HSBC to introduce monthly fee for their Business Direct account

[Nixon Williams]

Grass is always greener......

Dan, whilst I would agree that if a client is happy with their bank, why move, I would say that of all the banks we have come across, Cater Allen is the only one who understands the contractor market.

[jmo21]

Dan, whilst I would agree that if a client is happy with their bank, why move, I would say that of all the banks we have come across, Cater Allen is the only one who understands the contractor market.

What exactly do you mean by that?

They're the easiest for a 1 man ltd to get an account from?

[Nixon Williams]

What exactly do you mean by that?

They're the easiest for a 1 man ltd to get an account from?

Our experience is that many traditional bank staff, in the regular high street branches, have often not come across the concept of contracting and what transactions are expected through the account.

As always, there are exceptions but we find this is not an issue with Cater Allen as they have been in this market for a long time.

[malvolio]

Our experience is that many traditional bank staff, in the regular high street branches, have often not come across the concept of contracting and what transactions are expected through the account.

As always, there are exceptions but we find this is not an issue with Cater Allen as they have been in this market for a long time.

Agreed, my various HSBC business advisors haven't really understood what I do for a living. However, they are quite good at supporting one man businesses...

[javadude]

Ah its not just me that's thinking of leaving then. HSBC have a shed load of my company's money to invest and my cut of the interest wouldn't buy me a takeaway. Now they want to charge too? Err I think not. It seems they don't want contractor business any more.

[lucozade]

I'm with Crunch Accounting.

Just been told that the BankLink/BankBolt is free with Cater Allen and so is the setup of the account.

Provided Cater Allen has decent internet services and a quick payment option then I'll be sacking off HSBC too.

[foxes1884]

Cater Allen

You can use the referral from ContractorUK link to get the free Cater Allen banking and the £5,000 minimum is waived.

Free business bank account l IT contractor bank account l Cater Allen free banking :: Contractor UK

I know CA is Santander, but been ok for me so far…

[d000hg]

Their website doesn't say they are free for switchers.

The only free accounts I know are:
1. Cater Allen
2. RBS - though they will be sold at some point in the not distance future

My Santander account has always been free but then it is an old Abbey account.

I need a bank with half-decent overseas payment options, which is why I went with HSBC while keeping the Santander one open as a back-up. They were able to offer me a foreign currency account and the HSBCnet platform. Which is a bit of overkill, but with Santander they seem to offer very little - I want to be able to save details of overseas payments to re-use electronically.

Any recommendations? Do CA do this?

[Martin at NixonWilliams]

My Santander account has always been free but then it is an old Abbey account.

I need a bank with half-decent overseas payment options, which is why I went with HSBC while keeping the Santander one open as a back-up. They were able to offer me a foreign currency account and the HSBCnet platform. Which is a bit of overkill, but with Santander they seem to offer very little - I want to be able to save details of overseas payments to re-use electronically.

Any recommendations? Do CA do this?

Hi d000hg,

Cater Allen are able to assist with foreign transactions. They are also able to open accounts in other currencies if necessary, there are no monthly fees for this service.

There is a fee to receive payments from other countries which I believe is around £7-£8. RBS facilitate the transfers from abroad and it is they who make the charge.

Most banks have a similar charge for receiving these payments, although it is not always clear what fee has been paid as the amount you receive will be net of any exchange rate gain/loss aswell as a possible service fee.

I hope this helps.

Martin

[AtW]

Cater Allen is owned by Santander which charges for its business accounts - £7.50 per month in my case.

Free banking is an anomaly that won't last long.