Best business bank account for a limited company UK

Why a company needs its own account

A limited company is a separate legal person. Its income, its costs and its tax bills belong to it, not to the directors, so in practice it needs a bank account in its own name from the first invoice. If customers pay a director’s personal account instead, every payment has to be unpicked at year end, and money the company is owed can end up looking like a loan to the director.

That matters because of the director’s loan rules. If a director owes the company money and does not repay it within nine months of the company’s year end, the company pays an extra charge of 33.75% of the amount outstanding, as GOV.UK’s directors’ loans guidance explains. A clean company account, with salary and dividends paid out deliberately, avoids most of that. Our guide to paying yourself from a limited company covers the mechanics, and can I use my personal account for business? covers the risks of mixing the two.

What banks check: directors and PSCs

Every UK bank has to know who owns and controls the companies it banks. Expect to be asked for:

• The company’s Companies House details, including its registered number. Monzo requires the company to be active (not dormant) at Companies House, with an active director.
• Identity for the applicant. At Monzo, the person applying must be a director; you cannot apply on behalf of a company you only work for.
• People with significant control. A PSC is usually anyone with more than 25% of the shares or voting rights, or who can appoint or remove a majority of directors, according to GOV.UK’s PSC guidance. Monzo says people with significant control are verified at sign-up.

Ownership structure can rule some accounts out. Starling says all PSCs must be UK-resident individuals, with no corporate shareholders or holding companies. Santander’s Classic account allows a maximum of two directors, owners or partners. Mettle accepts limited companies with up to two owners. If your company is owned by another company, or has a director or shareholder abroad, check eligibility before you apply.

Companies House now runs identity checks of its own: identity verification became a legal requirement for directors and PSCs on 18 November 2025. That is separate from the bank’s checks, but if you are forming a company now you will do both. Our guide to the documents you need to open a business bank account lists the rest.

Best picks for limited companies

Monzo Business: best all-rounder for a small company

Monzo Business is a full bank with FSCS protection up to £120,000. Pro (£9 a month) adds Tax Pots, invoicing and sync with Xero, FreeAgent, Sage and QuickBooks. Team (from £25 a month) adds expense cards, payment approvals, bulk payments and room for up to 15 people. It accepts sole traders and private limited companies (limited by shares), not LLPs or PLCs. Its weak spot for companies is lending, covered below.

Starling: best free account for a company

The Starling business account costs £0 a month, with free UK transfers, free invoicing and free expense cards; Team Access for up to 5 users. It connects to Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent, plus built-in Starling Accounting, and also accepts LLPs, which Monzo does not. Starling’s tax tools include a Corporation Tax estimate, though the return itself still needs separate filing software.

Revolut Business: best for multi-currency companies

Revolut Business starts at £10 a month on Basic, with no free plan for companies. It is strongest on foreign exchange and international payments. It is e-money: balances are safeguarded rather than covered by the FSCS, and it does not accept cash. Many companies use it alongside a UK bank rather than instead of one. See Monzo Business vs Revolut Business.

Tide and Mettle: free plans with limits

Tide’s Free plan rations UK transfers (5 a month on Free, then 20p each), and team cards need a paid plan. Mettle costs £0 a month and includes FreeAgent, but only one owner can access the account and it does not offer an overdraft. Both are fine for a one-director company with modest volumes.

High-street banks: branches, cash and lending relationships

HSBC’s Small Business Banking account has a £0 monthly fee and branch access. NatWest’s start-up account offers 2 years' free everyday banking (start-ups and full switchers). A high-street bank suits companies that handle cash, want a relationship manager or expect to need larger borrowing. The trade-off is usually higher fees once free periods end and slower account opening. See Monzo Business vs the high-street banks.

Side-by-side comparison

Monzo’s international payment fees change on 1 November 2026; the figure above is the new structure. Santander’s Classic account, at £9.99 (first 12 months free for start-ups and switchers), is also worth a look for two-owner companies that want branches.

Multiple users and team cards

Once a company has more than one director, or staff who spend money, team access stops being a nice-to-have. On Monzo Business, Team gives limited companies up to 15 people with 3 admins. Pricing is from £25 a month with the first 6 team members included, then £5 a month per extra team member. Team also brings:

Payment approvals are the feature a second director tends to value most: limits per person, with an admin signing off anything above them. If your company has one director and no staff, Pro is usually enough. The Monzo Business Team plan page explains what we get for the extra cost.

Corporation Tax and VAT

A company’s tax bills arrive in lumps, months after the money that created them. According to GOV.UK, the main Corporation Tax rate is 25%, with a small profits rate of 19% for profits of £50,000 or less and marginal relief between £50,000 and £250,000. Corporation Tax is usually due 9 months and 1 day after the end of the accounting period. If you are VAT-registered, which is compulsory once taxable turnover goes over the £90,000 VAT threshold, returns and payment are usually due one calendar month and 7 days after the period ends.

Monzo’s Tax Pots handle this: a percentage of every incoming payment, moved automatically. You can have up to 3 Tax Pots, and a company names them itself, for example one for VAT and one for Corporation Tax. Direct Debits can be paid from a pot. Starling’s Spaces and Tide’s Tax Saver do a similar job, though the automatic percentage split is what makes Monzo’s version hard to forget about. The Monzo Business Tax Pots guide shows how a company sets them up.

Accounting software

Most limited companies use an accountant and accounting software, and the bank feed is what keeps the books current. Monzo Business Pro and Team sync with Xero, FreeAgent, Sage and QuickBooks, and receipts and categories sync with Xero. Monzo’s current Xero offer is 6 months' free Xero with Pro, 8 months with Team (new Xero customers, until 31 May 2027). Starling connects to Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent, plus built-in Starling Accounting; Revolut Business connects to Xero, Sage, QuickBooks and more. Ask your accountant which package they work in before you choose, because the feed matters more to them than the app does to you.

Lending for limited companies

This is the area where Monzo Business is weakest for companies, and its own pages do not agree. One lending page describes a limited company overdraft of £500 to £5,000 at a representative 35.9% EAR (variable), with an annual fee and a personal guarantee. The same page, and a Monzo help article, say Monzo does not lend to limited companies directly yet. Business loans for companies are offered through partner iwoca: £500 to £35,000 at a representative 33.1% APR, and Monzo earns a commission when you borrow through iwoca.

So check what the app actually offers your company before you count on it. If credit is central to your plans, a high-street bank may suit better: HSBC advertises borrowing up to £100k (subject to status), and Santander lists an overdraft £500 to £25,000 (subject to acceptance). Tide offers loans and finance from £1,000 to £20 million through its own platform. The Monzo Business overdrafts and loans page tracks what Monzo says.

How we use Monzo as a limited company

The savings rate is up to 3.25% AER (variable), but it depends on your plan and Monzo’s pages show different figures, so check the app before relying on a number.

If Monzo Business suits your company, the referral works on any plan. It is only for directors who have never opened a Monzo account before, and all four steps must be completed within 30 days. The step-by-step guide to opening an account walks through the application.