Find answers to some commonly asked questions

Commercial Advantage enables you to manage your First Citizens accounts online. You can view account information, transfer funds between accounts and access other services such as Automated Clearing House (ACH), wire transfer, positive pay and controlled disbursement. It uses state-of-the-art security combined with the simplicity of website navigation. Commercial Advantage makes it easy to manage all aspects of your business finances.

The basic Commercial Advantage package has nominal activity and excess item fees for up to three accounts. It includes previous-day as well as intra-day balance and detail transaction reporting, book transfer and stop payment services. Additional module, activity and excess item fees are added for ACH, wire transfer and some other services. Talk to a banker for details.

Talk to a banker for assistance.

Typically customers can begin using Commercial Advantage as soon as you leave the branch. You'll receive a welcome email to the email address provide at enrollment with your username and a link to activate your account. If you don't promptly receive your welcome email, please contact us at 866-FCB 4BIZ (866-322-4249) between 8 am and 9 pm ET Monday through Friday.

The welcome email will include your username as well as a link to activate your account. From there, you'll set up your password and register for one or more multi-factor authentication options. This link will expire after 7 days.

It's very easy. You don't have to know a lot about computers or even be at your business to handle financial tasks. With just the click of a button you can access most of the available services.

You can make transfers from any of your First Citizens business checking, savings or money market accounts to any of your First Citizens business accounts, including deposit accounts, commercial loans, lines of credit and credit card accounts. You'll have immediate access to your accounts and to your funds if you transfer between deposit accounts (checking, savings and money market). Transfers to your loan accounts will post as payments by the next business day. You can't transfer money to a mortgage account, Investor Services account or commercial leasing account. You can advance funds from a standalone line of credit account (excluding Capital Line) but not from other credit accounts.

You can download your account history using comma-delimited, tab-delimited or BAI format. You can also download account history into Intuit® QuickBooks® and Quicken® accounting software using Web Connect.

You'll be able to view all of your First Citizens business checking, savings and money market accounts, loans, lines of credit and credit card accounts. You can't access a commercial leasing account. Depending on the number of accounts you choose to access, there may be an additional charge.

Initially, you must designate a Company Administrator who will then be responsible for setting up access for other employees.

Yes. Your Company Administrator controls access at the service level: balance reporting, stop payment, book transfer, etc. The Company Administrator also controls employee account access.

First Citizens is dedicated to maintaining the highest level of online security. That's why we've made a commitment to protecting your company's financial information with some of the top internet security technology in the industry. Commercial Advantage is protected by multiple layers of online security to help protect all of your account data.

Visit our Privacy and Security for more information on how you can protect your account information.

Contact us at 866-FCB 4BIZ (866-322-4249) between 8 am and 9 pm ET Monday through Friday if you have questions or need assistance with Commercial Advantage, including ACH, wire transfers and Positive Pay.

For help using Commercial Advantage, click on the Help icon within Commercial Advantage. Or you can visit the Message Center from the Commercial Advantage home page to create a message.

Yes. As long as the payment is still in a pending status, you have the option to edit or stop the payment. Once the payment is processing, we don't have the ability to cancel or edit the payment. If a paper check was issued, you have the option to place a Stop Payment on the check.

Bill Pay will be available next business day after end of day processing.

The administrator will need to enable the Bill Pay permissions at the cross and per account level under Admin > Users > user to be modified> Permissions. This will enable the user to view the Bill Pay tab. Users permissions, such as, approval and limits can be modified by navigating to Bill Pay > Other > Manage Users.

The administrator has the ability to assign a starting check number for each account set up for Bill Pay by navigating to Bill Pay > Options > Manage My Accounts. The default check number currently assigned to all accounts is 10000. To prevent duplicate check numbers, Positive Pay customers should enter a five digit starting check number.

The check number will display once the payment has been submitted for processing. You can view the check number on the confirmation page or under Scheduled Payments.

Payments will be sent either electronically or by paper check. The delivery method will be displayed next to the Payee name prior to submitting the payment.

