10 Best Business Bank Accounts for Startups
Read our essential guide to the best business bank accounts for startups in the UK, comparing all of the most popular providers
Guide to Business Bank Account Fees in the UK
Looking for a new business bank account in the UK? Cost is likely to be a crucial factor in which account you choose, as you won’t want to pay more than necessary for business banking services.
In this helpful guide, we’ll compare business bank account fees from all the most popular providers in the UK. This includes banks like HSBC and Barclays, and non-banks like Revolut and Tide.
We’ll also cover international solutions like Wise Business, a fantastic non-bank alternative which lets you manage your money in 40+ currencies with no monthly fees.
💡 Learn more about Wise Business
Business banking charges - pricing model
Most UK business bank account providers use a monthly pricing model. This means you’ll pay a monthly charge rather than any upfront fees.
Bear in mind though that there are likely to be usage fees on top of that - we’ll look at those next.
Business bank account fees
The most common usage fees you’re likely to come across are:
- International transfer fees - for both sending and receiving money across borders
- Currency conversion fees
- ATM withdrawal fees - both in the UK and overseas (this fee is often called a non-Sterling transaction fee, and applies to international card payments too)
- Overdraft fees/interest.
You might also encounter additional fees to pay cash into your account, or to use branch services for banking transactions.
One-time vs. monthly fee: comparison of providers
To make it easy to compare options, here’s a quick look at the fees charged by popular UK business bank account providers:
| Provider | One-time fee | Monthly fee | Total annual cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wise Business | £45 | None | £45 (only in the first year) |
| Barclays | None | - Free for first year - £8.50 after that¹ | £102 (after first year) |
| HSBC | None | - Free for first year - £8 to £10² | £96 to £120 (after first year) |
| Santander | None | - £12.50 - £5 for the first 12-18 months for startups and switchers³ | £150 |
| Lloyds | None | - Free for first year⁵ - £8.50 after that⁶ | £102 (after first year) |
| Mettle | None | None⁷ | £0 |
| Revolut Business | None | £0 to £79⁸ | £0 to £948 |
| Starling Bank | None | None¹⁰ | £0 |
| Tide | None | £0 to £49.99¹² | £0 to £599.88 |
Usage fees: comparison of providers
It’s not just the upfront or monthly fee you need to know about when choosing a new business account. You should also check the full pricing or fees list to find out about usage charges.
These are charges for everyday transactions, like sending money or withdrawing cash from an ATM. They can be particularly expensive if you use your debit card abroad.
To help you compare options, let’s run through the usage fees for all of our business bank account providers in detail.
Wise Business
Here’s how much it costs in day-to-day fees to use Wise Business:
| Transaction type | Wise usage fees |
|---|---|
| Send and receive local payments (electronic) | - Free |
| Send and receive international payments | - Send from 0.33% - Receive for free in 8+ |
| Currency conversion | - Mid-market exchange rate, with no mark-up - Convert currencies within your account from 0.33% |
| Local ATM withdrawal | - Free up to £200 a month (max. 2 withdrawals) - 1.75% + £0.50 per withdrawal after that |
| International ATM withdrawal | - Free up to £200 a month (max. 2 withdrawals) - 1.75% + £0.50 per withdrawal after that |
| Overdrafts | n/a |
Barclays
Barclays fees for everyday business accounts are as follows:¹
| Transaction type | Usage fees |
|---|---|
| Send and receive local payments (electronic) | Free |
| Send and receive international payments | - Send for £15 (£0.35 for SEPA) - Receive for £6, for payments of £100+ |
| Currency conversion | Varies depending on currency |
| Local ATM withdrawal | Free |
| International ATM withdrawal | 2.75% |
| Overdrafts | 29.5% p.a. for unauthorised overdraft |
HSBC
Here are HSBC’s business banking charges for both its Small Business Banking Account and Business Banking Account:²
| Transaction type | Usage fees |
|---|---|
| Send and receive local payments (electronic) | Free |
| Send and receive international payments | - Send for £17 (£0.24 for SEPA) \ - Receive for £5 |
| Currency conversion | Varies depending on currency |
| Local ATM withdrawal | £0.25 + 0.60% |
| International ATM withdrawal | 2.75% non-Sterling charge + 1.50% withdrawal fee |
| Overdrafts | HSBC Business Standard Debit Interest Rate on unarranged overdrafts |
Santander
Santander’s 1|2|3 Business Current Account comes with the following usage fees:³
