Best Small Business Bank Account (UK - 2024)

If you’re just starting out on an entrepreneurial journey you need smart ways to manage your money. This probably means you’re looking for the best bank account for small businesses, based on your own individual needs. This best small business account guide is for you.

Plus, as part of our review of the best small business bank accounts, we’ll also touch on some non-banking alternatives like Wise Business, which offers multi-currency accounts with no monthly fees and ways to get paid in foreign currencies conveniently.

💡 Learn more about Wise Business

Do small businesses need a business bank account?

Whether or not you’re obliged to get an account dedicated for business use will depend on the type of business entity you have. Generally, if you have a UK business registered at Companies House, you’ll need a specific business account to keep your finances in order.

Even if you’re not legally required to have a business account it’s very important to separate personal and business finances, to manage your money, pay your taxes and keep an eye on your cash flow and profit. This guide to the best small business bank accounts in the UK is here to help you pick one.

Small business bank accounts

There’s no single best business account for small business - which is right for you will depend on how you transact and the features you need. Many accounts have ways to receive customer payments, linked payment cards, interest earning features or overdrafts - and some, like Wise Business, also offer impressive international functions.

Comparing a few different options is the best way to select one. Here are the banks and non-bank alternative providers we'll review in the article:

• Tide
• Cashplus - Now Zempler Bank
• Revolut Business
• Wise Business
• ANNA Money
• Starling
• CountingUp

Best small business bank accounts in the UK: overview

We’ll start with an overview of some important features - the rating providers get on Trustpilot, which is a handy measure of customer satisfaction, and the ongoing costs.

Bank/Provider	Trustpilot score	Monthly fee
Tide	4 star, Good review from 20,000+ reviews1	£0 - £49.99 /month depending on plan
Cashplus/Zempler Bank	3.5 star, Average review from 11,000+ reviews2	£0 - £9 /month depending on plan
Revolut Business	4.2 star, Great review from 160,000+ reviews3	£0 - £79 /month depending on plan
Wise Business	4.3 star, Excellent review from 233,000+ reviews4	None
ANNA Money	4.5 star, Excellent review from 3,000+ reviews5	£0 - £49.90 /month depending on plan
Starling	4.3 star, Excellent review from 41,000+ reviews6	None
CountingUp	4.2 star, Great review from 2,000+ reviews7	£3 - £18 /month depending on plan

Comparing small business accounts: criteria

We’ve picked these providers based on the following:

• Eligibility
• Features and services
• Fees

Each is different, so use this guide to narrow down your choices and then do some of your own research to pick the perfect one for you.

Tide Bank business account

Tide business banking has accounts for businesses and sole traders. To apply for a small business account with Tide you’ll need to have a business registered in the UK with Companies House, and comply with Tide’s acceptable use policies. You must also be aged 18 or above, and have a valid UK phone number to apply⁸.

Tide business accounts offer 4 different tiers to suit different customer needs, from the Free account for new businesses looking for a pay as you go experience, to more comprehensive accounts for established businesses with complex needs.

Once you have a Tide account, you can use it for business invoicing, and get accounting integrations, linked debit and expense cards, and the option to open a business savings account.

Here’s a summary of the key Tide business fees to know about:

	Free	Plus	Pro	Cashback
Monthly fee	None	£9.99	£18.99	£49.99
Expense cards	£5 /month	1 free card included, then £5 /month	2 free cards included, then £5 /month	3 free cards included, then £5 /month
Transfer in and out	£0.20	20/month free, then £0.20	Free	Free
ATM withdrawals	£1	£1	£1	£1

Cashplus account

Cashplus, which now goes under its new name of Zempler Bank, offers 2 different account types to eligible UK customers. To apply you must be a senior director of a UK based business which is registered with Companies House, and which is in one of the Zempler Bank supported industries⁹.

Zempler Bank business account types are: the Business Go account which has no monthly fee, and the Business Extra account which has a monthly fee but offers some extras, including some free transactions and some cashback on card spending. Card usage also has different fees depending on which account you pick, with some fees waived for the Extra customer.

