Connor Campbell
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Mettle business account: at a glance
Mettle is an e-money business bank account launched by the NatWest Group in 2018, with services provided by Prepay Solutions (PPS).
It is designed for sole traders or limited companies with at least one director, but not for public limited companies (PLC) or limited liability partnerships (LLP).
Below, find out more about the pros and cons of a Mettle business account, as well as the features it offers.
Promotion
Mettle Business Account
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Monthly FeeFree
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Card Purchase FeesFree
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Bank Transfer FeesFree
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OfferFreeAgent for FreeTo get FreeAgent for free you'll need to make at least one transaction a month from your Mettle account. A saving of £150 a year (based on FreeAgent's lowest tariff).
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Trustpilot Score4.6 out of 52,428 reviews
Learn more about how we bring you our review.
Mettle business account pros & cons
Pros
- Mettle business accounts are free; there are no monthly fees or transaction charges.
- The account can be accessed via the Mettle mobile app or online.
- You can pay in cash at the Post Office or at a PayPoint.
Cons
- There is no face-to-face service.
- Deposits are not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
- It’s not possible to pay cheques into a Mettle account.
These pros and cons are based on a survey of UK business owners on what they found important when selecting a range of business products, conducted by NerdWallet in December 2022.
Mettle business account key features
- Mettle is an app-based business account provider regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
- It’s an e-money account, not a bank account, so deposits are not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)
- A Mettle business account is free – there are no monthly or transaction fees to pay
- No access to credit facilities, such as business loans or credit cards, are available with this provider
Mettle business account full review
Launched in 2018 as a way for the NatWest Group to compete in the challenger banking space, Mettle is a fully in-app business account designed for sole traders and limited companies – and it’s completely free.
If you are self-employed or run a limited company, a Mettle business account can offer you an easy way to manage your business finances from your phone.
We’ve gathered everything you might want to know about Mettle’s business account offering below.
| Monthly fee | No |
| Transaction fees | No |
| Account management | Via mobile app Online |
| FSCS protection | No |
| Cash deposits | Yes (at Post Office or PayPoint) |
| Cheque deposits | No |
| Access to other banking services, such as business loans and overdrafts | No |
| Integration with accounting software and tools | Yes |
| International payments | No |
| Customer service | Via mobile app Over the phone |
| Multiple user access | No |
| Trustpilot rating | 4.6 out of 5 (as of 6 March 2023) |
Mettle business account features
The following sections provide some important information about the key features of Mettle business accounts.
Business account fees
The most important factor that business owners look for in a business account is the price – half of those NerdWallet surveyed picked it as one of their top three criteria.
- Mettle only offers one plan type – its free mobile app-based business account, with no monthly fee and no transaction charges.
Any business with a Mettle e-money account gets the same service. There are a range of features that come with a Mettle business account, all designed to help sole traders, the self-employed and small businesses manage and scale up their operations.
These features include, but are not limited to:
- no transaction fees, meaning free UK transfers, cash deposits and ATM withdrawals
- a prepaid debit card attached to your e-money account
- ability to schedule payments wherever you are through the Mettle app
- ability to share your Mettle business account with your accountant, or integrate accounting software, such as Xero or QuickBooks
- setting aside funds for taxes or emergencies with Money Pots
- free access to online accounting software FreeAgent
- ability to create and send invoices directly from your phone, including your company logo
- simplified bookkeeping, including adding receipts to transactions and exporting expense data
- real person support on the app, via email and over the phone
Easy account access
The business owners that NerdWallet surveyed felt that easy access was the second most important criteria overall when looking for a business account.
You can access a Mettle account via the provider’s mobile app, available on iOS and Android devices. It’s also possible to manage your money on the Mettle website, though you will need your mobile device to log in.
It’s worth noting that there is no way to access the account face to face – although Mettle is part of the NatWest group, you cannot use NatWest branches to access your account. However, you can access customer support over the phone if you want to speak to someone.
Account set-up
A quarter of the business owners NerdWallet surveyed said that quick account set-up was important when looking for a business account.
Mettle’s application process can be completed in about 10 minutes and it aims to have accounts opened within 72 hours of submitting an application (excluding weekends).
FSCS protection
According to the business owners that NerdWallet surveyed, protection through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is a key criteria when looking for a business account, ranking third most important overall.
Mettle is an e-money provider and, unlike money held with UK-authorised banks, deposits in e-money accounts are not protected by FSCS.
This means that if Mettle were to fail, you would not automatically be compensated (up to the FSCS limit of £85,000 per person or business, per bank).
