Business current account fees: how to read the charges

Understand the structure before comparing the headline

Business current accounts may combine a monthly or quarterly account charge with charges for particular transactions. Other tariffs bundle some activity into the account fee and charge once an allowance is exceeded. Introductory terms can waive selected charges for a limited period. None of these descriptions tells you the full cost without the detailed tariff.

The FCA has examined the value business current accounts provide, including in its 2026 retail banking priorities. Regulatory attention does not mean every charging structure is identical or that a particular account has been endorsed. For your own comparison, the tariff, eligibility terms and actual activity remain the relevant inputs.

Separate charges for the current account from charges for other services. Merchant acquiring, borrowing, a foreign-currency product or a paid software subscription may have its own contract. A payment arriving from your card processor is not necessarily evidence that the account fee covers card acceptance. Identify which firm levies each charge before asking for an explanation.

Ask whether a quoted tariff applies to your legal structure, turnover, application route and existing-customer status. A price page can describe several products or introductory arrangements together. Save the version applying to your offer and the date it was supplied, so a later conversation starts from the same terms.

The components to find in the tariff

The wording varies, but the same broad questions recur. Work out what triggers the charge, what activity is included, and what happens outside an allowance. Look for definitions as well as the schedule: electronic, manual and cash transactions may be counted in ways that are not obvious from the statement description.

International payments deserve a separate check because a transfer charge and the exchange-rate margin are different components. Ask how the conversion is calculated and whether intermediary or recipient charges can arise. Do not compare the visible sending charge while ignoring the amount ultimately converted or received.

For cash, confirm where it can be deposited and how that channel affects the tariff. A service that requires a lengthy trip or an additional handling arrangement creates practical costs beyond the bank's own fee. Include staff time and security procedures in your operational assessment without pretending they are part of the published bank charge.

Build a comparison from your own statements

Download three complete months of statements and any separate charges summaries. Choose a period that reflects normal trading, then add a busy or unusual month if the business is seasonal. A new business can use its expected payment workflow, but should mark those counts as assumptions and review them once actual statements exist.

Create a simple list of transaction types: incoming electronic receipts, outgoing transfers, direct debits, cash deposits, cheques, card activity and international payments. Count the transactions and, where the tariff charges by value, record the relevant value as well. Keep private customer information out of anything shared for a preliminary comparison.

Apply each tariff's definitions consistently to those same transactions. Identify included activity first, then activity outside any allowance. Add periodic account charges and known supplementary services. Avoid treating an allowance as unlimited merely because your sample period did not exceed it. Consider what happens during the busiest part of the year.

Reconcile the result against your current charges statement. If it does not match, ask the provider which item has been classified differently. Solving that discrepancy improves the comparison with other products too. An unexplained difference may be a timing issue, a separate service or a transaction definition rather than an incorrect charge.

Keep the working alongside the tariff instead of reducing everything to a single total. The detail shows what would change if you hired staff, received more cash or started selling overseas. It also lets a specialist check your assumptions without rebuilding the exercise from the beginning.

Put the introductory end date in the calendar

Read what the introductory arrangement actually waives. It may apply to account charges and selected transactions while leaving other services chargeable. Check when it begins, when it ends, and whether any conditions can bring it to an end earlier. Opening the account and making the first transaction are not necessarily the same contractual milestone.

Record the standard tariff that follows the offer. If the provider can change it, note how notices will be delivered and keep contact details current. A message buried in an unused email account is easy to miss even when the account remains active. Give one person responsibility for reviewing banking notices.

Set a review date ahead of the end of the offer so there is time to collect statements and investigate alternatives. This is a planning allowance, not a promised switching timetable. A new account may require identity and business checks before a switch can be arranged, and borrowing or payment integrations may need separate work.

Do not close an account simply to stop a fee before understanding the consequences for receipts, direct debits and linked services. Our business account switching guide explains the full-switch process and why account opening is a separate stage.

Use independent service information carefully

Under the CMA's retail banking requirements, covered providers publish independent business current account service-quality survey results in February and August. These results provide a survey-based view of whether customers would recommend aspects of the service. They can help you identify questions about account access and support.

They do not calculate your charges or work out which product is suitable for your business. Survey populations, service categories and publication dates matter. Read the explanation behind the results rather than treating a single displayed score as a complete comparison. An account's handling of a feature you rely on may deserve its own investigation.

For example, ask how an authorised colleague can approve a payment if the usual person is away. Check the available support route, whether it covers your normal operating hours, and how the provider handles lost devices or access problems. Published service information is a useful prompt for those questions, not a substitute for product terms.

Keep this part of the decision beside the transaction analysis. A feature may be important even if it rarely appears on a statement. Conversely, paying for capabilities the business never uses can be easy to overlook when the account has been in place for years.

Check accounting connections and user controls

Open banking can enable a business to connect an account to authorised services, such as supported accounting software, with permission. The CMA's banking remedies helped establish this infrastructure. Whether your particular account and software combination supports the functions you need still requires a product-level check.

Ask whether the connection provides transaction feeds, payment initiation or another specific function. Check who authorises access, how consent is managed, and whether there are additional software charges. A read-only feed is different from the ability to initiate a payment, and staff permissions should reflect that distinction.

Before switching, confirm how the old connection will end and how the new one is established. Preserve transaction history and reconcile the cutover period so entries are not missing or duplicated. The availability of open banking does not mean your bookkeeping setup transfers automatically with the account.

Also check statement formats, payroll file support and approval controls. These details affect the amount of manual work a change creates. If a bookkeeper or accountant manages the process, include them before selecting the account rather than asking them to repair an unsuitable workflow afterwards.

Keep a note of activities that are absent from the sample but likely next year. A first employee, a second premises or a new overseas supplier can change the charging pattern. Mark those as scenarios rather than actual transactions, so the comparison remains clear about which costs follow from evidence and which depend on future plans.

What to do next

Prepare a short account brief using evidence you already hold:

• Three months of statements and a seasonal peak where relevant.
• The current tariff and the end of any introductory arrangement.
• Counts and values for the transaction types that drive charges.
• Required cash, international payment and accounting functions.
• Staff access and payment approval requirements.
• Separate borrowing, merchant services and software commitments.

Use the same brief for every discussion. Ask for unclear charges to be explained in writing and distinguish the provider's account tariff from any other service. For an introduction, visit business banking. CostQuote passes the enquiry to one named specialist partner, who can work from the needs and activity you provide.