Should you choose the Virgin Money Business Bank Account for your business? What are the pros and cons of this UK-based retail bank? Let’s find out.
Virgin Money Business Bank: Overview
Virgin Money has been around since 1995 and has around 130 branches around the UK. Account holders benefit from exclusive access to online resources and events through our collaboration with Virgin StartUp, a not for profit that offers business advice, access to funding, mentoring and community.
Virgin Money offers a number of specialist accounts including:
- M Account for business – aimed specifically at small businesses
- Business Choice Account: – requires annual turnover of over £6.5 million+
- Professional Firms Client Account – for firms that hold and manage funds on their clients’ behalf, such as solicitors, accountants and insolvency practitioners.
- Business Current Account – for business with an annual turnover of less than £6.5 million
Pros and Cons
Pros
- 130 UK Branches
- Overdafts
- Online, telephone or APP based banking
- competitive interest rates
- 25 months free for new accounts or switchers
- M Account for Business comes with No monthly account fee as well as free day-to-day online banking
Cons
- All accounts other than the M Account carry monthly charges
- Fees apply for depositing cash or transacting internationally
- Less locations than the bigger high street banks
About Virgin Money
Virgin Money was founded by Richard Branson but subsequently taken over by the Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank Group (CYBG). They continue to pay the Virgin Group, still 100% owned by Branson, a licence fees to use the Virgin name since the takeover and the whole group now operates exclusively under the Virgin Money brand.
It is is the UK’s 6th largest bank, and appears to have a clear strategy to connect and cross-sell between the different Virgin brands.
Rates and Fees
| Account Name | Virgin Business Account |
|---|---|
| Account Application Fee | Free |
| Account Charges | 25 months’ free then £6.50 |
| Bank transfers | Free |
| Overseas card transaction fees | 2.99% |
| FSCS protected | Yes |
| ATM Use (UK) | Free |
| Requires credit check | Yes |
| Overdraft | Yes |
| Interest (AER) | 0% AER |
Contact
Virgin Money Business Current Account – 0800 345 7365
Hours: 7am – 9pm Monday to Saturday, 10am – 5pm Sunday
Virgin Money Business Access & Fixed Rate Savings Accounts – 0345 606 7687
Hours – 8am – 6pm Monday to Friday, 8am – 3pm Saturday, 10am – 1pm Sunday
Virgin Money Business Banking Reviews and Ratings
Virgin Money have a 1.2 out of 5 average based on 4214 Trustpilot reviews.
On Smart Money People, however, they have a higher rate of 4.05 out of 5, based on 1287 overall reviews.
Virgin Money ranks 17/20 on Which Magazines business banking ‘Best and Worst’ Survey, taken from a panel of 4,438 members in October 2021.