Best Business Bank Account for Limited Company in the UK

Run a limited company and need a new bank account? Whether you’re setting up a business from scratch or simply want to switch accounts, read on.

In this guide, we’ll run through the best business bank accounts available in the UK right now for limited companies. This includes options from big banks like HSBC, NatWest and Barclays, as well as digital solutions from the likes of Tide and Starling Bank.

We’ll compare accounts on all the things that matter to UK business owners, including eligibility, features and services, and of course fees.

We’ll also show you an alternative - Wise Business, which lets you effortlessly manage your business finances across 40+ currencies, including GBP, USD and EUR.

💡 Learn more about Wise Business

Limited company bank account

If you own a business, it’s always a good idea to have a dedicated business bank account. It keeps your personal and business finances separate, and makes accounting and tax processes easier.

But if you run a limited company, a business bank account isn’t just a ‘nice to have’ - it’s a legal requirement.

UK banks offer a range of business accounts suitable for limited companies. They offer useful features and services such as accounting tools, access to loans and credit, online and app-based banking, and the expertise of dedicated relationship managers.

Below, we’ll compare business accounts from:

• Tide
• HSBC
• Santander
• Natwest
• Starling Bank
• Barclays

Best business bank account: overview

Let’s start with a quick at-a-glance look at how our top business banking providers stack up against each other:

Bank	TrustPilot score	Free banking period	Monthly fee
Tide	4.1¹	None - but Free plan available	£0 to £49.99⁷
HSBC	1.7²	12 months⁸	£8 to £10⁹
Santander	1.5³	18 months - startups on Business Current Account only¹¹	£5 to £12.50¹⁰
NatWest	1.4⁴	24 months¹⁴	None¹⁴
Starling Bank	4.4⁵	None - but no/minimal fees¹⁵	None¹⁵
Barclays	1.4⁶	12 months¹⁶	£8.50¹⁶

Comparing business accounts: criteria

To compare all of the UK business bank accounts on our list, we’ll look at a few key criteria. These are:

• Eligibility
• Features and services
• Fees: monthly fees, local payments in and out, ATM withdrawals, international payments

Tide business account

First up is Tide. Tide is a UK-based electronic money institution which offers business banking services to small businesses, freelancers, sole traders and registered limited companies in the UK.

Unlike high street banks, Tide doesn’t have branches - instead, you’ll be able to manage your Tide business account online. It offers accounts under four plans, one of which is free and available to limited companies.

Tide Bank eligibility criteria

To open a business account with Tide as a limited company, you’ll first need to make sure the company is registered with Companies House. You’ll need a valid photo ID, and may be asked for the incorporation documents for your business.

Tide's features

While it varies depending on the plan, features of Tide business accounts include:

• Tide business card
• Expenses cards for team members
• Create, send and manage invoices
• Linked Instant Saver account
• Integrate with accounting software
• Fully app-based banking
• Tide Card Reader for in-person payments (optional)
• International payments in EUR via SEPA
• 24/7 support in the app

Tide Bank fees

Now for the fees. Here’s a look at the plan fees, along with other charges based on the tariff for the Free plan:

Type	Fee⁷
Monthly fee	£0 for Free plan £9.99 for Plus plan £18.99 for Pro plan £49.99 for Cashback plan +VAT
Getting a business debit card	Free
Payments and transfers	£0.20 each payment
ATM withdrawals	£1
Expenses cards	£5 a month

With paid plans like the Cashback account, fees for things like payments and transfers are waived - and you get 3 free expenses cards included. So it could be worth weighing up whether the monthly fee works out as better value for your company.

HSBC business account

The banking giant HSBC has two solutions available for limited companies - the HSBC Small Business Banking Account and the HSBC Business Banking Account. The main difference between the two is turnover and business size.

