Business Bank Account Fees Compared 2026

• Truly free banking exists, but only for some businesses. Starling, Monzo Business Lite, Mettle, HSBC's Small Business Banking Account and NatWest's Standard Tariff all have no monthly fee. NatWest then charges 35p on almost every payment, so "no monthly fee" and "free" are not the same thing.

• Free periods end. Barclays (£8.50), Santander (£9.99) and Lloyds (£10) all start charging a monthly fee after 12 free months.

• Cash is where costs diverge most. In our model, paying £6,000 of cash a month into a business account costs between £144 and £1,417 a year depending on the provider.

• International businesses should look beyond their main bank. Multi-currency specialists such as Wise, Revolut and Airwallex usually beat high street FX pricing, but most do not take cash, and some are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

• The best-rated accounts are also among the cheapest. The three highest-rated providers in the August 2026 independent service quality survey (Monzo, Starling and Mettle) all charge no monthly fee.

What Does a Business Bank Account Cost in 2026?

A business bank account in the UK costs anywhere from £0 to around £10 a month in account fees, before transaction charges. Add cash handling, international payments and optional add-ons, and the yearly total for a typical small business ranges from nothing to well over £1,000.

The table below shows the headline monthly fee for the main accounts we compared, checked against provider websites between August and October 2026.

Sources checked August to October 2026.

Most bank account charges are exempt from VAT, but several fintech plans (Tide, ANNA and Airwallex among them) are priced plus VAT. If your business isn't VAT-registered, that adds 20% to the figure on the price page.

What Fees Do Business Bank Accounts Charge?

The monthly fee is only one line on a business tariff. In our experience, the charges that catch owners out are the ones that only appear once the account is in daily use. Here is every fee type you are likely to see, what it means and a typical 2026 range.

Which Fees Matter Most for Your Business?

In practice, two or three of these lines decide your total bill. A consultancy paid by bank transfer only needs to care about the monthly fee and any per-item charge.

A café or market trader should start with the cash tariff. An exporter should start with FX margins and international payment fees. When we compared accounts for this guide, the cheapest provider changed in every one of those three scenarios.

How Do High Street Bank Fees Compare in 2026?

High street banks still offer things most app-based providers don't: branch counters, relationship managers and broader lending. The trade-off is that most of them now charge a monthly fee once an introductory period ends, and they price manual services such as counter cash and cheques more heavily.

Sources are from published tariffs as read in October 2026.

What Changed on High Street Tariffs in 2026?

Four changes stand out from our research this year:

1. Lloyds raised its monthly fee by 17.6%. The general account maintenance fee went from £8.50 to £10 a month on 10 July 2026, according to Lloyds' guide to changes. Bank of Scotland made the same change on the same date. When we checked in October 2026, some of the largest consumer comparison sites were still listing the old £8.50 figure.

2. Santander moved everyone onto one tariff. From October 2025, Santander migrated its older 1|2|3, Everyday and standard business accounts to the Business Current Account Classic at £9.99 a month.

3. NatWest's free period got longer. NatWest now offers up to two years of free everyday banking to start-ups and to switchers with turnover up to £2m who move using the Current Account Switch Service. After that, the Standard Tariff applies.

The pattern is clear: banks are nudging cash towards the Post Office and machines, and away from staffed counters, while the headline monthly fee creeps up for anyone outside an offer period.

How Do Digital Challenger Bank Fees Compare?

App-based providers built their reputation on free accounts. That is still largely true for everyday payments, but 2026 has shown that "free" now comes with usage fees, plan tiers and limits.

Sources as published in September and October 2026.

What Changed for Digital Accounts in 2026?

• Mettle started charging for cash. From 11 May 2026, Mettle introduced a £2.75 fee per cash deposit, £1 per cash withdrawal and £5 for a lost or damaged card replacement. Bank transfers and card payments remain free.

• Revolut became a UK bank. Revolut Bank UK Ltd launched on 11 March 2026, and eligible deposits are FSCS protected up to £120,000 once an account has moved across. Revolut says existing customers are being migrated in phases, so check whether your account shows Revolut Bank UK Ltd or Revolut Ltd.

What Do Multi-Currency Business Accounts Cost?

If you invoice overseas customers or pay foreign suppliers, the FX margin usually costs more than everything else on your tariff combined. A 1% difference on £50,000 of annual foreign payments is £500, which is more than most businesses pay in monthly fees.

