Monzo, Wise, Revolut and Tide all do business accounts well — for four different kinds of business. Below is the honest breakdown: what each is genuinely best at, what it isn't, and how to open one.
Read it and decide yourself, or get in touch and we'll tell you which fits how you trade.
For most small and new businesses, there's a real argument for starting here rather than at a branch: you can be trading today, not in three or four weeks. And it's not a choice you're locked into forever — holding more than one business account is completely normal.
Monzo, Wise, Revolut and Tide can all have you approved and moving money within minutes to a few days. A high-street application typically takes 2–4 weeks, sometimes with a branch visit — time your business spends unable to invoice, get paid, or pay a supplier.
There's no rule against running more than one business account. Plenty of established businesses use a digital account for everyday trading and a high-street account for lending, cash handling or a relationship manager, side by side.
Start trading on your digital account immediately, then put in a high-street application alongside it once you know you'll need an overdraft, cash deposits or a lending relationship as you grow. You lose nothing by having both open.
A fully UK-licensed bank with FSCS-protected deposits. The simplest option if you trade in pounds and want banking that just works on your phone.
Built around moving money across borders. The strongest choice if you invoice abroad or pay overseas suppliers — less suited as your only UK trading account.
A multi-currency platform for businesses with staff spending money. Strongest on expense control, team cards and approvals in one place.
Built for sole traders and small companies who want to be trading within the hour. The strongest of the four for built-in invoicing and expense tools — less suited if you need multi-currency or a branch relationship.
Card designs above are illustrative renderings, not official artwork. Sign-up links are referral links — we may receive a commission or reward if you open an account through them, at no cost to you. Features and pricing are set by each provider and change from time to time.
A UK bank account with pots, tax set-aside and mobile-first day-to-day banking — the simplest option for a UK-only business.
Excellent for currency work, but not designed to be your only everyday UK trading account.
UK sort code and account number, Direct Debits, invoicing and bulk payments from one app.
The process is broadly the same across all three. Approval is usually same-day for sole traders, and one to three working days for limited companies.
Monzo, Wise and Revolut are digital-first — fast to open, built around card payments and transfers. They're not the only option, and they're not right for every business. Here's how they stack up against a traditional high-street bank, and where turnover and industry actually change the answer.
| Digital account Monzo · Wise · Revolut |
High-street bank Barclays · NatWest · Lloyds · HSBC |
|
|---|---|---|
| Setup time | Minutes to a few days, entirely on your phone | Often 2–4 weeks, sometimes a branch visit |
| Cash & cheque handling | Limited or none — Monzo caps monthly cash deposits, Wise and Revolut don't accept cash at all | Full cash and cheque deposits via branch or Post Office |
| Lending & overdrafts | Minimal — occasional sole trader lending on Monzo; none on Wise or Revolut | Overdrafts, loans, trade finance, and a relationship manager |
| International & multi-currency | Built for it — Wise and Revolut hold 25–40+ currencies close to the real exchange rate | Possible, but usually slower and at a wider exchange margin |
| Deposit protection | Monzo and Revolut UK: FSCS-protected up to £120,000. Wise: e-money safeguarding, not FSCS | FSCS-protected up to £85,000 as standard |
| Best suited to | Card and bank-transfer trading, international suppliers or customers, speed over hand-holding | Cash-handling trade, and businesses that will need credit or a branch relationship as they grow |
None of these three gate you by turnover directly — they gate by how you trade. In practice, growth pushes you toward a high-street account for three reasons: you're taking more physical cash than Monzo's cap allows (Wise and Revolut don't take any, at any turnover); you need an overdraft, loan or trade finance, which mostly sits with high-street and lending-led challenger banks; or a lender you're approaching for a mortgage, asset finance or investment wants to see a track record with a mainstream account. None of that means giving up a digital account as you scale — most growing businesses run one digital account for speed alongside a lending-capable account, rather than swapping one for the other.
Restaurants and car dealers have a cash-heavy reputation, but plenty now take card or bank transfer for most of the bill — and for those businesses, a digital account suits them just as well as an online-only retailer. A car fair stand taking full payment by card, or a restaurant on contactless-only, gets the same speed and FX benefits as anyone else. It's a market trader or tradesperson still handling a lot of physical notes who's better matched to a high-street or hybrid setup — not the sector itself.
Headline "free account" claims hide where each provider actually makes money. Here's where the real costs sit for each — figures below are what's published today and providers reprice often, so treat this as a starting point, not a quote.
| Monzo | Wise | Revolut | Tide | High-street | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | Free (Lite). £9 (Pro), £25 (Team) | £0 — one-off £50 to unlock full features | From £10 (Basic), more on higher tiers | Free plan available. ~£19+VAT (Pro) | Usually free for 12–24 months, then ~£5–£10/month or per-transaction |
| UK transfers | Free and unlimited | Free | 10 free/month on Basic, then a small fee each | 5 free/month on the free plan, unlimited on Pro | Usually free while in the intro period; per-transaction after |
| International & FX | Card rate, roughly 2% above the real exchange rate | From 0.33%, real mid-market rate shown upfront | Interbank rate within plan allowance, ~0.6% beyond it | 1.5% markup on free plan, down to 0.5% on Max | Typically a flat fee (£15–£30) plus a wider exchange margin |
| Cash deposits | £1 each, capped at £3k (sole trader) or £10k (Ltd) a month | Not available at any plan or turnover | Not available at any plan or turnover | Via Post Office/PayPoint, a fee per deposit | Free or low-cost via branch and Post Office |
Every "free" account here makes its money somewhere — Monzo and Tide on cash deposits and paid tiers, Revolut on the monthly fee itself, Wise on the one-off £50 and FX spread. Work out where your business actually spends money — regular cash paying-in, frequent overseas invoices, a big team needing cards — and price each account against that, not the headline. A business paying overseas suppliers every week loses far more to a high-street bank's flat international fee and wider margin than it would ever save on a "free" account elsewhere.
Tell us how the business trades — where your customers are, whether staff spend, whether you invoice abroad — and we'll point you at one account, with the reasoning.
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