How to Open a NatWest Business Account in the UK in 2026

A NatWest business account gives your company a UK sort code and account number, free Online Banking for up to 20 users and Faster Payments up to £250,000. New businesses get 2 years of free everyday banking on the Start-up account, and eligible deposits are covered by the FSCS up to £120,000.

The hard part is eligibility. NatWest wants at least one person on the application to be a UK resident, the company registered for UK tax, home addresses for the last 3 years and a credit check on everyone named. Founders who live abroad often cannot apply at all, and NatWest publishes no time for its decision.

This is where we come in. If you can open a NatWest business account, we help you build a clean file. If you cannot, our regulated partners open a UK business account remotely in days. We handle the KYC pack, the business profile and every compliance question. One team, one contact, and an account that works.

Our top-rated, licensed banking providers open accounts for UK companies in days, fully remotely, including companies with directors outside the UK.

Why a NatWest Business Account Is Hard for Non-Residents

A NatWest business account is built for UK-run businesses. NatWest lists four conditions on its own application page: the applicant is 18 or over and an owner or director, at least one person on the application is a UK resident, the business is registered for UK income or corporation tax, and nobody named has been declared bankrupt or has a County Court Judgement. Miss one and the online form stops.

At Least One UK Resident on the Application

This is the rule that stops most foreign founders. A UK limited company can be owned entirely from abroad, and Companies House does not require a UK-resident director. NatWest is different: it asks for at least one UK resident on the application itself. A company with two directors in Dubai and no one in the UK does not meet the condition, however strong the business is.

UK Tax Registration Comes First

NatWest also asks that the business is registered for UK income or corporation tax. A newly formed limited company is usually picked up by HMRC after incorporation, but founders abroad sometimes skip the registration steps. Our guide to UK company formation for non-residents covers the order in which these steps happen, and our overview of starting a business in the UK puts them in context.

Identity Checks Built for UK Documents

NatWest checks identity online through its partner Mitek and runs a credit check on everyone named on the application. The online route is quick for people with a UK address history. The phone route needs each person to take their documents to a branch or a professional service provider, and NatWest warns that you may wait a few days for an appointment. For a director who lives abroad, neither route is simple.

Three Years of Home Addresses for Every Director

The application asks for personal details for all partners, members or directors, including their home addresses for the last 3 years. Directors who have moved between countries need to list every address, and gaps or mismatches with the credit file slow the review. Write them out in full before you start the form.

Why NatWest Business Account Applications Get Declined

NatWest does not publish its reasons, and no bank explains every decision. The usual causes are the ones its own conditions point to: no UK resident on the application, a business not yet registered for UK tax, a credit problem for one of the people named, or details that do not match Companies House. Activities that banks treat as higher risk, such as crypto, gambling or money services, add more questions. Our guide on why banks reject business account applications goes through each cause and the fix.

What to Do After a Refusal

Whatever you do next, do not reapply straight away with the same file. Find the condition you did not meet, fix it if you can, and keep a note of the date and the reason you were given. If the issue is residency, a second attempt to open, NatWest business account rules included, will not change the outcome. A regulated partner that accepts directors abroad is the faster answer, and a clean application there is not affected by the bank's decision.

NatWest Business Account Types and Who They Suit

NatWest offers three main ways to bank a business: the Start-up account for businesses trading less than a year, the Business current account for established businesses, and Mettle, a free app-only account for sole traders and small limited companies. Each has its own conditions, and the right one depends on your turnover, your trading history and who owns the company.

For most founders the choice is between the Start-up account and Mettle. The Start-up account is a full current account with lending, international payments and branch access. Mettle is simpler and free, but it only pays UK accounts and accepts a narrow set of owners and activities.

The NatWest Start-Up Account

NatWest describes the Start-up account as being for businesses trading for less than a year with turnover under £1m. Eligible customers who opened from 26 June 2023 get free banking on everyday transactions for the first 2 years. The account includes FreeAgent accounting software while you keep it, and the business credit card has no annual fee in the first year instead of the usual £30. Businesses with turnover over £500,000 get a Relationship Manager.

The NatWest Business Current Account

The Business current account is for established businesses. NatWest offers 2 years of free banking on everyday transactions to businesses with turnover up to £2m that switch fully using the Current Account Switch Service, which moves balances, Direct Debits and standing orders within 7 working days. The offer does not apply to switches from Royal Bank of Scotland or Ulster Bank, which belong to the same group.

Mettle by NatWest

Mettle is an app-only account provided by National Westminster Bank plc. NatWest says it is for sole traders and limited companies with up to two owners, and only one owner can use the account. You must live in the UK, pay tax only in the UK and not be a US person for tax purposes. Payments go by Faster Payments to UK accounts only, card spending is capped at £10,000 a day and the balance can be up to £1m.

