How to Open a Business Bank Account in the UK

Opening a business current account means passing two sets of checks. The first is the same at every bank, because it comes from the law: the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 tell a bank what it must establish about a new customer before it can do business with them. The second is the bank’s own eligibility rules for the particular account, and those vary. This guide goes through both, using the regulations and the banks’ own application pages as the sources. Fees for the accounts mentioned are in the comparison; how we read them is in the methodology.

Key facts

• A bank must verify a customer’s identity “before the establishment of a business relationship or the carrying out of the transaction” - regulation 30 of the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (legislation.gov.uk).
• A bank that cannot complete its checks “must not carry out any transaction through a bank account with the customer” - regulation 31 (legislation.gov.uk).
• Identity verification for company directors “will be a mandatory requirement from 18 November 2025”, and a company “will be unable to file its confirmation statement unless all its directors are verified” - Companies House guidance (gov.uk).
• The Co-operative Bank states that business accounts “are usually opened within 5 business days”; Metro Bank offers “walk-in same day account opening in our stores” (the banks’ own pages).
• Registering a company online costs £100 and the company “is usually registered within 24 hours” (gov.uk).

Opening and switching are separate processes

Pay.UK, which runs the Current Account Switch Service, says so in its business FAQ: “Account opening and account switching are separate processes. Your new bank or building society has to carry out ‘know your customer’ security checks as part of their account opening process. Once these are complete to the satisfaction of the new bank or building society, you can choose and agree your switch date.”

The switching service moves your payments once you have an account; it does nothing to get you through the door. The mechanics of the move are in how to switch business bank account with the Current Account Switch Service; whether a sole trader needs a business account at all is answered in do sole traders need a business bank account?.

Why banks check: the Money Laundering Regulations 2017

The checks are not bank policy. They are required by the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, the MLR 2017. Banks are “relevant persons” under the regulations, and regulation 27 states that “A relevant person must apply customer due diligence measures if the person (a) establishes a business relationship”. Opening an account is establishing one.

Regulation 28 says what due diligence means. The bank must “identify the customer” and “verify the customer’s identity”, and the verification must be “on the basis of documents or information in either case obtained from a reliable source which is independent of the person whose identity is being verified”. That phrase is why a bank wants your passport rather than your word, and checks your address against a record you did not supply. The bank must also “assess, and where appropriate obtain information on, the purpose and intended nature of the business relationship or occasional transaction”, the legal basis for every question about what the business does and what it expects to turn over.

Regulation 30(2) fixes the timing: a bank “must comply with the requirement to verify the identity of the customer, any person purporting to act on behalf of the customer and any beneficial owner of the customer before the establishment of a business relationship or the carrying out of the transaction”. Regulation 30(4) lets a bank open the account before verification is complete provided safeguards stop any transactions until it is. An account that is “open” but will not let you pay anyone is that provision at work.

Regulation 31 sets the consequence. Where a bank “is unable to apply customer due diligence measures as required by regulation 28”, it “must not carry out any transaction through a bank account with the customer or on behalf of the customer” and “must consider whether the relevant person is required to make a disclosure” under the Terrorism Act 2000 or the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. There is no discretion. If a bank cannot verify you, it cannot bank you.

What banks check on a limited company: the Companies House record

For a company, regulation 28 requires the bank to obtain and verify the company’s name, company number, registered office and principal place of business, and to take reasonable measures to establish the law it is subject to, its constitution, and the names of its board and the senior people responsible for running it. Regulation 28 also requires the bank to identify any beneficial owner, which regulation 5 defines to include “any individual who ultimately owns or controls (in each case whether directly or indirectly), including through bearer share holdings or by other means, more than 25% of the shares or voting rights in the body corporate”.

Nearly all of that is on the public register. GOV.UK lists what Companies House provides free: “company information, for example registered address and date of incorporation”, “current and resigned officers”, “document images”, “mortgage charge data”, “previous company names” and “insolvency information”. The 25% test is the same one Companies House applies to people with significant control: registration guidance says to identify PSCs, “for example, anyone with more than 25% of the shares or voting rights”. The bank reconciles your application against the register.

Two Companies House facts bear on timing. Registering online “costs £100 and can be paid by debit or credit card” and “Your company is usually registered within 24 hours”; “Postal applications take 8 to 10 days and cost £124”. Barclays asks for “your Companies House registration number, including your date of incorporation”, so the company exists first and the account follows. And directors now have to be verified at Companies House: the guidance states that “Identity verification will be a mandatory requirement from 18 November 2025”, that “If you’re currently a director, you’ll need to provide your personal code in your company’s next confirmation statement filing”, and that “Your company will be unable to file its confirmation statement unless all its directors are verified”.

What banks check on the people, and on the trading

The regulations require verification of the customer and anyone acting for it: directors and owners in a company, partners in a partnership, you as a sole trader. The banks’ pages show what that means.

Barclays asks for “Your residential addresses for the past three years” and, for directors or partners, “their full names, mobile number and email address”; “At least one person on the application must be a UK resident”. NatWest asks for home addresses for the last three years for all partners, members or directors, states “We may use our partner Mitek to check your identity”, and requires agreement to “A credit check for everyone on the application”. The Co-operative Bank states “Your application is subject to status. This means we’ll assess your financial circumstances and complete credit checks”, and requires applicants to be “Free from county court judgements (CCJs), bankruptcy and individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) over the last six years”. Santander wants “a valid passport or driving licence” and “proof of your residential address. For example, a utility bill or bank statement.” Metro Bank asks for proof of identity and proof of UK address for all parties.

