Starling Bank V Metro Bank v Nat West

[Porky]

Hi

This question is specifically for Starling Bank or possibly Nat West clients;

For about three months now I have had nothing but trouble with Metro Bank and it’s failing Quick Books feed. I am having to manually export via Excel from Metro and upload to Quick Books and then have the hassle of reconciling it all.

Secondly and more importantly Metro have just froze an account for absolutely no reason. I’m trying to get to the bottom of this but reading other forums this has happened to other businesses. They can just freeze an account whilst they investigate something without notice and it can be weeks before they resolve it! I think it’s because they have low quality fraud detection technology compared to other banks and you can trip something without knowing and they can suspend your account whilst they investigate without notice. My account manager is trying to resolve it but this is really poor and I had no idea this was even legal! It’s an interruption you just don’t need.

Anyhow, I know some posters are very pro Starling Bank and I understand their export feeds to accounting software work so this could be an option? Online banking works for me and I don’t need a local branch but I do have a need to pay some external contractors international payments in Rupees.

Can anyone tell me if Starling supports overseas payments in Rupees and what your experience is like banking with them a few months on? Have they lived up to your expectations? You can imagine I’m now nervous about going to another new bank entrant in case they have similar issues, I don’t want to keep changing banks frankly.

My only other thought was going back to old School and talking to Nat West, they will take new business accounts if you have a personal account with them which I do so this could be another option?

I would values others experience here... thanks

 

[John Hemming]

Starling don't currently have an open banking interface so any link has to be tailored to them. A lot of big banks are not opening new accounts. I have some business accounts with Natwest (RBS) so I don't know if they are one of the ones refusing access.

I would say this wouldn't I, but I think it is worth making sure that banks follow the open banking protocols this is likely to give a better service.

 

[Prime81]

Hi. I had the exact same thing with metro last november. They froze my account and no one would talk to me or tell me why. They were awful. I ended up getting a letter a few weeks later telling me they were closing my account and I had 60 days to move my money. It was only a current account with £400 in it and I did nothing wrong. They never told me why they closed it I was glad to get rid of them.

 

[Darren_Ssc]

If you are regularly making transfers that could be flagged you may be better using a service such as TransferWise and keeping your regular account for the remainder.

This doesn't mitigate against these transfers raising alarm bells but it does insure your business isn't disrupted to the same extent.

In my admittedly limited experience, all banks fall down at the point of customer service. The only exception being local branch staff who actually care, although this isn't always a given. You do have the advantage though of trying different branches as the level of care can vary a lot from one branch to another.

 

[Porky]

Hi. I had the exact same thing with metro last november. They froze my account and no one would talk to me or tell me why. They were awful. I ended up getting a letter a few weeks later telling me they were closing my account and I had 60 days to move my money. It was only a current account with £400 in it and I did nothing wrong. They never told me why they closed it I was glad to get rid of them.

This is exactly what I’m experiencing although I’m not at any letter stage yet. Was yours a business account or personal?
I find it shocking frankly. If you contact the branch manager they don’t call back mobile just switches to voicemail. Branch and callcentre say they have referred it and awaiting reply, update on the account meanwhile it’s frozen and you can’t trade with the account. No notification, you couldn’t make it up!
I have read on the internet Metro taking up to three months to resolve accounts they have frozen.
The comment about fraud checking not as developed as the more established banks makes perfect sense, this sounds like the issue here but they won’t let you talk to their fraud department to work through it. This is a very well run account!
Looks like I need to find a new bank but in this Covid situation that’s not so easy, most don’t want accounts, frankly I’m losing total confidence in the business banking sector, it’s like selecting which one is the least sh@t.

 

[Porky]

If you are regularly making transfers that could be flagged you may be better using a service such as TransferWise and keeping your regular account for the remainder.

This doesn't mitigate against these transfers raising alarm bells but it does insure your business isn't disrupted to the same extent.

In my admittedly limited experience, all banks fall down at the point of customer service. The only exception being local branch staff who actually care, although this isn't always a given. You do have the advantage though of trying different branches as the level of care can vary a lot from one branch to another.

Hi Darren,

That sounds like a great idea. If I get sorted I will detach payments to India by using a separate service.
i was told today that U.K. banks don’t like India payments and for some it’s a decline area due to an increase in AML checks so your suggestion is a good one - thanks for that

 

[The Byre]

Brits always have problems when trying to do business with anywhere outside of Britlandshire because they -

1. Only speak British.
2. Have no knowledge of the laws and customs outside of Britlandshire.
3. Try to transfer money in and out of Britlandshire using a strictly consumer High Street bank that is specifically designed for Mrs. Agnes McGussette and The Reverand Eugin Cuckpowder.

Pick a bank that is used to the idea of having business accounts and charges little - Santander for example.

Have another bank outside of Britlandshire that is designed to deal with online international transactions and use them as your payments and clearing hub. Swissquote in Luxembourg springs to mind - others are available!

Better still - open an account in the land where the money is supposed to go to or come from.

 

[Prime81]

hi porky. It was a personal account and they treated me appallingly. I couldn't speak to the relevant department or a manager. I went into my local branch and they were just as bad, basically treated me like a criminal. They were the absolute worst. I was even told i couldn't open another bank acount at another bank until this was sorted , that was a lie.I got the letter a few weeks later just saying they had closed my account and I had 60days to tranfer the money to another bank account in my name. I stupidly didn't have a bank account somewhere else so that was a stress sorting that out too. I didn't ever get a reason why they closed it but it was just my normal current account using it for everyday payments. They didn't even tell me they had frozen it, I was doing a big shop in tesco and couldn't pay.

 

[The Byre]

Metro Bank has been falling apart over the past year or so with the departure of Vernon Hill who founded the bank.

 

[marianna_ldn]

Hello,

Using Starling Bank since 2018, I never had any problem. Their services fit perfectly with my needs and the customer service is available 24/24.
I guess it depends on your activity but each time I needed something, they were very helpful.

Regards

 

[chickenlady]

Starling can do a Euro account but as far as I can see, not a Rupee account. I opened a Starling sole trader account recently and it was very straightforward but its not a Ltd Co. I find the app to be very easy to use and the odd time I have had to contact them, they did not treat me like an idiot. I have not used their switch service from my Co-Op account which they have recently 'upgraded' and actually made the online offering even worse (did not think that was possible).
I believe HSBC offer a global account but someone else would need to clarify that - I closed my HSBC account a few years ago.
I use Transferwise a couple of times a month - very efficient and easy.

 

[marianna_ldn]

Starling can do a Euro account but as far as I can see, not a Rupee account. I opened a Starling sole trader account recently and it was very straightforward but its not a Ltd Co. I find the app to be very easy to use and the odd time I have had to contact them, they did not treat me like an idiot. I have not used their switch service from my Co-Op account which they have recently 'upgraded' and actually made the online offering even worse (did not think that was possible).
I believe HSBC offer a global account but someone else would need to clarify that - I closed my HSBC account a few years ago.
I use Transferwise a couple of times a month - very efficient and easy.

Absolutely: they offer GBP, EUR and USD accounts today.
They offer the best online banking services for businesses at the moment (my opinion).