Bank of Scotland Business Online: Everything you need to know

The Bank of Scotland is a commercial bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has a long and rich history that dates back to the 17th century. They offer a wide range of banking services to both individuals and businesses. Their banking services are structured according to the turnover of your business.

In this article, we’ll examine what the Bank of Scotland offers businesses, as well as the fees and commissions that are charged. We’ll also show you how to save money on international payments using Wise Business.

What kind of Business account does the Bank of Scotland offer?

The Bank of Scotland offers business accounts to three classes of businesses. The first class are businesses with £0 - £3 million annual turnover, the second are those with £3 - £25 million turnover, and the third class of business account is for businesses with more than £25 million turnover.¹

The current account for new businesses provides simple banking services and dedicated support. The key features of this account include 12 months of free day-to-day business banking. This includes electronic payments, cash deposits, and withdrawals. There is also access to the Business KnowledgeBox, which is a collection of online guides and reports prepared by the Bank of Scotland. It covers everything from financial planning and legal issues to how to understand your customers. These guides are written by industry experts and can be easily downloaded to your email.

These services are available for all businesses, but for businesses with turnover above £3m, there are some additional perks. One of these is the Business Extra Tariff, which allows you to make transactions both online and in-branch. There is no maximum or minimum deposit. They also enjoy free mobile banking and cheque book facility.²

What are the fees for a Business account?

The business account by the Bank of Scotland comes with certain fees and commissions. It is essential to know the fees that are incurred on a business current account, especially if you want to save costs. After the period of free banking elapses, there is a simple pricing plan that covers various services and aspects of

Here is a breakdown of the fees of the business account offered by the Bank of Scotland: ³

Can you make international payments via the Bank of Scotland?

If your business requires you to make international payments consistently, you can get a foreign currency account. This account allows secure bank-to-bank transfers and allows money to be sent to almost any country in the world.

Express international payments can be made in Euros if the beneficiary’s bank is located in the EEA. For sending non-Euro payments abroad, payments made in Sterling can take a maximum of 4 days to get to the beneficiary’s bank.

All international payments are converted using the Bank of Scotland exchange rate. This rate is based on the rate that they buy/sell currency on the open market as well as a currency exchange margin.⁵

The currency exchange margin charged by the Bank of Scotland is 2%⁴ this means that your currency does not get converted at the exchange rate that you would see on Google or other currency converters. For example, instead of getting €2217.00 for converting £2000, you’ll get €2173.

To save money on international transfers, use Wise Business. Wise offers international currency exchanges at the mid-market rate. That is the rate that you would find on Google or XE and is much better than what most banks or other payment platforms would offer you. For every transfer, Wise will transfer your money for a small fee stated upfront, based on the amount that you want to transfer. You can see the exact exchange rate that is used before you even make the transfer.

Here’s a quick at a glance price comparison for a 2000 GBP transfer to EUR

Can you have a foreign currency account with the Bank of Scotland?

The Bank of Scotland offers a Commercial Foreign Currency Account that provides the flexibility to maximize trade opportunities internationally. It allows you to hold foreign currency balances and allows you to receive and make international payments in multiple currencies.

The Commercial Foreign Currency Account allows you to choose from multiple foreign currencies, and simplify the payment and receipt of foreign currencies. You can transfer money from the Sterling business account to your foreign currency account.

Although there are a lot of choices available, when it comes to international payments, banks and other money exchange services charge huge cross border and conversion fees. If you want to make cheap, safe, and convenient international transfers in your business, then you should get a Wise Multi-currency account.

The account allows you to make international payments easily and for only an upfront low cost. You can also generate your local bank details to receive payments for free in Pounds, Euros, USD, and AUD. This helps you avoid the cross-border fees that most banks charge.

Additional benefits of using Wise Business

With Wise, you do not have to worry about any hidden fees or commissions when you make an international payment. In fact, you can hold money in over 28 different currencies and only convert when absolutely necessary. This means that you don’t have to pay transfer fees multiple times, especially if you are receiving multiple payments.

It allows you to automate your payroll, make expense reports simpler, generate payments, and so much more. You enjoy full support from the Wise business team.

Wise, on the other hand, offers a multi-currency account, which will be more useful if you or your business needs to hold money in multiple currencies. With this account, you can hold money in more than 28 separate currencies, and even get local account details for EUR, GBP, USD, NZD and AUD accounts. So, if you are a frequent traveler or you do business online, then a borderless account may just be what you need. It will drastically reduce the amount of expensive foreign account transfers that you need to make. It will save you money on each transfer.

You can also take advantage of the following additional benefits:

• Payroll to overseas contractors
• Payments to vendors and suppliers in over 40 currencies
• A unique integration with Xero and QuickBooks for multi-currency accounting
• Multi-currency debit card attached to the account

Start saving today with Wise