Business Banking

[sweet cheeks]

Hi
Just wondering if anyone can help im new to the whole business side of things so still learning, i had a personal account with my bank before but feel i could benefit maybe from having a business bank account. Well i have 2 meetings with two different banks next Tuesday Just wondering if anyone could recommend me some questions to ask or what to compare? im really at a loss here so any help really would be appreciated.
Thank you
Stef xx

 

[nixnewcastle]

Most importantly COST!! You want a certain time period of business banking for free!!

 

[makeupartistzoe]

Abbey, well Santander, is free forever unless you are turning over one million pounds, this is what I started with coz I bought a chip and pin and it goes straight into my bank, but you don't have a counter service so you can deposit coins you can only put cash and cheque in the hole in the wall.

I'm considering changing to Natwest coz they are really friendly, well they approved me for a loan Free for the 1st 2 years then £25 a month after and I can get change for my till.

 

[The Beauty Shed]

I opened one with Santander today, free for life as long as you don't deposit more than 100 cheques per month or over £3000 in cash per month.

Fab!

 

[lelaah]

Im currently with Barclays... I used to think their good, but had some problens with weird transactions on my account and my bank manager was a nightmare to get hold of, so that put me off. Im not changing over to co-operative

 

[Sharkster]

I'm considering changing to Natwest coz they are really friendly, well they approved me for a loan Free for the 1st 2 years then £25 a month after and I can get change for my till.

I'm with Natwest and they are a good bank but I have just come out of my 2 year free business banking. In addition to the monthly service charge you get charged every time you pay in and a % of the amount of cash that is paid in, charged for every cheque you write and for every BACS payment you make yourself on-line, charges for getting change for your float, charges for streamline payments going into your account (that's in addition to the streamline charges).

I'm a member of the FSB which provides free business banking for life with the Co-Op so I'm in the process of switching.

 

[makeupartistzoe]

ok i'll check with mr natwest then coz i really think he said £25 a month covers everything unlimited transactions, change etc.. hmm they are sneaky!

 

[trozzina]

Do look Abbey/Santander; I've had completely free banking with them now for 3 years and it's been great, I can't fault it.

I spent ages shopping around and the Abbey was a real no-brainer. Sure, you don't get counter service but do you really need it? If you have a branch with an ATM nearby so you can make deposits and withdrawals what else are you going to need to do, really?

I just couldn't believe that all the other banks were going to charge me just for putting MY hard-earned cash into MY bank account. Despicable!!

Kx

 

[naturalnails]

Sorry to jump onto this thread LOL - I am in the process of opening a business account with Santander and it says on their website it should take 3-5 working days - I am still waiting after 3 weeks! - How long did it take to open your account?

 

[Lynne Baker]

If you join the Federation of Small Businesses (which any small business really should do, not least for the jury service cover) you get free banking with the Co-op. You also get a much reduced rate on your streamline rental and transaction charges.
You can also deposit cash and cheques into your local post office.

 

[naturalnails]

If you join the Federation of Small Businesses (which any small business really should do, not least for the jury service cover) you get free banking with the Co-op. You also get a much reduced rate on your streamline rental and transaction charges.
You can also deposit cash and cheques into your local post office.

Yes, I know this and have joined the FSB but I decided to go with Santander because their online side is better than the Co-op at the moment and they also do free business banking for life.

 

[Divine Beauty Newcastle]

It took me a couple of months to get sorted with santander, I applied online and waited ages to recieve confirmation which never came. The first thing that arrived was a statement - which was obviously zero. I had to ring them several times, first my card and pin came, but no welcome pack. The welcome pack came, and no paying in book, and I had duplicate forms in with the pack for something so the one for online banking was missing. I've only just sorted out my online banking.

I've posted a cheque last thursday, the cheque has only been paid in yesterday and I'm really impatient for it to be cleared. Lesson learned, waste no time sending your money off!