Small business bank recommendations
Discussion
So like many people on here we have fallen foul of HSBC's safeguard account closure, coupled with pretty disgraceful customer services where by the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing... I called them and they said ignore the letter received, our account will not be closing, yes the next day we received a letter to state the account is closing after all. In summary I have had enough of those blithering idols whether by choice or being forced to do so.
We have a business account for our other business with Starling bank who seem to be very straight forward and simple to use. The downfalls seem to they do not a facility to transfer more then £100k (as we had with HSBC) and this is fairly paramount to our daily runnings.
Does anyone have any up to date recommendations of a small business bank that would suit? I have looked into a few and Tide, Starling, Santander and Metro have been mentioned, but many of these threads were circa 1 year ago and the banking sector has changed quite a bit during that time....
We have a business account for our other business with Starling bank who seem to be very straight forward and simple to use. The downfalls seem to they do not a facility to transfer more then £100k (as we had with HSBC) and this is fairly paramount to our daily runnings.
Does anyone have any up to date recommendations of a small business bank that would suit? I have looked into a few and Tide, Starling, Santander and Metro have been mentioned, but many of these threads were circa 1 year ago and the banking sector has changed quite a bit during that time....
100k is the faster payments limit.
Apply for a suitable bacs limit (will need to cover say 2/3 days of transactions), then send on bacs file from internet banking.
Safeguard is KYC, anti money laundering, so if your transactions fit HSBC’s profile they will probably fit another banks too, be prepared for lots of questions.
Apply for a suitable bacs limit (will need to cover say 2/3 days of transactions), then send on bacs file from internet banking.
Safeguard is KYC, anti money laundering, so if your transactions fit HSBC’s profile they will probably fit another banks too, be prepared for lots of questions.
I'm afraid I don't have any alternative banking recommendations, but I too would be interested to hear suggestions.
I've been told verbally by our HSBC account manager we have "passed" the KYC process, although I haven't yet had a formal notification.
Our account manager did actually get in his car and come out to see me as part of the process, which was novel, as he had previously been awol for the last 3 years.
Did you get any indication from HSBC as to what they were concerned about with your business?
I've been told verbally by our HSBC account manager we have "passed" the KYC process, although I haven't yet had a formal notification.
Our account manager did actually get in his car and come out to see me as part of the process, which was novel, as he had previously been awol for the last 3 years.
Did you get any indication from HSBC as to what they were concerned about with your business?
All i can add is "not Metro".
Utter wate of time. Supposed to be a challenger bank. Just like normal banks but with IT systems that dont work, and staff who dont know about banking. To be honest, they make Lloyds look brilliant, and they are pretty poor.
I can never get back the hours ive wasted with Metro.
Utter wate of time. Supposed to be a challenger bank. Just like normal banks but with IT systems that dont work, and staff who dont know about banking. To be honest, they make Lloyds look brilliant, and they are pretty poor.
I can never get back the hours ive wasted with Metro.
JiggyJaggy said:
Anyone have any recommendations? Everyone seems to moan about their business bank so there must be some thoughts on this?
TBH it's hard work.I've got 3 small businesses with RBS and we are being offered 35K in incentives to move, so it's definitely going to happen. All the banks I have spoken to have failed to inspire confidence.
I also started a JV and used Starling - it was great to set up and I was really impressed. Then we received our first payment in and they promptly closed the account and we couldn't access our cash for 10 days. They said it was an "unusual" payment, even though it was in the documents we sent to open the account.
An Startling and Tide won't work for anything other than a very simple small business as it's app only and as far as I can tell can only be used on one phone.
EddieSteadyGo said:
I'm afraid I don't have any alternative banking recommendations, but I too would be interested to hear suggestions.
I've been told verbally by our HSBC account manager we have "passed" the KYC process, although I haven't yet had a formal notification.
Our account manager did actually get in his car and come out to see me as part of the process, which was novel, as he had previously been awol for the last 3 years.
Did you get any indication from HSBC as to what they were concerned about with your business?
It was all about their SafeGuard program which was sent to our online banking inbox, something that no small business owner ever has time to look at! They have our number, email and website yet never thought to use this is they were looking to confirm details of our business. Frankly they are diabolical. I would be happy to leave them anyway as long as I can find a reliable suitable bank. I've been told verbally by our HSBC account manager we have "passed" the KYC process, although I haven't yet had a formal notification.
