Best business bank account when importing from overseas?

Polpetta

Hi All, I have never written on this forum although I have been a reader for quite some time.

I am in the process of setting up my own, small, independent retail business. Our suppliers are mainly based overseas (USA/Euro Zone) so a lot of transactions will be carried out in non sterling currencies. However the business is based in the UK so there will also be a lot of sterling transactions.

I have read the forums quite a bit but couldn't find any advice on what the best business account is for this scenario. I have seen that HSBC and Citibank have been mentioned but I would love to get more specific recommendations. Many thanks!

doningtonphil

what we do is use caxtonfx.com (there are others similar)


you enter the quantity of foreign currency you need to send (say $100 US) it then tells you how many pounds that costs at todays rate (usually fairly good exchange rate). You then enter the bank details -swift etc- of the foreign supplier (just as you would if using HSBC). You then send the pounds to Caxton either by debit card or BACS transfer. They send the funds overseas as soon as your funds arrive (later that day)


The good news is, there is no cost!

Polpetta

Hi - yes, I know TransferWise does a similar job. So would you recommend opening a "standard" business account and use one of these services for sending currency overseas, i.e. pay invoices, etc.?

zax47

I use Transglobal to make payments in both € and US$, but then I also often get paid in those currencies too. Works like having both € and US$ accounts, I have leave funds in there if I know I'm going to be paying out in those currencies shortly - saves on 2 exchange rate transfers.

http://www.transglobalpayments.com/

Polpetta

Thanks Zax47

so do you have a "regular" business bank account, on top of this? Do you mind me asking who you bank with?
Thanks

zax47

No probs, Santander.

Polpetta

Thank you!

doningtonphil

Yeah, have a regular bank account as if you are just doing regular UK banking. When you need to pay overseas (to any country) you still only do a UK BACS transfer (or debit card payment) to CaxtonFX's UK account. I

Polpetta

doningtonphil wrote: »

Yeah, have a regular bank account as if you are just doing regular UK banking. When you need to pay overseas (to any country) you still only do a UK BACS transfer (or debit card payment) to CaxtonFX's UK account. I

That's really useful, thank you!

PaulW922

Whatever you decide to do, make very clear to your bank or provider, from the start, just what your business is and the type of transactions they are likely to see on your account. If not, the bank's due diligence checks may flag your account as suspect!

Aquamania

Is the UK the best location to locate this business?

e.g. if you plan to buy and sell in America, then probably America is the best location to locate the business.

Good luck sorting out the tax issues otherwise