fee, card, service
Here are the best business accounts

07/04/2022, 06:35 am

Many businessmen appreciate a personal connection to their house bank. But does everything really speak in favor of leaving the business account with the previous House Bank? Or are there arguments for direct banks and large branch banks as well? It has been scrutinized by experts at FMH Financial Advice.

A good relationship with your own house bank is still worth the money for the self-employed, freelancers or craftspeople. And in the literal sense, even though account management through an app is often faster and usually cheaper than processing through a branch bank. After all, for someone who needs to set up a company or overcome financial constraints in an existing business, talking to a local banker is often imperative.

So there’s a lot to be said for the two-bank model, according to FMH. Personally, business people can opt for the cheapest offer from Direct Bank. On the other hand, in a business context, it pays to choose the account provider carefully.

Still, the question arises whether direct banks also provide good services for merchants and freelancers. Experts have examined this question and researched which bank offers the best business current account.

Sometimes the difference in fees exceeds 600 euros

The evaluation was based on numbers only. Still, the question was complicated: because in addition to monthly or annual account management fees, it was also necessary to consider how high the fees per booking process and how much the bank charges for credit or debit cards.

However, (possible) custody charges were not included in the assessment, as these will no longer play a role in the foreseeable future.

To find the best business current account, FMH asked 42 banks about their costs and terms. In addition to the account management fee, the Frankfurt experts set a monthly cost, which has to be calculated by two different sample clients: version one was a smaller company with 40 booking processes per month, version two was a larger company that had 40 booking processes per month. There were 120 account transactions in the month. ,

The differences are enormous: with 40 booking procedures per month, a company faces an additional cost of between 36 euros and 600 euros per year, with 120 actions the range ranges from 36 to 647 euros. According to FMH, it is warmly recommended to compare account conditions for each self-employed individual and each entrepreneur.

Many very good offers in branch banks

Anyone who can do without direct contact with their banker is currently best off with FidorBank. It is the cheapest provider among direct banks. Downside: It doesn’t offer Girocard. Second-ranked Deutsche Schatbank and GLS Bank, which are very concerned about sustainability, are also very good choices.

Branch banks also have other providers, which are best rated “Very Good” by FMH. Commerzbank, Targobank, Postbank and Deutsche Bank are almost equally ahead of HypoVereinsbank. Nice addition: All providers in the top segment either pay a premium of 100 Euros when opening an account or waive the account management fee for the first six months.

Among regional banks, only Berliner Volksbank received the best grade – albeit with two different business account models. Hamburger Sparksee, Saalsparksee, Mittelbrandenburgische Sparksee and Berliner Sparksee were just behind and were each rated “good”.