A good business bank account is essential for running your business effectively, whether you’re a sole trader or a large established firm. Here you can see which are the best free and paid-for accounts, and which are best for aspects such as online and app banking or invoicing. We also look at accounts that suit businesses of different sizes.
There are a range of factors to take into account when looking for the business bank account that will suit you best, depending on the size and nature of your business.
If you’re a small business, sole trader or freelancer, the best one to consider is Revolut Business. It doesn’t charge a monthly or annual fee with its ‘free’ service and allows you to create and manage invoices as part of this. You can also hold and exchange 25 different currencies fee-free.
Your options may be limited if you have a poor credit history as most banks will do a credit check to make sure you meet their criteria before agreeing to give you an account. However, some will offer you an account without credit checking you, such as Cashplus, which offers the best business bank account for people with bad credit. There are no monthly fees on its Business Go account and you can bank online or through an app.
If customer satisfaction is your priority, digital-only bank Mettle comes top for this according to our survey of business banking customers. It gets the highest rating for overall satisfaction and 97% of its customers said they would recommend it. HSBC is the second best for overall satisfaction, with 97.2% of its customers saying they would recommend it.
Small businesses and sole traders make up a huge part of the UK economy, and a growing number of banking providers are offering business accounts specifically tailored to their needs.
Best business bank for small businesses, sole traders and freelancers: Revolut Business
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| Accounting integrations | FreeAgent Xero |
| Requires credit check | N/A |
| Overdraft | N/A |
A poor credit history can have an impact on opening a business bank account. Fortunately, there are some banking providers who specialise in business accounts for those with bad credit or don’t conduct credit checks at all. You can compare a range of bad credit providers here.
Best business bank account for bad credit: Cashplus
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| Accounting integrations | Clear Books FreeAgent KashFlow QuickBooks Sage Xero |
| Requires credit check | N/A |
| Overdraft | N/A |
Staying on top of your business finances and filing your tax return is an essential but laborious part of running a business. Fortunately, many business bank accounts now sync with accounting software to make your life a little easier and help streamline your accounting processes.
Best for new business and best for accounting integrations: Tide
| Account fee | N/A |
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| Bank transfers | N/A |
| Accounting integrations | Clear Books FreeAgent KashFlow QuickBooks Reckon One Sage Xero |
| Requires credit check | N/A |
| Overdraft | N/A |
There are a lot of factors to consider when starting up a business for the first time, and banking is one of them. Spending time to find an account that has all the features you need at the right price point will benefit you in the long run.
Good for beginners and startups: Starling
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| Bank transfers | N/A |
| Accounting integrations | FreeAgent QuickBooks Xero |
| Requires credit check | N/A |
| Overdraft | N/A |
With bank branch visits on the decline and customers increasingly managing their money through digital channels, the range of features on offer through online banking has become a crucial part of any business bank account.
Best business bank account for app and online banking: Mettle
| Account fee | N/A |
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| Bank transfers | N/A |
| Accounting integrations | FreeAgent QuickBooks Xero |
| Requires credit check | N/A |
| Overdraft | N/A |
Issuing invoices and getting paid is obviously vital to running a successful business. It’s now possible to create, send and keep track of invoices directly from some business bank accounts.
Best business bank account for invoice service: ANNA Money
| Account fee | N/A |
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| Bank transfers | N/A |
| Accounting integrations | Sage Xero |
| Requires credit check | N/A |
| Overdraft | N/A |
If you have customers or suppliers based overseas, then the ability to make or receive international payments from or to your business bank account will be an important factor.
Good for international payments: Monzo Business
| Account fee | N/A |
|---|---|
| Bank transfers | N/A |
| Accounting integrations | FreeAgent QuickBooks Xero |
| Requires credit check | N/A |
| Overdraft | N/A |
Fancy earning something back for your business spending? Some business bank accounts allow you to earn cashback when you spend on your bank card. The money will then be paid into your bank account at regular intervals.
Good for cashback: Card One Money
| Account fee | N/A |
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| Bank transfers | N/A |
| Accounting integrations | FreeAgent Sage Wave Xero |
| Requires credit check | N/A |
| Overdraft | N/A |
To come up with our Finder ratings and picks for the best business bank accounts in the UK, our team looked at the free or cheapest version of a provider’s business account range and scored them across 7 key areas.
We looked at their app scores in the Google Play Store and the App Store, their monthly fees, their transaction fees for things like ATM withdrawals or cash deposits, their customer satisfaction scores, the number of accounting software integrations they have available, their payment features and their extra features like additional employee cards or tax calculators.
We scored each category out of 5. For example, if a business bank account had all the payment features listed in our criteria, it would score 5 out of 5. To calculate our Finder rating, we averaged out all these scores and rounded them to the nearest half star.
You’ll also see accounts we picked as being outstanding in certain categories, such as the best business bank account for bad credit or the best business bank account for accounting integrations. What you want from a business banking account is down to you, so these picks are just a steer to help you with your choice.
There are many factors to consider when choosing a business account, many of which apply whether you are a foreigner or a UK resident. It’s important to do your research and think about the following:
Unlike with most personal current accounts, many business accounts come with costs attached, which can range from a monthly fee simply for having the account, to a charge for paying in a cheque.