Sources are published pricing, August to October 2026.

Should You Swap Your Main Account for a Multi-Currency One?

Usually not. In our experience, the most cost-effective setup for a business with regular foreign payments is a free UK current account for day-to-day banking, plus a specialist multi-currency account for FX.

Wise and Airwallex don't take cash and, as e-money institutions, they safeguard your money rather than offering FSCS protection. That makes them a strong second account and a weaker sole account.

Is 'Free Business Banking' Actually Free?

The obvious answer is yes: plenty of accounts have no monthly fee.

The more useful answer is that "free" means three different things in UK business banking, and only one of them is free for most businesses.

What Happens When the Free Period Ends?

Your account moves to the standard tariff automatically. Banks are required to give you notice, but in our experience that letter is easy to miss. Over three years, a Lloyds account that started with 12 free months costs £240 in monthly fees alone, Santander £239.76 and Barclays £204. A permanently free account costs nothing for the same three years.

It's worth putting a reminder in your diary for month 11 of any free period. That is the point to compare again, while you still have the leverage of an easy switch.

What Does a Business Bank Account Really Cost?

Headline fees don't tell you what you will pay, so we priced a standard year of banking (after any introductory offer ends) for three model businesses. We set each business's monthly activity first, then applied each provider's published fees.

Our Three Model Businesses

We assumed each business uses the cheapest published cash route for its provider (Post Office, deposit machine or the provider's own cash machines) and the free or entry-level plan unless that plan can't take cash.

What a Normal Year Costs Each Business

BusinessComparison's own calculation from published provider fees, checked August to October 2026.

What Our Model Tells Us

1. The spread is widest for cash businesses. For our café, the gap between the cheapest and most expensive account was £1,273 a year. For the online consultancy, it was £256.

2. No single provider wins everywhere. HSBC is free for a business that never handles cash, then becomes one of the dearest once cash arrives. Barclays is mid-table for the consultancy but the cheapest high street bank for the café.

3. Per-item tariffs punish busy accounts. NatWest's Standard Tariff has no monthly fee, yet it came last in all three scenarios because every payment in, payment out, Direct Debit and card purchase costs 35p.

4. Limits matter as much as prices. Mettle was competitive for the mobile trade, but its £23,000 annual cash cap rules it out for a café paying in £72,000 a year. Monzo's monthly cash deposit limits have been reported at £3,000 for sole traders and £10,000 for limited companies, so our café would need to trade as a limited company to bank its takings there. Check your provider's limits before you check its prices.

Which Business Bank Account Is Cheapest for Cash Deposits?

Cash makes up a shrinking share of UK payments, but not of every business's takings. Here is what it costs to pay £1,000 of cash into each account, using each provider's cheapest published route.

BusinessComparison's calculations are based on published fees, checked August to October 2026.

Why Cash Fees Deserve More Attention in 2026

It's tempting to assume cash no longer matters. UK Finance's UK Payment Markets 2026 report (August 2026) found cash accounted for 8% of UK payments in 2025, down from 45% in 2015. In practice, the picture for businesses is different. The Post Office reported its highest-ever first quarter in 2026, with 39.8 million cash transactions and business cash deposits up 2% year on year.

At the same time, the branch counter is disappearing. Which? counted 433 bank branch closures in 2025 and 314 already scheduled for 2026, with 56 parliamentary constituencies left without a single branch. Put those trends together, and you get the shift we see in 2026 tariffs: banks pricing staffed counters up (HSBC's move to 2%) and steering cash towards the Post Office and machines. If your business banks cash, the route you use is now nearly as important as the bank you choose.

What Hidden Costs Should You Look Out For?

Some of the most expensive parts of a business account never appear as a fee on your statement.

The Cost of Earning No Interest

Most business current accounts pay no interest. Several providers now attach savings to the current account: Tide's Instant Saver pays between 1.5% and 3.25% AER depending on plan, and Revolut's savings account pays between 2.15% and 3.3% AER on paid plans (both as published in October 2026, variable).

Overdrafts

Business overdrafts are working harder. UK Finance data reported in September 2026 showed SMEs were using 51.4% of their available overdraft limits in June 2026, the highest level since March 2020. If you rely on an overdraft, compare the representative rate and any arrangement or renewal fee, not just the account fee. Unarranged borrowing is usually far more expensive, and some banks add item fees: NatWest's published charges include a £20 paid referral fee and a £12 unpaid item fee, each capped monthly.

