Why can't you open a business account these days?

Mrs_pbradley936

I have banked with Barclays for over 20 years and was told today that they are not opening any new business accounts at the moment. So I had a look around and none of the major High Street banks are making you feel welcome. What on earth is going on?

Westin

Have you tried Starling?

Or, try Metrobank if you have a branch near you.

DullGreyGuy

Mrs_pbradley936 said:

I have banked with Barclays for over 20 years and was told today that they are not opening any new business accounts at the moment. So I had a look around and none of the major High Street banks are making you feel welcome. What on earth is going on?

Not a product that makes a lot of money but doesnt hit the front page of the red tops/tabloids if a bank turns down a business compared to Granny Betty. 

ClaraSolis

I opened a business account with Starling without any issues, so might be worth checking out if you're not getting any luck with the big banks.

FFHillbilly

Starling are brilliant I have used their business account for 3 years now and just set up a new business account for property rentals last week, it took 10 minutes and it was open the next day. I remember about 10 years ago when I changed banks shortly after I'd set up my main business and I had to take the day off work(lost earnings) to go and have a meeting with the branch manager, and spent hours filing in forms and jumping through hoops, then a week later I was given an account with high charges and basic features. fast forward to today and we are now able to get 10 times the quality of service almost instantly and it's free, what a time to be alive

Mrs_pbradley936

Thanks everyone but I went with Tide and it was up and running in about 5 minutes!

SensibleSarah

Glad you've found something that works well for you. 

I found every high street bank a total bust when I wanted to open my business account in 2021 when I went self-employed. Some would do it but required lots of jumping through hoops and there were charges for things that just didn't add up for me. Ended up going with Starling as it's free for my specific needs and although the sign up process was a bit of a faff - it's been brilliant since. Much easier to deal with than a 'real' bank. 

Mrs_pbradley936

Well - I have since been told that Starling and Tide are not banks but "digital finance facilitators" and when you sign up you have agreed to HMRC having access if they want to. That is something the ordinary banks will not do automatically.

tifo

Starling hold a full banking license since July 2016.

Tide don't.

gingerdad

Starling are a full bank with its own licence and really good

mark_cycling00

Is the Tide business bank account provided by ClearBank which does have a banking license?

Website says: We are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and offer e-money accounts, provided by PrePay Solutions (PPS), as well as business bank accounts, provided by ClearBank.