Guide to Business Bank Account Fees in the UK

Looking for a new business bank account in the UK? Cost is likely to be a crucial factor in which account you choose, as you won’t want to pay more than necessary for business banking services.

In this helpful guide, we’ll compare business bank account fees from all the most popular providers in the UK, including high-street banks like HSBC and Barclays, and non-banking providers like Tide.

We’ll also cover international solutions like Wise Business, a fantastic non-bank alternative which lets you manage your money in 40+ currencies with no monthly fees.

💡 Learn more about Wise Business

Business banking charges - pricing model

Most UK business bank account providers use a monthly pricing model. This means you’ll pay a monthly charge rather than any upfront fees.

Bear in mind though that there are likely to be usage fees on top of that - we’ll look at those next.

Business bank account fees

The most common usage fees you’re likely to come across are:

• International transfer fees - for both sending and receiving money across borders
• Currency conversion fees
• ATM withdrawal fees - both in the UK and overseas (this fee is often called a non-Sterling transaction fee, and applies to international card payments too)
• Overdraft fees/interest.

You might also encounter additional fees to pay cash into your account, or to use branch services for banking transactions.

One-time vs. monthly fee: comparison of providers

To make it easy to compare options, here’s a quick look at the fees charged by popular UK business bank account providers:

Usage fees: comparison of providers

It’s not just the upfront or monthly fee you need to know about when choosing a new business account. You should also check the full pricing or fees list to find out about usage charges.

These are charges for everyday transactions, like sending money or withdrawing cash from an ATM. They can be particularly expensive if you use your debit card abroad.

To help you compare options, let’s run through the usage fees for all of our business bank account providers in detail.

Wise Business

Here’s how much it costs in day-to-day fees to use Wise Business:

*Disclaimer: The UK Wise Business pricing structure is changing with effect from 26/11/2025 date. Receiving money, direct debits and getting paid features are not available with the Essential Plan which you can open for free. Pay a one-time set up fee of £50 to unlock Advanced features including account details to receive payments in 22+ currencies or 8+ currencies for non-swift payments. You’ll also get access to our invoice generating tool, payment links, QuickPay QR codes and the ability to set up direct debits all within one account. Please check our website for the latest pricing information.

Barclays

Barclays fees for everyday business accounts are as follows:¹

HSBC

Here are HSBC’s business banking charges for both its Small Business Banking Account and Business Banking Account:²

Santander

Santander’s Business Account Classic comes with the following usage fees:¹³

Lloyds

Here’s what Lloyds Bank charges for everyday business banking services:

Mettle

Mettle by NatWest is completely free for eligible businesses, having no upfront fees, monthly fees or usage charges.⁶ However, they do not offer international payments (sending or receiving).

Revolut Business

Revolut Business charges a monthly fee of £10 to £90,⁷ offering limits and allowances on transactions depending on your plan.

But it also has some usage charges for going over your monthly allowance. Here are some of these, based on the £10 Basic plan:⁸

Starling Bank

Here are the everyday usage fees you need to know about for the Starling Bank business account:⁹

Tide

Lastly, we have Tide. Here’s what it charges for everyday business banking services:¹¹

Manage your business finances with Wise

Want to manage your business finances across multiple currencies, all in one place? Check out the Wise Business account. Wise isn’t a bank, but a multi-currency account that offers a great alternative for UK businesses that trade internationally.

When you open a Wise Business account, you’ll benefit from all of these useful features:

• Hold and exchange 40+ currencies
• Send payments to 140+ countries for low fees and the mid-market exchange rate - this is a fair exchange rate with no margins or mark-ups added to it.
• Get local account details (only with Wise Business Advanced) to get paid in 8+ currencies like a local.
• No monthly fees or minimum balance requirements
• Debit and expense cards for you and your team, which you can use in 150+ countries
• Multi-user access for team members, with ways to control and manage permissions
• Pay up to 1,000 people at once with the Wise batch payments feature
• Integrate with your favourite cloud accounting solutions, and use the Wise API for automation and streamlining workflow
• Use the Wise Interest feature to make your money work harder when you’re not using it. Investments can fluctuate, and your capital is at risk. Interest is offered by Wise Assets UK Ltd, a subsidiary of Wise Payments Ltd. Wise Assets UK Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with registration number 839689. When facilitating access to Wise investment products, Wise Payments Ltd acts as an Introducer Appointed Representative of Wise Assets UK Ltd. Please be aware that we do not offer investment advice, and you may be liable for taxes on any earnings. If you're uncertain, we urge you to seek professional advice. To find out more about the Funds, visit our website.

Get started with Wise Business 🚀

After reading this, you should have all the info you need to compare business bank account fees and choose the most cost-effective solution for you.

Sources used:

Sources last checked on date: 24-Oct-2025

*Disclaimer: The UK Wise Business pricing structure is changing with effect from 26/11/2025 date. Receiving money, direct debits and getting paid features are not available with the Essential Plan which you can open for free. Pay a one-time set up fee of £50 to unlock Advanced features including account details to receive payments in 22+ currencies or 8+ currencies for non-swift payments. You’ll also get access to our invoice generating tool, payment links, QuickPay QR codes and the ability to set up direct debits all within one account. Please check our website for the latest pricing information.