Business account for limited companies

A limited company is a business structure that gives its owners limited liability. This protects the owners' personal assets, as they’re only liable for the amount they've invested in the company.

Limited companies are separate legal entities from their individual owners and shareholders, meaning the business can own assets, enter into contracts, and be held liable independently of its owners.

In most regions:

• Ownership is split between shareholders, without anyone else buying or selling them
• Liability protection is provided, where owners (or shareholders) are only liable for the amount they invested
• Requirements for registration include minimum capital (usually a small deposit into a business bank account, which varies by country) and registering with a central business registry or chamber of commerce

1. Choose a unique company name: make sure your name isn’t already in use and follows national rules, as you’ll need to get this approved by your national business registry
2. Draft and file incorporation documents: prepare and submit essential documents, like Articles of Association (the company’s purpose, structure, and operational rules) and Memorandum of Association (for some countries). These documents define ownership, governance, and shareholder rights
3. Appoint directors and shareholders: choose at least one director and one shareholder. In some countries, directors must meet certain residency or qualification requirements
4. Secure minimum share capital: each country has its own rules on minimum capital (usually low, but it varies). You may need to deposit it in a business bank account before you can register
5. Register with the National Business Registry: submit your documents and company information to the central business or commerce registry for official recognition. This is when you should receive your company number
6. Register for tax and VAT: register with the tax authority for corporate tax and VAT, especially if you’ll be making taxable sales
7. Open a business bank account: most countries require a business bank account to manage money separately from personal assets
8. Social security and employment registration: if you plan to hire employees, you’ll need to register with the social security system and‌ with employment or labour authorities

This process makes your company a separate legal entity with limited liability for owners and shareholders. This lets you operate with the protections and obligations of a limited company in your region.

These steps might be different for each country, so check with your local business registry to make sure you've done everything required to start your limited company.

Yes, in most countries, limited companies are legally required to have their own business account, as they're legal entities separate from their owners and shareholders.

Having a business account helps limited companies ‌track their cashflow, comply with laws and regulations, and pay taxes. Making and receiving payments from a business account that matches the name of the company also builds trust with customers and suppliers.

When choosing a business account for your limited company, consider factors like transaction fees, online finance features, integration with accounting software, and the type of support available.

For businesses handling international transactions, multi-currency accounts with low cross-border fees, like those available with Revolut Business, can be beneficial.

Revolut Business offers features that support businesses of all sizes:

• For startups
• For SMEs
• For large businesses

Most business account providers will charge a subscription fee. You should also be aware of any other fees and charges for services like currency exchange, money transfers, or additional tools.

We keep things simple with a range of plans to choose from, starting from S$0. With Revolut Business, you get a no-fee transfer allowance, and you can exchange currencies at the interbank rate (within allowance, during market hours). Plus, our outside-allowance fees are competitive — see our full list of fees for more information.

To open a Revolut Business account, your business needs to meet the following requirements:

• Your company must be fully incorporated and active
• Your company must be registered in an eligible country
• Your company can't be registered as a charity, operate in the public sector, or act as a cooperative. All eligible legal forms for your region will be listed during signup — if you don't find your legal form listed, unfortunately we can't support your company at the moment
• Your company can't operate in unsupported industries
• Your current legal home address should be in the UK, EEA, Switzerland, Australia, Singapore, or the US

Revolut Business provides a wide range of benefits built into your plan:

• Offers and rewards from our partners
• Expense management tools that save you time on admin
• Physical and virtual debit cards for your whole team, plus Metal cards available on our Grow plan and above
• Integrations with a wide range of tools, from accounting to HR