Why owners drifted away from the high street
The trigger is rarely dramatic. Usually it is a monthly charge that appears whether or not you traded, or a payment in that sat unallocated for four days because nobody keyed a reference. Branch networks have thinned out too. Plenty of towns now have one counter open a few days a week, which is awkward when a client pays a £2,000 deposit in cash on a Friday afternoon.
Three complaints come up repeatedly when small firms discuss their business bank account UK options:
- Charges that arrive sideways. Free banking for eighteen months, then a tariff nobody read.
- Cash. Notes and coins are still normal for trades, market stalls, cafés and anyone taking deposits.
- Admin. Statements that will not talk to the accounting software, so someone re-types figures at month end.
Priya runs a two-person design studio in Manchester. Her old account cost nothing until the introductory period ended, then charged for each incoming payment. She moved to an app-based account and now reconciles in Xero without exporting a CSV by hand. Callum, a joiner in Bristol, went the other way. He tried a digital-only account, discovered his bank charged £1 for every £100 of cash he paid in at a Post Office, and switched to a provider with a free plan and a PayPoint arrangement he could live with. Aisha sells planters from a unit in Leeds and invoices two Dutch stockists in euros, which is where exchange margins quietly eat her profit.
The accounts most small firms end up comparing
Published tariffs move, and entry-level plans are the ones worth studying — premium tiers mostly buy you extras you may not need yet. The figures below reflect current published pricing from the providers themselves.
| Provider and plan | Monthly fee | Free UK transfers | Cash and ATM | Accounting links | Suits |
|---|
| Starling Business Current Account | £0 | Unlimited Faster Payments | Free UK ATM withdrawals | Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent | General trading, sole traders, limited companies |
| Monzo Business Lite | £0 | Free instant UK bank transfers | £1 per cash deposit at PayPoint or Post Office | Basic export; integrations on Pro | Simple banking, light admin |
| Monzo Business Pro | £5 | Free instant UK bank transfers | £1 per cash deposit | Xero, FreeAgent, QuickBooks | Owners who want invoicing and tax pots |
| Revolut Business Basic | £0 (annual effective fee quoted in comparison tables) | 10 free Faster Payments, then a per-item charge | Limited free ATM allowance | Xero, QuickBooks, Sage | Multi-currency, card spend, overseas suppliers |
| Revolut Business Grow | £30 | 100 free local transfers, then £0.20 | Limited free ATM allowance | Xero, QuickBooks, Sage | Teams, expense cards, higher volumes |
| Tide free plan | £0 | 5 free Faster Payments, then £0.20 | £1 per £100 UK ATM withdrawal; BACS £0.20 | Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, FreeAgent | Trades and cash-handling businesses |
Comparisons published by the banks themselves put typical high-street annual account costs somewhere between £0 and roughly £120 depending on the package, before transaction charges. NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland currently show no effective annual account fee on their entry business account, while Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds sit nearer the top of that band. None of this is fixed; packages change, and relationship managers can bundle lending.
Reading the table properly
The exchange rate is the real invoice
A multi-currency business account looks generous until you check what happens outside the included allowance. Revolut Business, for example, includes a monthly exchange allowance on weekdays and applies a percentage fee beyond it, plus a fixed charge for international transfers once the free quota is used. Starling quotes a small flat euro payment cost. If half your revenue arrives in dollars or euros, model that on your actual turnover before anything else.
Cash still costs something
Almost every digital provider now charges for deposits, because the Post Office and PayPoint networks charge them. Monzo and Tide both levy £1 per cash deposit or per £100 withdrawn at an ATM. A shop banking £3,000 a week in notes will feel that; a consultancy that never sees a tenner will not.
Interest is small but real
Monzo's savings pots and Starling's easy saver both pay variable interest on balances, and Revolut advertises a higher rate on its paid tiers. On a £15,000 tax reserve, the difference is worth a coffee a week, not a new van. Treat it as a tiebreaker, not a reason to switch.
Protection is the same story everywhere
All of these providers hold eligible deposits under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, up to the scheme limit. Worth confirming the wording on each site, particularly if you hold a balance well above it.
Matching the account to how you trade
A sole trader bank account is the simplest case. You need a card, direct debits, a clean export for your accountant, and no monthly fee. Starling, Tide and Monzo Lite all fit, and Starling's free UK transfers and ATM use make it the least fiddly for someone who occasionally draws cash.
Limited companies have a different checklist. Multi-director access matters more than a shiny app: Monzo Pro allows a small team with enhanced access, Revolut Grow allows far more users with spend controls, and Starling permits multiple directors. If you employ people, check whether expense cards can be capped per person — that is the feature that saves arguments.
Then there is the business bank account with accounting integration. Xero and QuickBooks feeds are now table stakes, and FreeAgent links are common. The test is not whether the logo appears on the provider's site, but whether the feed starts on day one and stays accurate. Ask your accountant which one they actually want to receive data from; a bookkeeper in Sheffield will have opinions.
Firms invoicing abroad should also look at how payments land. Revolut and Starling both offer dollar and euro balances, which stops a US client payment passing through a conversion before it reaches you.
Before you hit apply
- Have your Companies House number or Unique Taxpayer Reference ready, plus ID for every director.
- Check whether the account accepts the sectors you operate in — some exclude cash-intensive or regulated trades.
- Run the new account alongside the old one for a full billing cycle. Let client payments, direct debits and payroll clear before you close anything.
- Test the payment rails you depend on: a BACS credit from a customer, a standing order, a card payment from a sale.
- Use the Current Account Switch Service only once you are sure; it moves direct debits and credits, not saved payees or historic statements.
- Diarise a review. Local Growth Hubs, the Federation of Small Businesses and your accountant can all tell you what other owners in your sector are paying.
If the account you opened a couple of years ago has never been reviewed, put an hour in the diary for the next quiet Friday. Tariffs shift, allowances shrink, and the business you run now is probably not the business you opened it for.
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