Hello to everyone.
I am a Ukrainian (read like non EU resident) that has just opened a LTD company in the UK and looking for a Business bank account solution.
I tried TIDE & MONZO but got rejected for Business account.
MONZO opened for me only personal account.
TIDE rejected both
Are there any similar business banking solutions for non EU residents that could be open for their UK company remotely?
Someone recently mentioned Uphold in the UK. Looks promising, but I have no personal experience yet with them.
Here is a link: https://uphold.com/en/what-we-do/businesses
Good luck.
Hi, have you tried Fire.com? From what I read at Frequently Asked Questions Fire.com Business Account they can open GBP/EUR business accounts to companies registered in UK or Ireland but directors may be resident elsewhere (as it is with Tide).
Another you might try is Ebury.com .
I have no direct experience with either, but I do with Tide, and they are quite good: pity they rejected your application. Did they say why?
Hello Maria , the best bank is TransferWise is not a real bank but if you completate well the form they will open it also try Revolut they very good people .
Banks avail its self of making their own decision so simply they wonāt open the account simply to anyone only to those who can fill the tricky form and that is bad my suggestion is try TransferWise if not you need to negotiate with a bank and prove you are a legitimate business owner itās hard Even to me they refuse opening an account I sent back a strong email after they open it .
This is all my best for you
I wonder about fire.com, it seems to be UK-based/Ireland-based but offer both UK sort code account AND an IBAN. Does anyone know if they offer an Irish IBAN and if so, can one who lives in the UK (but with other citizenship) apply? Thx!
Jim, in the FAQ at Frequently Asked Questions Fire.com Business Account they say:
ā Registration is open to businesses incorporated in the United Kingdom or Ireland with directors/owners resident and/or citizens of the EU (and other countries available on request). In addition applications are accepted from sole traders based in the United Kingdom or Ireland. You can contact us to discuss your situation at support@fire.com.ā
Also regarding the IBAN, at I Frequently Asked Questions Fire.com Business Account read:
āAs a Fire business user you can add multiple sterling and euro Fire accounts. A Fire Sterling account (GBP) has a sort code & account number and a Euro account (EUR) has an IBAN associated with it. Anyone (e.g. a customer) who wishes to pay you by bank transfer may use these account numbers to transfer funds from any bank account in the UK or Eurozone. A bank transfer usually takes between a few hours and a day to reach its destination.ā
I would think that the IBAN is an Irish one, but as long as itās SEPA enabled the country shouldnāt make any difference.
Hi Max, yes Iāve tried many variants. Here my outcome:
*** APPROVED:
As mentioned, what worked for me for now:
Monzo
TrasnferWise (Personal & Business Acc.).
Payoneer
Please note that Iāve applied with my UK registered company here as well.
*** PENDING APPLICATIONS:
FIRE and EBURY they didnāt ask my UK/EU residence during application, but people say they may send an email after requesting it. Waiting for any reply from them.
TIDE
A friend of mine from Ukraine was lucky to open TIDE (with his UK registered company).
My application they declined for the first time. But there was some other reason (they never asked for my UK/EU Residence). So after 1 month Iāve reinstalled the app and reapplied again. Waiting for their reply.
*** NOT APPROVED: N26 + REVOLUT + STARLING + CASHPLUS
UPHOLD and MONESE - the website not working properly. I couldnāt even apply.
To all of these banks Iāve applied with my UK registered company and all was good until they requested proof of my Residence in the UK/ EU (which I donāt have for now). It Means that simply have a UK company not enough.
Thank you for your insight! It is so helpful. I just registered my UK business as a Non-resident and sent in my Starling bank application. I have the same issue, they sent back asking me for a UK residency permit. Which I donāt have.
So I think Iāll just go for Monzo, although Starling had much better rates and options. Does anyone here know of a Starling Bank alternative thatās just as good or even better, that a Non-Resident of that country can open? Compared to Wise(formerly Transferwise) I think Starling would have been way better, itās a pity they only cater to UK residents.
Iām going to try some of the other options you mentioned. Keep us posted.
Tide.co does accept UK limited companies (registered with Companies House) with non-UK resident directors.
Yes, I know that Tide.co is not a bank but an EMI (Electronic Money Institution), but recently they have started do offer FSCS-protected bank accounts in cooperation with Clearbank.
So Monzo does not currently support LLPs; only Single and Private Ltds. So it did not make sense applying to them.
I also got rejected for Tide. Apparently, they say that they currently donāt support my business type as itās high risk. I am operating an activewear e-commerce business. I donāt see on their list of unsupported businesses where online shops/e-commerce is a high risk, but thatās what they used as their reason for rejection. They had my application pending and asked for my website address, then declined me after I sent my website address.
I did get accepted for Wise9Transferwise) very easily, and itās like a whole new world. I normally have a US Wise account and I did not have access to so many features until I opened a business account using a UK company. I think Iām also going to try out Bunq, although I see they donāt have as many good reviews as Starling and Tide, and probably also Monese.
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