Virgin Money, recognisable by its association with Richard Branson's iconic Virgin brand, is a worldwide financial services company. Is there anything more you'd like from a business bank account in the UK?
Check out our ‘at a glance' summary for the highlights, or read on for the whole deal on Virgin Business Accounts.
At a Glance — Pros and Cons
Pros
✔️ Free trial and many account tiers available.
✔️ Choice to bank in-person, over the phone, on a mobile device.
✔️ Management assistance for your firm and its accounts.
✔️ Pricing strategies that are competitive; interest rates that are very competitive.
✔️ Loan accessible to boost your credit score; overdrafts can be requested.
✔️ Both fixed and variable accounts.
Cons
❌ Android app isn't the best.
❌ Fewer and fewer places to go if you prefer traditional banking to online transactions around the UK. Compared to other major high-street banks, Virgin Money has fewer physical locations.
❌ Reviews are mostly negative online, especially on Trustpilot.
❌ After the first trial period ends, a regular fee will be assessed.
❌ Additional charges for services like cash and check deposits and foreign wire transfers.
Virgin Money Business Banking Review — Overview
What is Virgin Money business banking?
Virgin Money is well-known in the United Kingdom after earning its mark in Australia and South Africa. The bank provides commercial banking services and has more than a hundred branches as of this writing; how does its performance compare to that of its rivals?
Virgin Money is not a brand new financial institution but rather the result of the merger of many others, including B, Yorkshire Bank, Clydesdale Bank, and the notorious Northern Rock.
If a company has a proper account with Virgin Money, the owner or an authorised employee will be able to access their money using a mobile app (downloadable from the Apple or Google Play stores).
Who is Virgin Money business for?
Make sure your account is FSCS protected. Overall, Virgin Money provides a variety of services for commercial clients, such as:
☑️ Overdraft protection and no monthly maintenance costs are two of the features offered by our Business Current Account.
☑️ Accept credit card payments conveniently and safely with help from a merchant services provider.
☑️ Boost the return on your company's funds with a business savings account.
☑️ Get a business loan and use the money to expand your company.
☑️ Send money overseas fast and safely using international payments.
☑️ Invest in adequate coverage for your company with business insurance.
☑️ Credit Cards for businesses — earn rewards on every purchase.
☑️ The Business Banking App from Virgin Money allows you to monitor and control your business's finances from anywhere.
How to open an account 📁
Use the Virgin Money website to open a business savings account. You will be asked to give the following information: complete name, business address, business number, personal details of all owners, and some basic financial data.
You will get an email with your new account information and deposit instructions once the account is ready to be opened.
It's simple to open a business account with Virgin Money. Please provide the following paperwork:
- 📖 Identity Documentation.
- 📖 Bills or a bank statement showing the current address.
- 📖 If appropriate, the registration number of the organisation.
Complete an application form and send it to Virgin Money once you have these items ready. Your new business account is ready for use after the application has been processed and approved.
Virgin Money Business Banking Review — What features do you get?
What features does Virgin Money business banking offer you as a business? We explore their key features in this section…
1. Good account selections
Virgin Money provides business clients with three different account options. They have separate checking accounts for bigger and smaller companies. For the first twenty-five months, new and switching firms may use the Business Current Account for free. For purchases made using a debit card, they provide a rebate of 0.35 per cent.
With the Business Choice Account, companies with annual revenues above £6.5 million have access to cutting-edge digital resources and the assistance of the company's specialists. In addition to individual accounts, they also provide business and client accounts for organisations such as charities, organisations, and societies.
Each can be linked to a separate accounting program and all come with a Virgin Money MasterCard debit card with discounts at certain stores:
- M Company Bank Account for Mobile
- Basic Business Banking
- Business Choice
M Company Bank Account (online-only)
This is the Virgin Money mobile app and online banking service. With the M Account, you may get an overdraft if you need one and pay just 90 pence for every hundred pounds you deposit. Any time you use your debit card, you'll get a quarter of a per cent back. Unfortunately, you cannot do any banking in person at a Virgin Money location.