You can select your default page by navigating to Payments & Transfers > Bill Pay> Other > Personal Profile and clicking Default Page. Selecting ShortCut and saving your changes, loads the Payment page the next time you access Bill Pay.

Power User will display 50 payees on a single page for selection.

Customers receive notifications until the payment has been approved. Alerts are sent at 2 am, 6 am, 10 am, 2 pm, 6 pm and 10 pm.

Navigate to Options > Manage Bill Pay Accounts and click the Bill Pay Accounts tab. Click the edit link for the account to be notified.

Reports are available under the Option tab.

If you created special categories in the previous version of Bill Pay and no longer see those as a selection, you'll need to create those categories in Bill Pay.

No. Existing Payees in Bill Pay will not be changed. Customers can call Bill Pay support at 866-820-1730 and they can assist with updating the default account on existing Payees.

At First Citizens, our analysis business checking account is designed to help streamline processes and cash flow for companies with multiple business accounts and high activity.

Talk to a banker to open a commercial checking account.

Earnings Credit Rate, or ECR, is a variable rate that can change at any time. An ECR allows analysis business checking clients to reduce or offset fees for bank services based on the level of balances maintained in their analysis relationship. Earnings credit is applied to analysis accounts on a monthly basis. If the earnings credit for a given month is less that the total of service charges, the applicable fees will be assessed to the account. If your earnings allowance is greater than the applicable fees for a given statement period, we won't credit that amount to your account or carry it forward to the following statement period.

A money market savings account delivers a higher interest rate on your liquid funds. Because our Premium Money Market savings account offers tiered interest rates, the higher your balance, the more you earn.

Yes. A money market account is a great tool for businesses to maximize savings potential. Our money market accounts offer tiered interest earning potential, based on the balance you maintain.

Yes. A commercial savings account is an important tool for earning interest and maintaining liquidity, outside of cash and checking reserves.

Yes. Savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposits all yield varying levels of interest—helping businesses earn interest while also maintaining liquidity.

Talk to a banker to get started.

The documentation you need to open an account will vary based on your business type and needs. To learn more, talk to a banker for assistance.

To apply for commercial equipment leasing and financing, reach out and talk to a banker.

We offer a variety of commercial equipment leasing and financing options, which you can learn more about when you talk to a banker.

For most commercial business owners, the top two benefits are the ability to maintain cash flow and secure 100% financing. If you move forward with our program, the third benefit is that financing may be structured in a variety of ways to meet your tax and accounting needs.

Yes. A term loan or a capital lease allows you to depreciate the cost of the equipment. One of our Equipment Finance and Leasing Officers can review our commercial equipment leasing and financing options in detail with you and your accountant.

To apply for a commercial loan, talk to a banker.

Yes. A business equity line allows business owners to tap the equity of their owner-occupied commercial property to meet both short- and long-term business needs. These needs might include the purchase of new property, additions and improvements to existing properties, and unexpected repairs or opportunities.

A commercial line of credit lets you borrow up to a certain limit and pay interest only on the borrowed amount. With a First Citizens revolving line of credit, you can borrow and repay funds again and again, as long as you don't exceed your credit limit.

Your personal guarantee may be needed depending on the size and type of your commercial credit request.

A term loan provides financing for capital expenditures (such as vehicle or equipment needs or fixed assets) that are regularly amortized over a period of time. A commercial line of credit allows you to easily access funds whenever you need them for short-term financing needs. A lease can help you with vehicle and equipment financing and has potential tax benefits.

If you prefer knowing what your interest rate and payment will be throughout the life of your loan, you should consider a fixed-rate loan. In contrast, a variable interest rate loan may give you a lower rate and payment amount initially, with the chance that the rate and payment may rise or fall in the future.

Yes. We have various lines of credit to meet your commercial business's cash flow needs and will work closely with you to determine what line of credit is best for you. Talk to a banker to get started.