The pattern is identity, three years of address, residency, and a credit check on every person named. The credit check is not a lending decision; the Co-operative Bank’s wording makes clear it is part of assessing the application.

The “purpose and intended nature” requirement is met with evidence about the trading, and this is where new applicants are least prepared. Santander is the most specific: “You’ll need to show proof of what your business does. You’ll need a business insurance policy schedule, a recent invoice from one of your suppliers or your business’ last tax return.” Barclays asks for “The trading address of your business” and “Details about your business, including tax information and turnover”; NatWest requires that “Your business is registered for UK income or corporation tax”. Pay.UK’s list of what a new bank may require includes “An HM Revenue & Customs certificate” and “A recent utility bill or statement relating to the business”. Because the regulation speaks of “intended nature”, a business that has not yet traded can offer evidence of intention: a certificate, an HMRC registration, an insurance schedule, a lease.

Sole trader or limited company: how the application differs

The law treats the two structures differently, and the application follows. GOV.UK states that a limited company “is legally separate from the people who own it” and that “Company owners are responsible for the debts of the business only up to the value of their financial investment”, whereas sole trader businesses have “‘unlimited liability’ which means owners are personally responsible for all of the debts of the business”.

For a company the separation reaches the bank account: “There must be a clear division between the company’s finances and those of the owners and directors. This is because the company is a separate legal entity. For example, your company’s banking must be separate from your personal banking.” For a sole trader there is no such rule; HMRC says “You might be able to use a personal or business bank account for your business. Check with your bank which type of account you can use for business transactions.”

Eligibility by structure varies. Starling’s business current account is for “a company limited by shares (Limited Company) or limited liability partnership (LLP) registered at Companies House”. Monzo states “Only sole traders or limited company directors in the UK can apply”. Santander’s Key Facts Document covers sole traders, partnerships, LLPs and private limited companies with “a maximum of two directors, owners (shareholders) or partners”. Metro Bank accepts “sole trader, limited company, limited guarantee, or limited liability partnership” with “turnover and/or annual balance sheet total that does not exceed £2 million”. Zempler Bank states “We accept applications from limited companies, sole traders, charities, and partnerships.” The comparison records each list against the provider’s own page.

Deposit protection differs too. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme states that a limited company or LLP “could claim up to £120,000 for each account”, whereas a sole trader “wouldn’t be entitled to two separate claims - you could claim up to £120,000 in total”.

How long it takes: what the banks publish

Most banks do not publish an account-opening timescale, and this guide does not invent one. Of the pages read, the Co-operative Bank is clearest: “Accounts are usually opened within 5 business days.” Metro Bank advertises “walk-in same day account opening in our stores”, while recommending an appointment. NatWest asks “Got 10 minutes to fill in your application?”, which is the form, not the decision. Starling, Barclays, Santander and Monzo’s pages, read on 5 September 2026, give no figure.

Two things stretch the timeline. Under regulation 30(4) an account can be open with transactions blocked until verification finishes, so “opened” and “usable” can differ. And the Current Account Switch Service’s seven working days is a separate clock that starts once the account is open.

Why applications are refused

Refusals fall into three groups, and the sources above account for each.

The first is the law. Under regulation 31, a bank that “is unable to apply customer due diligence measures” must not open the account. If identity, address, beneficial ownership or the purpose of the account cannot be established, the bank has no choice. The regulation also requires it to “consider whether the relevant person is required to make a disclosure”; it does not oblige the bank to tell the applicant why it declined.

The second is the bank’s own rules. The pages read for this guide exclude applicants outside the UK (Barclays, NatWest, Metro Bank, Starling and the Co-operative Bank all set residency conditions), structures the account is not built for (Starling excludes sole traders; Monzo takes only sole traders and limited company directors), businesses over a size limit (NatWest’s start-up account is for “businesses that have been trading for less than 1 year and have a turnover of less than £1m”; Metro Bank caps at £2 million), companies that are “dissolved, in liquidation, or subject to any action of administration” (Starling), and adverse credit history (the Co-operative Bank’s six-year CCJ, bankruptcy and IVA test; NatWest’s requirement not to have “been declared bankrupt or received a County Court Judgement or Court Decree”).

The third is mismatch. The bank checks the form against the Companies House register and independent identity and address data. A director not yet verified with Companies House, a PSC missing from the register, or gaps in an address history are points where form and record disagree, and the regulation requires the bank to resolve them before it can proceed.

What to have ready

Drawn from the banks’ own pages read for this guide. Not every bank asks for every item; each item is asked for by at least one.

For everyone named on the application

• Photo identity: “a valid passport or driving licence” (Santander).
• Proof of residential address, “for example, a utility bill or bank statement”, and addresses for the past three years (Santander; Barclays; NatWest).
• Each director’s or partner’s “full names, mobile number and email address” (Barclays).
• Agreement to a credit check on every applicant (NatWest; the Co-operative Bank).

For a limited company or LLP

• The Companies House registration number and date of incorporation (Barclays).
• A register that matches the application: registered office, officers and PSCs, with directors verified at Companies House (GOV.UK).

For the business

• The trading address, with proof if it differs from the residential address (Barclays; Santander).
• Evidence of what the business does: “a business insurance policy schedule, a recent invoice from one of your suppliers or your business’ last tax return” (Santander).
• Tax information and expected turnover (Barclays); an HMRC certificate and a recent utility bill or statement relating to the business (Pay.UK).

All of this is information, not advice. Fees, cash handling, integrations and eligibility are laid out provider by provider in the comparison, read from each provider’s own tariff.