No longer do you have to choose a high street bank for a business bank account. There are many online business banking solutions aimed at younger, tech-savvy people – but really, anyone with a phone or laptop can apply for an online business account in minutes.
Limited companies and other business entities can choose between a:
- Bank account: With government-backed FSCS deposit protection of up to £120,000 and loans of some sort.
- E-money account: Regulated by an FCA-approved electronic money institution using safeguarding measures instead of a deposit insurance.
Either can be managed online or through a mobile app. E-money accounts tend to offer the most user-friendly apps and interfaces focusing on money management features. Older banks usually don’t have that, but the ones below are newer, some or which started as an e-money account (Revolut, ANNA and Zempler).
E-money account accounts do have more limitations, such as a prepaid card instead of a regular debit card. But all of the options below offer ease of use, smart budgeting tools and no long-term contract contract.
Best business account comparison:
| Business account |
Highlights | Downsides | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starling Bank Free-£14/mo |
Top-rated banking app with human 24/7 support | No team expenses, few ways to accept payments | |
| Airwallex E-money Free-£49/mo |
Most multi-currency features for a global business |
Strict account verification, free plan requires min. deposit | |
| Revolut Bank £10-£100/mo |
Expense management, multi-currency transfers best for EU dealings |
Ongoing account verifications a hassle |
|
| Monzo Bank Free-£25/mo |
Detailed budgeting tools, business loans possible, popular in the UK |
More limited than the personal Monzo account |
|
| Tide E-money/bank Free-£49.99*/mo |
Many in-person and online payment options, legal helpline included |
Transaction fees tend to change | |
| Zempler Bank Bank Free-£19/mo |
Credit builder improves business credit rating |
App not great, limited international transfers |
|
| Monese E-money £9.95*/mo |
Customer service can speak 14 language |
Very slow to develop features |
*Excluding VAT.
Compare business accounts
Choosing the right business account for your company depends on your needs, but what are you looking for?
Companies in a financially precarious position might be looking for lending options, in which case Monzo, Starling and Zempler Bank provide safety nets with their overdrafts. But we’re disappointed to see loans removed from Starling and the credit card removed from Zempler. That means none of the business account directly offer loans or credit cards.
Zempler also has a credit builder tool that could increase your credit score, a unique feature worth looking at.
Loans and savings options of the business accounts:
| Business account | Overdraft | Loans | Credit card | Interest on savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starling | Yes | No | No | No |
| Airwallex | No | No | No | No |
| Revolut | No | No | No | Yes |
| Monzo | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Zempler Bank | Yes | No | No | No |
| Tide | No | No | No | Yes |
| Monese | No | No | No | No |
Those with a consistent plus balance can earn interest with the savings accounts from Revolut, Monzo and Tide.
If your business is very international – and we mean global, not just European – Airwallex is beyond doubt our choice for transfer rates and its sheer number of currency accounts and local payment methods. It’s saved us money and time when we pay freelancers and receive payments from different countries.
Revolut has better rates for European payments than global. And while Revolut has a good number of currency accounts, it has a more generalised appeal for companies that want many tools for payment processing, employees and budget management.
If all your customers are based in the UK, any of the other business accounts will do.
Multi-currency features of business accounts:
| Business account | Multi-currency | Currency accounts | Exchange rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starling Bank | No | GBP only | Variable |
| Airwallex | Yes | 27 (local accounts) | 0.5%-1% |
| Revolut | Yes | 25+ | 0.6%-1% |
| Monzo | No | GBP only | Variable |
| Zempler Bank | No | GBP only | Up to £22 or 0%-2.99% |
| Tide | No | GBP only | Variable |
| Monese | No | GBP only | 0%-3% |
Merchants who want to accept payments through their business account will get most out of Revolut and Tide.
Monzo comes in second only because it doesn’t have its own card reader, while Zempler, Starling and Monese only scratch the surface with their invoicing (and tap to pay in Starling’s case). Airwallex sends payment links and offers integrations with ecommerce software (which, by the way, Revolut also does).
Payment features of business accounts:
| Business account | Invoicing | Payment links | Tap to Pay | Card reader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starling Bank | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Airwallex | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Revolut | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Monzo | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Zempler Bank | Yes | No | No | No |
| Tide | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Monese | Yes | No | No | No |
You might also need things like:
- Accounting integration
- An acceptable level of service (rarer than you’d think)
- Budgeting tools
- Multi-user access
So look out for those things when researching business accounts.
Sole traders should check out these business accounts instead.
Starling has one of the most trusted free online business bank accounts we’ve tested. It has no credit card or loans, but offers an overdraft and a very polished app for money management. It really feels like the app has been tested thoroughly, as the layout and performance just look flawless.