As part of your ACH Agreement with First Citizens, you're required to stay abreast of industry changes. We recommend you become a member of your local ACH Regional Association (E Pay Resources on the east coast) or visit Nacha.org for ACH rules changes. Often, when changes occur that significantly affect your ability to originate your ACH file (payroll, taxes etc.), we'll notify you.

You must receive authorization from your employees or customers to obtain the information needed to deposit funds into their checking and savings accounts for payroll, employee expense reimbursement, government benefits, taxes, other refunds, annuities and interest payments. Please reference the Nacha website (Section VII Appendices) for Sample Authorization for Direct Deposit through ACH (Credits) for more information.

The ACH Activity report provides details of transactions that have been returned to you with a reason for the return or Notifications of Change that require your attention. These reports are available for 65 business days for you to review. We encourage you to subscribe to the ACH Return or Notification of Change alert to receive an email when action is required by you.

Your company may submit a reversing ACH transaction. The reversing transaction may only occur if the error is due to an invalid or incorrect dollar amount. An ACH reversal must be submitted within 5 days of the settlement date of the original erroneous transaction. Reversals aren't guaranteed.

Yes. A pre-note transaction may be submitted as a test. A pre-note is a zero-dollar transaction with unique transaction codes. Its intention is to verify both the transit routing and account number of a transaction. If either is incorrect, you'll be notified by a Return Resolution Report. It's recommended that you initiate a pre-note transaction 3 days in advance of a live dollar transaction for first-time accounts.

Yes. To ensure items post in a timely manner to reach the receivers account for posting, we should receive:

• ACH Credit files (for Direct Deposit) at least 2 business days in advance of the effective (deposit or payroll) date
• ACH Debit files (for Automatic Drafting) at least 1 business day in advance of the effective (due) date

All ACH transactions submitted prior to 10 pm ET will be processed at First Citizens the same day for the delivery to your customer’s bank. Transactions submitted after 10 pm ET will be processed at First Citizens for delivery to your customer’s bank the next business day.

• If you send your Direct Deposit transaction the same day the payment is due (effective), your employees will not have access to their funds on time.
• If you send your Automatic Draft transaction the same day the payment is due (effective), you won't receive your deposit until the next day (settlement day).
• Same-day ACH transaction processing is available for same-day settlement.

No. Don't use deposit tickets as they have internal information on them that will not process through the ACH system.

An ACH Return report provides details about ACH transactions you have initiated that have been returned by the receiving bank. The report includes why the transaction was returned (Return Reason), account number, name, individual ID and dollar amount associated with the returned transaction. You may also receive a Notification of Change (NOC) report, which is sent by the receiving bank requesting that future entries contain the correct information. The correct information is provided to you in the NOC report. We encourage you to subscribe to the e.Statements/ACH activity alert to ensure you are aware if an ACH return or NOC report requires your attention.

Although we recommend submitting your Direct Deposit file 2 days prior to the employee payday to ensure timely delivery, ACH credit and debit files can be submitted 1 day prior to the effective date. Business clients can also enroll for Same Day ACH processing. An additional per-item fee may apply for Same Day ACH processing.

You can submit an ACH transaction reversal using Commercial Advantage. An ACH reversal must be submitted within 5 days of the settlement date of the original erroneous transaction. To access the ACH reversal function, locate the erroneous transaction in the completed section on the ACH Summary page. Select View for the transaction. Detailed information for the selected transaction is displayed. A Reverse option will also display. To submit a reversal, choose Reverse. If you need additional assistance, select Inquire for the transaction. Enter your question, and then select Send.

A customer service representative will respond to your inquiry within 1 business day. If you're sending files through DES FTP transmission, simply send the reverse entry in a Nacha format. Digital Banking for business customers should contact the Business Engagement Center, 866-FCB 4BIZ (866-322-4249).

