A sweep account that actually pays
Move idle operating cash into a covered savings product automatically, and keep 48-hour access.
KYB required · USD or USDC · Rates as of September 2026
The short version
- A sweep account is not an account, it is a rule: hold the operating balance at a target, move everything above it somewhere that pays.
- In a bank program the credited rate is set per relationship, tiered by balance, and reduced by sweep, custody or placement fees before it reaches your statement.
- Coinstancy Pro keeps your rule and changes only the destination: a published grid, from 6.00% with no lock to 6.75% on twelve months, 7.00% for the first six months.
- Withdrawals are available within 48 hours, so only the reserve tranche belongs here. The payroll buffer stays at the bank.
- Coverage runs through OpenCover on eligible funds, up to 100% of USD value, subject to policy terms. This is not FDIC insurance.
What a sweep account is.
A sweep account is not really an account. It is a rule attached to the accounts you already have: keep the operating balance at a target, and move everything above it somewhere that pays.
The target balance
The amount your controller keeps in the operating account to clear payroll, the AP run, card settlement and float. Everything above that line is idle by definition.
Where the excess goes
A bank deposit sweep, a money market sweep, an overnight repo, or a deposit placement network. The vehicle decides what you are paid and what you are exposed to.
How the cash comes back
The reverse sweep, which funds the operating account when it falls below the peg. Its speed is the real constraint: it sets how thin you can safely run the peg.
The daily cycle
The target is set
Your controller sets a target balance on the operating account.
The threshold is passed
At the daily cutoff, the balance above target is swept out into the chosen vehicle.
The balance earns
The vehicle accrues interest overnight, or over whatever term it holds.
The return leg
When the account falls below target, the vehicle is drawn down to refill it.
Nothing about the rule requires the destination to be a bank product. What the destination pays, how fast it returns cash, and what it is exposed to are three separate decisions.
What bank sweep programs actually pay.
The sweep itself is usually free. The bank is paid on the spread between what your swept balance earns and what it credits back to you, which is why the credited rate is negotiated rather than published.
| Program | What the balance is invested in | How you are paid | What to check on the term sheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank deposit sweep | An interest-bearing account at the same bank, often on the bank balance sheet | A credited rate the bank sets and tiers by balance, rarely on the published rate sheet | The tier breaks, and whether the rate resets when your balance drops |
| Money market sweep | Shares in a money market fund, held through the bank | The fund yield, less the expense ratio and any sweep or custody fee | The net yield after fees, and that redemption is T+1, not same day |
| Repo sweep | Overnight repurchase agreements collateralized by government securities | A negotiated rate, usually reserved for larger balances | The collateral schedule, and that the balance is not a deposit and carries no FDIC |
| Insured cash sweep | Deposits placed in slices across a network of insured banks | A rate net of the network fee the program charges for placement | The placement fee, the balance cap, and the settlement lag on withdrawals |
| Earnings credit (ECR) | Nothing — the balance stays in checking | A credit that offsets bank fees rather than cash interest | Whether unused credit expires, because credit above your fee run is worth nothing |
The only number that counts
We do not publish a single figure for what sweep programs pay, because the credited rate is set per relationship and per tier. The one to work from is on your own analysis statement: interest credited over the period, divided by the average swept balance. If you need a placeholder while that number is being pulled, something in the region of 4% works as a rough illustration for planning — an illustration, not a sourced benchmark.
Three things the headline rate hides
The quoted rate often applies only above a balance threshold, and resets down when you fall below it.
Sweep, custody and network placement fees are deducted between the fund yield and your statement.
An ECR offsets bank fees. Credit beyond your fee run is worth nothing and does not compound.
Sweeping into covered yield instead.
The peg, the threshold and the review cycle stay exactly as your treasury policy already defines them. Only the destination changes: instead of a bank vehicle, the excess goes into a covered stablecoin savings product with a published rate.
Rate grid
What the destination adds
What it takes away
Coverage runs through OpenCover on eligible funds, up to 100% of USD value, subject to policy terms, limits and exclusions. It responds to protocol events — code bugs, oracle manipulation or failure, liquidation failure, malicious governance takeover — and not to every way a balance can lose value. See the full scope and the exclusions.
Thresholds and automation.
