Reply to: Best Business Banking Options

[The Bona Fide]

Cater Allen and SJD - the 90's have called and you are going to regret it.

Who do you bank with??

[unixman]

Cater Allen: this weekend's upgrade has been postponed

I rather like the CA web portal. It's efficient and feels grown-up with no cutesey nonsense.

[filthy1980]

Cater Allen online is very basic and slow but it worked

as others have said they're upgrading to Faster Payments and a new portal this weekend apparently

but their telephone support has always been brilliant, quick response and knowledgable handlers

quick edit - they've delayed the upgrade

[BABABlackSheep]

Cater Allen are absolute dinosaurs in the online banking / app world (not sure they even have an app) but the handful of times I've called them an English (fluently speaking) human in an English call centre has answered in under 10 seconds

Online banking is absolutely terrible, that’s true.

[pr1]

Cater Allen are absolute dinosaurs in the online banking / app world (not sure they even have an app) but the handful of times I've called them an English (fluently speaking) human in an English call centre has answered in under 10 seconds

[edison]

Just the fact they are finally implementing something that most other outfits have had for a long time speaks volumes IMO. Just because it's shiney and new isn't always a positive thing in the greater picture.

I was working at Santander a couple of years ago when some colleagues were working on a big Cater Allen 'upgrade'. Hopefully this weekend's one won't be quite so underwhelming.

Their phone support has been good when I've needed to call them but last time was maybe 5 years ago.

[northernladuk]

Cater Allen undergoing a major upgrade this weekend, including faster payments and a new web portal.

Personally, I would recommend CA. Not sure about phone banking though.



You are keeping on average circa £60k in the company account?

Just the fact they are finally implementing something that most other outfits have had for a long time speaks volumes IMO. Just because it's shiney and new isn't always a positive thing in the greater picture.

[unixman]

Cater Allen undergoing a major upgrade this weekend, including faster payments and a new web portal.

Personally, I would recommend CA. Not sure about phone banking though.

I use Aldermore for business savings. Interest rates are rubbish, but £30-£50 a month over the years should not be ignored. Its basically paying for my company insurance.

You are keeping on average circa £60k in the company account?

[BABABlackSheep]

Yes, as I've already said being able to pick up a phone and talk to somebody who speaks coherent English without a prolonged wait is my main criterion here so I will definitely be giving these new fangled outfits a miss.

Looks like Cater Allen for me then.

Some advice for you.

Don’t forget about Business Savings Accounts.

Sure.. use Cater Allen if you want for day to day business banking, but you won’t get any interest, so put your war chest somewhere else.

I use Aldermore for business savings. Interest rates are rubbish, but £30-£50 a month over the years should not be ignored. Its basically paying for my company insurance.

I have an instant access account. You get slightly better rates if you tie your money in, but given IR35.. never know when you might need to close your business down.

[Fred Bloggs]

Yes, as I've already said being able to pick up a phone and talk to somebody who speaks coherent English without a prolonged wait is my main criterion here so I will definitely be giving these new fangled outfits a miss.

Looks like Cater Allen for me then.

After my previous good experience with Revolut went very, very sour, being able to call a human in real time is now top of the list of my needs too. The convenience and integrations the new platforms offer is great. All for it. But that's no good when you experience something way out of the ordinary as I have with Revolut. They don't have a mature enough system to cope with the rare, very unusual occurrence.

[eek]

Yes, as I've already said being able to pick up a phone and talk to somebody who speaks coherent English without a prolonged wait is my main criterion here so I will definitely be giving these new fangled outfits a miss.

Looks like Cater Allen for me then.

Cater Allen and SJD - the 90's have called and you are going to regret it.

[The Bona Fide]

Modern is all fine and dandy when it works. I had previously praised Revolut, but they are impossible to contact if you need to speak to a human in real time. I have an active complaint against them now. There was a problem with my account and I unknowingly closed it in the interim. Trying to contact them after closing an account is simply impossible. Trying to rescue my account access via the app simply doesn't work. None of the public facing email addresses are ever answered. The publicly available phone numbers are only there to report a lost card. No humans, ever. Revolut have even sent the regulator a supposed reply to my complaint they allegedly sent to me but never arrived. They owe me about £160 and I cannot contact anyone at Revolut to do anything about it. I guess all on line finance companies are the same. They're just fine until something out of the ordinary happens. Then you're basically stuffed. Just be careful.

Yes, as I've already said being able to pick up a phone and talk to somebody who speaks coherent English without a prolonged wait is my main criterion here so I will definitely be giving these new fangled outfits a miss.

Looks like Cater Allen for me then.

[ladymuck]

I have a Monzo account that I only use for holidays. I like to keep overseas spending separate from my day to day accounts. Never had an issue with it, even in more challenging places like Cuba.

[BABABlackSheep]

Some accountants have access to your company bank account which can be a help. I know Cater Allen has this relationship with SJD.

[Fred Bloggs]

To be honest, you'll struggle to find a reputable modern bank that has prompt customer service over the phone. The challenger banks such as Starling and Monzo tend to have fabulous and responsive customer support via in-app chat, and furthermore, these modern banks tend not to be taken by surprise when you spend money abroad, so I think in practice you'd find your card not getting blocked in the first place!

If you really want antiquated phone banking, then you're stuck with one of the legacy dinosaur banks. I can't recommend any of them; all the ones I've used have been crap.

Modern is all fine and dandy when it works. I had previously praised Revolut, but they are impossible to contact if you need to speak to a human in real time. I have an active complaint against them now. There was a problem with my account and I unknowingly closed it in the interim. Trying to contact them after closing an account is simply impossible. Trying to rescue my account access via the app simply doesn't work. None of the public facing email addresses are ever answered. The publicly available phone numbers are only there to report a lost card. No humans, ever. Revolut have even sent the regulator a supposed reply to my complaint they allegedly sent to me but never arrived. They owe me about £160 and I cannot contact anyone at Revolut to do anything about it. I guess all on line finance companies are the same. They're just fine until something out of the ordinary happens. Then you're basically stuffed. Just be careful.