Whether you’re a business owner, CEO, VP of finance, or treasurer, you know that few things bring greater relief than knowing that your organization’s cash is secured. And as a critical player in your company’s finances, you know maintaining the right level of control over your businesses’ assets isn’t always easy.
But protecting your deposits, payroll, or retirement accounts doesn’t have to be hard. ICS®, the IntraFi Cash Service® and CDARS®, the Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service®, make peace of mind easy — simplifying cash management while ensuring you have access to and complete oversight of your funds.
Note: IntraFi® is not an FDIC-insured bank, and deposit insurance covers the failure of an insured bank. A list identifying IntraFi network banks appears at https://www.intrafi.com/network-banks. Certain conditions must be satisfied for “pass-through” FDIC deposit insurance coverage to apply. To meet the conditions for pass-through FDIC deposit insurance, deposit accounts at FDIC-insured banks in IntraFi’s network that hold deposits placed using an IntraFi service are titled, and deposit account records are maintained, in accordance with FDIC regulations for pass-through coverage.
What are ICS and CDARS?
With ICS and CDARS, you can access millions in aggregate FDIC insurance across IntraFi network banks. Deposits placed through ICS or CDARS are divided into amounts under the standard FDIC insurance maximum of $250,000 and placed at other network banks in demand deposit accounts, money market deposit accounts, or both (with ICS) or in CDs (with CDARS). Using ICS and CDARS, you can achieve peace of mind, flexibility, and returns – through a single banking relationship. ICS and CDARS can greatly reduce the administrative overhead required by manually managing deposits earning different rates across multiple institutions.
Here's what three real ICS and CDARS customers had to say about these tested services,
“We know we’re protected,”
said the business manager of an insurance broker. The business manager’s boss, the company president, likes to keep a very close watch on the company’s finances. He had previously directed the business manager to maintain multiple accounts across different banks to store company cash in increments less than $250K.
After their banker approached the company about using ICS, they decided to give it a try and have been thrilled with the experience thus far. The company uses ICS to feed AP, payroll, and general operations accounts, eliminating the need to manage multiple accounts across different banks.
Both the business manager and the company president love the liquidity and transparency of ICS – with a simple email to their banker, their funds are transferred by the next business day.
“[My boss] has an ‘on top of it’ philosophy,” said the business manager. “ICS gives us a single statement, and we know we’re protected and where the money has been transferred to. The service was made for someone like him.”
“We need things as simple as simple can be,”
stated the finance manager for a large trucking company with more than $200 million in cash on deposit. In 2008, the company made investments that suddenly became illiquid, tying up a large portion of the company’s cash reserves. Feeling burned and without recourse, management became “very conservative” and committed to managing its cash in much safer, albeit lower yielding, CDs.
To benefit from the protection of FDIC insurance on its CD investments, the company opened accounts with multiple banks using multiple tax ID numbers in various insurable capacities. However, given the amount of cash they had, managing this labyrinth of accounts quickly became untenable.
At that point, their local banker noticed the company’s activity and told the finance manager about CDARS. After doing their due diligence, the trucking company started using the service. A strong banking relationship led the company to place as much as possible in CDARS via its local bank and the company has since used ICS to manage several operations accounts on top of that.
“We need things as simple as simple can be. That’s how we started with [IntraFi]. Been with them since 2008.”
“Having one bank to work with makes it much easier,”
said the owner of a fourth-generation family business with 200 customers and 175 wineries. The business sells to stores like Costco and Kroger, as well as independent wine shops. The owner describes themselves as very risk-averse and has always kept a large portion of the company’s cash on hand.
Concerned over the security of that cash, the owner had, for a long time, distributed it across multiple banks. When the company moved headquarters, the owner found changing his address at each of the many banks they used to be a surprisingly large hassle — and indicative of a larger issue with cash management.
The company’s local banker, which the owner’s family had done most of its business with over the years, had previously told them about CDARS and ICS. With the catalyst of the move, the owner reached out to the bank.
“An important motivator in our using a single bank is that the business is a cash business, and every day we must make trips to the bank, as the company collects money from customers on a daily basis. Many still pay in checks. Having one bank to work with makes it much easier.”
IntraFi keeps it safe
With CDARS and ICS, businesses can save effort and gain greater control over their cash immediately — reducing the time spent managing multiple accounts while maintaining complete transparency over where their cash is at any given moment.
With most network banks, you can set rules that determine when your funds will be transferred using ICS into deposit accounts at other IntraFi network banks or returned to your relationship bank. These transfers occur automatically and seamlessly. With CDARS, you can choose from a range of maturities to meet your cash management needs.
ICS and CDARS help make managing your institution’s funds simple and transparent — so you have the reassurance you need to focus on doing what you do best.
