No fee business banking account

ellectrastar

Can anyone recommend a business banking account that doesn't come with a monthly fee? 
I'm currently with Santander and had a promo period of no fees which is due to end in December. As it stands my business doesn't make a lot of money and I don't want another monthly outgoing. All I need is an account with a debit card and the ability to make bank transfers, DDs and SOs. I don't need an overdraft. When I had a limited company I was with Santander and wasn't charged a monthly fee. My company is now a partnership.
Thanks.

jonesMUFCforever

When you agree to work for free for the bank; the bank will give you a free business account - that seems fair to me.

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6196467/best-small-business-bank-account/p1

D3xt3r5L4b

ellectrastar said:

Can anyone recommend a business banking account that doesn't come with a monthly fee? 
I'm currently with Santander and had a promo period of no fees which is due to end in December. As it stands my business doesn't make a lot of money and I don't want another monthly outgoing. All I need is an account with a debit card and the ability to make bank transfers, DDs and SOs. I don't need an overdraft. When I had a limited company I was with Santander and wasn't charged a monthly fee. My company is now a partnership.
Thanks.

What results has your own research yielded for comparison?

ellectrastar

Sarcastic responses helpful as ever - reminds me why I rarely bother looking for help on this forum. All I was asking was whether anyone could give a recommendation.
Already checked with Starling who don't do accounts for partnerships. 

 

dunstonh

ellectrastar said:

Sarcastic responses helpful as ever - reminds me why I rarely bother looking for help on this forum. All I was asking was whether anyone could give a recommendation.
Already checked with Starling who don't do accounts for partnerships. 

 

Sarcastic comments are also funny to read.  So, chill out.   
I don't know why anybody in business would want a non-mainstream bank.  It can be false economy.  Just look at all the businesses that couldn't get BBLs because they either didn't have a business account or didn't use a mainstream bank.
Most of the mainstream banks charge very little that its not worth messing around with non-mainstream.  Lloyds is £6.50 a month for us. 

Sandtree

ellectrastar said:

Sarcastic responses helpful as ever

But in many cases, like this, they highlight a serious point. Firstly, why should a service be free and secondly, if it is free, what is the real price you are paying as clearly people arent working for free.

Most banks offer an initial 2 years free banking but then fees kick in, the few free for life accounts from mainstream banks all seemed to have been withdrawn a few years ago including the HSBC version we were using. So you could bounce between providers for a a decade or so before running out of options if you don't mind the faff of changing accounts.

Whilst some challenger banks are doing some interesting things they don't come without their issues... as mentioned already with the COVID Bounce Back Loans and the other case recently when they another startup ran into regulatory issues which locked all accounts for a few days.

penners324

Starling or Monzo. Tide also have a similar account though it has a fee, far less than Santander though

colsten

According to reports on Social Media, there have been plenty of issues with the BBLs at mainstream banks. Unless Santander and Natwest don't count as mainstream.

I would agree though that it can be a false economy to try and save a few pounds a month for a business account

dunstonh

According to reports on Social Media, there have been plenty of issues with the BBLs at mainstream banks. Unless Santander and Natwest don't count as mainstream.

Certainly, they have had issues.   However, with those, it was typically people using personal accounts for business purposes that found it hard.   Several of the banks seemed to use it as an opportunity to close accounts which broke their T&Cs or "encourage" what they would consider poor quality customers to move elsewhere with passive decisions.

I personally wouldn't use Santander for business banking either.   

[Deleted User]

jonesMUFCforever said:

When you agree to work for free for the bank; the bank will give you a free business account - that seems fair to me.

If they are operating your account at a loss (long term) do you expect a sustainable service?