HSBC business banking eligibility criteria

To open an HSBC business bank account, you’ll need to provide the following:

• Companies house registration number
• Full business address
• Business contact details
• Estimated business turnover
• Personal details

HSBC business features

Both HSBC business accounts offer features such as:⁸

• 12 months free banking
• Access to funding solutions up to £100,000
• Online and mobile banking
• Overdraft available (on application)
• Visa Commercial Card
• International payments
• Access to business specialists (Business Banking Account customers get a dedicated relationship manager)

HSBC business account fees

Now, here’s a look at what kind of banking charges you can expect with HSBC after the fee-free period ends:

Type	Fee⁹
Monthly fee	£8-10
Getting a business debit card	Free
Payments and transfers	Free
ATM withdrawals	£0.25
Cash deposits (branch/Post Office)	£1.50 + 1.5%

Santander business account

There are two choices for limited companies at Spanish-owned bank Santander. There’s the 1|2|3 Business Current Account for limited companies with no more than 2 directors, owners or partners, and the Business Current Account for all other companies.

Santander business eligibility criteria

To open a business account with Santander, you’ll need to provide proof of ID and UK address. You’ll also need your Companies House registration documents and Certificate of Incorporation.

Santander business accounts features

Features of the 1|2|3 Business Current Account include:¹⁰

• Online, mobile and branch banking
• Up to £300 cashback a year
• 0.10% gross/AER (variable) monthly interest on any credit balances
• Discounted monthly fees of £5 for startups for 18 months, and switchers for 12 months
• Overdraft (subject to status)

The Business Current Account offers:¹¹

• Online, mobile and branch banking
• Overdraft (subject to status)
• Free everyday banking for startups for 18 months

Santander business account fees

Type	Fee
Monthly fee	£5 to £12.50 for 1
Getting a business debit card	Free
Payments and transfers	Free¹²
ATM withdrawals	Free or ATM fee¹²
Cash deposits (branch/Post Office)	Free up to £1,000 a month £0.70 per £100 thereafter¹¹
International payments	£25¹²

NatWest business account

There are two NatWest business accounts to choose from. The first is the Start-Up Business Account, for businesses trading less than a year with turnover of less than £1m. For more established limited companies, there’s the Business Bank Account.

It’s also possible to open a Mettle digital account, if your limited company has up to 2 owners. Here though, we’ll focus on the Start-up and Business accounts.

NatWest business eligibility criteria

To open either of these accounts, you’ll need personal details of all of the partners, members or directors of the business. Plus, details of your business including its Companies House registration number.

NatWest business account features¹³

• Free banking on everyday transactions for 2 years
• Online, mobile and branch banking
• In-app support
• Access to Business Overdraft
• FreeAgent accounting software
• Cash deposits in branches, ATMs and the Post Office

NatWest business fees

Type	Fee¹⁴
Monthly fee	None
Getting a business debit card	Free
Payments and transfers	From £0.35 a payment
ATM withdrawals	£0.35
Cash deposits (branch/Post Office)	£0.70 per £100

Starling business account

Starling Bank has just one business account, but you can customise it with add-ons. It has no monthly fee, but there are some other charges depending on which services you use.

Starling bank eligibility criteria

You’ll be eligible to open a Starling business account if you have a limited company registered at Companies House. You’ll also need to be a UK resident and provide valid photo ID along with evidence of your trading activities.

Starling business features

Features which come as standard with Starling Bank business accounts include:

• Online and mobile banking
• Bills manager
• Savings Spaces
• Spending insights
• Debit card controls
• Cheque deposits in the Starling app
• Cash deposits at Post Office branches
• Instant notifications
• Integrations with accounting and other business tools

Starling business account fees

Type	Fee¹⁵
Monthly fee	None
Getting a business debit card	Free
Payments and transfers	Free
ATM withdrawals	Free
Cash deposits (Post Office)	£3 or 0.7% (whichever is higher)
Subscriptions	£7 a month for Business Toolkit and Bulk Payments
Overdraft	1.75% of your limit or £50

Barclays business account

Last but not least, we have Barclays. The British bank has two options for limited companies - a Start-up Account for businesses under a year old, and a Business Account for more established companies.

