Business bank account fees: what you pay and how to estimate it

Business bank account fees come in more shapes than the monthly price on the front page. Transfers, cash deposits, card spending abroad and same-day payments can all carry a charge, and the mix of business bank account fees differs from one provider to the next. This guide names each type of fee, gives real figures from UK providers' own fee documents, and shows you how to work out what your own month would cost.

By the Business Account Review editorial team · checked 25 October 2026 · How we check

The main types of business bank account fees

Nearly all business bank account fees come from the same short menu. Once you know the names, any fee table becomes much easier to read.

Monthly or annual fee: The plan price. Several providers have a £0 plan; paid plans add allowances or tools. Wise Business instead charges a one-off £50 set-up fee.
UK transfer fees: A charge per Faster Payment or BACS payment once you pass an allowance. Some providers include unlimited UK transfers.
CHAPS fees: Same-day, high-value payments, often used for property or large supplier payments. Usually charged per payment.
Cash deposit fees: A flat fee, a percentage, or a percentage with a minimum, for paying in at the Post Office or PayPoint.
Cash withdrawal fees: Charges for ATM or Post Office counter withdrawals, sometimes only abroad.
Foreign-exchange fees: A percentage added to card payments in other currencies, or to converting incoming foreign payments.
International transfer fees: Fixed fees, percentage markups, or both, for sending or receiving money from abroad.
Service fees: Replacement cards, extra cards, rejected Direct Debits and add-ons such as accounting software.

Real figures by fee type

Here's how the main business bank account fees compare on the entry-level plans we track, taken from each provider's own fee pages on 25 October 2026.

Business bank account fees on entry-level plans (providers' own fee pages, checked 25 October 2026)
Fee type	Examples
Monthly fee	£0: Tide Free, Starling, Monzo Lite, Mettle, Zempler Business Go, ANNA Free. Revolut Business Basic: £10.
UK transfers	Tide Free: 5 in or out a month, then 20p. Zempler Business Go: 3 a month, then 35p. Revolut Basic: 10, then 20p. Starling, Monzo and Mettle: free.
CHAPS	Tide Free: £15. Starling: £20 per payment.
Cash deposit	Monzo: £1. Mettle: £2.75. Tide: £2.50 up to £500 at the Post Office. Starling: 0.7%, minimum £3. Zempler: 0.55%, minimum £4. ANNA: 1% at PayPoint.
Cash withdrawal	Mettle: £1. Zempler Business Go: £2 UK, £3 abroad. Revolut: 2%. Starling: no Starling fee at ATMs.
Card spending abroad	Tide Free: 2.75%. Zempler Business Go: 2.99%. Monzo: £0. Starling: no Starling fee; Mastercard rate applies.
International	Starling: 0.4% conversion fee on payments sent. Mettle: £4 per inbound payment over £10, plus 1.5% on foreign currency. Monzo: 1% to convert incoming EUR and other currencies.
Service	Starling and Mettle: £5 replacement card. Zempler: £15 rejected Direct Debit, capped at £90 a month; extra cards £5.95.

To compare business bank account fees alongside plans, features and protection, see compare business bank accounts.

Charges that are easy to miss

Headline business bank account fees are only part of it. These details change what you actually pay:

Incoming payments can count. Tide counts transfers you receive against the Free plan's 5, not just the ones you send. ANNA charges 0.95% on incoming money above £1,000 a month on its Free plan.
Charges can be billed later. Tide adds up many per-item charges and collects them on the 2nd of the following month, so they won't always appear on the day.
Minimums change the maths. Zempler's 0.55% cash fee has a £4 minimum, so a £300 deposit costs £4, not £1.65. Starling's 0.7% has a £3 minimum.
Limits can trigger fees. Monzo charges nothing for ATM withdrawals outside the EEA up to £200 in a rolling 30 days, then 3%.
VAT may be added. ANNA shows paid plans plus VAT. Tide's plan pages say it won't charge VAT. Starling says its Bulk Payments add-on is VAT exempt. Many providers don't say.
Fees can start early. Zempler's terms say the account fee applies from when you first deposit money.

Business bank account fees also change. Monzo, for example, published a new international transfer fee structure taking effect on 1 November 2026, and Mettle announced new fees for cash and replacement cards in May 2026. Recheck before relying on any figure.

How to estimate a month of business bank account fees

Estimating business bank account fees doesn't need a spreadsheet. A pen, three months of statements and a provider's fee page are enough.

