Monzo has opened a waiting list for its up-and-coming business accounts, accepting the first 100 applicants for Beta testing.
The digital bank says it has spoken to over 200 small business owners who reported a string of problems with their current business accounts from the High Street banks, from the difficulties in opening an account to complicated fee-charging systems and software requirements.
"Your feedback made it clear that business banking is broken," says Monzo operations analyst Jordan Shwide, in a blog post. "Your business isn’t only defined by your turnover or your headcount. Maybe you’re small but growing fast. Maybe you’re small but happy to hold steady. Maybe you want sophisticated cash flow analysis. Maybe the thought of tax returns brings you out in a cold sweat.
"We won’t lump you in a big bucket labelled small or medium-sized alongside businesses you’ve got nothing in common with. We want to offer you a set of features that solve the problems you’ve actually got, helping you to achieve your goals."
Monzo first hinted at its intentions to move into business banking late last year. Much depends on whether it can secure a cash hand out from the RBS bail-out fund.
"If we’re successful, that money will give us the resources we need to make business banking a priority, and hopefully launch something in the next year or two," says Shwide. "If we don’t get the funding, we’ll still build business accounts. It’ll just take a little longer."