Easy business bank account... Metro?

[22s]

Hi - I'm reaching the end of my tether with setting up a business bank account with these woefully run high street banks.

Have tried both RBS and HSBC (one after the other) and they are both so inefficient, slow and useless that I would really like to hear if there are any easy to setup (i.e. not the never-ending 'we are processing your application and will respond in due course') and inexpensive business accounts out there.

I know Metro bills themselves as the easy bank for the modern age - does anyone have experience with these guys? Any other recommendations are welcome...

Thanks,

22s

[Lynch91]

Most business owners I know rave about Handelsbanken.

[13m]

Lynch91 said:

Most business owners I know rave about Handelsbanken.

Can anyone that uses them tell me the following please?

Can you view on one page account transactions going back at least six weeks? Or does it involve looking at recent transactions and then going into statements?

Many thanks.

[alfie2244]

My OH had similar problems, no idea why, when she started a business and ended up opening an account with these very quickly & simply.

IIRC started with a max of £10k transaction / balance but increased not long after opening.

https://www.mycashplus.co.uk/landing/business/busi...

[surveyor]

Believe it or not Santander.

Nearly all completed online. No fuss no hassle - within 4 days I think.

[drainbrain]

alfie2244 said:

My OH had similar problems, no idea why, when she started a business and ended up opening an account with these very quickly & simply.

IIRC started with a max of £10k transaction / balance but increased not long after opening.

https://www.mycashplus.co.uk/landing/business/busi...

Cashplus is probably my favourite account. And very quick and easy to open. Super non-sophisticated for basic simple folk like me.

Having said that, Santander isn't any problem either.

Barclays are 'full of business' just now.

RBS? A zombie that refuses to die.

Edited by drainbrain on Monday 13th February 22:20

[The Moose]

13m said:

Lynch91 said:

Most business owners I know rave about Handelsbanken.

Can anyone that uses them tell me the following please?

Can you view on one page account transactions going back at least six weeks? Or does it involve looking at recent transactions and then going into statements?

Many thanks.

Santander allow you to do exactly that. It does go onto several pages if there are many transactions however.

[overunder12g]

Handelsbanken by a country mile.
Real people who understand the real world.
Anyone in the midlands? Go to Loughborough.

[13m]

overunder12g said:

Handelsbanken by a country mile.
Real people who understand the real world.
Anyone in the midlands? Go to Loughborough.

Except that doesn't work.

Handelsbanken works to territories and you've got to use their local node, regardless of whether you like the people or not.

I tried several times to raise commercial funding with them, only to have the same bloke decline the business. He was quite honest - on a personal level he just didn't like our business. But when I tried to use different branch I was directed straight back to the local one.

Their fees are meant to be steep too aren't they?

[Big E 118]

I set up a Metrobank business account recently and it's very easy to set up. There was a slight glitch in the set up but quickly and satisfactorily resolved.

I understand they have a internet transaction limit of £12k which is quite low and may be an issue for some.

Internet banking is password and PIN based so no security fobs etc.

[SGirl]

I have business accounts with Metro. My experiences with them have been mixed, but mostly positive.

Good:
They're open at all hours, including Sundays, so if you need to go into a branch for anything they're often available even when other banks are closed.
If you ask, they assign you an account manager who can respond to any queries.
If your card stops working, you can either nip down to the branch and they'll print you another while you wait, or they'll post/courier a new one to you if it's less urgent.
They let you take your dog with you, and they have biscuits for them on the front desk. If you adopt a dog from Battersea, they'll refund £105 of the rehoming fee to your Metro account. Probably not a consideration if you're looking for a business account, but nice anyway!
Business banking is free to small businesses as long as you maintain a balance of at least £2000 in your account.

