A good business bank account is crucial for running your business effectively, whether you’re a sole trader or a large established firm. Here you can compare free and paid-for accounts, and see which accounting software each one works with. Find out the accounts that excel in particular aspects in our best business bank accounts guide. We also have a guide on prepaid business cards if you’re a business owner looking for the best way to allow your employees to pay for expenses as part of their work.
A business bank account is simply a bank account designed for business transactions. Business bank accounts work in a similar way to personal bank accounts but they help businesses keep track of business income and expenses.
You can use your business bank account to send and receive money, helping you to pay staff wages and receive client payments. You can also set up standing orders and direct debits to pay your bills. Business bank accounts offer a range of extra features you won’t typically find with a personal account, such as the option to carry out transactions in foreign currencies or the ability to integrate with accounting software.
If you run a limited company, you’ll be required to use a business bank account. If you’re a sole trader, there’s no such requirement, but it can still make a lot of sense to open one and keep your business transactions separate from your own.
These are some of the key factors you’ll need to consider:
Many business bank accounts can be opened online. Otherwise you can pop into your local bank branch (if there is one). You’ll usually need to provide details about your business, including its registered address and contact details. If you’re a limited company, you’ll need to provide details of your company’s registration at Companies House. Incidentally, if you still need to register with Companies House, it hiked up the cost of doing so in May 2024 to more than quadruple the previous price in some cases.
Additionally, you will usually need to provide proof of ID for all company directors, such as a passport, as well as proof of address, such as a utility bill.
Unlike with most personal current accounts, many business accounts come with costs attached, which can range from a monthly fee simply for having the account, to a charge for paying in a cheque.
We outline the main types of business account costs below – bear these in mind when you’re looking at a bank’s pricing structure or an account’s terms and conditions:
Whether you’re a freelancer or have a side hustle, it could be a good idea to create a separate bank account to manage your finances. It’s not a legal requirement, but you might find it easier to track your cash flow and calculate your end-of-year taxes. Check out our guide on best business bank accounts for freelancers.
There are lots of business bank accounts designed for the self-employed. Some are free, while others charge a monthly fee. You should also think about what services you might need. For example, do you want your account to link to accounting software such as QuickBooks and Xero, or do you need invoicing support?
Take a look at our guide on the best business bank accounts for the self-employed.
Once you’ve researched and chosen which business account you’d like to go for, you’ll need to apply to that banking provider to open it. Many applications can now be done online or through a mobile app (especially given the growing number of digital-only accounts), although some banks with a branch network might ask you to visit in person.
Every business bank account will have a slightly different application process, but here is a general list of information and documents that you should have to hand:
Not every banking provider will ask you for all of this documentation, and on the flip side, there may be some who request even more detailed information about your business and its finances.
Most business bank account providers will also carry out some kind of credit check on you, although there are a few that will let you open an account without one (but be aware these products tend to come with higher usage fees). For more information on opening a business account without a credit check, check out our guide to opening a business account with a bad credit score.
Our customer satisfaction awards are decided by the only votes that really matter – yours. We asked customers of 13 major business banking providers to tell us about their experiences. Now we can reveal how they rated these UK companies. Our list includes Revolut, which is an e-money provider that was authorised as a bank in July 2024 but isn’t operating as a bank yet. Learn more about the awards here including our ratings methodology.
| Brand | Logo | Overall satisfaction | Customers who’d recommend | Review | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revolut |  | ★★★★★ | 97% | Revolut Business has been innovating and adding new features, and it appears this has paid off. It secured the top spot in this year’s survey with a score of 4.9 out of 5. | Read our review |
| TSB |  | ★★★★★ | 97% | TSB is currently offering an initial period of free business banking for 30 months to startups and account switchers. This and its services have proved popular with customers, scoring it 4.7 out of 5. | Read our review |
| NatWest |  | ★★★★★ | 97% | It’s a competitive table again this year, so while NatWest also scored a “would recommend” of 97% and 4.3 out of 5, it placed third. | Read our review |
| The Co-operative Bank |  | ★★★★★ | 97% | The Co-operative Bank is known for its ethical business banking, and customers in our survey commended it on its reliable service. It scored 4.2 out of 5. | Read our review |
| Santander |  | ★★★★★ | 94% | Santander operates a range of different business accounts, some of which come with discounted fees for startups or customers who are switching. It achieved a score of 4.2 out of 5 in our survey. | Read our review |
| Lloyds Bank |  | ★★★★★ | 93% | Long-established, Lloyds Bank recorded a score of 4.2 out of 5 in our survey. It offers business accounts for new and established businesses as well as one for clubs and charities. | Read our review |
| Tide |  | ★★★★★ | 87% | Tide is a digital-only business banking provider, and its customers highlighted its “top notch” customer service and ease of use. It scored 4.2 out of 5 in our survey. | Read our review |
| Barclays |  | ★★★★★ | 94% | Another high-street veteran, Barclays posted an impressive 94% “would recommend” score and secured 3.9 out of 5 from its customers. The bank operates different business accounts depending on company size. | Read our review |
| HSBC |  | ★★★★★ | 94% | HSBC, the largest bank in the UK, posted a rating of 3.9 out of 5 in our survey. It now has HSBC Kinetic, which is an app-based business account with no monthly fee for the first 12 months. | Read our review |
| Zempler Bank |  | ★★★★★ | 93% | Zempler scored 3.9 out of 5 in our survey and a “would recommend” score of 93%. Its business bank account is designed for small businesses and is FSCS protected. | Read our review |
| RBS |  | ★★★★★ | 90% | Royal Bank of Scotland posted 3.8 out of 5 and a “would recommend” score of 90%. Its customers that we canvassed praised its “trustworthiness” and level of service. | Read our review |
| Mettle |  | ★★★★★ | 90% | Mettle is a relative newcomer to business banking and is a digital-only offshoot from parent company NatWest. It scored 3.8 out of 5. | Read our review |
| Anna |  | ★★★★★ | 83% | Anna is a digital-only business account which also comes with invoicing and expense management features. It scored 3.8 out of 5 in our survey. | Read our review |
We asked business account holders to rate their satisfaction with the service they had received from their banking provider, and also whether they would recommend that provider to a friend. Our independent survey of 400 business banking customers was carried out in December 2023 – read full details of our methodology here.
We have crunched the numbers and shown the results for the 13 banking providers listed in the table above. We used these ratings to decide the winners of our awards (if there was a draw on the star rating, we used the “would recommend” percentage as a tie-breaker).
Our customer satisfaction scores (“Customers say”) are based on a survey of 400 customers carried out in December 2023.
There are many reasons why it pays to open a business bank account. But when comparing them, it’s important to check the eligibility criteria carefully to be sure you qualify, and also check the fees so you don’t get caught out. On top of this, you’ll want to check what perks come with the account, such as invoicing tools or cashback, so that you can be confident of picking the best account for your business.
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