Yet it doesn’t offer the biggest selection of features. The app has Tap to Pay on iPhone (not Android, mind you), invoices and in-depth card controls among other essentials – but payment links, for example, are missing.
The free accounting tools are really good and compliant with Making Tax Digital, but accessed in a browser, not the app. Companies would need to subscribe to Accounting Plus (£7-£14/month) for connecting with HMRC to submit VAT returns.
Starling Business account can be managed through an app or on your laptop.
To qualify, you need to live in the UK and have a limited company or partnership registered at Companies House. Only the business owner and Persons of Significant Control can access the Starling account, so it wouldn’t be suitable for other employees to manage your banking.
The business account stores only GBP currency, but has an IBAN for international payments. You can send money to other countries and receive cross-border transactions, but no multi-currency accounts are available any more (EUR and USD accounts used to be options).
Retailers can rest assured it’s possible to deposit cash and cheques into the account. The Starling app has useful “spaces” for saving money and responsive 24/customer support by real people through the app, email or by telephone.
Choose Starling if: Domestic businesses prioritising a high-quality app and personal service not tainted by AI chatbots.
Airwallex is Mobile Transaction’s choice of business account. We’ve used it for years and are super-happy with it. As a multi-currency account with sub-bank accounts in different countries (this is unique), it really suits teams spread across different countries in the whole world, not just Europe.
We’re especially impressed with the low transfer rates, local bank accounts in many countries (to avoid currency conversion) and big selection of local payment methods accepted if accepting online payments. Signing up with Airwallex is also a breeze with its onboarding call and responsive communications.
Airwallex is great for setting up accounts in different countries and currencies.
Our own experience of international transfers has consistently been impressive. Our team receives payments immediately in each their country for free, and it’s even possible to set up Direct Debits from the local accounts in GBP, USD, AUD and CAD currency to manage bills globally. You can send transfers to over 60 currencies and accept payments in 150+ countries.
There is no monthly or annual fee for an Airwallex account, just fees for certain transfers, currency exchanges and payment acceptance. For example, currency conversions (transferring money from one currency account to a different currency) in the most common currencies cost only 0.5% above the interbank exchange rate. That’s less than Revolut’s 0.6%-1% rates outside of their monthly allowance.
Airwallex also sends payment links and integrates with ecommerce websites with a decent range of local payment methods accepted online, on top of the conventional Visa and Mastercard options.
Choose Airwallex if: Your company regularly pays and receives money in many different countries and want the lowest rates.
Revolut has recently become a bank in the UK, but it still doesn’t offer loans or overdrafts. Nonetheless, signing up with Revolut gives you a business account with an extensive range of tools for limited and unlimited companies and partnerships with international customers.
The main draw is probably sending and receiving 25+ different currencies from sub-accounts, cutting costs of foreign exchange rates. I was impressed by how you can schedule transfers to initiate only when the exchange rate is at its best, along with other tools to optimise transfers.
You can order employee debit cards and up to 50 virtual cards per staff member, helping you to monitor expenses and control cards remotely in the most detailed way I’ve seen.
Image: Revolut
Revolut Business has many multi-currency accounts with multi-user access.
The Basic Business plan (£10+/month) has more pay-as-you-go charges, such as fees for international payments and £0.20 per UK payment above 10 free ones per month.
Higher plans starting at £30 monthly provide free metal debit cards, more fee-free currency exchanges, cashflow analytics, bulk payments and advanced team controls like expense approval and custom permissions. They suit companies with different budgets managed by different teams, who perhaps need to integrate payments with other software.
Revolut’s currency accounts are mostly European with fewer local payment options as Airwallex. But we think the payment features are impressive, covering both in-person contactless payments and remote payments via links and invoices. It’s an all-round great choice for ever-changing startups, though out experience of customer support has been frustrating, to say the least.
Choose Revolut Business if: You want the most custom expense management tools and have many European clients.
Monzo is a big online bank in the UK, but its features aren’t as comprehensive for businesses as they are for personal accounts. Still, banks that have business accounts with no monthly fees, easy sign-up and a Debit Mastercard are worth including.
It only accepts limited companies, not partnerships, unlimited companies or charities. The account is generally good for domestic businesses with a team of staff if you opt for one of the paid plans.
Monzo doesn’t offer as many advantages for companies as for private individuals or even sole traders.
The paid plans are better for companies than the free one, as they connect with accounting software, manage VAT and tax deductions and let colleagues access the bank account.
Basic business banking features like cash deposits, bank transfers, Direct Debits and standing orders can be managed in Monzo accounts. The account has an IBAN for receiving international SWIFT transfers for a variable fee displayed upfront in the app. That’s progress from a few years ago when Wise has to be connected.
