UK bank accout opening terms

How long is too long?

[Morgenhund]

Hello,

we've incorporated in the UK recently.

In order to start trading, we've applied for a bank account with one of UK's banks.

We filled out all the paperwork with bank's manager, and now it is one month since that -- no account is opened yet.

The manager invariably replies he is still waiting for the corresponding department to process our data.

Is it normal for UK to wait one month for a bank account to be opened?

We are not UK's residents (just EU residents), could that delay the procedure?

Are we expecting too much?

[Lord Majestic]

It is a lot slower now than it used to be for business accounts, I'd say 1 month is probably not terribly off the mark for normal account opening for UK registered company. The best strategy might to ping manager weekly to see if things get moved or not, also consider opening bank account elsewhere but it might be best to wait - trying to open multiple accounts in different banks at the same time might only cause difficulties - they probably run credit check on the company, so they will see multiple credit checks and may make some bad conclusions.

[piatkow]

You don't say if you had been introduced to your UK bank by your existing bankers of if this was an "off the street" application.

The latter, for non residents, would probably be viewed with great suspicion these days.

When I was a bank clerk in the 1970s a business where directors had an existing relationship with the bank would get the formalities sorted on the day if all the paperwork was available. The only delay would be printing of cheque books.

[rj87uk]

I had the same problem trying to start up a business account back last year, they were slow took ages to reply in the end I tried another back same problem but I stuck with it and phoning weekly to get things moving.

I think its shocking the amount of time it takes to get a bank to open a business account! Im with Lloyds TSB they are... "ok".

[gabidi]

If you dont have a liaison it's not worth the time and effort, it's easier to pay someone or a company that publicly offer this service (their connections) for a fee . That should get it done in about a week with all the paper work in place.

[Morgenhund]

Yes, we are completely off the street -- we do not have any previous connections to UK bankers.

This concept is something very new for me -- I never thought that you could need a liaison to open a bank account!

[edited by: Morgenhund at 9:07 am (utc) on April 23, 2008]

[edited by: lorax at 12:21 pm (utc) on April 23, 2008]

[gabidi]

Are the principles of the Company legal UK residents ?
If they are , then you should be able to get an application "off the street" with no problems , if there is no credit involved.

If in need of credit, then some sort of interest free collateral would be best advised to make it a win win situation for your bank's risk assessment and speed up your application.

If non of the Companys' principles are UK residents, although technically it should not be done, but KYC agreements are quite vague and thus the liason's previously mentioned come into the picutre.

Bottom line, you can open a bank account any where in the world no matter where you're from, depends who you know OR how much you want to pay though.

Hope that helps.

[steve]

Are the principles of the Company legal UK residents ?
If they are , then you should be able to get an application "off the street" with no problems

Not true I'm afraid. The UK has strong money laundering laws. The banks have a duty to make sure funds they handle are 'clean'. Walk into a bank and try to open an account with a big chunk of cash and they will want to know all about you!

[Morgenhund]

No, we are not UK residents. We talked to the bank manager about our business model (e-commerce services for book publishers), as well as we supplied documents they requested to identify who we are and where we are from.

We do not need any credits, and we do not expect large amounts of cash, unfortunately :-)

We established this business just to extend our business operations to a larger market, since there are much more publishers in UK than in our small home country.

[gabidi]

@Steve

Firstly my post was not touching on the subject of sources of funds, proof of income and anti money laundering laws, that's a whole different ball game. All countries have anti money laundering clauses that are getting tighter every month.

That said, i still stand by the advice given on OPENING a bank account be it in the UK , US or any other major financial center.

@ Morgenhund

My advice would be to either Google or , what i recommend if you're serious about your business, seek professional (expensive) legal advice . Although it comes as a large overheard to your business setup cost, but in my opinion it's an invaluable investment that payoffs in many ways. Done properly, LEGALY off-shoring your business has many , many advantages.

So i've heard that is ...

[Jack_Hughes]

We opened an account with a UK bank in less than 3 days...so no one month isn't typical. I was already banking with them personally though so that probably helped.

[Jack_Hughes]

presumably you bank in your original country, is that bank available in the uk? If it is you might be best going with them or an affiliated bank in the uk. Ask your existing bank if they have any relationships with UK banks. Then use that relationship to get an account in the UK.

[vincevincevince]

A month is not unusual for some high street banks if they don't handle business banking in branch. Abbey for example do all business banking in one central location and branches just handle forms and forward them.

[Habtom]

Does physical presence make it easier? I don't think it will be against the TOS if any one can recommend a few banks in the UK with reasonable account opening periods and reasonable money anti-laundering checks.