12 of the best digital banking platforms for small business

Digital banking platforms, also known as Authorised Payment Institutions (API) or e-money institutions/issuers, generally don’t consider themselves to be banks, and they promise something different to their traditional competitors.

These platforms all offer an alternative to traditional high street accounts, they are quick to set up and operate entirely from your smartphone where you can access all their digital banking services.

But which one will be right for your small business depends on a number of factors, from your business size to the functionality you require. In this comprehensive guide, we compare the features and pricing of the market leading platforms.

Read on for a full breakdown or compare the best option for you now.

Digital banking platforms

On this page, you will find:

1. • ANNA

• • Revolut
• • Countingup

• • Starling Bank

• • Tide

• • Monzo

• • Airwallex

• • Coconut

• • Mettle

• • Zempler Bank

• • Allica Bank

• • CardOneMoney

ANNA

ANNA is open to any UK resident who is a director of a limited company and non-limited businesses that are structured as a partnership or sole trader.

On the app you’ve got smart invoicing, creating sales and purchase invoices for you. It’ll politely chase outstanding payments that you’re owed and you’ll be notified about VAT, corporation tax and self-assessment tax return deadlines (compliant with Making Tax Digital).

ANNA offers a pay-as-you-use package; or you could pay £14.90 a month for the Essentials package; or the Big Business package with all the app tools included at £49.90 a month (both before VAT).

Open an Anna Money business account

Revolut

Revolut is a good shout for businesses who travel and trade overseas. Customers can hold, exchange and transfer in over 150 currencies with the real exchange rate.

You can issue plastic, metal or virtual cards and track your employees spending in real time.

Revolut comes with perks and benefits from partners such as Zipcar for Business, Pact Coffee and Shopify.

In terms of accounts you’ve got:

• • Free (£0 a month)

• • Grow (from £19 a month)

• • Scale (from £79 a month)

• • Enterprise (bespoke – speak to Revolut)

Freelancers have got Revolut Pro. The Standard package (£0) allows you to exchange up to £1,000 in over 29 currencies with no additional fees. Or you could go with Plus package (£3.99 a month) where you can earn points which translate to travel rewards, as well as purchase protection. Premium (£7.99 a month) includes partnerships with Deliveroo, Headspace and Freeletics. Plus you can get 20 per cent of international transfer, with no limits. Metal (£14.99 a month) has higher limits on savings and 40 per cent off fees on every international transfer. Finally, the Ultra (£45 a month) comes with a platinum-plated card, 3GB of global data access around the world every month, unlimited airport lounge access and a 100 per cent saving on international transfer fees.        

Open a Revolut business account

Countingup

Countingup is a relatively new player in the mobile banking market.

Its business offering comes with real-time profit and loss reports, tax estimates and customised invoices.

This is best if your business is UK-based as you can’t make or receive international payments with this account as it doesn’t have an IBAN. However, you can apply for one via Countingup partner, CurrencyFair.

All accounting features appear in all of the accounts; these include receipt capture and automatically categorised transactions.

It costs £3 for those with a monthly deposit of £0-£750; £9 a month for those with a monthly deposit of £750-£7,500; or £18 a month for unlimited monthly deposits.  

Open a Countingup account 

Starling Bank

The Starling Bank business account is open to you if you’re self-employed or the owner of a limited company or if you’re part of a limited company with multiple owners. 

There’s no monthly charge on the account. To boost your business’ functionality, you can add on a toolkit for £7 a month. Extra tools include invoices and auto-matching, email integrations and VAT recorded on transactions. You’ve also got the option to add a euro business account for £2 a month or a US dollar business account for £5 a month.

If you want to deposit cash, you can do so at Post Office branches across the country. It’ll set you back 0.7 per cent (£3 minimum) per deposit.

What’s more, you can integrate it with Xero, FreeAgent and Quickbooks.

Tide

With Tide, get real-time business forecasts with the ability to predict your balance 30 days ahead. What’s more, receive actionable suggestions to improve cashflow.

You’ve also got free invoice templates and the ability to set up scheduled payments. The package is rounded off with in-app support as well as integration with Xero and QuickBooks.

There are three accounts available through Tide: Free (£0), Plus (£9.99), Pro (£18.99) and Plus Cashback (£49.99)

Open a Tide business account

Monzo

Monzo has a business account for sole traders or the directors of a registered limited company by shares (Ltd). Multi-user access is available for limited companies. Just be aware that you need to have a personal account with Monzo before you can apply for a business account.

Accounts aren’t available to the some types of businesses but this may be reviewed in future.

