How to Open a Zempler Bank Business Account

With that in mind, Zempler Bank offers three types of business accounts (just like ANNA). In this Zempler Bank business account review, we’ll take a look at the differences between each type of account and how they size up to what ANNA has to offer, so you can decide where best to put your money.

What types of business bank accounts are available at Zempler Bank?

Zempler Bank offers three types of business accounts – Business Go, Business Extra and Business Pro – with a rising scale of monthly fees attached.

Business Go

With no monthly fees, this type of account offers all the basics you need to get your business going, including 24/7 fraud protection, an instant-decision overdraft, and tools like cashflow tracking and integrated accounting. If you’re a smaller business that doesn’t make a lot of payments, this could be the right account for you.

Business Extra

For an extra £9 a month, you’ll receive the same benefits as a Business Go account, plus 0.5% cashback on your card spend (up to £1,000), 20 free payments and transfers a month, and in-app messaging support. This account’s Creditbuilder add-on also makes it good for small businesses wanting to boost their credit score.

Business Pro

The most expensive Zempler Bank business account at £19, Business Pro includes additional benefits such as 1% cashback on your card spend, 500 free payments and transfers a month, and a 0.75% interest-earning savings pot. This Zempler Bank business bank account is the best choice for bigger businesses that make lots of transactions each month.

Zempler Bank business account review: key features

Although they all have their own perks and benefits attached, each of the three Zempler Bank business accounts offers some key features as standard. Including…

24/7 account fraud protection

You can be confident your money is safe with Zempler’s in-built fraud protection and an instant card-freezing tool. Your money is also protected by the FSCS to the tune of £85,000.

Overdraft facility

When you open a Zempler Bank business account, you can apply for a business overdraft with an instant decision attached – unless you’re a sole trader, in which case you will need to hold your account for at least three months before becoming eligible to apply.

Support for your business

Every Zempler Bank business account comes with features designed to help your business run more smoothly, including an invoice generator, automated receipt capture, integrated accounting and a tool to help you with Making Tax Digital, which comes into effect in April 2026.

There’s also a Creditbuilder add-on available to Business Extra customers that helps build your credit score if it needs a bit of a boost or you don’t have a credit history.

Quick application

You can apply online for your Zempler Bank business account and be up and running within minutes (we can’t help but wonder if they were inspired by ANNA’s super-speedy application process…).

Zempler Bank Business Account pros & cons

Pros

• If you choose a Business Go Zempler business account, you won’t pay any monthly fee – and unlike some banks, such as Santander and Bank of Scotland, you won’t be charged after a trial period. Which rather reminds us of ANNA’s £0 a month Pay As You Go account…
• If you register your limited company with Zempler Bank when you apply and load £100 into your new account, you’ll receive £100 to match your deposit.
• It’s quick to open a Zempler Bank business bank account: you can apply in just a few minutes online, and start taking payments as soon as you’re approved.
• Although Zempler is an online bank, you can pay cash in at any of the UK’s 11,500 Post Offices.
• Your money is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to £85,000.

Cons

• Sole traders have to wait three months to apply for an overdraft on their account.
• While the Zempler Bank business account helpline is based in the UK, it’s not available 24/7. Like banks including TSB and Co-operative Bank, its hours are restricted: lines are open Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, Saturday from 8am to 4pm and from 9am to 5pm on bank holidays.
• Some transactions can be expensive – for example, although there’s no monthly fee to pay on a Business Go account, it costs £2 a time to withdraw cash, and 35p to make payments after you’ve used your 3 free monthly transactions.
• Although Zempler Bank’s Business Extra and Business Pro accounts come with a cashback facility, you can earn a maximum of 1%, and your earnings are capped at £1,000 a month. Meanwhile, ANNA’s generous cashback offer gives you up to 40% cashback on over 150 products and services, with no limits on how much you can earn.
• Zempler Bank doesn’t reveal how much it costs to make international payments until you’ve opened an account and need to make a transfer. Meanwhile, ANNA is completely transparent about the charges you can expect.

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

Whichever Zempler Bank business account you choose, the following eligibility rules apply:

• You must be aged at least 18.
• Your business must be based in the UK.
• Unless you’re a sole trader or freelancer, you must have an active and up-to-date accounts status with Companies House.
• You need to be operating in a supported industry. Industries not supported by Zempler Bank include crypto currency traders, scrap metal dealers and money service businesses.

If you’re a corporate shareholder or have Persons with Significant Control (PSCs) in your business, you need to meet a few more criteria – for example, the PSC details registered with Companies House need to be correct.

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

Opening a Zempler Bank business account is relatively straightforward. You’ll need to provide your details at Companies House (if you’re a limited company) and your ID and address (if you’re a sole trader).

If your identity and address can’t be verified during the application process, you might need to provide some documents to prove who you are, such as a UK passport and council tax bill. If you're applying as a partnership and are asked for documentation, you'll need to send in the relevant documents for each partner involved.

How much does a Zempler Bank Business Account cost?

The fees you’ll pay for your Zempler Bank business account depends on which type of account you choose. Here’s a run-down of the fees you’ll pay for some of the more common business transactions.

Zempler Bank monthly account fees

Business Go is free of monthly fees, while Business Extra costs £9 a month, and Business Pro will charge you £19 per month to use its services.

