Business bank account - charges
Discussion
Having recently set up a business I need to open a business account. I have just had a look at NatWest's and was reading the charges. Some of them are only small but why do they charge for things such as cash payments or cheques ? Then there are more significant charges for bacs payments I couldn't tell if this was for money in our money out or both? Are there better deals with all the banks are is this the norm ?
torqueofthedevil said:
Why not just use a personal account then?
against the t&c. HMRC wont like you using personal account for business, and would like to investigate all your tax afffairs...Its annoying that business accounts are paid for yet personal are free, however we are lucky in this country to have free personal banking: how else do the staff wages, technology, security etc get paid for??/
I've used HSBC for the last 7 years or so, not that there's a gnats b
k hair of difference between the banks. Biggest differentiator is to use the one with a branch which is more convenient to get to.
£5.50 per month fee, electronic payments in/out have no charge, anything involving people costs,i.e. cash, cheques.If you're doing a lot of cash or cheques you might be able to negotiate a deal on volume.
k hair of difference between the banks. Biggest differentiator is to use the one with a branch which is more convenient to get to.£5.50 per month fee, electronic payments in/out have no charge, anything involving people costs,i.e. cash, cheques.If you're doing a lot of cash or cheques you might be able to negotiate a deal on volume.
Depending on your transaction level Metro Bank may be worth a look - if you hold £5k in there there's no monthly charge (else £5) & 50 free transactions per month (else 30p each), I binned Cater Allen for them a few months ago, for the following reasons:
- Their faster payments are actually faster payments, unlike Cater Allen which take at least 24 hours
- Their mobile app is great, Cater Allen don't have one
- Their online banking is also great, Cater Allens' is pretty much what everyone else came up with 15 years ago
- I have a branch nearby, I rarely need one, but tend to end up with an occasional cheque to pay in, you have to use RBS branches with Cater Allen (in England) & there aren't many (or post).
I've been impressed with them, they've not tried to hard sell me, I don't need a lot from a bank (single person contractor) - hassle free & get the basics right. I've not paid any charges at all since I opened an account with them.
- Their faster payments are actually faster payments, unlike Cater Allen which take at least 24 hours
- Their mobile app is great, Cater Allen don't have one
- Their online banking is also great, Cater Allens' is pretty much what everyone else came up with 15 years ago
- I have a branch nearby, I rarely need one, but tend to end up with an occasional cheque to pay in, you have to use RBS branches with Cater Allen (in England) & there aren't many (or post).
I've been impressed with them, they've not tried to hard sell me, I don't need a lot from a bank (single person contractor) - hassle free & get the basics right. I've not paid any charges at all since I opened an account with them.
Dromedary66 said:
Patch1875 said:
I use Santander it seems to be virtually free banking.
£90 / year after the first year. As a penny pinching contractor (so not a proper business but simply a LTD wrapper for the purposes of employment) I switched to Metro bank after that.
torqueofthedevil said:
Having recently set up a business I need to open a business account. I have just had a look at NatWest's and was reading the charges. Some of them are only small but why do they charge for things such as cash payments or cheques ? Then there are more significant charges for bacs payments I couldn't tell if this was for money in our money out or both? Are there better deals with all the banks are is this the norm ?
what this actually does is highlight how personal accounts are subsidised by business accountsTypical personal account never has more than a few grand in, has a dozen or more monthly direct debits & standing orders, frequent use of cash machines, occasional branch visiting, debit card provision, loads of online payments and yet the bank charge nil for their services - personal accounts are a loss leader for the banks
They do all this for free because they vast majority of people, particularly historically (I've got to assume it's not so prevalent now) stick with the same bank forever, so once they have kept you with their free banking, you go to them for a mortgage and then if you open a business, your business account
So to answer your question, they charge for them because it costs them to provide, they are a business and can't offer everything for free
But as others have said, you can shop around and choose an account that works for you. Some are cheaper for electronic transfers & in general, online businesses. Some are cheaper for predominantly physical cash businesses. Etc.
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