A for-benefit-of account is a bank account opened under the For Benefit Of (FBO) structure, where an intermediary is named as the account holder but the money belongs to other people. The main entry covers how the structure works, its legal basis and its risks.
The account title usually takes a form such as "Company X for the benefit of its customers", which signals to the bank, auditors and any insolvency administrator that the funds are not the company's own. The structure is widely used by payment companies, payroll providers, marketplaces and fintechs working with a sponsor bank, and it serves a similar purpose to the custodial and safeguarding accounts used elsewhere under a safeguarding requirement.
The written form "for-benefit-of account" and the abbreviation FBO account refer to the same thing. In each case, the intermediary must keep an accurate ledger of each beneficiary's share and reconcile it with the bank balance.