Business Banking
The basic Virgin Money business checking account is free for the first 25 months, then costs £6.50 per month. After this period, there will be a 30p cost for automatic electronic transfers into and out of your account, a 70p fee for manual transfers, and other fees if you want to trade in cash or checks.
With this account, you may get 0.35% cashback on debit card purchases and access your money at any Virgin Money location.
Business Choice
The same as above, but only applicable to companies having an annual revenue of exceeding £6,500,000.
2. Overdrafts for companies
Virgin Money's M Account for Business comes with a £1,000 automatic, unsecured overdraft. Overdrafts from £25,000 are available via Virgin Money for businesses. A minimum of £125 or 2.5% of the overdraft capacity (whichever is greater) is required to open an overdraft account with a sample EAR of 13.30%.
Knowing the ins and outs of UK business overdrafts is crucial whether you're just starting out or an established company owner in the market for a new overdraft facility.
Choosing the best solution for your company's requirements involves several factors, and getting the information you need may be challenging. This helpful article will go through the fundamentals of business overdrafts in the United Kingdom.
Overdraft costs for deposits and withdrawals are common with business overdrafts, in addition to the interest that must be paid. There might also be charges for things like account setup and ongoing maintenance. The entire cost of your overdraft will include these costs, so be sure you account for them.
Overdrafts are a sort of short-term borrowing, so you need to be sure you can pay them back in whole and on schedule. To get the most out of your business overdraft, you should evaluate it often and utilise it properly.
3. Savings accounts
Instant access, notice, and fixed-term deposit accounts are the three corporate savings options. Nothing is going to cost you anything. Virgin's business lounges provide clients with a quiet location to work in between meetings as well as complimentary beverages, snacks, and newspapers.
Instant
The Business Cash Management Account allows depositing as little as one pound and earning interest at the rate of 0.01% AER. Online access to this account is restricted. The Business Access Savings Account is a basic online savings account that lets you save between £1 and £2 million. It comes with an annual percentage rate (APR) of 0.30%.
Notice
They provide a selection of business accounts with different notice periods of 30, 65, 95, and 120 days. Start with as little as £1 and add more whenever you want. Withdrawal is authorised only upon the provision of the requisite notification. The interest rate ranges from 0.05% to 0.20%.
Fixed
Their term deposit accounts vary from 3 months to 24 months, while their savings accounts have set rates for 1 and 2 years. You may put away between £0.35 and 0.45% AER in their fixed-rate savings account, which has a maximum balance of £2 million. The annual percentage rates (APRs) on their term deposit accounts range from 0.10 to 0.40 per cent.
Virgin Money Business Banking Review — Buying Guide
With that, let's go on to the next section of our Virgin Money business banking review, where we'll talk about cost.
Let’s explore choosing a Virgin business account.
Virgin Money business banking fees
After an introductory period ends, Virgin Money's business clients will begin incurring the following fees. Different sorts of account fees may be assessed. However, the following are typical prices for clients to pay:
✅ Charged every month. This is a hard and fast rule regardless of how often you use your account. The cost of maintaining a business account with Virgin Money is £6.50 per month. However, there may be extra fees for some services like money transfers.
✅ Per transaction. All deposits and withdrawals from the account will incur a fee.
✅ Overdraft charges. Fees are assessed for both planned and unforeseen withdrawals from the account. Business checking accounts provide the flexibility to charge interest at a variable rate for prearranged and unforeseen overdrafts. For M Account for Business clients, this threshold is £4, and for all other Virgin Money business account holders, it is £16. If there isn't enough money in the account, or within an established overdraft limit, to make the payment, the firm will be charged.
✅ Foreign transactions and cash-out charges. If you use your business debit card to make purchases or withdrawals in a currency other than one from the European Economic Area, you will be charged a percentage fee for each transaction.
