Startup & Venture Banking
SVB Go: how do I get access and set up user roles, permissions, and dual-approval workflows?
7 min read
Quick Answer: To access SVB Go, your company needs an active SVB business checking account, then an authorized signer can enroll and set up your initial admin. From there, you can configure user roles, permissions, and dual-approval workflows in SVB Go’s user administration settings to align with your internal controls.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get access to SVB Go for my company?
Short Answer: You’ll need an SVB business checking account, then you can enroll in SVB Go and establish at least one company administrator who will manage users and permissions.
Expanded Explanation:
Access to SVB Go begins with your company’s relationship with Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank. Once you have a business checking account in place, an authorized signer or designated contact can complete SVB Go enrollment. During enrollment, you’ll set up your primary SVB Go company profile and identify one or more administrators (admins) who will control user access, permissions, and approval workflows.
SVB Go is designed for high-growth companies that expect to scale their payment volumes and complexity. Centralizing access through an admin model helps your team enforce role-based controls as you add more users, accounts, and payment channels over time.
Key Takeaways:
- You must have an active SVB business checking account to enroll in SVB Go.
- An authorized signer sets up the initial company profile and admin(s), who then manage all subsequent access.
How do I set up user roles and permissions in SVB Go?
Short Answer: Company admins configure user roles and permissions in SVB Go by creating users, assigning them role profiles, and mapping those roles to specific accounts and transaction entitlements.
Expanded Explanation:
Once SVB Go is active for your company, your admin will use the platform’s user administration area to build out your operating model. Roles and permissions are how you translate your internal control framework into the digital banking environment—who can view which accounts, who can initiate payments, and who must approve high‑value or high‑risk activity.
For early-stage companies, this may start with a simple separation between “view-only” users (e.g., founders, department leads) and “transacting” users (e.g., controller, finance lead). As you move from Pre-Seed and Seed through Series A and into Series B/C+ and Corporate Banking, you can introduce more granular controls by entity, account, payment type, and limit, matching the complexity of your treasury organization.
Steps:
- Create or invite users: In SVB Go, navigate to user administration and add new users with their business email addresses and basic profile details.
- Assign roles and entitlements: Choose or configure role types (e.g., view-only, payment initiator, approver, admin) and apply permissions by account, function (move money, reporting), and payment channel (ACH, wires, checks, bill pay).
- Set limits and restrictions: For transacting users, configure transaction limits and any restrictions on payment types or geographies to reflect your company’s risk appetite and approval policies.
What’s the difference between an admin, approver, and standard user in SVB Go?
Short Answer: Admins manage users and settings, approvers authorize transactions, and standard users typically view accounts and/or initiate payments within their assigned permissions.
Expanded Explanation:
SVB Go is built around a tiered access model that aligns with the way high‑growth finance teams operate. While permissions can be tailored, most companies converge on three core functional categories:
- Admin: Owns user lifecycle management and system configuration. Admins can create and deactivate users, assign roles and entitlements, and design dual-approval workflows. They often sit in the controller, VP of Finance, or treasury function.
- Approver: Reviews and authorizes transactions initiated by others. Approvers may be the CFO, controller, or designated senior leaders with budget authority. Their role is central to enforcing dual control over outbound funds.
- Standard user: Has view and/or initiation rights based on their role. Think accountants, AP specialists, or business operations staff who need to see balances and transaction history, prepare payments, and export data into systems like NetSuite or QuickBooks.
As you scale—from a founder-driven finance function to a multi-entity, multi-bank treasury team—these distinctions become critical for maintaining clear segregation of duties and reducing the risk of fraud or error.
Comparison Snapshot:
- Option A: Admin: Full configuration control; can manage users, roles, and workflow rules in SVB Go.
- Option B: Approver/Standard user: Limited to operating within the framework the admin defines (view, initiate, approve based on permissions).
- Best for: High-growth companies that want to maintain central governance (admin) while empowering distributed finance and operations teams (users/approvers) to execute day-to-day work.
How do I set up dual-approval workflows for payments in SVB Go?
Short Answer: In SVB Go, admins define dual-approval rules by payment type, limit, and account so that one user initiates and a separate user approves before funds are released.
Expanded Explanation:
Dual approval is a core control for any company moving meaningful volumes of ACH, wires, and other payments, especially as you reach Series A and beyond. SVB Go is designed to help you embed that control into your payment workflows rather than relying on ad‑hoc checks outside the system.
Within SVB Go, an admin can configure rules that specify when a second set of eyes is required—for example, all international wires, any ACH above a certain threshold, or all payments from a particular account used for payroll or vendor disbursements. These rules are applied at the platform level, so users cannot bypass them through individual settings.
What You Need:
- Defined approval policy: Documented guidelines on which payments require dual approval, by type, amount, and risk profile (e.g., domestic vs. international, standard vs. same-day).
- Properly assigned roles: At least one set of users who can initiate payments and a separate set of users with approval authority configured in SVB Go.
How should high-growth companies think strategically about roles, permissions, and dual approval in SVB Go?
Short Answer: Treat SVB Go’s roles, permissions, and dual-approval workflows as part of your broader treasury and controls architecture, designed to scale with your stage, transaction volume, and audit requirements.
Expanded Explanation:
For innovation-economy companies—whether Enterprise Software, Fintech, Life Science & Healthcare, Defense Tech & Aerospace, or Climate Tech and Sustainability—payment operations move quickly from “founder-managed” to “audit-ready” as you raise larger rounds and expand globally. SVB Go, combined with SVB’s treasury and liquidity solutions, can help you embed robust controls early so you’re not re‑architecting under the pressure of a financing, audit, or exit process.
At Pre-Seed and Seed, a simple separation between initiators and approvers may be enough. By Series A, you may want entity-level segregation and dual approval on all outbound wires. At Series B/C+ and Corporate Banking scale, you may layer in geography-based rules, limits by business unit, and tighter integration with your ERP, using SVB Go’s data and reporting as the backbone of your reconciliation and compliance workflows. That structure can support cleaner financial close cycles, more reliable cash visibility, and faster due diligence when investors and lenders evaluate your controls.
Why It Matters:
- Stronger financial controls and risk management: Role-based access and dual approvals help reduce fraud risk, prevent errors, and demonstrate control to auditors, investors, and lenders.
- Operational efficiency at scale: A well-structured SVB Go setup enables your finance team to move money quickly and confidently—supporting runway management, fund flows, and global operations—without sacrificing governance.
Quick Recap
To use SVB Go effectively, start by enrolling your company once you have an SVB business checking account, then designate an admin to configure users, roles, and permissions. From there, you can build dual-approval workflows that align with your internal policies by payment type, account, and limit. As your company moves from Pre-Seed and Seed through later stages, refining this structure in SVB Go can help you maintain strong controls while enabling your finance team to support faster growth and more complex payment operations.