Best UK Business Bank Accounts no credit check

Back in 2012 we wrote a comprehensive guide on how to open a business bank account if you have poor credit history. Whilst we’ve updated it continuously since then, the bulk of the content was initially aimed at those looking to open highstreet business account.

The rise of fintech has seen a number of new banks and fintech companies enter the market, specifically offering free business bank accounts.

In this article we take a look at the best business bank accounts in the UK with no credit checks, these accounts provide a full UK account number and sort code plus a Mastercard or VISA debit card that can be used for chip and pin, contactless, ApplePay or Google Pay payments. No credit checks means they are super quick to open and suitable for people with bad credit histories, or no credit history at all. 

If you already have an established business and are looking to switch accounts then also see our business bank account comparison instead. Otherwise, read-on to discover the best free business bank accounts with no credit checks. 

Starling Bank – Business account

This might be a surprise entry, as Starling does do a credit history search when opening a business bank account, but it’s been included in the list for two reasons.

Firstly, it is one of the best business bank accounts around full stop, and one that convinced us at Money Saving Answers to switch away from traditional highstreet banking. See our long-term review of the Starling Bank business account here.

Secondly, rather than perform a full credit check, Starling carries out what’s known as a ‘soft search.’ That means the search isn’t visible to other lenders, and won’t affect your ability to gain credit in any way. So, even if you have bad credit, or are refused an account you could happily apply for one of the others on the list. 

Finally, the bank currently has a 7% share of the small and medium sized business banking market, and aims to overtake Barclays in the next few years by growing its share to over 15 per cent. That’s a lot of new business accounts to add to its books. 

With that in mind, there’s nothing to be lost by trying to open a Starling Bank business account. In our opinion it is the best business bank account with no fees. 

The account is free to open, there are no monthly fees and most transactions are free. The app is class-leading, and packed full of features for budgeting and money management, and also allows cheques to be paid in via a photo in the app. 

It also features add-on services such as tax calculation, payroll management, euro and dollar accounts, bookkeeping, and more via its business toolkit. 

Pros

• Most well-rounded business accounts
• No monthly fees
• Free cheque deposit via app or post
• Full FSCS protection

Cons

• Small fee for paying in cash

Website: Starling.com

Tide – Business account

Tide started offering business accounts back in 2017, and quickly became a leading challenger in small business banking. We reviewed it at launch here, but it’s improved a lot since then. 

It’s one of the quickest and easiest business accounts to open, and one of the cheapest too. There are no sign-up fees or monthly account fees, just a 20p fee per transaction for electronic transfers in and out. More importantly there are no credit checks, so it’s open to those with a bad credit history.

Tide also has a partnership with Clearbank to give its customers full FSCS protection on deposits up to £85,000, and cash payments can be made over the counter at 11,000 Post Office branches across the UK and 44,000 PayPoints. Currently you can’t pay in cheques, but Tide says this feature is coming in 2023.

With over 400,000 business customers in the UK, Tide is neck and neck with Starling Bank, and has established itself as a solid challenger in SME banking sector. The low barrier of entry makes it great for micro businesses, or people trying out new ideas. 

In fact, Monzo Bank founder Tim Bloomfield said that Tide was best placed to do a much better job of offering a business product than Monzo. That’s high praise indeed. ( at 4:14 –https://twitter.com/monzo/status/765231785332572161)

Free limited company registration

Additionally, for those interesting in setting up a Limited company in England and Wales, you can actually do this via Tide. Tide handles the registration for free and even pays the £12 registration fee on your behalf. The new company is setup and ready go in just a few mins. 

Pros

• Fastest and easiest business bank account to open
• No monthly fees
• Full FSCS protection
• Free business setup and registration with Companies House

Cons

• Can’t pay in cheques (but that’s coming soon)
• No international payments

Website: Tide.co

Cashplus Bank – Business Go / Extra

Cashplus is the original challenger bank. Although it only gained its banking licence in 2019 it’s been providing accounts to businesses, councils, government departments since 2004 and has over 1 million customers.

Before the huge growth in fintech, it was one of the only options for business owners with a bad credit history. It is now branching out, and becoming more of a mainstream challenger, but crucially still offers business accounts without requiring a credit check.

The bank recently overhauled its business accounts, removing the £69 annual fee and is instead offering tiered accounts. The Cashplus Business Go has no monthly service fee (there is a one-off £9.95 card fee), whilst the Cashplus Business Extra account has a £9 a month service charge (but no card fee).

The main difference between the two is the number of free transactions you can carry out per month; three for the Go account versus ten for the Extra account. Additional transactions are charged at 30p.

