Zempler Bank business current account eligibility

Sole traders

Applying for a sole trader account is fast and simple:

You’ll need to be:

• A UK based sole trader or freelancer

You must not be:

• Registered at UK Companies House

Please note that sole traders will need to meet out standard Know Your Customer (KYC), fraud, and application checks - you can find out more about these here. 

 

Limited companies

We’ve made the application process quick and simple to apply. You’ll need to ensure your:

• Business is based in the UK
• Business is registered at UK Companies House and your business status is classified as active (e.g. not dissolved, in liquidation or about to be struck off)
• Confirmation statement with UK Companies House is up to date

 

To successfully open an account as a limited company:

• Your application must be made by a senior company director.
• You’ll need to provide the date of birth and home address of any major shareholders, otherwise known as person(s) with significant control (PSC), on the application form. You can find out more about PSCs here.
• The business will need to meet our standard Know Your Customer (KYC), fraud, and application checks - you can find out more about these here.
• Your business operates in a Zempler Bank supported industry (check our list of unsupported industries below).

Higher risk sectors that are advised to contact us directly 

• FCA registered pawnbrokers
• Gambling firms licensed with the Gambling Commission

 

Unsupported industries

We support businesses in most industries, however there are some we don’t accept. These are:

• Carbon credit traders
• Cash dealers
• Crypto currency traders
• Cultural artefacts or other items of archaeological, historical, cultural, or religious significance or of rare scientific value
• Firearms dealers
• Firms issuing bearer shares or with nominated shareholders
• Firms suspected of proliferation financing
• Hydroponic services
• Ivory and items related to other protected species dealers
• Large scale tobacco dealers or manufacturers
• Money service businesses
• Precious metals dealers
• Scrap metal dealers
• Sex industry services
• Waste management services
• Unregulated finance and insurance services
• Corporate shareholder and PSC requirements

There are some simple corporate shareholder and PSC requirements you need to meet to open a Zempler Bank business account:

• Your company must have 4 or fewer than PSCs registered with UK Companies House
• All PSCs must be over 18
• PSCs outside of the UK will require additional checks
• We cannot currently accept applications from businesses with more complex corporate PSCs structures

Zempler Bank reserves the right to decline applicants who do not pass the relevant checks.

Please note, for applications with corporate shareholders, if your application is approved and account opened there will be an additional cost of £100 as part of your account opening fee.