Can a 16 year old have a business bank account

pvt

Excellent post Tyrone, and I confirm your comments that Barclays were very pro-active and supportive in my son's case too. They're obviously bright enough to recognise that people under 18 can be successful entrepreneurs.

And does you Mum know your up and conversing on MSE at 2:30 in the morning? :rotfl:

mistahrav

tyrone10 wrote: »

Hello There,
I am 16 in exactly the same position as you are. I started running and started trading as a Sole-Trader in February 2011. (Unfortunately not lucky enough to have become a Director like your self LOL.)
I can fully understand that using a Personal Banking Account is not very good for running a Business for reasons such as:

• Your Personal Finances become mixed with your Business Finances
• You are Unable to have a Bank Account trading under your Business Name, which to your Customers or people you are trading with would seem unprofessional
• A lot of the services on a Under 18 Current Account are not sufficient for a person running a Business

I think to be honest the rules that are in place are stupid. If you can be a Sole-Trader or Director at 16. Why on earth can you not have a Business Banking Account at 16???? :mad:

Fear No More!
After making a lot of phone calls and Barclays are the only High Street bank who will offer a Under 18 Year Old a Business Account.

And they are really good. They can offer you:

• A Business Manager/Adviser
• A Debit Card
• A Cheque Book
• Online Banking and Telephone Banking
• Business Insurance
• A Shopping Cart for your Website
• An Overdraft Facility - Yes Thats Right an Overdraft Facility for an Under 18 Year Old :j
• And loads of other little things which mean a great detail to your Business
• They are even able to help you financially and give you a loan

And yes they are all very good banks to bank with. But The people at Barclays are so kind and really helpful, providing excellent Customer Service.

And I think they are really good in helping Young Business People out by offering services like this, many of which I was shocked at. Especially when I was given a Loan and an Overdraft Facility. :T

All You have to simply do is Call 0845 601 0106, and they will guide you through the process. You then arrange a Date and Time to go into a Branch and Meet your New Business Manager who you can speak to at anytime after opening you account.

PS. I do not work for Barclays. Hahahahaha. I am just a really happy Customer

Hey there, I have a question which is partly related. As you're 16 I was wondering if you had to call HMRC and tell them you are a sole trader, if you are in college.

Thanks
- Rav

[Deleted User]

Olipro wrote: »

why would you want a business bank account - I would wager that you could do everything you need from your personal account.

I'll take your wager, and challenge you to pay a cheque made payable to a business name into your personal account...

w211

pvt wrote: »

Banks aren't stupid. They will often work out that someone is running a business through their personal bank account. And close it. Though you be offered the benefit of being invited for an "account review" before they do it.

I don't see how the bank will find out, unless there's a human checking everyone's bank statement and looking and analysing every transaction.

How would the bank know that you don't work PAYE for companies which pay direct into your bank account like any other employed person?

Also if you put all your expenses onto a credit card not affiliated to the bank (e.g. American Express/Capital One), rather than use your debit card linked to your personal bank account, they (the bank) won't find out?!

Or even if you just pay cash - e.g. some taxi drivers pay cash for their diesel they receive from their fares, and just record the income/expense somewhere - no need to get any bank account involved.

As a private hire driver, I can accept payments by credit/debit card from my passengers, which is processed through a third party company who has a merchant account (they just take a flat fee of 6.5% of the transaction). They pay direct into your bank account, and they say the bank account doesn't have to be a business one, a personal one is fine.

billbennett wrote: »

I'll take your wager, and challenge you to pay a cheque made payable to a business name into your personal account...

What if the name of your business is the same as your own name?

I refer to this post here, too http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=55381617&postcount=8

DCFC79

mistahrav wrote: »

Hey there, I have a question which is partly related. As you're 16 I was wondering if you had to call HMRC and tell them you are a sole trader, if you are in college.

Thanks
- Rav

You realise the post you quoted was from last year and the poster hasn't been back since.

dalesrider

w211 wrote: »

I don't see how the bank will find out, unless there's a human checking everyone's bank statement and looking and analysing every transaction.

Does not need a human to do that....

Also if you need to talk to anyone about your account. It is part of their job to winkle out missuse of a personal account.

dylanfar

tyrone10 wrote: »

Hello There,
I am 16 in exactly the same position as you are. I started running and started trading as a Sole-Trader in February 2011. (Unfortunately not lucky enough to have become a Director like your self LOL.)
I can fully understand that using a Personal Banking Account is not very good for running a Business for reasons such as:

• Your Personal Finances become mixed with your Business Finances
• You are Unable to have a Bank Account trading under your Business Name, which to your Customers or people you are trading with would seem unprofessional
• A lot of the services on a Under 18 Current Account are not sufficient for a person running a Business

I think to be honest the rules that are in place are stupid. If you can be a Sole-Trader or Director at 16. Why on earth can you not have a Business Banking Account at 16???? :mad:

Fear No More!
After making a lot of phone calls and Barclays are the only High Street bank who will offer a Under 18 Year Old a Business Account.

And they are really good. They can offer you:

• A Business Manager/Adviser
• A Debit Card
• A Cheque Book
• Online Banking and Telephone Banking
• Business Insurance
• A Shopping Cart for your Website
• An Overdraft Facility - Yes Thats Right an Overdraft Facility for an Under 18 Year Old :j
• And loads of other little things which mean a great detail to your Business
• They are even able to help you financially and give you a loan

And yes they are all very good banks to bank with. But The people at Barclays are so kind and really helpful, providing excellent Customer Service.

And I think they are really good in helping Young Business People out by offering services like this, many of which I was shocked at. Especially when I was given a Loan and an Overdraft Facility. :T

All You have to simply do is Call 0845 601 0106, and they will guide you through the process. You then arrange a Date and Time to go into a Branch and Meet your New Business Manager who you can speak to at anytime after opening you account.

PS. I do not work for Barclays. Hahahahaha. I am just a really happy Customer

I applied a couple of days ago for a Barclays Start-up business account and I've booked the meeting with Barclays, fingers crossed it all goes well when I go in as I'm 17.