1
Pick a typical month
Use your current account statements, or an estimate if you're starting out. Average three months if your income is uneven.
2
Count UK transfers in and out
Count them separately. Some providers charge for both, some only for payments sent.
3
List cash deposits with amounts
Write down each deposit, not just the total. Flat fees and percentage fees with minimums depend on the size of each one.
4
Add foreign spending
Total your card payments in other currencies, plus any money you send or receive from abroad.
5
Note the occasional items
CHAPS payments, cheques and cash withdrawals. Even one a month can be the biggest charge.
6
Apply the fee table
Multiply each item by the provider's charge, add the plan price to get your monthly business bank account fees, and repeat for each account you're considering.

A worked example: one business, five accounts

Here's that method applied to an invented business: 12 UK payments in and 8 out, two £600 cash deposits at the Post Office, and £300 of card spending in euros. No CHAPS and no international transfers. We've applied each provider's published business bank account fees to the entry-level plan.

Estimated monthly business bank account fees for our example (published fees, checked 25 October 2026)
Account	Transfers	Cash	Card abroad	Total
Tide Free	15 over allowance × 20p = £3.00	2 × 0.99% = £11.88	2.75% = £8.25	£23.13
Zempler Business Go	5 sent over allowance × 35p = £1.75	2 × £4 minimum = £8.00	2.99% = £8.97	£18.72
Starling	£0	2 × 0.7% = £8.40	No Starling fee	£8.40
Mettle	£0	2 × £2.75 = £5.50	Not stated	£5.50 plus any card FX
Monzo Business Lite	£0	2 × £1 = £2.00	£0	£2.00

Lower business bank account fees aren't the whole picture. Monzo Lite doesn't include invoicing or Tax Pots, which need Pro at £9 a month, while Starling, Mettle and Tide include invoicing on their £0 plans. Card payments abroad on Starling use the Mastercard rate, so the euro amount still costs something in exchange.

Paid plans can change the answer. On Tide Smart, at £12.49 a month, this business's 20 transfers fit inside the 30 included, the card fee abroad falls to 0%, and each £600 Post Office deposit costs 0.5%, or £3. That's £12.49 plus £6.00: £18.49. Change the profile and the business bank account fees change too, which is why it's worth running your own numbers. Our free business bank account guide looks at what each £0 plan includes beyond fees.

Ways to keep your costs down

Small habits can trim your business bank account fees without switching:

Match deposit size to the fee

With a flat fee, fewer, larger deposits cost less. With a percentage and a minimum, avoid small deposits that fall below the minimum.

Pay yearly if it's cheaper

Tide Smart costs £99.99 paid yearly against £149.88 over 12 monthly payments. Revolut Grow and Scale are also lower paid yearly.

Separate your foreign spending

If overseas card spending is regular, compare the FX fee with the cost of a plan that removes it.

Review once a year

Your volumes change. If your business bank account fees would be lower elsewhere, you can switch business bank account using the Current Account Switch Service where both providers take part.

Tide's fees in brief

Tide, our featured partner, sets its business bank account fees across four plans: Free at £0, Smart at £12.49, Pro at £27.49 and Max at £69.99 a month. The paid plans add more transfers and remove the 2.75% card fee abroad. Our Tide fees guide lists every charge with examples.

New to Tide? Code STARTUP200 can earn up to £200 cashback: £75 after £100 card spend in 30 days, plus £125 for holding £5,000 in an Instant Saver for 30 days*. *T&Cs apply

Open a Tide account

Tide is our featured partner. We may earn commission from referrals. Disclosure

Business bank account fees: FAQs

Do all business bank accounts charge fees?

Almost all charge some business bank account fees. A £0 plan removes the monthly fee, but cash deposits, CHAPS and card spending abroad usually still cost money.

Are business bank account fees tax-deductible?

Bank charges are generally a business cost, but how they're treated depends on your situation. Check GOV.UK guidance or ask an accountant.

Why is receiving money sometimes charged?

Some plans count incoming payments against a transfer allowance, or charge to convert foreign currency. Check the fee page for both directions.

Where do I find a provider's full fees?

Look for a fee information document or schedule of charges, which lists all business bank account fees and is usually linked from the pricing page or the account terms.

Do business bank account fees go up?

They can. Providers usually give notice of changes. Revolut, for example, raised its Grow and Scale plan prices in March 2025.

Sources

Tide: pricing and plans and Tide help centre fee pages (checked 25 October 2026)
Starling: schedule of rates, fees and charges (effective 27 April 2026)
Monzo: business account fee information (version 1.16, 18 August 2026)
Zempler Bank: business account pricing
Mettle fee information document, ANNA pricing, Revolut Business fees and Wise Business pricing (checked 25 October 2026)