Staff-Assisted and Same-Day Payments

• CHAPS: £15 at Barclays online and £30 at Lloyds. If you buy property, vehicles or stock with large same-day payments, this adds up quickly.

• Branch and phone payments: Barclays charges £1.50 for payments that need staff assistance rather than online processing.

• BACS payroll: Lloyds charges £5.50 per file plus 15p per item.

Foreign Card Spending

A debit card used abroad or with overseas suppliers can carry a non-sterling fee of 2.75% to 2.99% on some accounts, including Tide's Free plan and Zempler's Business Go. Starling, Monzo and Tide's paid plans add no FX fee of their own on card spending.

Paying for Extra Users

If more than one person needs to make payments, check the cost of access. Monzo's Team plan starts at £25 a month, Mettle allows only one user on each account, and Revolut includes unlimited team members on every plan.

Is Your Money Protected in a Business Account?

Not every business account is a bank account, and the difference matters if a provider fails.

The FSCS limit applies per banking licence, not per brand. Mettle runs on NatWest's licence, so money held in both counts towards one £120,000 limit. The FSCS website lists which brands share a licence.

How Can You Cut Your Business Banking Fees?

1. Download a year of statements and count your activity. Note payments in, payments out, Direct Debits, card spend, cash deposits and international transfers. That's the only way to price an account accurately.

2. Match the account to how you get paid. If you never handle cash, a permanently free account is hard to beat. If you take cash, rank providers by cash cost and limits first.

3. Diary the end of any free period. Set a reminder for month 11, then compare again.

4. Use the cheapest cash route. At Lloyds, a deposit machine costs £0.85 per £100 against £1.60 at the counter.

5. Take more card and digital payments. Every card payment is cash you don't pay to deposit, although card acceptance has its own fees to compare.

6. Separate your FX from your current account. A specialist multi-currency account can cut FX costs significantly if you trade overseas.

7. Check whether a paid plan pays for itself. On Tide, the Smart plan (£12.49 + VAT) includes 30 free transfers and halves the Post Office cash rate above £500. That only makes sense if your volumes are high enough.

8. Put idle cash to work. Move surplus balances into an FSCS-protected business savings account rather than leaving them at 0%.

9. Ask your bank. Larger businesses with relationship managers can often negotiate tariffs, particularly on cash handling.

10. Switch if the numbers say so. The Current Account Switch Service moves your payments within seven working days and guarantees refunds of any interest or charges if something goes wrong.

Which Business Bank Account Is Cheapest for Your Business?

For a deeper look at how individual providers compare, search for our guides comparing accounts head-to-head.

Why Compare Bank Accounts With BusinessComparison?

BusinessComparison's service is built for businesses, not bolted onto a consumer comparison platform. That difference shows up in the details that decide what your business actually pays.

• Business products only. Many household-name comparison sites are built around personal current accounts, energy and insurance for consumers, with a business section added on. Everything we compare, from business energy and broadband to banking and finance, is designed for UK businesses.

• We price your usage, not the headline. As this guide shows, the cheapest account changes completely depending on cash, payment volumes and FX. We compare the costs your business will actually incur.

• We track tariff changes. Business tariffs change quietly, and we check them.

• We tell you when you don't need to switch, or pay. If a permanently free account suits you better than one we could earn from, we'll say so.

• One place for all your business costs. Banking is one line in your overheads. You can compare business bank accounts alongside energy, broadband, insurance and finance, all with the same business-first approach.

FAQs About Fees on Business Bank Accounts

Are business bank accounts free in the UK?

Some are. Starling, Monzo Business Lite, Mettle and HSBC's Small Business Banking Account charge no monthly fee and no fees on standard UK payments. Others are free only for an introductory period (usually 12 months) or have no monthly fee but charge per transaction. Cash deposits and international payments usually cost extra even on free accounts.

How much does a business bank account cost per month?

Between £0 and £10 a month for a standard account in 2026, before transaction fees. Barclays charges £8.50, Santander £9.99 and Lloyds £10 after their free periods. Paid plans at digital providers range from £4 (Mettle+) to £69.99 plus VAT (Tide Max), and Revolut Business starts at £10.

Which business bank accounts have no monthly fee?