Our account manager did actually get in his car and come out to see me as part of the process, which was novel, as he had previously been awol for the last 3 years.
Did you get any indication from HSBC as to what they were concerned about with your business?
Our main requirements are:
Payments over £100k on purchases and sales (low quantity of transactions but relatively high value)
Ability for a secondary member of staff to be able to log on etc.
Simple banking accessible on smartphone/Mac.
desolate said:
TBH it's hard work.
I've got 3 small businesses with RBS and we are being offered 35K in incentives to move, so it's definitely going to happen. All the banks I have spoken to have failed to inspire confidence.
I also started a JV and used Starling - it was great to set up and I was really impressed. Then we received our first payment in and they promptly closed the account and we couldn't access our cash for 10 days. They said it was an "unusual" payment, even though it was in the documents we sent to open the account.
An Startling and Tide won't work for anything other than a very simple small business as it's app only and as far as I can tell can only be used on one phone.
This is my concern. I opened a business account with Starling as a back up and although they said the account was opened and card sent out, I tried to send funds from our old bank to Starling and have been informed the account set up is still going through verification?? It worries me they may not have the integrity of a normal high street bank, yet they do so more straight forward. I've got 3 small businesses with RBS and we are being offered 35K in incentives to move, so it's definitely going to happen. All the banks I have spoken to have failed to inspire confidence.
I also started a JV and used Starling - it was great to set up and I was really impressed. Then we received our first payment in and they promptly closed the account and we couldn't access our cash for 10 days. They said it was an "unusual" payment, even though it was in the documents we sent to open the account.
An Startling and Tide won't work for anything other than a very simple small business as it's app only and as far as I can tell can only be used on one phone.
JiggyJaggy said:
This is my concern. I opened a business account with Starling as a back up and although they said the account was opened and card sent out, I tried to send funds from our old bank to Starling and have been informed the account set up is still going through verification?? It worries me they may not have the integrity of a normal high street bank, yet they do so more straight forward.
It got sorted out in the end but took nearly two weeks - since then it's been flawless but they have low standard limits for daily transfers (25K - I think you can increased this but I just split the payments and make sure the supplier knows.)It was a bit embarrassing at first as we promised payment for a project immediately.
desolate said:
JiggyJaggy said:
This is my concern. I opened a business account with Starling as a back up and although they said the account was opened and card sent out, I tried to send funds from our old bank to Starling and have been informed the account set up is still going through verification?? It worries me they may not have the integrity of a normal high street bank, yet they do so more straight forward.
It got sorted out in the end but took nearly two weeks - since then it's been flawless but they have low standard limits for daily transfers (25K - I think you can increased this but I just split the payments and make sure the supplier knows.)It was a bit embarrassing at first as we promised payment for a project immediately.
JiggyJaggy said:
This is one of my major concerns. We often pay for Supercars and it looks embarrassing when you try and pay over 2-3 day periods. In your experience are they any good at organising Chaps payments for £50k+?
I've never asked,This is an SPV set up to develop a specific single project so we draw down funds and send to suppliers based on known milestones. The first payment was a bit of a rush as we had competing funders and we needed to start ASAP after the decision was made but since then it's been to a timetable and it's been more or less on time.
The app is pretty good though.
Of the banks in the RBS switching scheme I'd move to Hampden and Co but they aren't passing on the cash incentive. We are going to maximise that then will consider moving again once we have.
Edit - website now says they can increase to 250K with 24 hours notice and then you can make the payment from the App.
Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 19th May 23:18
desolate said:
I've got 3 small businesses with RBS and we are being offered 35K in incentives to move, so it's definitely going to happen. All the banks I have spoken to have failed to inspire confidence.
Out of interest, can you expand on which bank is offering you the incentives to move, and how did you go about negotiating them? EddieSteadyGo said:
Out of interest, can you expand on which bank is offering you the incentives to move, and how did you go about negotiating them?
It's RBS that provides the incentive. Some banks pass that on as cash, others in reduced borrowing rates or somesuch.Co Op, Santander and Metro are passing on the most cash. There is an online calculator that tells you how much when you put in your sort code and account number.
desolate said:
JiggyJaggy said:
You have made my day. That is one massive hurdle for us as a business requirement.
Do you have a link please? I can’t seem to see it
https://www.starlingbank.com/blog/high-value-payments/Do you have a link please? I can’t seem to see it
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