Mettle vs NatWest Business Account

The Mettle vs NatWest business account choice comes down to what the company needs to do. Mettle is free to open, includes FreeAgent if you make at least one transaction a month and suits a one-person company paying UK suppliers. It has no overdraft or loans, no cheque deposits and no international payments. It also turns away limited liability partnerships, PLCs, charities and activities such as gambling, crypto, money services and company formation services.

The full NatWest business account costs nothing for 2 years on the Start-up offer and then moves to the Standard Tariff, but it gives you lending, international payments in 35 currencies and branch access. In the Mettle vs NatWest business account comparison, neither accepts a company with no UK-resident owner, so for founders abroad the question is the same with both.

Read more: how to open a UK business bank account, the best business bank accounts for UK startups and the best business bank accounts in the UK.

A Faster and Cheaper Way to Open a UK Business Account

Our regulated partners open a UK business account for companies that NatWest cannot take, so you can open a business bank account in the UK even when NatWest says no. This includes companies whose directors all live outside the UK. The application is remote, there is no branch visit, and the account is usually live within days of a complete file. You get UK account details for receiving pounds, plus other currencies on the same account.

Our partners are electronic money institutions, not banks. That matters in one way: your money is not covered by the FSCS. Instead, the law requires them to safeguard client funds, keeping them separate from their own money, usually in segregated accounts at banks, so it can be returned to you if the firm fails. Our guide to what an EMI account is explains how safeguarding works, and business bank account vs EMI account sets out when each makes sense.

NatWest is a sound choice when a UK resident owns or runs the company and wants lending later. For everyone else, the partner route is quicker to open and better suited to companies that pay and get paid in several currencies.

Who Our Partner Route Suits

It suits UK limited companies with directors abroad, companies that hold euros or dollars alongside pounds, holding companies and founders who need an account before their UK tax registration is complete. It is also the right step after a decline, because our partners assess the business on its own file. If your company trades in several currencies, our guide to the multi-currency business account shows how the setup works.

How to Open a UK Business Account Online Through Us

You tell us about the company, its owners and its expected payments. We prepare the KYC pack, the business description and the source of funds evidence, then submit to the partner that fits. We answer compliance questions with you and stay on the file until the account is live. If you still need the company itself, we form it first, as explained in setting up a UK company with a bank account.

Documents to Open a NatWest Business Account

To open a NatWest business account, have the company details, the Companies House registration number and personal details for every director, partner or member ready before you start. NatWest asks for each person's home addresses for the last 3 years and runs an identity check and a credit check on everyone named.

Business Details

You need the company's registered name, its Companies House registration number, the business address, what the business does, its turnover band and how long it has been trading. If annual turnover is over £2m, NatWest asks for evidence of it when you apply. Make sure the company details match Companies House exactly.

Details for Directors and Owners

For every director, partner or member, NatWest asks for personal details including date of birth and home addresses for the last 3 years. Everyone named goes through a credit check, so check that each person's address history matches their credit file.

Identity Documents

Identity checks run online through Mitek, and NatWest links to the list of identity documents Mitek accepts. If you apply by phone, you take the documents to a branch or a professional service provider instead.

The Same File for Our Partners

Our partners ask for much the same: the certificate of incorporation, the register of shareholders and directors, passports and proof of address for the directors and owners, a short business description, expected volumes and the source of the first funds. Our checklist of documents needed to open a business bank account lists them in full.

NatWest Business Account Charges and Fees in 2026

NatWest business account charges start at nothing: the Start-up account and the switch offer give 2 years of free banking on everyday transactions, and after that the Standard Tariff has no minimum monthly charge. International payments, Bankline and unarranged overdrafts are charged from day one, and the per-item everyday rates are set in NatWest's Business Account Charges booklet.

What the Free Banking Period Covers

Free banking covers day-to-day service charges only. NatWest lists what it excludes: charges for unarranged overdrafts, Bankline, international payments and additional services. After 2 years the account moves to the Standard Tariff automatically. Put the date in your diary, because that is when NatWest business account charges for everyday payments, cash and cheques begin.

NatWest Business Account Fees After Free Banking

On the Standard Tariff, NatWest business account fees are charged per transaction rather than as a monthly fee. NatWest publishes the item rates in its Business Account Charges booklet and its CHAPS and International Payments Tariff. Read both before the free period ends, and estimate a normal month of payments in and out to see what the account will cost.

International Payment Fees

NatWest's international transfers page, published 12 February 2026, sets out the costs. An international payment in any currency except euros costs £15 through Online Banking or Bankline when charges are shared. If you choose for the payee to pay, NatWest deducts £30 before sending. If you pay all charges, an agent fee of £8.50 or £12.50 is added, depending on the destination. SEPA euro payments through Bankline cost 50p each, and a currency margin applies to any conversion.