Barclays business eligibility criteria

To open a Barclays business account, you’ll need to provide the following:

• Your residential addresses for the past three years
• Details of other financial arrangements, like mortgages, credit cards and store cards
• The trading address of your business
• Companies House registration number
• Details about your business, including tax information and turnover
• Details for your directors or partners
• Your business registration details, including your date of incorporation

Barclays business accounts features

Depending which one you go for, Barclays business accounts offer features such as:

• Free FreshBooks invoicing and accounting software
• Online, mobile, branch and phone banking
• 24/7 in-app business support
• Access to Barclays Eagle Labs community hub
• Net Zero Specialists, plus International Managers for doing business abroad
• Barclaycard payment solutions
• 24-hour fraud protection

Barclays business fees

Type	Fee¹⁶
Monthly fee	£8.50
Getting a business debit card	Free
Payments and transfers	Free
ATM withdrawals	Free
Cash deposits (Post Office)	£0.60 per £100
International payments	£0.35 for SEPA payments £15 for other international payments

Wise Business: a non-bank alternative

Looking for alternatives? Check out the Wise Business account. Wise isn’t a bank, but a multi-currency account that offers a great alternative for UK businesses that trade internationally.

It’s quick and easy to open a Wise Business account, with a fully digital application, verification and on-boarding process. If you’re a limited company, you’ll need to provide the following:

• Personal and contact details of the account representative
• Business name, entity type, registration number and sector
• Business registered address and trading address if different
• Information about the company’s directors
• Photo ID and proof of address for the account representative
• Business documents - which vary based on entity type

Check out all the requirements here.

When you open a Wise Business account, you’ll benefit from all of these useful features:

• Hold and exchange 40+ currencies in one powerful online account
• Send payments to 160+ countries for low fees and the mid-market exchange rate
• Get local account details to get paid in 8+ currencies like a local.
• No monthly fees or minimum balance requirements
• Debit and expense cards for you and your team, which you can use in 150+ countries
• Multi-user access for team members, with ways to control and manage permissions
• Pay up to 1,000 people at once with the Wise batch payments feature
• Integrate with your favourite cloud accounting solutions, and use the Wise API for automation and streamlining workflow
• Use theWise Interest feature to make your money work harder when you’re not using it

And here are the main fees you need to know about with the Wise Business account:

Service	Fee
Send local payments	Free
Send international payments	From 0.35%
Receive international payments	Free in 19 major currencies (non-wire)
ATM withdrawals	Free up to £200 a month (max. 2 withdrawals) 1.75% + £0.50 per withdrawal after that
Currency exchange	Mid-market exchange rate, with no mark-up
Business card fee	Free first card £3 one-off fee for each team member card

Get started with Wise Business 🚀

Business bank account - FAQs

What bank account do I need for a limited company?

All you need as a limited company is a dedicated business bank account, which is only used for business funds (not personal money).

Is it illegal to use a personal bank account for business in the UK?

If you run a limited company, it is a legal requirement to have a separate business bank account for company funds. If you keep personal and company finances in the same account, you could be breaking the law. It’s also a bad idea for accounting, transparency and tax purposes.

Can a Ltd company open a savings account?

Yes, a limited company can open a savings account, but only if it's a business savings account. You won’t be able to open a personal savings account for any business funds.

If you’re looking for an alternative, take a look at the Wise Interest feature available with Wise Business accounts. This lets you earn returns on balances held in GBP, USD and EUR, investing in a fund that holds government-guaranteed assets. What’s more, you can spend and access your money any time you need to. Capital at risk.

Get started with Wise Business 🚀

Can a limited company get a bank loan?

Yes, many UK banks offer business loans and other forms of credit, financing or funding for limited companies.

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After reading this, you should have all the info you need to choose the best business bank account for your needs.

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Sources used:

1. TrustPilot - Tide
2. TrustPilot - HSBC
3. TrustPilot - Santander
4. TrustPilot - NatWest
5. TrustPilot - Starling Bank
6. TrustPilot - Barclays
7. Tide - Pricing
8. HSBC Business - Business Current Accounts
9. HSBC Business - Business Banking Price List
10. Santander - 1|2|3 Business Current Account
11. Santander - Business Current Account
12. Santander - Business Banking General Terms and Conditions and Important Information
13. NatWest - Business bank accounts
14. NatWest - Business account charges
15. Starling Bank - Rates, Fees and Charges for Business Current Accounts
16. Barclays - Barclays Business Account tariff

Sources last checked on date: 13-Jun-2024