have employees, and the annual state filing. Move each one and check it off only after the first payment clears from the new account. Order new checks with a starting number well above the old series, such as 5001, so there is never confusion about which account a check came from. Reserve CDs need their own plan. Look up each maturity date and the early withdrawal penalty. Usually the right call is to let a CD mature and move the proceeds then, even if that means the old bank relationship stays open for a few more months for that one CD. Put each maturity date on the board calendar.

Closing the old account

Close only when four things are true: no owner payment has arrived at the old account for 30 days, every recurring payment has cleared from the new account, every check written on the old account has cleared or been voided and reissued, and the final reconciliation of the old account balances to zero. Before closing, download at least seven years of statements and cancelled checks, since many banks cut off online access at closing. Florida Statutes section 720.303(4)(a)10. lists the financial and accounting records, including itemized receipts and expenditures, among the official records kept for at least seven years. Colorado's C.R.S. 38-33.3-317(1)(a) requires detailed records of receipts and expenditures, and (1)(g) covers tax returns for the past seven years, so a gap at the bank switch becomes a gap in the records owners can ask to see. If the move also changes the association's mailing address, Colorado's C.R.S. 38-33.3-209.4 requires updated contact information to be made available to owners within 90 days. Ask the old bank for a written confirmation that the accounts are closed and file it with the board resolution. Our guide on how an HOA reconciles its bank statement covers the month-end check.

A realistic timeline

Week 1: the board votes, and the treasurer collects the documents and opens the accounts. Week 2: online banking, dual approval, and alerts are set up; new checks are ordered; the treasurer builds the list of recurring payments and owner payment methods. Week 3: the owner notice goes out, and the processor switches the deposit account for the portal. Weeks 4 to 8: vendor payments move one by one, and both accounts are reconciled every month. Month 3: the treasurer confirms no activity at the old bank for 30 days, moves the remaining balance by bank transfer rather than a paper cashier's check, downloads records, and closes the old accounts. CDs follow at maturity. The common mistakes are closing early, forgetting the insurance premium draft, leaving a former director on the old signature card during the overlap, and letting one person set up the new account alone. Remove any former signers on day one, and have two directors review the first statement from the new bank together.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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