The bank will move the effective date to the next business day following the weekend or holiday. It's important that you consider weekends and holidays when determining your effective date so as not to cause your transactions to post later than you desire. For example, if your effective date is typically the 1st of the month for payroll transactions, and the 1st of the month falls on a Saturday, you'll likely want to change the effective date to the 30th or 31st of the previous month. Then, submit the transactions a day or two sooner, accordingly. In this example, failing to consider that the 1st falls on a Saturday would result in the effective date being moved forward to the next business day, the 3rd.

Financial institutions vary on how they handle transactions submitted on a non-business day. We'll process the transactions on the next business day following the weekend or holiday.

ACH transfers and automatic payments are processed securely by either the Federal Reserve or the Clearing House Payments Company, and then funds are moved electronically from one bank to another. ACH payment services generally are offered by banks and other financial institutions and often include same-day processing and detailed reports online.

With good accounts receivable management, you can improve your company's overall cash flow. You get paid faster and create a better payment experience for your customers.

When a customer doesn't pay for a good or service at the time of transaction, your business expects to receive payment at some point in the future. Accounts receivable management is the business process of collecting outstanding payment from customers. Instead of manual invoicing or phone calls, an accounts receivable service uses automation to invoice customers, follow up on late payments and collect overdue accounts. Plus, a good accounts receivable service will keep documentation and records to help avoid payment disputes.

ACH is the Automated Clearing House network, which is a system that transfers funds electronically from one party to another. It allows you to pay bills, send payments or transfer money from your bank to another in a fast and secure way.

An ACH routing number is similar to an ABA routing number. The difference is that an ACH routing number is used for electronic transactions.

An ACH payment is a type of electronic credit or debit payment initiated through the Automated Clearing House network. The payment can be initiated between two banks or between two bank accounts that are held by the same bank.

An ACH transfer is an electronic transfer of funds between two bank accounts. It's initiated through the Automated Clearing House network so you can send payments or pay bills quickly, depending on the ACH payment services available at your bank.

Several products can help you collect funds faster, reduce your days sales outstanding and improve overall cash flow, including:

• Lockbox
• Remote lockbox
• Electronic bill payment and presentment
• ACH debit origination
• Remote deposit capture
• eReceivables

You can't make changes to a payment after it's processed and cleared. Use our ACH Payment Quick Reference Guide (PDF) to learn how to create, manage and approve ACH payments.

Learn how to manage beneficiaries in our ACH Payment Quick Reference Guide (PDF).

Learn how to make ACH payments in our ACH Payment Quick Reference Guide (PDF).

Learn how to send ACH payments in our ACH Payment Quick Reference Guide (PDF).

Same Day ACH allows both credit origination (Payables) and debit origination (Receivables) transactions to process and settle same day. ACH transactions processed as Same Day will be available by the end of our processing day.

Almost all types of ACH Payments, including Credits, Debits, Tax Payments and non-monetary transactions such as Notifications of Change (NOC). Remittance Information (CCD, CTX) are also eligible for Same Day processing. However, International Transactions (IATs) and transactions above $1,000,000 won't be eligible for Same Day ACH.

Once you're enrolled in the service, First Citizens Bank must receive ACH batches submitted through Commercial Advantage or Digital Banking for business by 3:30 pm ET Monday through Friday for ACH Same Day processing.. ACH files submitted through our Data Exchange Service, or DES, will be processed that day if received by 4 pm ET.

We don't charge additional fees for our customers to receive Same Day ACH transactions. A fee of $1 will be charged for each originated Same Day ACH credit and debit transaction.

Existing ACH Originators should call 866-322-4249 to enroll in Same Day ACH. It's recommended that Originators review their systems to verify that they can create ACH files with the correct or intended effective date to accommodate Same Day ACH. All new Digital Banking for business customers that enroll in First Citizens ACH Service will automatically have access to Same Day ACH. Additional fees may apply.

Accounts payable get reconciled in a full cycle process that involves invoice capture, invoice approval, matching invoices to purchase orders, payment authorization and posting payments.

The procure-to-pay process is also known as purchase-to-pay and P2P. It refers to the entire purchase and payment process for billable goods and services purchased by a company.

