This is not a blog about charges, rates and services. After all, that would probably be out-dated by the time I press “publish” and other sites do it better anyway, such as:
Problems with opening bank accounts
What I want to address are the horror stories small organisations have when it comes to opening a business bank account.
Worst case I’ve encountered was eight weeks and numerous lengthy phone calls to open an account, where the application finally got turned down when the bank revealed that there needed to be more than one signatory.
The sad fact is that many of us have heard these stories about almost every bank there is. So what to do?
My advice would be:
Pick a bank where there is a Business Account Manager
Seriously, having an individual who is responsible for guiding you through the bureaucratic process of opening a bank account is almost a necessity. For the hour it takes you to have a meeting with them, you’re likely to have your account opened within a week.
There may well be issues, but you’ll have someone to help negotiate them for you. The fact that there are issues even when you work with these guys shows how fraught the process can be.
They may well be many other factors to consider such as ethical banking and cost, but I believe this is a good criterion to add into the mix to save you much time and anguish.
