Business Bank Applications all being declined. HELP!

[sg86]

Hi all, A little background, i've recently had my accounts closed with natwest, they are yet to give me a reason for this. I had 1-2weeks before the closure applied for a business account with them, which they prompty declined with no reason. I've since setup new current accounts with another bank. I have applied for a business account with 3-4 banks now, all of which have been declined with no reason, my business is classed as 'high risk' though i truely believe they cannot gather this from my application forms, without calling me for more information. My question is, does a database exist, that my name or company name may be on that these other banks are referring to? My credit rating is 999. Secondly, are there any banks would accept high risk businesses as clients? thanks in advance

 

[lesvatadvice]

Yes, there is an unspoken arrangement under which main UK banks do not deal with certain types of 'high risk' business. Similar businesses use non-UK banks.

 

[sg86]

My business requires the use of the UK FPS service, currently anyway. Are there any non-UK banks that you could recommend that are authorised to use this payment system?

 

[arcon5]

You could try the likes of cashplus, not sure where their bar is.

As for your credit rating, all agencies assess your history differently, so 999 may be the score the CRAs give you, the banks may have different criteria and score much differently

 

[sg86]

You could try the likes of cashplus, not sure where their bar is.

As for your credit rating, all agencies assess your history differently, so 999 may be the score the CRAs give you, the banks may have different criteria and score much differently

My application with cashplus got declined instantly, another reason i think something sinister is going on. The bank's criteria you speak of, where can i find this information, surely information held on me must be accessible by me? I am aware i can submit a data subject access request, but i'm 99% they will decline it for some reason

 

[Esk247]

They're not declining you on your credit score, you're being declined on the business type (I presume).

e.g. the banks consider your business proposal to be too high risk for current lending or they have enough high risk assets on loan at the moment, they'd not want to take on any more high risk.

You can either continue to try to find a provider, who may charge more for services to absorb some of the risk or look at ways of reducing the risk to the bank.

 

[sg86]

They're not declining you on your credit score, you're being declined on the business type (I presume).

e.g. the banks consider your business proposal to be too high risk for current lending or they have enough high risk assets on loan at the moment, they'd not want to take on any more high risk.

You can either continue to try to find a provider, who may charge more for services to absorb some of the risk or look at ways of reducing the risk to the bank.

I am asking for 0 credit, no overdraft, no cards, no books. There is no risk in this sense. If they are declining on the business's purpose, is there a database where these banks are colluding information?

 

[Bob]

Is your business involved with bitcoins?

 

[sg86]

Is your business involved with bitcoins?

Yes, i have had 3000 successful transactions without a single issue. I comply with MLR, and have an audit trail of every transaction

 

[Bob]

I suspect that issues like this cause banks to be ultra cautious about becoming involved in accounts trading in digital currency

 

[jamiecooper]

Depending on what is going on with Natwest you may still be able to open a foundation account. This is designed for businesses that may have trouble getting an account. You won't get any overdraft or credit but if, as you say, you are only looking for an account to run transactions through it may be a good option. I seem to recall Lloyds offered one as well, and possibly RBS.

 

[sg86]

I suspect that issues like (artcile) cause banks to be ultra cautious about becoming involved in accounts trading in digital currency

See this is the issue, people read articles like that and apply prejudice. If my business was fully compliant with AML regulations (unlike the Liberty Reserve article you linked), do you think they would still take the same stance? It seems like anything that could compete with their own business model is of no interest to them, and i know that is their commercial decision, but being bailed out by the taxpayer makes this harder to swallow.