Free business banking?

Enigmaman

I opened a business bank account with HSBC last year, after Santander annonced it was reneging on free banking...however, HSBC has now announced that it is imposing a monthly fee, and other charges, from next month.

Are there any free business bank accounts left on the market?

jonesMUFCforever

There are banks who give free banking for a fixed period of time eg 18 months.

Look at it from their point of view - they are a business just like you - do you provide free work for your customers?

InsideInsurance

Metro Bank are the only ones that I have spotted that have a long term free banking promise with relatively simple conditions attached

Archi_Bald

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Metro Bank are the only ones that I have spotted that have a long term free banking promise with relatively simple conditions attached

No business can offer anything free for any length of time. Customers will have to pay somehow for the business to remain a going concern.

Wywth

Enigmaman wrote: »

I opened a business bank account with HSBC last year, after Santander annonced it was reneging on free banking...however, HSBC has now announced that it is imposing a monthly fee, and other charges, from next month.

Are there any free business bank accounts left on the market?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4724391

InsideInsurance

Archi_Bald wrote: »

No business can offer anything free for any length of time. Customers will have to pay somehow for the business to remain a going concern.

Evidently free banking, from a consumer perspective, doesnt mean that it is totally free. Merchants are paying debit card fees each time you make a transaction. You are receiving no interest for in credit balances when clearly they are then lending that money to others with a reasonable APR attached to it.

People have been predicting the end of free banking for consumer lines for years but it is still here. Unless I am missing something obvious I would argue that SME business is lower cost to administer than consumer due to the lower statutory rights etc and so if one is affordable for the bank then so should the other.

Archi_Bald

InsideInsurance wrote: »

People have been predicting the end of free banking for consumer lines for years but it is still here.

People have been confusing no-charge accounts with free banking for years. Surely nobody will seriously believe that any bank or BS provides a current account to hundreds of thousands of people without recovering the costs somehow (such as by paying zero % interest).