Less good:
They seem to have a bit of a problem with foreign currencies. All my SEK transactions have to be received via a different bank because Metro just doesn't seem to be able to accept them. I wanted to send EUR to Germany once too, not only were they expensive but they were unable to accept the codes I was giving them "because they didn't exist". So I went my other bank, we had the transaction set up and actioned within 10 minutes.
They sometimes give the impression of being a bit disorganised. When I opened my first account with them, I went through all the paperwork at the branch, it took about an hour. They had no cards available though, so I had to go back to collect my card. They then decided we had to go through the whole rigmarole again - nearly 2 more hours. Not the best first impression. They've been good since, though.

Anyway. Those are my experiences with them. I've had the accounts for a few years now, and I haven't really been tempted to move them. Which isn't something I can say for the other business accounts I've tried. Hope this helps!

Big E 118 said:

I understand they have a internet transaction limit of £12k which is quite low and may be an issue for some.

Not sure about that - I think my transfer limit is £21,000 per transaction. If you want to transfer a significant amount, they won't transfer it immediately - they have to get one of their teams to phone you back (within 2 hours), they run through a few security questions with you and then they action the payment. It's reasonably painless. (And apparently "mind your own business" is not an acceptable answer when they ask what the money is for. )

Edited by SGirl on Tuesday 14th February 08:16

[ecs]

I've been using Lloyds for a while now, my businesses only deals with electronic transactions so I'm on their cheapest tariff. It's free for 18 months and then something like £6/month after. I like their online banking and mobile apps and signing up was a case of filling in the forms online and signing some paperwork a few days later. I did look at Metro but they're slightly more expensive and I'm not sure if they do a free 'trial'? I tried Handelsbanken too, what a waste of my time - I went to their office and spent an hour giving them my details only to never hear back from them again.

[Big E 118]

SGirl said:

Big E 118 said:

I understand they have a internet transaction limit of £12k which is quite low and may be an issue for some.

Not sure about that - I think my transfer limit is £21,000 per transaction.

You are probably correct, I've only just opened the account and it's just an overflow from other accounts. I've not really used it for many transactions.

[williaa68]

I tried to open an account with metro and what should have taken a day ended up taking six weeks during which time I had opened an account with TSB. So far I've found them just fine

[andy-xr]

NatWest Business Banking was up and running inside 24 hours for me. Called my local branch, they emailed me a pdf, I emailed it back to them, they called at the end of the next day with my sort code and account number, then the info pack came through the post about 5 days later.

I didnt want anything other than an account and internet banking. No cards, chequebook, overdraft facilities or any extras. Just somewhere where invoices get paid to and I can transfer the money I need out to my main NatWest personal account

[13m]

I got a call from Handelsbanken this morning, asking what I wanted. I said I only wanted a couple of business current accounts and deposit accounts, no credit or overdraft. They said they'd "be prepared to look at it". Which is nice of them, obviously.

I had forgotten that HB tend to think they are doing everyone a favour by being in existence.

[essIII]

I used my local Lloyds, purely because they were local. All completed in about 3 days including online access being up and running.

[13m]

essIII said:

I used my local Lloyds, purely because they were local. All completed in about 3 days including online access being up and running.

Have you tried phoning them?

I have used Lloyds twice and it appeared impossible to speak to anyone. Someone was supposed to call you back within two generations. If they could be bothered.

[SGirl]

13m said:

I got a call from Handelsbanken this morning, asking what I wanted. I said I only wanted a couple of business current accounts and deposit accounts, no credit or overdraft. They said they'd "be prepared to look at it". Which is nice of them, obviously.

I had forgotten that HB tend to think they are doing everyone a favour by being in existence.

Oddly enough, I received a call from them last night. They were confused as to why they couldn't find my company's details (I suggested they might like to start at Companies House and work their way from there ) and intimated that as a small business, I may find their charging structure way beyond my modest means - despite knowing nothing about the size of my company or, indeed, the fact that 90% of my business involves trading with Scandinavian countries.

Reading between the lines, it's clear they just mean "you're not earning millions so we can't be bothered with you".

Sod 'em. I submitted an application to open an account with TSB this morning.