As of October 2026, Starling, Monzo Business Lite, Mettle, Tide Free, Zempler Business Go, ANNA Pay As You Go, HSBC UK Small Business Banking, NatWest's Standard Tariff, the Virgin Money M Account (turnover under £1m) and the Co-operative Bank Business Bank Account. NatWest, Zempler and Tide's free options charge per payment once any allowance is used.

What is the cheapest business bank account for cash deposits?

Monzo Business was the cheapest we found, at £1 per deposit regardless of value at a PayPoint or Post Office, as published in October 2026. Santander lets you pay in up to £1,000 a month free at its own cash machines. Barclays (60p per £100) is the cheapest of the big high street banks for regular cash. Always check deposit limits as well as fees.

Why do banks charge for cash deposits?

Handling cash costs banks money: counting, securing, transporting and processing notes and coins. As branches close, banks increasingly route cash through the Post Office, which they pay under the Banking Framework agreement. Those costs are passed on through per-deposit or per-£100 charges.

Do business bank accounts charge for transfers?

Most don't charge for standard UK transfers (Faster Payments, Direct Debits and standing orders). The exceptions are NatWest's Standard Tariff (35p per item), Zempler Business Go (35p after 3 free payments a month), Tide Free (20p after 5 free transfers a month) and Revolut Basic (20p after 10). CHAPS same-day payments cost £15 to £30 at most banks.

What happens when my free banking period ends?

Your account moves to the standard tariff automatically, and the monthly fee and any transaction charges start to apply. Your bank must tell you in advance. It's the best moment to compare accounts, because switching is free and you can take advantage of another provider's offer.

How much does it cost to send money abroad from a business account?

It ranges from £0 to around £25 per payment, plus an exchange rate margin. Specialists are usually cheapest: Wise conversion fees start from 0.24%, and Revolut offers the interbank rate up to a monthly allowance. High street banks typically charge a fixed fee per SWIFT payment plus a wider FX margin. Starling charges £5.50 per SWIFT payment with FX at 0.4% above the mid-market rate.

Do business bank accounts pay interest?

Most business current accounts pay no interest. Some providers offer linked savings: Tide's Instant Saver pays 1.5% to 3.25% AER depending on plan, and Revolut's savings pay 2.15% to 3.3% AER on paid plans (both variable, October 2026). Moving surplus balances into savings can be worth more than any fee saving.

Are business bank charges tax-deductible in the UK?

Generally, yes. Bank charges and account fees incurred wholly for your business are an allowable expense against income tax or corporation tax. Most bank charges are exempt from VAT, but fintech plan fees quoted plus VAT may let VAT-registered businesses reclaim the VAT. Check the treatment with your accountant.

Is it worth paying for a premium business account plan?

Only if the extras save you more than the fee. A paid plan can make sense if you make lots of transfers, need several users, spend heavily on cards abroad or would otherwise pay for accounting software. For most small businesses with simple needs, a free plan costs less over a year.

What's the difference between a business bank account and an e-money account?

A bank account is held with a licensed bank, and eligible deposits are protected by the FSCS up to £120,000. An e-money account is held with an electronic money institution, which must keep your money separate from its own (called safeguarding) but isn't covered by the FSCS. Wise, ANNA, Countingup and Airwallex are e-money providers.

Is my business's money protected if my bank fails?

Yes, if it's held with a UK-licensed bank and your business is eligible. The FSCS protects up to £120,000 per eligible depositor per banking licence, a limit that rose from £85,000 on 1 December 2025. Brands that share a licence, such as NatWest and Mettle, share one limit.

Can I use a personal account for my business?

Sole traders can legally use a personal account, but many personal account terms don't allow business use, and a separate account makes tax returns far easier. A limited company is a separate legal entity, so its money needs to be held in an account in the company's name.

How do I switch business bank account?

Use the Current Account Switch Service if your business is eligible. Your new provider handles the move, transfers your Direct Debits and standing orders, and redirects incoming payments within seven working days. Small business and charity accounts made 16,051 switches through the service in the first half of 2026.

How can I avoid business banking fees?

Choose an account that matches how you get paid, use the cheapest cash route your bank offers, take more card and digital payments, keep within any free transaction allowance and review your account before an introductory period ends. Our ten-step checklist above covers each of these in more detail.

What fees apply to business overdrafts?

An arranged overdraft usually carries interest on the amount used and may have an arrangement or annual renewal fee. Unarranged borrowing costs more and may trigger item fees, such as NatWest's £20 paid referral and £12 unpaid item charges (each capped monthly). Always compare the representative rate quoted for your limit.