The ‘Business Extra account’ also offers 0.5% cashback on card spending, as well as larger maximum balance limits, and lower cost ATM withdrawal fees.

Cash can be paid in at Post Office branches country-wide, but cheques aren’t accepted. You can receive international payments (for a fee), but you can’t send payments abroad directly from your account. 

For those businesses looking to squirrel away their reserves, Cashplus also offers a linked easy access Business savings account via Aldermore. 

It’s worth pointing out that the Cashplus account is one of the few business bank accounts that will accept unlimited liability partnerships, something even Starling Bank doesn’t offer. The introduction of the new Business Go account, makes this a quick and easy way for partners to get up and running, and also one of the cheapest. 

See our full Cashplus business account review here.

Pros

• Fast and easy to open
• No ongoing fees (Business Go account)
• 1% cashback on business spending
• Access to business savings account
• Allows unlimited liability partnerships
• Full FSCS protection

Cons

• Transaction fees
• Can’t pay in cheques
• No outgoing international payments

Website: Cashplus.com

Card One Money – Business Account

Along with Cashplus, Card One Money was once one of the top choices for business owners with bad credit. It offers a guaranteed business account, but unfortunately charges a £55 application fee plus a monthly account fee of £12.50 making it the most expensive account on our list.

Despite the fees, it can still offer considerable value for the right business. For example, it’s the only business account in our list that allows non-UK resident directors and foreign businesses to open an account.

Card One Money takes a rather unique approach to business banking, in that funds are split between the card and the account. This is an important distinction as if you want to move funds back from your card to the main account there is £5 fee.

Outside of that, Card One Money charges 30p per online transaction, but on the plus side allows cheques to be paid in, as well as receiving international payments.

Pros

• Can accept international payments
• Can pay in cheques at Barclays Branches
• Available to non-UK residents and foreign businesses

Cons

• Most expensive account listed
• Card needs to be topped up
• No FSCS protection

Website: Cardonemoney.com

Acorn – Business account

We’ve listed the Acorn account here, but in reality, is the exact same account as the Card One Money business account and is run by the same company. The only difference is the marketing.

Acorn lists itself as a guaranteed business account, and states that “you can open an Acron business account regardless of your credit history”

Find out more about the Acorn business account

Mettle by Natwest

Mettle is a digital account by Natwest. It’s a free account, and doesn’t require any credit checks. Sounds too good to be true right? Well it kind of is and it isn’t. 

The Natwest Foundation account used to be the go to account for businesses/owners with bad credit histories. Unfortunately, NatWest removed all references and promotional material for the account. It still exists, but is only available to those that fail a full credit check for a regular NatWest Business account (thus further harming chances of obtaining credit in the future), and even then it might not be offered. 

Mettle could have been an excellent replacement for the Foundation account. NatWest however has other ideas. Mettle is run as a separate entity from NatWest/RBS, and as such doesn’t operate under its banking licence. That means there’s no FSCS protection. Customer deposits are ring fenced at NatWest but remember this was an organisation that had to be bailed out by the government in 2008. 

The bad news doesn’t end there though. You can now pay in cash for free at Post Offices or PayPoints which is great. You can’t however pay in cheques, and there’s no facility to send or receive international payments. That makes no sense given that NatWest can easily do these things, so why not let Mettle customers use NatWest branches to carry out such transactions?

The bigger concern is that NatWest/RBS has tried digital banking before with the launch of ‘Bo‘ back in November 2019. The development of that cost some £100m, yet the project was terminated just seven months later leaving its 11,413 customers with 60 days to withdraw their money.

It seems, that Mettle has potential but is being held back in order not to cannibalise sign ups to NatWest business banking proper. In any case, it’s a free account, and seems like it would make a good back up to a main business account, and new subscribers can get free use of FreeAgent Accounting software. 

Pros

• It’s free to open
• Free to deposit cash
• Free FreeAgent subscription

Cons

• Slowest to open – can take a couple of days for verification
• Can’t pay in cheques
• Can’t send or receive international transfers. 
• No FSCS protection

Website: Mettle.co.uk

Revolut – Business account

Revolut started as a pre-pay currency card, but has since grown into one of the largest digital account providers in Europe.

Headquartered in London, it has a banking licence in the EU, and has applied for its banking licence in the UK. Still, it offers both personal and business accounts, with all the usual services you’d expect.

Direct debits and standing orders are free, as is sending and receiving electronic payments, and card use. Paid accounts starting at £7 a month for freelancers or £25 a month for larger businesses, benefit from a number of free international payments and conversions too.