Accounts payable solutions, or AP solutions, refer to a dynamic set of tools and processes designed to streamline and optimize the management of a company's outgoing payments. These solutions empower businesses to handle their accounts payable transactions more efficiently—ensuring accuracy, timeliness and financial control. From automatic invoice processing to providing real-time insights, AP solutions endeavor to help businesses focus on strategic growth and financial well-being.

Managing accounts payable effectively involves a strategic approach to handling financial obligations in a streamlined manner. Steps involved include:

• Automation
• Organized record-keeping
• Timely payments
• Vendor communication
• Strategic forecasting
• Financial software integration
• Regular audits
• Employee training

By combining these elements, accounts payable solutions and tools can ensure financial accuracy, boost compliance timeliness and contribute to the overall operational efficiency and financial decision-making for businesses.

Integrated Payables, or IP, is a B2B and B2C payments platform and accounts payable solution that can transform accounts payable disbursements from checks to electronic payments by processing a consolidated payment file. This First Citizens platform supports check print or mail, ACH, USD domestic wire and purchase card with full electronic remittance delivery.

Using this intuitive application, payment files are transferred to IP to review records prior to production, release jobs, check the status of files, choose delivery options and view reports on all completed files.

IP serves the larger commercial customer who has no need for an invoice workflow but seeks to send high-volume payments of all types directly to the bank for processing.

Businesses who are best served by IP are:

• Corporations in the US with revenues greater than $10 million in annual sales
• Entities with at least 500 AP checks per month

The association's insurance typically includes property and casualty policies for all common area property and equipment. In townhome associations, this usually includes the entire exterior of the structures. In condominium associations, this usually includes the entire structure of the building. It may also include liability and directors and officers policies that cover directors, committee members and volunteers working on behalf of the association. For complete information about your association's insurance coverage, please contact your association directly.

FXEnvoy is our online international payments client portal that empowers businesses with a fast, efficient and secure method for facilitating international business from the convenience of their computers.

Sending an international payment online with FXEnvoy is a simple process that can take less than a minute. Just book your FX transaction online and apply your beneficiary's payment instructions. Once you book your exchange rate, it's locked in and won't fluctuate prior to delivery.

Unless the beneficiary has specifically requested US dollars, it may be beneficial to send your payment in the local currency of the beneficiary. US dollars sent to an account that is denominated in a foreign currency may take longer to be received and may incur higher bank charges than if you send the local currency.

International wire transfers are more efficient than foreign drafts, and funds are usually available immediately upon receipt by the beneficiary.

An international bank account number, or IBAN, is a domestic account number standard for all retail and commercial payments in the European Union. Several other countries have also adopted this format for routing domestic payments, which are assigned by foreign banks to their customers and can include up to 34 alphanumeric characters.

Our payment platform has a built-in IBAN validation that lets you know if the IBAN isn't valid.

We utilize multiple layers of security to help safeguard your confidential information, including two-factor authorization and maker-checker functionality for templates and payments.

Foreign Currency Banknotes is a service that facilitates the purchase and sale of foreign currency, or paper money. We offer this service at every branch. Clients and non-clients can ease travel delays and stress by obtaining foreign currency before traveling overseas and exchanging foreign currency for US dollars after they return.

We buy and sell foreign currency from more than 70 countries. We also offer international wire transfers in USD and offer exchange services for more than 70 currencies.

A foreign currency exchange rate is the rate at which one type of currency will be traded for a different currency in the foreign exchange market. Rates are affected by economic activity, market interest rates, gross domestic product and unemployment rates in the countries around the world.

Find a banker near you to get a credit card for your commercial business.

You can check your credit card balance through Commercial Advantage.

Credit card approval can be instant if auto-decisioned or take up to 48 hours if reviewed.

Yes. Employers can set individual spending limits for employee cards.

A Real-Time Payment, or RTP®, is a transaction that moves through the RTP Network and settlement system offered by The Clearing House. This isn't an ACH or wire transaction.