However, Mettle is provided by Prepay Solutions, an electronic money institution (EMI) regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). E-money providers must comply with FCA safeguarding regulations. This means deposits held in e-money accounts must be protected, either through insurance or by segregating customer funds and storing them separately to the provider’s funds.
Mobile phone app
The ability to access a business account via a mobile app is crucial to business owners, with this feature ranking fourth in our NerdWallet survey.
Luckily for digitally-minded business owners, Mettle is an app-based business account provider. The app is available on both Android and Apple devices.
Customer service
You can contact Mettle’s customer support team in the following ways:
- by telephone
- through live chat via the Mettle app
- by email on [email protected]
Mettle’s customer service opening hours are the same for all communication channels: Monday to Friday, 8am-8pm; Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays, 9am-5pm.
Currently, Mettle does not offer customer support 24 hours a day, though you can contact a member of staff on any day of the week. However, this may not be an issue for business customers. 24/7 customer service was not a huge concern according to our survey, with only 15% of respondents putting it in their top three criteria.
Customer reviews
Mettle has received positive reviews on a variety of different sites:
- Trustpilot: 4.6 out of 5, based on over 2,300 reviews
- Apple App Store: 4.9 out of 5, based on over 15,500 reviews
- Google Play: 4.8 out of 5, based on over 5,000 reviews
This information is correct as of 2 March 2023.
Mettle business account eligibility
Before applying for a Mettle business account, it is important to make sure your business is eligible. Firstly, you need to be:
- registered to trade in the UK
- a UK resident, with a UK phone number
- over the age of 18
In terms of the details of your business, you need to:
- be a sole trader, or a limited company with at least one director and an ‘active’ state on Companies House
- have a maximum account balance of either £50,000 for sole traders, or £100,000 for limited companies
This means a Mettle business account is not available for public limited companies (PLC), unlimited companies (Unltd), limited liability partnerships (LLP) or charities, among other business types.
There are also a number of industries and business activities that Mettle does not support. This includes, but is not limited to, alcohol manufacturing, adult entertainment, gambling and cryptocurrency.
In addition, you must undergo a soft credit check as part of your application. Soft credit checks don’t affect your credit score or show up to other providers on your credit report, but are used to help verify your identity.
How to choose a Mettle business account
There are a number of questions that you may want to ask yourself when deciding whether to open a Mettle business account or when comparing other providers:
- Are you willing to pay monthly or transaction fees, or do you want a free account?
- How would you prefer to manage your account (for example, online, via an app, in branch)?
- Do you want to bank digitally or would you like the option of face-to-face banking in a branch?
- Are you willing for you and your business to undergo a credit check as part of your business banking application?
- Do you want your deposits to be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)?
How to apply for a Mettle business account
To open a Mettle business account, you’ll need to follow these steps:
- Download the Mettle app.
- Start an application.
- Submit proof of ID and address
- Wait for approval.
Download the Mettle app
To apply for a Mettle business account, you need to use the provider’s mobile app. This can be downloaded from the Apple App Store, the Google Play store or the Mettle website.
Start an application
As part of your application, you’ll need to submit details about your business, as well as some personal details so that Mettle can check your identity. This includes submitting proof of ID and filming a short video on your phone.
You may need to provide proof of trading to show that your business is operational. This could include a bank statement (from the last six months), a utility bill in your business’s name or an invoice. If you can’t provide these immediately (for example, if your business is new), Mettle will ask to see proof within six months of opening your account.
In most cases, submitting your application should only take around 10 minutes.
Submit proof of ID and address
You’ll need to submit proof of your identity during the application process, such as:
- a valid passport
- an EU national identity card
- a UK photocard driving licence (full or provisional)
- a UK biometric residence permit
If Mettle can’t prove your identity through its initial checks, you may be asked to provide proof of address. You can submit a document such as:
- a utility bill (dated within the last six months)
- a UK driving licence (in date)
- a bank statement (dated within the last six months)
- a council tax bill (dated within the last 12 months)
Wait for approval
Your application should then be reviewed, and subsequently approved or rejected, within 72 hours (excluding weekends). You’ll be contacted via email with the outcome of your application.
Review methodology
At NerdWallet Ltd UK we base our reviews on the results of surveys we conduct to understand what key product features are important to those who use them, and align them to the product we review.
Product details reflect the information that was available at that time but may have changed since. We strive to give you a review on as many products as possible but it is likely there are others available that we have not reviewed. The review is our opinion, but it does not constitute advice, recommendation or suitability of your financial circumstances.
You can view our review methodology here.
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