high risk bank account

fresh-skincare

my friend is setting up a e commerce shop but needs a bank account, he will be selling fancy dress, underwear and adult toy's and accessories , however cannot find a bank that will let him open an account ?? as his business is high risk

does anyone know of any banks that offer an acccount to this sort of business ??

Lith

what?

If this is his business, he should be able to open a business account with ease,


why high risk? because he sells adult stuff.....? never heard that before, but i have heard you need some license to sell adult material

HappyMJ

fresh-skincare wrote: »

my friend is setting up a e commerce shop but needs a bank account, he will be selling fancy dress, underwear and adult toy's and accessories , however cannot find a bank that will let him open an account ?? as his business is high risk

does anyone know of any banks that offer an acccount to this sort of business ??

Word the application differently. Just simply say the business sells clothes and accessories and leave it at that. Any bank will allow that. Who said the business is high risk? Is he investing his own money to buy the stock? Is his credit good enough for an account?

Matthew-989

Retail in itself is high risk at the moment judging by the large amounts of retailers collapsing all around us, that's probably what they meant.

Which banks had he/she tried?

smartiedriver_2

Retail is a high-risk sector, but the problem most likely is with the e-commerce. If the shop owner wishes to accept cardholder not present transactions he will be considered high risk, particularly if he has no tangible security he can give.

ses6jwg

The other posters have got it wrong - it is probably classed as high risk as he is selling sex toys.

Other high risk business include things like betting shops, banks, pay day loans etc.

He needs to sit down with a business adviser and they should be able to sort something somewhere.

JuicyJesus

Bear in mind also reputational risk. Some people, whether it's fair or not, will view a bank worse if they lend or offer banking facilities to a sex shop. ses6jwg is along the right lines, but sex shops are high risk for entirely different reasons than betting shops etc.

For an example, recall Barclays closing the BNP's bank accounts when it became public knowledge that the BNP banked with them. They didn't want to be associated with racists. What the banks are worried about here is that they do not want to be associated with pornography and sex toys, or rather they don't want their customers and the wider public to associate them with pornography and sex toys.

It's easy to view this as unfair - after all, your money is the same colour, and it's entirely legal to sell rubber penises should you wish to do so. But they don't have to do business with someone they don't wish to.