Here’s a quick look at some key Zempler/Cashplus fees to know about:

	Business Go	Business Extra
Monthly fee	£0	£9
Card fee	£9.95 /each	No fee
ATM use	£2 locally, £3 internationally	No fee
Foreign transaction fee	2.99%	No fee
International payments10	Outgoing international payments not available Incoming payments: £15	Outgoing international payments not available Incoming payments: £15

Revolut Business account

Revolut Business accounts are available to customers who have legal residence in the UK, Switzerland or EEA, with a registered and active company in a country supported by Revolut - including the UK¹¹.

You can choose from 4 different plan options, including a basic account with no monthly fee, and several accounts with ongoing costs. All options have linked debit cards and can hold and exchange 25+ currencies, with some no fee weekday currency conversion which uses the Revolut rate with no extra fees. Plans with monthly fees unlock more features like no fee transfers, interest on your balance, and preferential customer service options, and higher no fee transaction limits.

Here’s a quick list of some of the key fees for the Revolut account. Other costs may apply depending on how you use your account.

	Basic	Grow	Scale	Enterprise
Monthly fee	None	£19	£79	Custom
Card option	Plastic and virtual cards	1 Metal card, plus plastic and virtual cards	2 Metal cards, plus plastic and virtual cards	Custom options
No fee weekday currency conversion	£1,000 /month	£10,000 /month	£50,000 /month	Custom
ATM use	2% withdrawal fee	2% withdrawal fee	2% withdrawal fee	2% withdrawal fee

Wise Business: non-bank alternative

Wise isn’t a bank, but it’s authorised by the FCA in the UK as an e-money institution, and offers multi-currency accounts and cards for UK businesses through Wise Business.

Open a Wise Business account to hold and exchange 40+ currencies, with optional debit and expense cards 160+ countries. When you need to get paid by others you can do so with local and SWIFT account details in multiple currencies - plus you could earn Wise Business Interest on balances in pounds, US dollars and euros.

Wise Business also offers time saving extras like batch payments, multi-user access, cloud accounting integrations and the Wise API to streamline workflow.

If you have a UK incorporated business you’ll need the following to open your Wise Business account:

• 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

You’ll also need to upload some documents:

• Photo ID and proof of address for the account representative
• Business documents - which vary based on entity type

Let’s look at some of the core fees for Wise Business:

	Wise Business fee
Open an account	£60
Hold 40+ currencies	Free
Order a card	£3
Spend with your card	No fee to spend a currency you hold - conversion from 0.33% when needed
ATM withdrawals	2 withdrawals to £200 /month free, then £0.50 + 1.75%
Receive payments	Receive with local and SWIFT account details in many currencies for free $10 CAD fee for incoming CAD SWIFT payment $6.11 USD for incoming USD wire
Send money overseas	From 0.33%

Get started with Wise Business 🚀

ANNA Money business account

ANNA Money has 3 different account types for UK customers, suited to small and growing businesses. ANNA small business accounts are intended for customers who are the director of a limited company or a partner in a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP). You’ll be asked for ID and address documents when you apply, and depending on your entity type may also need to upload relevant business registration information.

Different ANNA Money accounts have their own features and fee structures, including expense cards, local and international payments, payment links for accepting customer transfers, and cashback on some eligible card spending. You can pay cash into your account, and all plans get a free trial of the ANNA tax add-on, which you can then choose to pay fees for if you decide it’s valuable to you after the trial period ends.

Here are some of the fees you’ll need to know about when you’re choosing between ANNA plans - check the full pricing details before you pick.

	PAYG	Business	Big Business
Monthly fee	None	£14.90 /month	£49.90 /month
Transfers in and out (local)	£0.20	50 free, then £0.20	Free
ATM withdrawals	£1	3 free per month, then £1	Free
International transfers	£5 + 1% conversion fee	1 free per month, then £5 + 1% conversion fee	4 free per month, then £5 + 0.5% conversion fee
Expense cards	1 free, then £3 /card/month	5 free, then £3 /card/month	Free

Starling business account

Starling business accounts are available to UK resident owners of a Limited Company or LLP registered at Companies House.

