Best non resident UK business bank account
This week we try to find the best UK business bank account for non residents. (If you are looking for a non business accounts you can read about those here).
You probably won’t be surprised to find all three are online alternatives to the traditional UK high street banks.
We’ve got two established UK Fintech Unicorns and a brand new elite offering for SMEs.
Why no traditional high street players? Well I think the famous leaked internal memo from Santander said it best:
It would lose 84% of revenue from its money transfer business if its charges were as low as Wise!
In other words, these neobanks cut costs dramatically.
But let’s get one thing straight. Not only do they do international business banking cheaper than traditional finance, they do it better. Dare I say, much better!
Low costs, dedicated online platforms and mobile apps designed for purpose put the established institutions to shame. It’s not their fault. They just can’t compete.
Neobanks provide all the key services you’d expect from a non resident UK business bank account. They just provide them cheaper, better and quicker!
To keep things concise here, we’ve only talked about where they are different.
You get the following services with all three:
Services you can expect
- Multiple currencies
- Multiple local accounts
- Cards*
- Direct debits
- Mobile app*
- Quality client support
- Payroll
*These are coming soon with Payset
Though there are a lot of similarities they are different.
In fact, each of them has something truly compelling to offer. Which one you choose will come down what you as a business owner need from your international business account.
If pushed we think it comes down to this.
If you need truly global coverage you want Wise or Payset. Choose Wise if you are prioritising costs or Payset if you are prioritising service.
For anything else, Revolut provides great options for any size of business located in the UK, EEA & Switzerland and they have the best platform.
Here’s a quick summary of all three but read on for more details.
Non resident business bank account summary
Wise | Revolut | Payset | |
Company | |||
What we like | Lowest costs – most countries – fastest set up | A plan for every size of business – outstanding platform | Highest quality service for SMEs |
Biggest drawbacks | No dedicated business app | Limited coverage (Only UK and Europe) | Highest fees |
Customer service | Good | Good | Excellent |
Local accounts | 10 | 2 | 2 |
Company residency | Most countries | Only UK, EEA & Switzerland | Most countries |
Account activation | £45 | 0 | from £95 |
Monthly fee | Free | 0 – £100 (but you can pay more & tailor to your specific large business needs) | from £49 |
Currencies | over 50 | over 30 | 38 |
International payments | From 0.41% | Free within paid plans £3 otherwise | From 0.45% |
Dedicated business platform | No | Yes | Yes |
Account setup time (usually) | Minutes | Hours | Days |
Safety and security
Whilst these online banking service providers do not have official banking licenses, they are regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority as Electric Money Institutions.
The key being whilst your money is not backed by FSCS it is protected through safeguarding instead.
Safeguarding involves segregating 100% of client funds from operations. In other words it is kept at another bank. This means that in the event any one of these companies ran into financial trouble your money would be safe because it is kept elsewhere.
Revolut
Key features
30+currencies
2 local accounts (GBP & EUR)
Best platform
We’ll kick off with the Revolut business account.
Revolut started life in 2015 as a pre-paid card. It has since grown to be the UK’s 2nd largest Neobank with 19% market share and 25 million global users.
A US $800 million funding round in July 2021 brought the company’s valuation to US$33 billion, making it a massive company overnight and essentially the most valuable UK tech startup at the time.
Revolut offer various plans for international business accounts depending on whether you are a freelancer or company. In both cases, they offer a free plan with limited functionality but to unleash the real power you need to pay a monthly fee.
RevolutFreelancer plans
- Free: £0
- Pro: £7
- Ultimate: £25
Revolut Company plans
- Free: £0
- Grow: £25
- Scale: £100
- Enterprise: £? {this is a customised package that you tailor to big business}
The more you pay the more services you get included for free. As an example you get five fee-free UK bank transfers per month with the Companies free plan but 1000 of them with the Scale account.
Revolut also has some unique features you can’t find elsewhere.
- Metal cards – which can be engraved with your companies name
- Platform – unequaled functionality and usability
- Rewards – users can access various perks provide by large corporates like Apple, Zipcar, Expensify, Google, Slack & Deliveroo
The biggest drawback really is its limited coverage.
But then again, if you are in Europe and priotitise platform functionality then Revolut could be the right choice for you.
Wise
Key features
50+currencies
10 local accounts (GBP, EUR, USD, AUD, NZD, SGD, RON, CAD, HUF and TRY)
No monthly fees
Next up, is the Wise business account.
Wise was founded in 2011 as a foreign exchange transfer app by Kristo Kaarmann and Taavet Hinrikus (Skype’s first ever employee).
On 7 July 2021, it went public with a direct listing on the London Stock Exchange, and was valued at $11 billion.
Since those days it has morphed into an international banking service provider. They offer both standard and business accounts.
Unlike their competitors, there’s no monthly fee. Small fees are instead applied to transactions. And these are extremely low-cost.
The Wise Business Account – Key Fees
- Account opening: £45
- Monthly fee: £0
- Sending money: from 0.41%
Wise excels in international coverage and costs. If either or both of these are key to your business Wise could be the best choice for you.
The biggest drawback of the Wise business account is the fact it is a one size fits all platform. There’s no dedicated business app for example. It does what it is supposed to, but some tasks aren’t the most intuitive in the beginning.
Payset
Key features
38+currencies
2 local accounts (GBP & EUR)
Best service
Finally we’ll take a look at the Payset multicurrency account.
Unlike the others which offer online business accounts as an afterthought, Payset was born to be one.
Founded in 2018, it is focused on elite payments solution for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
As a leading online payments platform based in London, they provide a diverse suite of tailor made payment solutions for both individuals and companies.
Prices are a little higher than the others we’ve looked at, but they aim to provide a better proposition.
Payset international business banking key fees
- Account opening: from £95
- Monthly fee: from £49
- Sending money: from 0.45% {min £8}
In short, you’ll likely pay a little more, but expect to get a better service tailored to your business requirements and unparalleled client support.
The Payset team are so confident that you will like what they have to offer that they will give you a demo so that you can try it out before you commit.
Best non resident UK business bank account – the bottom line
So there you have it. The three best UK business bank accounts for non residents. All from neobanks because they just do international business banking better.
If you need truly global coverage you want Wise or Payset. Choose Wise if you are prioritising costs or Payset if you are prioritising service.
For anything else, Revolut provides great options for any size of business located in the UK, EEA & Switzerland and they have the best platform.
Though Wise usually works out cheapest, you’ll have to pay to activate an account whereas Revolut has free plans with limited functionality and Payset offers free demos for their platform.