How to open a Mettle Bank business account

As a dedicated business banking app, Mettle offers one kind of account (compared with ANNA’s three business accounts) for sole traders and limited companies with up to two owners.

In this Mettle Bank business account review, we’ll take a look at how Mettle compares to ANNA’s most popular business plans, to provide a clear-eyed view of the best direction for you.

What types of business bank accounts are available at Mettle?

Mettle is a dedicated, digital-only banking app that offers one, straightforward type of business bank account to its customers. It comes with no monthly fees, and transactions are also free.

While it’s digital-only, similar to rivals including Zempler, Tide and Starling, customers can deposit cash by generating a barcode in the Mettle app that can be used at your local Post Office.

You can also make local payments and use your Mettle prepaid card to withdraw up to £500 a day. Some types of transactions, such as making international payments, aren’t available.

Mettle Bank business account review: key features

Mettle’s key features are largely focused on helping businesses keep on top of their cash flow, which can be particularly useful if you’re just starting out and getting to grips with business accounting.

Get paid faster

To help you get paid a bit faster, your Mettle business account allows you to see what’s coming in and what you’re owed at a glance, view the status of your invoices and send automated reminders to help you chase payments.

Help with Making Tax Digital

From April 2026, self-employed workers earning over £50,000 a year need to start keeping digital records and submitting quarterly updates to HMRC.

Mettle supports small businesses like these by offering business account holders FreeAgent accounting software. It also gives you a running total of how much tax you owe, so there are no nasty surprises when it comes to submitting your return.

Tools to boost your business

Mettle offers business owners a few handy tools to help them with various aspects of running their business, including customisable invoice templates, the ability to photograph and upload receipts, and an automatic tax savings pot.

Earn interest

If you use Mettle’s Savings Pot feature, you could earn 0.95% AER / 0.95% Gross p.a. (variable) interest on your savings. You can save up to £1m in your savings pot, which doesn’t count towards your main account’s maximum £1m balance.

Mettle Bank Business Bank Account pros & cons

Pros

• Mettle doesn’t charge a monthly fee, and there are no transaction fees.
• Designed for small businesses, Mettle is great for helping those just starting out to wrap their heads around tax returns, bookkeeping and savings.
• Smart features such as customisable invoices can make the nitty-gritty of launching a business a bit more interesting.
• As part of Natwest, Mettle customers’ money is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to £85,000.
• Providing you make at least one transaction a month from your Mettle account, you can get a free subscription to FreeAgent accounting software when you open your account. Otherwise, you can synchronise your Mettle business bank account with your preferred accounting software.
• The app is highly rated by Mettle customers, which allows you to keep on top of your finances even when you’re on the move.

Cons

• Once you’ve applied for your Mettle account, how long it will take for your application to be approved can be a bit of an unknown quantity – unlike ANNA’s super-speedy ten-minute average turnaround.
• Some business banking services, such as receiving CHAPS payments and making cheque deposits, aren’t available from your Mettle account.
• Mettle doesn’t support international payments, so if you do business globally or buy any services or materials from abroad, you might want to look elsewhere. For example, ANNA’s Big Business plan comes with 4 free international SWIFT payments a month.
• There are no physical branches where you can do business – although Mettle is part of Natwest, customers can’t use Natwest branches to do their banking.
• You can only hold a Mettle bank business account if your balance remains under £1m.
• Only one director of your business can access your Mettle business account – while ANNA allows third-party access to your plan.
• Unlike most banks, Mettle doesn’t offer access to government-backed loans or any lending.
• There is no 24/7 live chat or phone support service for Mettle customers – if you’re looking for award-winning, UK-based help day or night, you’re better off with ANNA.

What are the requirements to open a Mettle Bank Business Account?

The first step towards opening a Mettle Bank business account is checking your eligibility.

To qualify, you need to meet the following criteria.

