Should I open a separate business bank account before I even register the company, or use my personal account for now?
Mixing personal and business money is the first accounting mistake most first-time founders make, and it costs you when tax season or fundraising arrives. Before you incorporate you legally can't open a company current account, so a clean personal account (or a separate savings account) used only for the venture is a fine stopgap. The moment you register, open a current account and route everything through it, so your books, GST, and cap table all reconcile without archaeology later.
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This lays out the real downstream cost of mixing personal and business money in plain terms: messy books, harder taxes, missed deductions, and the risk of piercing the corporate veil so creditors can reach your personal assets. It is written by a business bank, so read the credibility and business-credit points as their pitch, but the core reasoning holds anywhere. It makes the case for acting early instead of untangling a commingled account later.
This is a genuinely startup-first way to open a current account in India online, with the account held by a partner bank (ICICI, Yes Bank, Axis, RBL, IDFC First) rather than by Razorpay itself. It leans into automation founders actually need early: bulk payouts, vendor payments, payroll, and multi-user access with controls. Treat it as one solid option to compare, not the only one, since pricing tiers and per-transaction charges apply.
A practical, India-specific checklist of what a bank actually asks a private limited company for once you are incorporated: incorporation certificate, board resolution naming the authorized signatory, PAN, and KYC for the directors. It sets expectations so the account-opening visit does not stall on a missing document. Use it as a starting point and confirm the exact list with your chosen bank, since requirements vary slightly by bank.