There are no credit checks when opening a Revolut account, and no requirement to order a physical card. 

That being said, its business account is more of a niche product, with optional addons for payroll, expensive management, accepting card payments, and eCommerce integration.

Website: Revolut.com

ANNA Money – Business account and admin assistant

ANNA Money isn’t just a business account but an assistant dedicated to tackling general business banking and admin. ANNA actually stands for ‘Absolutely No Nonsense Admin’. Its focus is on small business and independent freelancers who just want to get on with their work without the hassle of typical business admin.

Customers get a business current account, debit card, and assistance chasing invoices. ANNA sees itself as a mobile business account and assistant, and takes a less corporate approach to dealing with banking. The app interface is casual and friendly, guiding the user through most tasks. 

There are five different tiers of account with the most basic being free of a monthly but having a per transaction cost. Transfers in and out are a flat 20p charge, similar to Tide. ATM withdrawals are £1, card payments are free, and paying in cash is charged at 1%.  ANNA also allows sending and receiving international payments, though the charge of £5 per payment plus a 1% conversion fee means you’d likely be better off using a third party service such as Wise or Revolut for that. 

Compared to the accounts above ANNA is something a little different, and whilst it might look a little expensive due to the transaction costs, you’re also getting invoice creation and chasing tools, document storage, MTD compliant VAT returns, and self assessment tax calculation. For those looking to reduce their admin burden, ANNA is a great banking companion. See our full ANNA Money review here. 

Pros

• Simple and easy to use
• Innovative interface
• Good selection of business tools

Cons

• Transaction fees
• No FSCS protection
• Interface may not be to everyone’s taste.

Website: anna.money

No credit check business bank account features comparison

To make comparisons a little easier, we’ve taken the top no credit check business bank accounts listed their fees and features. 

Can I open a business bank account with bad credit?

Yes. Although having a bad credit history limits your choices it doesn’t stop you from getting a business bank account up and running. Thousands of people with with bad credit have opened business accounts with the providers on our list, and gone on to run successful businesses. 

If you are looking to open a business bank account with a high street bank, see our article on how to open a business bank account with a bad credit history for a step by step guide on how to improve your chances of being accepted. 

Does opening a business bank account affect my credit score?

Highstreet banks such as Natwest, Barclays etc.. carry out hard credit checks when you apply to open a business bank account. As such, even if you are accepted for an account, other lends will see the search on your credit history.

This can affect your credit score when it comes to apply for loans, mortgages and other credit items. If you plan on applying for a big ticket credit item, it’s best to keep credit history searches to a minimum, and avoid taking out any additional credit 3 months before your application.

Fortunately, all of the accounts we’ve listed in this article carry out soft searches. These aren’t visible to lenders and won’t have any affect at all on your credit history or score.

What’s the easiest business bank account to open?

Cashplus, prides itself on opening accounts quickly and efficiently, and the fact that there’s no credit checks, makes it one of the easiest business bank accounts to open. 

Know your customer (KYC) regulations means that all business bank accounts should be running the same checks, and as such be as easy to open as each other. That said, some are better, and more efficient at running these checks and getting an an account open than others. for example, in our testing our Tide account was opened and operational within two hours of making the application. The Mettle account took two days. 

What’s required to open a business bank account?

To open a business bank account in the UK you’ll need the following:

• Photo ID – usually a passport, UK driving licence or Identity card from an EU country
• Proof of address – this can be a bank statement, council tax bill, utility bill, HMRC letter etc..
• Limited companies will need to supply their company registration number.

In some instances you need to have already registered with HMRC and have obtained your unique taxpayer reference number. See our guide for more information the unique taxpayer reference (UTR)

That’s it. You may have to answer some questions about your business such as the industry it operates in, and it’s anticipated turnover. 

How long does it take to open a business bank account with bad credit?

A few minuets to a few hours. All of the accounts we’ve listed can be opened quickly online. Gone are the days of filling in paper forms and dealing with post. Most use automated checks, and if everything goes smoothly you’ll have your account open in minutes. It further checks are needed, it can take an hour or two. 

What information will I need to open a business bank account?

If you are operating as a sole trader, or just looking to manage the money from your side hustle, then all you need to open a business is:

• Photo ID e.g. passport or driving licence or EU National ID card
• Proof of address
• National Insurance number

Limited companies will also require:

• Company registration number
• Details of persons with main responsibility 

For both types of accounts, you may also be asked:

• Type and nature of the business
• Expected annual turnover

Related posts:

Business bank accounts explained and compared How to open a business bank account with a poor credit history Card One Money – a business bank account alternative What is Tide? The small business bank, that’s not a bank