Bank account, unique IBAN number, open quickly online

[BigRed]

As has been mentioned, very few banks offer the full service such as SWIFT, CHAPS, foreign exchange etc. HSBC is the real deal and several others, if you go somewhere cheap on the basic services they charge a lot on the more specialist things because they have to buy it off the likes of HSBC. All these fintech startups will do the basics well and stir up the market but they only offer a basic service.

All of them require a face to face and two forms of ID even though it's easy to work around these requirements. Similarly they are reluctant to introduce Photos on the cards because of cost despite many companies doing it as standard on their security passes. Chip and Pin is a joke as are signature strips, remember Chip & PIN hasn't really been adopted in America yet. They basically have sufficient security to reduce their exposure to an acceptable level. What I don't like is that when it goes wrong they still try to blame the customer as their first option. Recent cases in the news of jockeys having their accounts raided by withdrawals in a branch show how poor the security is.

[m0n1k3r]

Any suggestions?

I'm contracting in Luxembourg and am startled to find out that my agency is incapable of paying into my Cater Allen account because it doesn't have a unique IBAN number - you have to pay into one single IBAN account and mark it for onywards payment into my account. Apparently they have never heard of this before and are scared to do it.

I tried to open a Cashplus account online and then discovered that they work in exactly the same way.

So: I need to find a very simple business account that I can open online quickly that has a unique IBAN number for my account. Without any stupid paperwork to sign or meeting with an idiot Business Advisor.

Any suggestions???

All bank accounts have a 'unique' IBAN number. That's the whole point of IBAN - International Bank Account Number. If they can't provide that in this day and age, switch to a better bank.

[m0n1k3r]

Not Cater Allen. It's even mentioned here http://forums.contractoruk.com/accou...ml#post1859988.

I have an account with a forex service. There is a common account number; you are identified by the reference number quoted.

Oh. Even offshore bank accounts have their own IBANs these days.

[SueEllen]

All bank accounts have a 'unique' IBAN number. That's the whole point of IBAN - International Bank Account Number. If they can't provide that in this day and age, switch to a better bank.

Nope they don't.

You can provide current accounts as a financial institution but you don't have to own the actual infrastructure to process payments etc you can outsource it to another financial institution.

Sort codes give an indication if the financial institution did or does this. Cater Allans is in the RBS sort code range.

[NotAllThere]

Oh dear - so much then for these supposedly business friendly business accounts and introductions that everyone bangs on about etc that cannot even provide a basic service such as being able to send payments. About as basic as it gets !

The issue is not with CA, it's with the agency for odd reasons demanding a unique IBAN.

With the work I do for a UK company, the end-client pays the agency, the agency pays the money into my Forex account (common IBAN + reference number).

[missinggreenfields]

Many thanks for your replies. I will have to pop into Metrobank the next time I'm in London, in two weeks. Let's hope the agency doesn't go bust in the meantime...

Maybe ask your accountant - I got my Metrobank account opened via InTouch and didn't need to go into branch at all. I just sent them a scan of certified copies of ID (Post Office does it for £10 or so for three documents) and they opened the account for me.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

I left Cater Allen for this reason years ago. I don't know why they are recommended on here so often.

[FrontEnder]

Oh dear - so much then for these supposedly business friendly business accounts and introductions that everyone bangs on about etc that cannot even provide a basic service such as being able to send payments. About as basic as it gets !

International payments are not basic services. And they do provide it.

[SueEllen]

I left Cater Allen for this reason years ago. I don't know why they are recommended on here so often.

Good customer service.

All banks do things wrong but until you have been with a bank that has deliberately lied to you, staff been rude just because you are a customer who falls into a certain group and/or have ripped you off you don't realise how important it is.

[m0n1k3r]

Nope they don't.

You can provide current accounts as a financial institution but you don't have to own the actual infrastructure to process payments etc you can outsource it to another financial institution.

Sort codes give an indication if the financial institution did or does this. Cater Allans is in the RBS sort code range.

So they should still have IBANs then.

UK IBANs is not rocket science. They are:

GB, 2x check digits, 4 letter bank Swift, sort code, account number. Since Cater Allen is owned by Santander (a Spanish bank), it is sort of strange that they don't provide IBANs.

Even First Bank of Nigeria, who clear via HSBC, have IBANs.

IBANs are required by the EU institutions these days, or else the payment might not go through at all, or be subject to much higher charges.