| Transaction type | Usage fees |
|---|---|
| Send and receive local payments (electronic) | Free |
| Send and receive international payments | - Send for £25 (free for SEPA) - Receive fee not stated |
| Currency conversion | Varies depending on currency |
| Local ATM withdrawal | Free |
| International ATM withdrawal | - Free at Santander ATMs in Spain - 2.95% for all other overseas ATM withdrawals |
| Overdrafts | - 1% to arrange overdraft (min.£50) - 10% EAR (variable) interest rate - No unarranged overdraft fees⁴ |
Lloyds
Here’s what Lloyds Bank charges for everyday business banking services:
| Transaction type | Usage fees |
|---|---|
| Send and receive local payments (electronic) | - Send first 100 payments free, £0.20 after that - Receive for free⁵ |
| Send and receive international payments | - Send for £15 (£5 for SEPA) + correspondent fees for some transactions - Receive for £2 to £7 depending on amount⁶ |
| Currency conversion | Varies depending on currency |
| Local ATM withdrawal | Free⁶ |
| International ATM withdrawal | 2.75% for EUR 2.75% + 1.50% for non-EUR⁶ |
| Overdrafts | £12 a month for authorised overdrafts 10.85%for unauthorised overdrafts⁶ |
Mettle
Mettle by NatWest is completely free for eligible businesses, having no upfront fees, monthly fees or usage charges.⁷
Revolut Business
Revolut Business charges a monthly fee of £0 to £79,⁸ offering limits and allowances on transactions depending on your plan.
But it also has some usage charges for going over your monthly allowance. Here are some of these, based on the free Basic plan:⁹
| Transaction type | Usage fees |
|---|---|
| Send and receive local payments (electronic) | - Send 5 free payments a month, £0.20 after that - Receive for free |
| Send and receive international payments | Fees vary depending on currency |
| Currency conversion | - 0.6% above free allowance of £1,000 per month - + 1% when converting at weekends |
| Local ATM withdrawal | 2% |
| International ATM withdrawal | 2% |
| Overdrafts | Unavailable |
Starling Bank
Here are the everyday usage fees you need to know about for the Starling Bank business account:¹⁰
| Transaction type | Usage fees |
|---|---|
| Send and receive local payments (electronic) | Free |
| Send and receive international payments | Fees vary |
| Currency conversion | 0.4% for conversions between Starling GBP and EUR accounts¹¹ |
| Local ATM withdrawal | Free |
| International ATM withdrawal | Free |
| Overdrafts | Annual fee of 1.75% (min. £50) for arranged overdrafts No fees for unarranged overdrafts |
Tide
Lastly, we have Tide. Here’s what it charges for everyday business banking services:¹²
| Transaction type | Usage fees |
|---|---|
| Send and receive local payments (electronic) | £0 to £0.20 depending on plan |
| Send and receive international payments | £0 to £0.20 depending on plan (SEPA payments in EUR only)¹³ |
| Currency conversion | 0.5%¹³ |
| Local ATM withdrawal | £1 |
| International ATM withdrawal | 1.75% (free for paid plans) |
| Overdrafts | Unavailable |
Manage your business finances with Wise
Want to manage your business finances across multiple currencies, all in one place? 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.
When you open a Wise Business account, you’ll benefit from all of these useful features:
- Hold and exchange 40+ currencies
- Send payments to 160+ countries for low fees and the mid-market exchange rate - this is a fair exchange rate with no margins or mark-ups added to it.
- 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 the Wise Interest feature to make your money work harder when you’re not using it.
Get started with Wise Business 🚀
After reading this, you should have all the info you need to compare business bank account fees and choose the most cost-effective solution for you.
Sources used:
- Barclays - Barclays Business Account tariff
- HSBC Business - Business banking price list
- Santander - Business Banking General Terms and Conditions and Important Information
- Santander - 1|2|3 Business Current Account
- Lloyds Bank- Business Accounts
- Lloyds Bank - Business Banking Account Charges and Processing Times
- Mettle FAQs - Is Mettle free?
- Revolut - Business account plans
- Revolut - Business Basic fees
- Starling Bank - Business Account Rates, Fees and Charges
- Starling Bank - Euro bank account
- Tide - Terms of Use
- Tide - International payments
Sources last checked on date: 27-Sep-2024
*Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.
This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its subsidiaries and its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.
We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.
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