Opening a business savings account
To open a new business savings account with us, follow the three steps below. If you’re looking to add an additional account, you’ll need to go to our ‘Additional Account’ page. If your organisation has a turnover of £10 million or more, you’ll need to speak to a member of our Corporate Savings team.
Step 1
Choose your business savings account
Take a look at our business savings accounts and choose the one for you. You’ll then be able to find more information, read our eligibility criteria, see our terms and condition and apply online.
Already decided on the account for you?
Step 2
Send us the information we need
To help us open your savings account(s) as quickly as possible, we've listed all the information you'll need to provide in our printable checklist.
Please note that if any information is missing, your application may be delayed – or you may need to reapply.
Key information we typically ask for
We’ll need details about your organisation’s Beneficial Owners, Business Officials and Authorised Signatories. Here’s how we define these:
Beneficial Owners
Anyone with a controlling interest or shareholding of 25% or more in the business. They ultimately own the business and the deposit for the company’s savings account. You can ignore this if no one person owns more than 25%, or the organisation is owned by someone else.
Business Officials
Anyone who has the authority to act on behalf of the company – such as a director, partner, member or trustee. You can ignore this if you’re a sole trader, or there is only one such official who is also the Beneficial Owner.
Authorised Signatories
Anyone who’s able to sign off transactions or make decisions about the savings account.
The details we’ll need from each of these people (as applicable) are:
Beneficial Owners
- Residential address
- Time lived there
- Place of birth
- Nationality
- Tax residence
Business Officials
(at least two, unless you’re a sole trader or there’s only one)
- Residential address
- Time lived there
- Place of Birth
- Nationality
Dual Nationality Status Business Officials
- Residential address
- Place of Birth
- Nationality
- Dual Nationality Status
Your nominated account details
We also need details of the bank account you’ll use for all your withdrawals. This is known as your nominated account, and should be in your business or organisation's name.
Your business’ details
You’ll need to tell us your organisation’s annual turnover – the income (or donations, if you’re a charity) received each year – plus the number of full and part-time employees and your total assets. For businesses with complex ownership structures, we may ask for a structure chart at a later date.
Step 3
Prove your identity
Once we’ve received your application form, we’ll aim to verify your identity electronically. If we need to see some original documents too, we’ll be in touch.
How long will your application take?
Your application is being processed, which is taking slightly longer than usual due to very high application volumes. Once we’ve completed all our checks we’ll aim to open your account within 30 working days.
You can call or email us to track the progress of a new application at any time.