✅ Foreign exchange costs. Internet banking fees for international money transfers made by clients with an M Account for Business are £15 for SEPA payments to European countries and £17.50 for SWIFT payments. When compared to online transactions, in-branch payments incur greater costs.
Is it safe?
Is Virgin Money a legitimate financial institution?
Virgin Money is an actual bank. It provides several financial options, such as checking, savings, credit cards, and investments. Each customer's savings and checking account deposits are protected up to £85,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) while using its products. In the event of the bank going down, clients' funds up to that amount are guaranteed.
What about customer service?
Both Trustpilot and Reviews.co.uk have very negative feedback. Existing clients, in particular, are dissatisfied with phone support. Customers have also complained about difficulties in managing their accounts and making transactions. Some satisfied customers have left glowing 5-star evaluations.
All Virgin Money products, even those geared towards commercial savings, are included in online evaluations. Many Virgin Money clients have been dissatisfied after submitting travel insurance claims.
Nonetheless, in some places it has received generally favourable feedback. The vast majority of people who use savings accounts are completely satisfied with the rates, in-person service, and overall value they get. However, recent reviews have been increasingly unfavourable as users have experienced problems with the app, excessive wait times to talk to an agent, and subpar support.
Virgin Money ranks #6 on Which?'s ‘Best & Worst Banks' ranking, out of a possible 100. The bank receives an overall score of 3/5 for its customer service, communication, transparency of costs, telephone banking, internet banking, mobile app, and in-branch service, and a score of 2/5 for its complaint resolution.
- Trustpilot — 1.3-star rating (2,831 ratings).
- Customer satisfaction with Which? is 61%.
- The Savvy Investor — 4.2/5 (1,200 ratings).
What other features set Virgin Money business apart from the rest?
It has a well-defined plan to integrate and cross-promote its several Virgin brands, making it the sixth biggest bank in the United Kingdom.
If you didn’t know, Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank Group (CYBG) acquired Virgin Money, which Richard Branson had created. Since the acquisition, the whole company has operated under the Virgin Money brand, and they have continued to pay licencing fees to the Virgin Company, which is still 100% controlled by Branson.
Which means, if you run a business in the United Kingdom, Virgin Money probably offers an account that suits your requirements, whether you're a start-up with a modest yearly turnover, a larger firm with millions in annual revenue, or an organisation that has to handle client cash.
For firms with an annual revenue of less than £1 million, the M Account for Business provides a free checking account, an overdraft of up to £1,000 (upon application), and cashback on debit card transactions.
Virgin Money Business Banking Review: The Verdict
Using Virgin Money for your company's banking requirements has its advantages, but you should give it some serious thought and look into other options first.
The expenses associated with banking with a corporate behemoth, without the huge high street presence one would anticipate, may be the worst of all worlds for some business account users at Virgin Money, despite the bank's unique features.
If you're comfortable handling the majority of your company's financial transactions online, Virgin Money is a fantastic choice. The majority of your banking needs may be met using the bank's mobile app for smartphones and tablets and your internet account.
The Business Current Account has a longer trial term than many of its bigger competitors, which may be helpful for firms looking to save expenditures.
Keep in mind that the majority of the bank's physical branches are located in the north of England, the Midlands, and Scotland if your company relies heavily on cash transactions and deposits. If your company is located in one of those areas, depositing cash is a simple process.
Sign up for an account at Virgin Money's website to get started. If after reading this review you determine that a Virgin Money current account is not right for your company, there are plenty of alternative options available.
More about Virgin Money business banking
Since 2021, financial services formerly provided by Virgin Money, Clydesdale Bank, and Yorkshire Bank have all been provided under the Virgin Money brand. Various checking and savings accounts are available for businesses.
Manage your savings with Virgin Money in person at any of their locations around the UK (mostly major cities), online, or with their mobile app. To top it all off, Virgin Money has five posh business lounges in major cities throughout the UK.
Virgin Money contact details
- Contact 0800 121 7365
- iOS and Android app downloads
- Website: https://uk.virginmoney.com/business
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