Zempler Bank international payment fees

Inbound international payments cost £15 in Euros, and £22 for other currencies, whichever type of Zempler Bank business account you choose.

Making an international payment is a little more opaque: information on transfer fees is only available once you’ve set up your account and entered the transfer details into the Zempler Bank app.

Zempler Bank local transfers in and out

It’s free to receive money into your Zempler Bank business account, and there’s no limit to the amount that can go in.

Sending money costs 35p per payment or transfer, although you’ll also be able to make a certain number of free transactions each month: 3 with Business Go, 20 with Business Extra, and 500 with Business Pro.

Zempler Bank pay cash in deposit

You can pay cash into your Zempler Bank business bank account at any UK Post Office, and a 0.55% fee (minimum of £4) will apply to the total amount deposited, whichever type of account you choose.

Zempler Bank ATM withdrawals

If you have a Business Go account, cash withdrawals cost £2 in the UK and £3 abroad – otherwise, they’re free.

You can withdraw up to £500 a day with a Business Go or Business Extra account, and an unlimited amount with a Business Pro account.

Can you pay a cheque in an online Zempler Bank business?

It’s not currently possible to pay cheques into a Zempler Bank business bank account.

Zempler vs ANNA Fees

We’ve summarised the cheapest fees for ANNA and Zempler in the table below.

Zempler vs ANNA fees comparison

How to apply for a Zempler Bank Business Account

You can apply for your Zempler Bank business account online. To get started, you need to check your eligibility, choose which of the three types of account you’d like to apply for, click the ‘apply’ button and fill in your details from there.

Subject to approval, you should be able to get up and running right away, with your new business card arriving with you in 3 to 5 working days.

Additional cards for your Zempler business account cost £5.95 each, while with ANNA* you can take advantage of at least 5 free expense cards (and an unlimited number with our Pay As You Go plan).

*Our business debit card also miaows when you use it, which you certainly can’t say for Zempler.

Zempler Bank Business Account customer reviews

Reviews of Zempler Bank business accounts are generally positive. On TrustPilot, when rated by all customers, Zempler achieves a ‘great’ rating of 4.2 from almost 14,000 reviews – almost (but not quite) matching ANNA’s exemplary score of 4.3.

Some reviewers report issues including customers being unable to access their accounts, although Zempler Bank is quick to respond to problems reported online.

On Reviews.io, Zempler Bank has a 1.4 rating – but as almost all of the reviews are written by bots, you can take that rating with a very large pinch of salt.

Zempler Bank vs ANNA – a case study

Zempler Bank shares a few similarities with ANNA – it has three business accounts for you to choose from, has a ‘great’ Trustpilot rating, and offers helpful tools and add-ons to help start-ups get off the ground.

But there are some significant differences, too – especially when it comes to the fees you can expect to pay in the course of using your account.

To help you picture the difference, we’ve created a case study to show you what your monthly activities might look like with a Zempler Bank Business Go account versus an ANNA Pay As You Go account.

In this scenario, your typical month looks something like this:

• 10 cash payments of £100 each paid into your account.
• 15 ATM cash withdrawals of £150 each.
• 18 outgoing local payments of £50 each.
• An extra business debit card ordered for your business.

A Zempler Bank business bank account would incur the following fees:

• Cash payments: £40 (0.55% or £4 minimum for cash deposits)
• ATM withdrawals: £30 (£2 per withdrawal)
• Local payments: £5.25 (35p per transaction after your first 3 payments)
• Extra card: £5.95
• Monthly account fees: £0
• Total Zempler Bank business account fees: £81.20

Meanwhile, an ANNA Pay As You Go plan would involve the following:

• Cash payments: £9.50 (0.95% commission on payments into your account)
• ATM withdrawals: £0 (free ATM withdrawals)
• Local payments: £0 (unlimited outgoing payments)
• Extra card: £0
• Monthly account fees: £0
• Total ANNA Pay As You Go plan fees: £9.50

Zempler Bank vs ANNA – in summary

Zempler Bank business accounts are designed to be simple, just like ANNA’s Absolutely No Nonsense Admin – but when it comes to everyday transactions, you’re likely to end up paying more with a Business Go account than with an ANNA Pay As You Go plan.

If you’re just getting started, grappling with Zempler business account fees could cost you valuable time and money. Meanwhile, an ANNA business account for start-ups is ideal for anyone who’s just getting started, and it’s easy to scale up to a different type of account as your business grows.

Although Zempler Bank’s call centre is UK-based, just like ANNA’s, it’s not available 24/7 (or award-winning) like ours. We think customer service is really important, especially when it comes to new customers who are learning the ropes.

Zempler Bank also boasts some of the features that help make running your business run more smoothly, such as a receipt scanner and cashback, that ANNA offers – but you won’t find anything like ANNA’s +Taxes tool here, which is free for your first 30 days.

This useful add-on is fantastic for limited companies: it can sort out your corporation tax and VAT for you, saving you and your business valuable time and money for just £24 a month (which is significantly cheaper than hiring an accountant).

Open ANNA business account today, and you’ll find out why we’ve pipped Zempler Bank to the post with a 4.3 rating on TrustPilot.

Summary table

All the info you need in one, handy spot.

ANNA vs Zempler summary table

Sources:

• Zempler Bank Business Accounts
• Zempler Bank Business Account Pricing
• TrustPilot