However, from 1 January this year the four banks have changed their banking tariffs for small businesses, in line with the report, to avoid further action from the Office of Fair Trading. Measures include offering small business accounts that pay interest of at least base rate minus 2.5%, or current accounts with no money transmission charges.
HSBC now automatically pays interest on credit balances, Lloyds TSB already pays the interest and has waived some charges for SMEs, and Barclays gives business customers a choice of interest or reduced transmission charges. Royal Bank of Scotland/NatWest now offers interest, but only if customers respond to a mailing.
BPIF head of corporate and external affairs Cicely Brown said: "Its important to shop around. If people find that banks are not doing what they said they would do then they can come to us."
FSB parliamentary officer David Bishop also encouraged businesses to shop around and said his organisation would monitor the banks service to members.
"Ideally we would have liked to have seen all the banks offer a choice of interest or reduced charges. We would have liked this to have been something given automatically without the need to fill in reams of paper," said Bishop.
The British Bankers Associations online account finder at www.bba.org.uk compares the latest charges.
Story by John Davies