The RTP Network provides the ability to conveniently receive payments and access funds immediately. All payments received can only be initiated from a federally insured US depository institution on the RTP Network.

RTP also includes the Payment-Related Messages, or Non-Payment Messages feature, which allows an individual or financial institution—both payee and payer—to request and send information regarding a payment.

RTP, ACH and domestic wire payments are all methods of moving money between accounts, but they differ in terms of speed, cost and use cases. ACH is characterized by its cost-effectiveness but slower processing times. RTP excels in speed and accessibility for real-time transactions on a 24/7/365 basis. And domestic wire transfers fall in between, offering faster processing than ACH but with higher fees.

The choice depends on factors such as transaction urgency, dollar value of the transaction, cost considerations and the specific use case.

A sender may be limited on how much they can send from their participating bank, but the network rules allow you to receive up to $1 million per transaction.

Speak to your banker, or contact the Business Engagement Center at 866-322-4249 Monday through Friday, 8 am ET to 9 pm ET.

RTP is available 24/7/365, which allows you to receive payments any time. All received payments post within seconds of when the payment was sent.

No. RTPs are domestic only.

To receive an RTP, provide the sender with your routing number, 053100300 and your account number.

More businesses are starting to offer RTPs instead of checks, ACH or wires. Some of these businesses require you to select the option to receive an RTP instead of an ACH or wire. For example, if you're using a digital wallet like Venmo, you may need to select the RTP option to send your funds real-time to your bank account.

An RTP will have a description of RTP Credit. Once the RTP posts to your account, you'll see RTP Credit, 20 characters of the sender's name and the 35-digit instruction ID for your payment. This same information will be included on your bank statement.

If you need additional information from an RTP, you may sign up to receive a remittance notice that includes any additional information provided by the sender. Additional fees may apply.

Remittance notices are sent through email. You can select up to five email addresses to receive remittance notices. Commercial Advantage standard customers will also have access to remittance information.

Verify with the sender that they:

• Received a message that the payment was sent successfully
• Used routing number 053100300
• Received the payment back

If you've opted out of receiving RTPs, you'll need to opt back in or have the sender pay you through a different payment rail.

Have the sender provide the instruction ID sent with the payment and contact your local banker for additional assistance.

No. The RTP Network is a credit and payment system that does not allow debits.

No. The RTP Network is a credit-push, one direction payment system that doesn't allow debits.

RTPs are irrevocable. The RTP Network is a credit and payment system that does not allow debits. To return an RTP, you'll need to initiate a payment, outside of the RTP Network, to the sender.

Currently First Citizens does not offer Real-Time Payment Send capability, but it's coming in 2025 to business customers. Consumer and Digital Banking business customers can use Zelle® to send a payment in a real time capacity.

RTPs are irrevocable. If you suspect the RTP is erroneous or fraudulent, please contact your banker or contact the Customer Engagement Center at 888-323-4732 Monday through Friday, 8 am ET to 9 pm ET or Saturday and Sunday, 8 am ET to 8 pm ET.

You can get detailed remittance information on received RTP transactions through email or Commercial Advantage.

RTPs are limited to active checking and savings accounts.

Recipients receive payment within seconds of the sending bank initiating the transaction.

Contact your banker for more information on how to receive an RTP remittance notice.

Consumers don't receive fees. Business and commercial clients receive a fee at the time payment is received or at the time the remittance notice is accepted for each email address. Analysis accounts will receive the fee at the end of the month. Contact your banker for further information.

Contact your banker to submit a request to opt out of receiving RTP.

Contact your banker to submit a request to opt in to receiving RTP.

Commercial Advantage standard customers have access to the Real-Time Payments notifications widget for viewing RTP remittance information and the RTP messaging functionality. For more details on these functionalities, please see the Real-Time Payments Guide (PDF) or contact your Relationship Manager.

Only Commercial Advantage customers can acknowledge a payment. Please see the Real-Time Payments Guide (PDF) for instructions.