We outline the main types of business account costs below – bear these in mind when you’re looking at a bank’s pricing structure or an account’s terms and conditions:
Once you’ve researched and chosen which business account you’d like to go for, you’ll need to apply to that banking provider to open it. Many applications can now be done online or through a mobile app (especially given the growing number of digital-only accounts), although some banks with a branch network might ask you to visit in person.
Every business bank account will have a slightly different application process, but here is a general list of information and documents that you should have to hand:
Not every banking provider will ask you for all of this documentation, and on the flip side, there may be some who request even more detailed information about your business and its finances.
Most business bank account providers will also carry out some kind of credit check on you, although there are a few that will let you open an account without one (but be aware these products tend to come with higher usage fees). For more information on opening a business account without a credit check, check out our guide to opening a business account with a bad credit score. You can also check your credit score here.
Our customer satisfaction awards are decided by the only votes that really matter – yours. We asked customers of 11 major business banking providers to tell us about their experiences. Now we can reveal how they rated these UK banks. Learn more about the awards here including our ratings methodology.
| Overall satisfaction | Customers who’d recommend | Issuer | Review | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★★★★★ | 97% |  | Mettle is a comparative newcomer to business banking and is a digital-only offshoot from parent company NatWest. It’s moved up the ranks this year to secure the top spot with a “would recommend” score of 97%. | Read our review |
| ★★★★★ | 97.2% |  | HSBC, the largest bank in the UK, also polled strongly in our survey, posting a rating of 4.5 stars. Like some of the other banks here, it offers a free banking introductory period for startups or businesses switching their account, after which fees apply. | Read our review |
| ★★★★★ | 96.8% |  | Royal Bank of Scotland finished a respectable third in this year’s business banking survey. It posted 4.5 out 5 stars and an 96.8% “would recommend” score. Its customers that we canvassed praised the “great customer service”. | Read our review |
| ★★★★★ | 95% |  | Another high street veteran, Barclays, isn’t far behind. The bank operates different business accounts depending on company size, and our survey respondents praised its “helpful” customer service. | Read our review |
| ★★★★★ | 94% |  | Long-established Lloyds Bank recorded an impressive “would recommend” score of 94% in our survey. It offers business accounts for new and established businesses, as well as one for clubs and charities. Customers cited the bank’s customer service and clear pricing. | Read our review |
| ★★★★★ | 91% |  | It’s a competitive table this year, so while NatWest may have finished in the middle, just over 9 out of 10 of the customers that we surveyed would recommend this bank to a friend, and were generally pleased with its level of customer support. | Read our review |
| ★★★★★ | 91% |  | Santander operates a range of different business accounts, some of which come with discounted fees for startups or customers who are switching. Customers praised its reliable and “friendly” service. | Read our review |
| ★★★★★ | 91% |  | Digital challenger bank Starling matched established high street bank’s “would recommend” scores in our survey, despite not having any branches. The customers we polled highlighted its easy to use app and low business banking charges. | Read our review |
| ★★★★★ | 91% |  | Virgin Money posted 4.5 out of 5 stars and a “would recommend” score of 91% in its first year in our survey. It offers 25 months’ free day-to-day banking to new business customers. | Read our review |
| ★★★★★ | 91% |  | Although its branch network is mainly confined to Scotland, Bank of Scotland offers accounts to businesses across the UK. It has several business account options to choose from, and there is a dedicated resource centre especially for business account holders. | Read our review |
| ★★★★★ | 94% |  | The Co-operative Bank is known for its ethical business banking and customers in our survey commended it on its reliable service. Over 9 out of 10 customers would recommend this bank to a friend. | Read our review |
| ★★★★★ | 93% |  | TSB slipped down the table this but still posted a very respectible 93% “woule recommend” score. TSB relaunched on the UK high street in 2013, and is currently offering an initial period of free business banking for 30 months to startups and account switchers. | Read our review |
| ★★★★★ | 91% |  | Tide is a digital-only business banking provider, and its customers highlighted its easy account set up and clear to use online features as some its major plus points. | Read our review |
We asked business account holders to rate their satisfaction with the service they had received from their banking provider, and also whether they would recommend that provider to a friend. Our independent survey of 623 business banking customers was carried out in December 2022 – read full details of our methodology here.
We have crunched the numbers and shown the results for the 13 banking providers listed in the table above. We used these ratings to decide the winners of our awards (if there was a draw on the star ratings score, we used the “would recommend” percentage as a tie-breaker).
★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor
In August 2023, the results of the “Business banking service quality – Great Britain” survey were published by BVA BDRC, on behalf of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). SME customers with business current accounts were asked how likely they would be to recommend their account provider’s services to other SMEs in the following areas: overall service quality, online and mobile banking services, service in branches and business centres, SME overdraft and loan services, and relationship/account management services. The findings are below.
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When you’re choosing a business bank account, you need to think carefully about the features your business needs and how you’ll use them. Having an account with no monthly or annual fees may be important to you but one with fees could save you time and money in the long run. And if you often make cash deposits, you’ll need to be with a bank that has branches in your area. There are a range of accounts on offer so you’ll be able to find one that suits you and your business.
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