A sweep is only as good as the thresholds behind it. Three layers, three horizons, and one honest constraint: nothing here should be swept out of reach of the payroll run.
| Layer | What it covers | Where it sits | Horizon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating peg | Payroll, the AP run, card settlement, clearing float | Checking, at your bank | Days |
| Buffer | Collection variance, unplanned items, the 48-hour return leg | Bank sweep or money market, same day to T+1 | Weeks |
| Reserve | Cash identified as untouched for a quarter or more | Covered stablecoin savings, no-lock or termed | Months |
- 01
The rule you write
Sweep the excess above peg once the operating balance has held above target for a set number of business days. Writing it down is what stops the sweep becoming a judgment call each month.
- 02
The cadence, initiated by you
Coinstancy does not debit your bank account and does not connect to your bank cash management module. The transfer is a standing instruction your team runs, typically weekly or monthly.
- 03
The return leg, sized honestly
Withdrawals are available within 48 hours. Your buffer layer therefore has to cover at least 48 hours of outflows on its own. Size the peg and the buffer around that number, not around the yield.
The layers above are a structure, not an allocation recommendation. The split between buffer and reserve belongs to your treasury policy and your board. See the segmentation guide.
How this differs from an insured cash sweep.
An insured cash sweep breaks a large balance into slices and places them across a network of banks so each slice stays under the standard FDIC limit per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category. The point of the program is principal protection, not yield.
| Insured cash sweep | Coinstancy Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| What backs the protection | FDIC insurance at each network bank holding a slice of the deposit | An OpenCover policy on eligible funds, up to 100% of USD value, subject to terms, limits and exclusions |
| What it protects against | Failure of a bank holding your deposit | Specific protocol events: smart contract code bugs and errors, oracle manipulation or failure, liquidation failure, malicious governance takeover |
| Who holds the cash | Network banks, under the program agreement | Non-custodial DeFi protocols. Coinstancy manages allocation and monitoring; you hold no keys |
| Time to cash | Settlement lag set by the program agreement | Within 48 hours. On a locked tier, early exit returns capital and forfeits accrued interest |
| Where the yield comes from | Deposit rates at the network banks, net of the placement fee | Lending and liquidity provision on reviewed DeFi protocols — Curve, Pendle, Balancer, Beefy, Aave, StakeDAO |
| What is not covered | Balances above the program cap, and anything the program agreement excludes | Stablecoin depeg, yield below the advertised rate, losses outside the listed events, anything the policy excludes |
Reading the table
The word insured is doing very different work on each side of that table. On one side it means a federal guarantee on the deposit itself. On the other it means a private policy that responds to a defined list of protocol failures, up to 100% of USD value and subject to its terms, limits and exclusions. It does not respond to a stablecoin depeg, to yield below the advertised rate, or to losses outside the listed events.
If your treasury policy requires FDIC coverage on every dollar, an insured cash sweep is the correct answer and this product is not. The usual arrangement is both: the buffer sits in an insured program with same-day or next-day access, and only the reserve tranche is swept here.
Setting it up.
Six steps. The first two happen inside your own ledger, before you talk to anyone.
- 01
Set the peg from your own data
Pull ninety days of daily closing balances on the operating account. Take the low point, add the largest single scheduled outflow, and call that the target. Everything consistently above it is the balance this page is about.
- 02
Separate buffer from reserve
Only the reserve tranche — the cash you can name as untouched for a quarter or more — should be swept here. The buffer stays somewhere with same-day or next-day access.
- 03
Complete KYB once
Company registration documents, beneficial ownership information and identification for signatories, before the first deposit. Requirements by entity type and realistic timelines are on the compliance page.
- 04
Fund the first sweep
Deposit in USD from the corporate bank account, or in USDC from an existing stablecoin balance. Those are the only two eligible assets.
- 05
Pick the tier against the horizon
No lock at 6.00% if the reserve might be called. A termed tier from 6.25% to 6.75% when the horizon is known. The 7.00% introductory rate applies for the first six months.
- 06
Put it on a review cycle
Re-cut the peg quarterly, and revisit the tier when the horizon changes. A sweep rule left untouched for a year stops matching the business it was written for.
Documents by entity type and onboarding timelines are on the compliance page. The deposit, deployment and withdrawal mechanics are set out in how it works.
Point the sweep somewhere that pays.
Open an account directly. If your finance team needs the coverage terms and the KYB requirements before that, a call is the faster route.