To limit financial crime, you can pay in £5-£300 of cash in one go, and up to £1,000 every six months.

As for features, Monzo integrates with Xero, FreeAgent and QuickBooks. With Monzo Business Pro, new Xero users can get six months of the cloud accounting platform free on the Business Pro account. It also has a Tax Pots feature, where you can set aside a percentage of your earnings to put towards tax every time you’re paid. What’s more, you can opt to be notified every time you get paid.

The pricing is on two tiers: Lite offers up the basics but for additional features like Apple Pay and Google Pay but for Tax Pots you’ll need to go Pro at £5 a month.

Airwallex

Airwallex offers a business account with domestic and international business accounts, company cards, and expense management – all in one place.

Its multi-currency account allows you to start collecting payments from your customers in their preferred currency so you can trade globally without the red tape.

The account is free and there are no set up costs, you just pay a small currency conversion fee.

Access a wealth of tools and integrations including Xero and Oracle, plus you can open an account in minutes online.

Coconut

For sole traders and limited companies (with up to two directors), Coconut has the functionality to handle banking, bookkeeping, invoicing and tax.

You can connect current accounts and credit cards from over 30 different banks including Barclays, Lloyds and Starling. Notifications will let you know that a payment has been made or received, automatically categorising it.

Sole traders can get an extra help up with tax reports to help them with their self-assessment. Of course, it has Making Tax Digital-compliant software.

See calculations of how much tax you’ll owe and tips on what expenses you can claim, maximising your tax savings.

The flat monthly fee is £9.00 – and that includes VAT.

Mettle

Mettle is part of NatWest but is an independent arm. This means that you can’t ring NatWest and expect them to assist with your Mettle account.

You’ll be eligible if you’re a sole trader or a limited company with up to two owners, though you must have a balance of up to £1 million to apply.

One of the main highlights is that you can create and send invoices directly from your smartphone, complete with company logo. Like Coconut, notifications will let you know when you’ve been paid. 

It’ll remind you that an invoice is overdue, and you can send an automated reminder to your client.

Transactions-wise, you can manage recurring payments in-app, add receipts to transactions and export your expense data.

Other than that, you can sync your account with FreeAgent, Xero or QuickBooks but you can also export to CSV which is compatible with other accounting software. FreeAgent is free, saving you £150 a year.

Mettle is free to use and free to join.

Zempler Bank

Zempler Bank says that it takes minutes rather than months to get an account.

It’s a good account if you already have a few members of staff on your payroll – add up to 20 additional business expense cards for your employees to use (fees apply). Manage employee expense cards and travel cards centrally through an online system.

Integrate it with online accounting software.

Open a Zempler Bank account

Allica Bank

Allica Bank is a leading digital banking platform tailored specifically for small business owners. Established in the UK, Allica Bank focuses on providing personalised banking solutions to support the growth and development of small enterprises. The bank offers a range of business accounts with competitive rates and minimal fees, ensuring cost-effective financial management.

One of the standout features of Allica Bank is its commitment to high deposit limits, allowing businesses to manage larger sums without frequent transfers. Additionally, Allica Bank provides flexible loan options with attractive interest rates, helping businesses secure the capital they need for expansion and operational costs.

Allica Bank’s digital platform is user-friendly, with robust security measures ensuring the safety of transactions and data. It also offers dedicated customer support, giving business owners direct access to financial experts. 

Standard business account is free and a premium business account is £12.50 per month.

The business account has no monthly fees.

Open an Allica Bank business account

CardOneMoney

The account from CardOneMoney (formerly CardOneBanking) is aimed at sole traders, limited companies or partnerships who have a turnover of up to £2m.

Add up to four additional prepaid corporate MasterCards which will link to your business account to use within your business. You can also export statements to a cloud accounting network such as Xero, Sage and FreeAgent. You can also make domestic and international payments in a range of currencies.

Pay cash and cheques into your account through Barclays Bank branches.

Just be aware that this one isn’t covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, so your first £85,000 investment won’t be covered.

It’s £12.50 a month with a £55 application fee.

Compare CardOneMoney with NerdWallet

Which digital banking account is right for me?

Of course, the right bank account will depend on the needs of your small business. Factor in how many employees you have, your turnover and what features will support you in the day-to-day running of the firm. Whether you choose one as your primary account or a secondary account, digital banking platforms offer up a quick and convenient alternative to contend with your high street bank.

Related: Challenger and digital banks secure new funds to help small businesses

Compare business bank accounts now – Easily find the top business bank accounts from a range of providers here.

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