Whether you’re a CFO, VP of finance, or staff accountant, you know simplicity is more than just a nice-to-have — it can be the difference between an organization’s executing on its core objectives or struggling to keep its head above water. And as a critical player in your company’s finances, you know that nothing can get more complicated than protecting your organization’s assets.

But protecting your payroll, funding, or retirement accounts can also be easy. ICS®, the IntraFi Cash Service® and CDARS®, the Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service®, make peace of mind uncomplicated — simplifying what might have been hours (or days) of labor into a straightforward process.  

What are CDARS and ICS?

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 in demand deposit accounts, money market deposit accounts, or both (with ICS) or in CDs (with CDARS) at other network banks. 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.

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.

Here's what three ICS and CDARS customers had to say about these time-saving, tested services:

“So wonderful,”

said the VP of Finance for a healthcare vendor that provides housekeeping and laundry services to nursing homes and hospitals in three contiguous states. The VP works directly with the owner to make decisions about how to manage the company’s cash.

The VP was introduced to ICS 13 years ago by the healthcare vendor’s local banker and has been happily using the service ever since for its savings and operations accounts. The VP found the efficiency and ease-of-use of ICS to be especially valuable, freeing up time that would have been spent micromanaging multiple accounts at different banks and enabling the VP to focus on the vendor’s real business.

“All the work is done on [my bank’s] part and not ours. One less thing I have to do. It’s all under one roof but not under one roof. [My bank rep] was able to bring everything under one bank. So wonderful,” said the VP.

 “I love it,”

stated the Accounting Manager for a small prep school. A few years ago, the school decided to divest all of its equities. This left the Accounting Manager with the task of managing large amounts of cash that the school was unaccustomed to handling— with few options for protection, since the school did not want to work with multiple banks.

Fortunately, the school had a close working relationship with its banker, who introduced the Accounting Manager to CDARS and ICS. The school now uses ICS to manage its cash, including handling tuition payments, which must be disbursed throughout the school year. It then rolls any surplus it has at the end of the year into CDARS.

The Accounting Manager called the decision a “slam dunk,” and the school adopted the idea almost immediately.

The Accounting Manager said, “I love it. It tells me where our money is. We keep a minimum $150K in checking. After $200K, it moves the cash around seamlessly. I could not be happier with how the sweep works. Keeps us liquid and protected, as well as interest bearing, the best of both worlds. And the statements — reconciling is so easy — QuickBooks syncs with our bank, so it shows up in QuickBooks and clearly shows interest earned and posts.”

 “It’s been amazing,”

said the CFO of a family-owned pump distribution company. With over $35 million in annual revenue, no debt, and a cash-only operation, the company’s newly hired CFO knew that her employer had a “different relationship” with banks than most businesses. The company had over $8 million on deposit in multiple banks.

The CFO characterizes the company’s owner as “very conservative.” Over the past 7years, the business had become increasingly cash heavy, squirreling money across multiple accounts at separate banks. Attempting to manage numerous $250K money market deposit accounts at different banks around the city quickly became painful.

The CFO approached one of her banks with her problem. The bank presented ICS as a solution. Once she was able to convince her boss that it was “not worth my time to run around to different banks,” the company signed up. The CFO said that throughout the onboarding and due diligence process, IntraFi worked to make things easy. “They were very helpful, transparent, and honest.”

Regarding ICS, the CFO says, “It’s been amazing. We don't have to think about it [managing the ICS process]. It has helped to solidify our relationship with our bank. Here [at my local bank] I can get someone on the phone at any time. [I] don't have to have to talk to 18 different people.”

IntraFi Keeps It Simple

With CDARS and ICS, financial professionals can save effort immediately — greatly reducing the time spent tracking accounts, managing multiple funds transfers, and (in some cases), literally running around town to different retail banks to manage relationships.

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 efficient — so you can get back to doing what you do best.