Business bank account offers and switching bonuses: October 2026

Every offer at a glance

Ten offers from nine providers. Scroll sideways on a phone.

Last checked 9 October 2026. “No end date published” means the terms we read do not give one; the provider can still withdraw the offer.

Monzo Business referral: £50 each

If you open a Monzo Business account through a customer’s referral link, Monzo pays £50 to you and £50 to the person who referred you. Ours is one of those links, so we have a direct interest in this offer and say so. It is a link, not a code: there is nothing to type, and the link has to be opened on the phone you sign up on, before you start.

To qualify you must never have opened a Monzo account of any kind, including a personal or joint account. That is the most common reason the reward does not arrive. Then, within 30 days, you need to download the app, apply, add money and make a first card payment. The payment must be a card payment of any amount, online or in person (Apple Pay and Google Pay count); ATM withdrawals, bank transfers and virtual-card payments do not count. The offer applies to any Monzo Business plan, including free Lite.

Monzo also caps how many rewards one referrer can earn (3 rewards a month). If a link has reached the cap, both rewards wait until the next month rather than disappearing. Our Monzo Business referral guide covers every condition, and the five-question bonus checker tells you in a minute whether you qualify.

Tide referral: a bigger reward, with a spending condition

Tide’s current refer-a-friend scheme pays £100 for the referee after £500 card spend in 90 days. That is twice Monzo’s reward to the person joining, and we would rather say so than hide it. The condition is real spending: £500 on the Tide card inside 90 days. If your business would spend that anyway, it is a better bonus; if not, it is not a bonus at all.

You need a referral code from an existing Tide customer, entered at sign-up or within 7 days. We do not have one and do not earn anything from Tide. The scheme started on 8 January 2026 and Tide has published no end date. The full rules are in Tide’s referral terms.

Before choosing Tide for the bonus, look at what the account costs to run. On the free plan, UK transfers are limited (5 a month on Free, then 20p each) and card spending abroad costs 2.75% on Free; 0% on paid plans. Tide is a strong account for many sole traders, and our Monzo Business vs Tide comparison sets the two side by side.

Starling: invite-only referrals

Starling’s referral terms, effective 24 August 2026, describe a reward of £25 each to referrer and referee. The catch is that it is invite-only: referrers must be invited by Starling, and the reward conditions are set in each referral message. Starling’s public refer-a-friend page says its earlier scheme ended and a new one has been trialled with selected customers since March 2026.

So most people cannot count on a Starling bonus. If a Starling customer sends you an invitation, read the conditions in that message. Starling is a good account on its own merits, with no monthly fee and free UK transfers; our Monzo Business vs Starling comparison covers the differences.

Revolut Business: a £100 bonus we could not verify

Finder lists a Revolut Business welcome bonus: £100 welcome bonus via Finder link, add £0.01 by 31 December 2026. It runs through a Finder-exclusive link, and we could not read Revolut’s own terms for it, so we mark it unverified. If you are interested, read the terms shown when you open the link, and check Finder’s offers page for the current details.

Two things to know first. Revolut Business is an e-money account, so your balance is safeguarded rather than FSCS-protected, and its entry plan for companies is £10 (Basic). It suits companies that trade in several currencies; see Monzo Business vs Revolut Business.

Countingup: £50 each, limited companies only

Countingup pays £50 each when a limited company joins and spends £150 in 60 days. The person joining must be a limited company, so sole traders are out. Countingup’s referral terms run from 30 September 2025 to 30 November 2026, and were updated on 7 September 2026.

Countingup’s terms do not allow referral links to be published publicly, which is why you will not find one here; you need a code from someone who already uses it. Remember the running cost too: £5 a month after a 3-month free trial, rising with your monthly deposits.

Lloyds: £200 if you open online by 15 October 2026

Lloyds is offering £200 for opening online by 15 October 2026. The deadline is days away as we publish: apply online by 15 October 2026. To earn it you must be a new business customer or switch your account in full, then spend on the debit card and set up two Direct Debits by 31 December 2026. The details are on Lloyds’ offer page.

Lloyds also lists a separate Xero offer for new customers: Xero free for 6 months for new customers, plus a gift card through Xero. The account itself is £0 for 12 months, then £10, and the free year applies only to a first Lloyds Business Account.

If you are starting a business now, our guide to business bank accounts for startups weighs this against NatWest’s two free years and the app-based accounts.

Free banking periods: NatWest, Barclays, Santander

The high-street banks compete mainly on free banking rather than cash. These are not bonuses: they are a period with no account fee, after which the normal tariff applies.

• NatWest: 2 years' free everyday banking (start-ups and full switchers). Start-ups must have traded for under a year; switchers need a full switch through the Current Account Switch Service and turnover under £2m (NatWest’s switching page). After two years there is still no monthly charge, but everyday transactions are charged per item: free for 2 years, then £0.35 per automated payment.
• Barclays: 12 months with no monthly fee, then £8.50 a month. Businesses that already have a Barclays business current account are not eligible (Barclays business account).
• Santander: 12 months with no monthly fee for start-ups and switchers, then £9.99 a month on the Business Current Account Classic (Santander Classic account). The account allows a maximum of two owners or directors.

HSBC UK’s small business account has no monthly fee to begin with, so it does not run a free-banking offer. Our Monzo Business vs high-street banks comparison shows what each bank charges once the free period ends.

Accounting software offers

Several providers bundle accounting software, which can be worth more than a cash bonus if you would pay for it anyway.

• Monzo Business: 6 months' free Xero with Pro, 8 months with Team (new Xero customers, until 31 May 2027). Pro costs £9 a month, so the Xero months can outweigh the plan fee for a new Xero user.
• Santander: Xero free for 6 months plus £200 gift card (new Xero customers).
• Lloyds: Xero free for 6 months for new customers.
• Barclays: Sage free for 12 months, then 50% off.
• HSBC UK: My Business Finances (Sage) for non-VAT sole traders; 12 months free if you join by 30 June 2027, then £5.99 + VAT a month.
• NatWest: FreeAgent free while you keep the account.
• Mettle: FreeAgent included (needs one transaction a month). Not a time-limited offer, but worth knowing. Mettle’s own estimate: Saves at least £150 a year on FreeAgent's lowest tariff.

Is a bonus worth switching for?

A bonus is paid once; fees are paid every month. Take Lloyds: the £200 offer covers about 20 months of its £10 monthly fee once the free year ends, so in total roughly the first 32 months cost nothing. After that you pay £120 a year in account fees alone, before cash and international charges. An account with no monthly fee overtakes it in year three.

That does not make the Lloyds offer bad. If you want a high-street bank anyway, it is a good time to open one. It does mean the right order is: choose the account that suits how you work, then take whatever offer comes with it. Our best business bank accounts comparison starts from that question.

Two practical points. Most offers need you to use the account properly, with card spending, Direct Debits or a full switch, so plan the switch rather than opening an account you will leave empty. And if you are moving banks, the Current Account Switch Service moves payments for you; our guide to switching business bank account explains what moves and what you update yourself.

How we check offers

We read each offer on the provider’s own terms or offer page, record the conditions and end date, and link to that page. Where we can only find an offer on a third-party site, as with Revolut this month, we label it unverified. We re-check this page at least monthly, and sooner when a provider announces a change. Last checked 9 October 2026.

If you spot an offer we have missed or one that has changed, email us and we will check it and update the page.