Bankline Fees

Online Banking is free. Bankline, NatWest's platform for larger businesses, costs £10 a month for one account, £20 a month for 2 to 5 accounts and £5 more for each extra account, up to £160 a month. Bankline adds CHAPS, bulk payments of up to 3,000 payees and Faster Payments up to £1m, but it is not available to sole traders.

For a UK company paying mostly in pounds, NatWest is cheap in the first 2 years and reasonable after. The cost grows with international payments: ten shared SWIFT payments a month cost £150 in NatWest fees before any currency margin. These figures are a planning guide; check the current booklets before you decide.

How Long NatWest Business Account Opening Takes

NatWest business account opening starts with an online form that NatWest says takes about 10 minutes. After that, NatWest reviews the application and gets in touch, but it does not publish a decision time. A phone application adds a branch or professional identity check, which can mean waiting a few days for an appointment.

NatWest business account opening is fastest for a UK-resident director with a clean credit file and a company already registered for tax. Anything outside that profile adds questions.

What Slows It Down

Missing address history, a name that differs between the passport and Companies House, turnover over £2m without evidence and owners with complex structures all add time. So does an activity the bank considers higher risk. Each question from the bank adds days to NatWest business account opening.

How to Speed It Up

To open a NatWest business account faster, check Companies House is up to date, write out every director's address history, prepare a one-page business profile and apply through the online route if every person named can pass the Mitek check. If a director lives abroad, skip the wait and use the partner route from the start.

What Happens After the Account Is Open

Once the account is live, set up Online Banking users, payment limits and card controls. Online Banking allows up to 20 users and a fixed daily payment limit of £50,000, while Bankline lets you set your own limits and dual approval. Connect your accounting software, register for VAT if you pass the threshold and keep company and personal money apart, as explained in business bank account vs personal account. Our guide on UK VAT registration for non-resident companies covers the VAT step.

Keep your details current. Banks run periodic reviews and ask for updated documents, especially when directors, owners or activities change. Answering quickly keeps the account open and avoids payment holds. Good habits from day one also help your cash flow management.

Why the Company Comes Before the Account

No bank or partner opens a business account for a company that does not exist yet. You need the certificate of incorporation, the company number and the registers first. If you are starting from scratch, we form the UK company ourselves, file it with Companies House and build the bank file at the same time. Our UK company registration guide and the cost of setting up a UK company explain the steps and the figures.

Common NatWest Business Account Mistakes

Applying With No UK Resident on the Form

Founders abroad sometimes start the online form hoping the residency rule is flexible. It is not, and the application stops or is declined. Each decline is a record you may need to explain later. Before you try to open, NatWest business account conditions are worth checking one by one, and if no one on the application lives in the UK, go straight to a partner that accepts directors abroad.

Forgetting When Free Banking Ends

Two years of free banking is generous, but it ends automatically and NatWest business account charges for everyday items begin. A business that grew during those 2 years can be surprised by its first full month on the Standard Tariff. Diarise the date and review the charges booklet a month before.

Choosing Mettle for a Business That Pays Abroad

Mettle is free and simple, but it only pays UK accounts. A company that pays a supplier in euros or receives dollars from a client will need a second account anyway. Decide what the business does with money before you choose, not after the first invoice arrives.

Leaving Companies House Out of Date

NatWest checks your details against Companies House. A director who resigned, a new owner not yet filed or an old registered address all cause mismatches and questions. Update the register before you apply. Our guide to setting up a limited company in the UK covers the filings.

Applying to Several Banks at Once

Sending the same application to several banks in the same week rarely speeds things up. Each one may ask whether you have applied elsewhere, and a decline at one adds questions at the next. Apply once, to the provider most likely to accept your company, with a complete file.

Bottom Line

A NatWest business account is a good choice for a UK-run company: 2 years of free everyday banking, no minimum monthly charge after that, FSCS cover up to £120,000 and access to overdrafts and loans. The catch is eligibility, because at least one UK resident must be on the application, and international payments cost £15 or more each. The same residency question comes up at other high street banks, as our guide to opening an HSBC business account in the UK shows.

If you qualify, set up a NatWest business account with a clean file and diarise the end of free banking. If you do not, our partners open a UK business account remotely in days for companies run from anywhere. Read our guide to UK business bank accounts for non-residents for the wider picture.

Sources

NatWest, Business bank account: eligibility and how to apply (published 6 November 2026)

NatWest, Start-up bank account (published 21 October 2026)

NatWest, Business current account and switching offer (published 6 November 2026)

NatWest, Business bank accounts overview (published 16 October 2026)

NatWest, International transfers for business (published 12 February 2026)

NatWest, Bankline and Online Banking comparison (published 12 November 2026)

NatWest, Mettle mobile account (published 15 October 2026)

Mettle, Eligibility

FCA, PS25/12 Changes to the safeguarding regime for payments and e-money firms

FSCS, What we cover