We’ve noticed that Monzo offers loans or overdrafts to some companies (the focus is on sole traders), but can’t say for sure how often they say yes to that. Like Starling, Monzo offers 24/7 customer support via chat, email and telephone by real people.
Choose Monzo Business if: You have a personal Monzo account and want to stick with the same bank for your business.
Tide is another UK-based business account that previously only provided e-money accounts, but an FSCS-protected business bank account provided by ClearBank is now also available when signing up. To be eligible, you have to be a UK-registered limited company. Partnerships, charities and other entities are not accepted.
All Tide accounts come with a business debit Mastercard, read access for your team and accountant, up to five business accounts for your company (to separate budgets), accounting integrations, invoicing and scheduled payments. A business savings account and in-app accounting features can be added.
Tide has some useful account features, but paid plans aren’t cheap.
The free plan charges for UK payments and suffers from poor quality support. Upgrading to one of the paid tiers adds free UK payments and expense cards, priority and phone support and a 24/7 legal helpline. The highest tier has a dedicated team of account managers and 0.5% cashback on eligible card transactions.
Honestly, the app has improved in the last few years. The interface looked a bit off, but now flows better with more features like invoicing, receipt uploads and an IBAN for receiving international payments. Still, we don’t recommend Tide for companies with international clients since sending money abroad is limited.
You can order dozens of expense cards for team members and integrate accounting software even on the Free plan, but the biggest distinguisher is perhaps the legal and tax support helpline on paid plans. This is for any business queries typically reserved for expensive solicitors or accountants, but for a monthly fee, Tide has you covered on that.
Choose Tide if: You want a dedicated account manager and ongoing tax/legal support.
If you’re looking for business accounts for bad credit, Zempler (previously Cashplus) would rank highly because they don’t do any credit checks at sign-up. This means you’re almost guaranteed to be accepted as long as your business is a UK-registered limited company, partnership or public sector organisation.
Zempler Bank’s business bank accounts are managed through a mobile app or web portal. Disappointingly, it used to offer a business credit card, but applications for that have been on hold for years, so don’t count on getting one. Still, accounts include a Debit Mastercard and optional overdraft.
Image: Zempler Bank
Zempler (when it was Cashplus) was the first UK non-bank to offer current accounts.
Zempler offers three business account plans for £0-£19 monthly. The free plan charges for basic things like £2 per UK cash withdrawal and 2.99% for payments in foreign currencies (GBP payments are free). Higher plans remove most of these charges.
To improve your business’ credit rating, the optional Creditbuilder feature can commit you to paying its subscription on time for one year. Doing this can increase your credit score (or harms it if you miss a payment). I haven’t seen this in the other accounts, so it’s a standout reason to choose Zempler.
The business account is in GBP currency, but free Euro and USD cash cards can be added for travel use. You can receive international payments in your GBP account via a central, shared Zempler account for a fixed fee of £22, but you can’t easily send money abroad.
I think the app has some handy features like Direct Debit reminders before money is taken from your account, spending analytics, transactions categories and attaching pictures of expense receipts to transactions. You can order extra prepaid business cards for staff members, so that helps with budgeting.
A word of warning: Zempler has received many complaints about account issues and the app that’s been mired in technical issues. I wouldn’t choose it unless I wanted to build a better credit score for my business.
Choose Zempler if: You’re looking to improve your company’s bad credit history through a new business account.
Monese Business is an e-money account for companies based in the UK and registered with Companies House. It used to be the case that EEA residents could open an account, but this is no longer possible.
Although customer support is only available during daytime hours on weekdays, you can message or speak with staff in any of 14 different languages, whereas other business accounts only offer English-speaking support.
The Monese account is managed primarily in the app.
The Monese Business account costs a fixed £9.95 monthly subscription, with no tiered plans.
This includes a Business Prepaid Mastercard, unlimited free UK payments, 6 free cash withdrawals per month, 0.5%+ fee on outgoing international transfers, and a 0.5% fee on card transactions in another currency. Cash deposits cost £1 in a Post Office or 2.5% at a PayPoint.
You can send and receive international payments from the Monese app, where you’ll find an IBAN or SWIFT code.
It’s possible to receive money into your GBP-only Monese account from over 30 countries and send international payments to these same countries.
The online business account is managed through the app, which lets you send invoices, create automated savings pots, set card controls and colour-code transactions according to categories. Monese does not offer business loans or overdrafts to businesses.
Choose Monese if: Your business is UK-registered but you need the flexibility to send money internationally.
Looking for spend accounts? See our review of Soldo expense cards