• Your business must be registered and trading in the UK.
• You need to be a UK resident with a UK phone number.
• You need a device that runs on iOS or Android to open and manage your account. If you own an Apple device, you need to be on iOS 15 or later, and for Android you need to be on 9.0 or later.
• Your account balance must be under £1 million.
• You (plus any other person of significant control when it comes to your business) need to be 18 or over.
• You need to be a tax resident in the UK only, and only pay tax in the UK.
• You can’t be a US Person for tax purposes.

There are a few extra criteria for limited companies registered with Companies House – for example, only one owner can access the account, so you’ll have to decide who that person will be.

Most sole traders, apart from partnerships where multiple sole traders are working together, can get a Mettle account, depending on your business activities. Unsupported industries include distilleries and freight shipping, among others.

What documents do I need to provide to open a Mettle Bank Business Account?

As Mettle Bank business account applications are completed online, you’ll need to have your ID handy for scanning, and be ready to be videoed in-app to prove who you are. Otherwise you simply need to provide details such as your address and phone number.

How much does a Mettle Bank Business Account cost?

A Mettle account is free to open, comes with no monthly account fees, and doesn’t charge any transaction fees – for now, at least. Mettle promises to give customers "plenty of notice if this changes," which suggests fees could potentially be introduced in future.

The trade-off is that some types of transactions, such as paying in cheques and making international payments, are not available to Mettle customers.

How to apply for a Mettle Bank Business Account

If you’re eligible, you can apply for your Mettle Bank business account via the app. Applications can take from a few hours to over a week to process – which isn’t our style here at ANNA, where you can be up and running within minutes.

Mettle Bank Business Account customer reviews

An independent survey asked around 1,200 customers of each of the 17 largest business current account providers if they’d recommend their provider to other SMEs. The results, which were released in August 2025, put Mettle in second place, with 82% of customers recommending it for overall service quality, while 83% positively rated its online and mobile banking services.

Downsides reported in the reviews include a lengthy wait for accounts to open – not a problem you’ll encounter with ANNA’s business accounts, which can be approved in minutes.

Mettle Bank vs ANNA: at a glance

Like ANNA, Mettle offers online-only business accounts. But while Mettle is a little simpler than ANNA, it doesn’t offer the same tools and support designed to help you boost your business. Here’s what you need to know…

Final thoughts

Like ANNA’s Pay As You Go plan, Mettle doesn’t charge a monthly fee. It’s also free to conduct most everyday transactions. But if you want the support you need to take your business that bit further – like using your business account to pay for international goods and services, or depositing more than £1m into your account – you might be better off with ANNA.

Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, ANNA offers three types of business accounts tailored to your needs and the size of your business. There’s also a clever +Taxes add-on available that stays on top of bookkeeping, corporation tax, VAT and payroll if you’re a limited company.

Our Pay As You Go plan is probably the closest to what Mettle has to offer. Aimed at start-ups looking for Absolutely No Nonsense Admin, it comes with some free transactions, including ATM withdrawals, unlimited expense cards and unlimited savings pots. You can also make international payments via SWIFT.

Our Business plan is best for most businesses, and gives you even more bang for your buck, including 60 free local transfers a month and 2 free CHAPS payments a month (which is handy if you regularly make big-money payments), all for £19.90 a month plus VAT.

Finally, our Big Business plan costs £49.50 a month plus VAT, and includes bags of free services, including 4 free international SWIFT payments per month, unlimited free CHAPS payments and unlimited incoming payments with no commission. You’ll also enjoy unlimited savings pots to help you manage your money.

Whichever type of plan you choose, you can take advantage of bags of extras, including up to 40% cash back on over 150 products and services, instant invoicing, accounts integration, XLS VAT filing, and a free 30-day trial of +Taxes.

What’s more, our support line is always on, 24/7 – something we think is especially important if you’re just starting out in business or trying ANNA for the first time.

Open ANNA business account today, and find out how we earned our ‘excellent’ 4.4. score on Trustpilot first-hand.

Sources

• Mettle Bank Business Accounts
• Mettle Business Account Features
• NatWest Bank Account for the Self Employed
• TrustPilot