Starling business accounts in GBP have no monthly fees, with some great features including local and international payments, mobile cheque deposit options, analytics tools to track business performance, and savings accounts. As Starling is a licensed bank in the UK, you may also be able to apply for a loan or overdraft.

You can also pay extra to add on services for euros and US dollars, and for accounting and bookkeeping services.

Let’s look at some of the fees involved with Starling business accounts:

	Starling business fees12
Monthly fee	No fee for GBP account
Add on optional services	Business toolkit - £7 /month Bulk payments - £7 /month
Local payments	No fee for Faster Payments, Direct Debits and Standing Orders
International transfers	Local payment network transfers from £0.30, SWIFT payments £5.50 0.4% currency conversion costs
ATM withdrawals	Free

CountingUp business account

CountingUp Business accounts are for owners of limited companies with up to 2 directors, registered in the UK. All directors must be UK residents aged over 18¹³.

There are a couple of different pricing options which are set according to the amount of money you deposit to your account each month. Then, once you have your account set up, you’ll pay some transaction fees based on how you need to use it.

Counting Up has 3 different monthly price options¹⁴:

Monthly fee	£3 /month	£9 /month	£18/month
Amount you deposit per month	£0 - £750	£750 - £7,500	+£7,500

Then, there are some transaction fees to apply, which are the same regardless of the monthly fee you pay. These include:

• Account transfers - £0.30
• Foreign transaction fee - 3%
• ATM withdrawal - £1
• Add cash - 0.5% - 3% depending on where you are

FAQs - best business account for small business

Which banks offer free business banking periods?

Banks and providers may have offers which include some fee waivers, particularly on monthly costs. However, transaction fees may still apply, so you’ll need to look carefully at the options available.

CountingUp waives monthly fees for 3 months at the time of writing, while ANNA gives a free trial of its bookkeeping services. Non-bank providers like Wise and Revolut offer accounts with no monthly fees which are also a good choice to consider.

What type of bank account do I need for my small business?

There’s no hard and fast rule, but you’ll probably need a local bank or provider account to hold GBP, an international option like Wise Business for foreign currency payments, and a savings account option, to make the most of excess business cash.

Is it difficult to open a business bank account in the UK?

If you have a UK registered business, are over 18, live in the UK and don’t work in a high risk industry, you should have no problems opening a business account with a bank or a non-bank alternative. Use this guide to compare a few options and make your pick.

Manage your small business finances with Wise

Check out Wise Business if you’re looking to grow your business across borders, or if you have suppliers or contracts overseas.

With Wise you can hold and exchange 40+ currencies, send payments to 160+ countries, and get local and SWIFT account details to receive payments in multiple currencies by customers, PSPs and marketplace sites. Whenever you need to convert from one currency to another you get the mid-market exchange rate with low fees from 0.33%. This can cut down the costs of transacting internationally considerably.

Plus, save time with batch payments, cloud accounting integrations and the Wise API to streamline workflow. See how Wise can help you do more with your money - and cut down on business admin time.

Get started with Wise Business 🚀

Use this guide to the best small business bank accounts in the UK to get a feel for your options, and remember to compare bank accounts with non-bank alternatives like Wise Business to find your perfect partner.

Sources used in this article:

1. Tide Trustpilot
2. Zempler Bank/Cashplus Trustpilot
3. Revolut Trustpilot
4. Wise Trustpilot
5. ANNA Money Trustpilot
6. Starling Trustpilot
7. CountingUp Trustpilot
8. Tide eligibility
9. Zempler Bank eligibility
10. Zempler Help - payments
11. Revolut business eligibility
12. Starling business fees
13. CountingUp eligibility
14. CountingUp transaction fees

Sources last checked 26-Sep-2024