Opening a Business Current Account during the pandemic

By Orla Eastwood, Strategic Partnership Manager, Swoop

Starting a new business and needing to open a business current account? If you’ve visited the website of one of the high-street banks recently, you will have probably been met with messages like, “…we are not currently accepting new applications for Business Current Accounts, but we will review this position over the coming weeks…” (Santander) or “We’ve taken the difficult decision to temporarily stop accepting new business account applications…” (Lloyds)

Following the surge of the pandemic in the UK, many providers have stopped accepting new applications for business current accounts to ensure that their staff can continue to provide support for existing customers. 

But where does this leave new startups who need a business current account? 

Anna Money, Cashplus, Revolut and Barclays have all confirmed that they are still offering business current accounts. Some of these names may be new to you so here’s a little bit more information on what they have to offer.

Anna Money

You can open a business current account in less than 10 minutes with Anna Money. Their app also allows you to create, send and chase invoices, making it easier for you to get paid on time. Everything is free while you’re starting up. Depending on how much you use Anna, costs will then range from £0 to £19.90 per month

Need to know: Branches, overdrafts and lending are not included in their offering. However your business current account and business funding do not need to be with the same provider so you can still set up an account with them and seek funding elsewhere. Swoop can help you access funding across loans, grants and equity.

Cashplus

Apply here to earn 1% cashback on qualifying cash spend each month, with the annual fee of £69 also waived for the first year. No credit check is required to open a new account and you’ll receive an instant online decision on your application. 

Need to know: Cashplus does not have any individual branches. However it does have a branch presence in 11.5k post offices.

Revolut

Revolut allows you to make international payments with no hidden fees, automates expenses and enables you to accept debit or credit card payments online.

Need to know: Signing up takes a matter of minutes but Revolut may be in touch to request further information before your account is approved.

Barclays

Barclays offers free banking for the first 12 months. Depending on how you do business, there are then two simple price plans to choose from. You can apply for a Barclays business current account by registering with Swoop.

Need to know: While Barclays is open to new business, wait times are longer than usual and it may take up to 6 weeks to open an account at present.

To summarise, the digital account providers are providing SMEs with a great range of options for opening accounts during the pandemic. Check out Swoop’s  Business Current Account Comparison to compare these services in more detail and get started on opening an account.