Wise, Revolut, Tide or Starling: choose the account that fits the company, not the ad.

For a founder who lives outside the UK, Wise Business and Revolut Business are the two providers that reliably onboard non-resident directors when documents are clean. Tide requires a UK-resident director in the vast majority of cases; Starling has effectively withdrawn from non-resident onboarding since 2023 and treats non-resident directors as a decline pattern. There is no single best account — the correct answer depends on where the money will move and who will move it.

No. Wise Payments Limited is an FCA-authorised Electronic Money Institution (EMI). Client funds are safeguarded in segregated accounts at partner banks and are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Wise does not offer overdrafts, business loans, deposit interest under a banking licence, or a cash-handling network. For 90% of non-resident operating accounts, none of that matters — but it is the correct answer to a question underwriters, accountants and larger clients will ask.

Revolut Bank UAB holds a specialised bank licence in Lithuania and passports into the EU. In the UK, Revolut Business currently operates as an EMI through Revolut Ltd — funds are safeguarded, not FSCS-covered. Revolut has been granted a UK banking licence with restrictions (mobilisation phase); until it exits mobilisation, UK Revolut Business accounts remain e-money accounts. That transition, when complete, will change the deposit protection picture, but not the day-to-day product.

Starling Bank is a fully licensed UK bank, FSCS-protected up to £85,000 per depositor. Tide is not a bank — it is a business financial platform that partners with ClearBank and PrePay Solutions to safeguard funds. Where funds are held in a ClearBank-backed Tide account, they are held in your name and are FSCS-eligible via ClearBank; where held on the PrePay e-money side, they are safeguarded but not FSCS-covered. Tide's own website explains the distinction; always check which flavour of Tide account you have been offered.

In practice, no. Both providers require at least one UK-resident director with a UK residential address and UK identity documents. Founders sometimes attempt to submit with a service address or a UK correspondence address — this is refused at KYC and can result in the file being flagged internally. If every director is non-UK-resident, Wise Business and Revolut Business are the pragmatic starting points.

Wise Business: typically 2–7 working days for a UK Limited Company with non-resident directors, provided documents match Companies House exactly. Revolut Business: often 1–5 working days for standard files, longer for higher-risk SIC codes. Tide: usually 1–3 working days for UK-resident directors. Starling: 1–2 working days for UK-resident, UK-only structures. Any figure quoted 'instantly' is a marketing headline; underwriting is not instant.

For genuine cross-border transfers in multiple currencies, Wise Business is consistently the lowest cost — it uses the mid-market FX rate with a transparent fee, and provides local receiving details in GBP, USD, EUR, AUD, NZD, CAD, SGD and others. Revolut Business is competitive on FX up to a monthly allowance, after which fair-usage margins apply. Tide and Starling handle GBP well and international payments through SWIFT with less favourable FX than Wise.

Starling if you are UK-resident: it is a full bank, has a mature Faster Payments and Direct Debit implementation, integrates cleanly with Xero, FreeAgent and QuickBooks, and offers a genuine interest-bearing space for surplus balances. Tide is a strong second, particularly for sole traders migrating to a limited company. Wise and Revolut work fine for domestic GBP but are optimised for cross-border.

All four support standard UK bank details (sort code and account number) that Stripe, Shopify, GoCardless, Amazon, Etsy and eBay accept as a UK settlement account. On accounting integrations, Starling and Tide have the tightest bank feeds with Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent. Wise Business has native Xero and QuickBooks feeds; Revolut Business has a Xero connection and a widely-used API.

All four. Companies House does not maintain an approved-provider list — it does not view banking. HMRC accepts any UK sort code and account number for Corporation Tax, VAT and PAYE. Providers do occasionally reject payments to HMRC in edge cases (very large one-off VAT payments from a new account), which is a limits issue rather than a status issue and is resolved by contacting the provider ahead of the payment.

Yes, and for many operating companies this is the correct answer. A common pattern is Wise Business as the primary international account, Revolut Business as a secondary for team cards and expense management, and Starling or Tide for GBP domestic collections once a UK-resident director is available. Multiple accounts spread operational risk if one provider closes or reviews the file, and cost nothing to hold beyond monthly plan fees.

Any provider — bank or EMI — can close an account with notice for any reason permitted by their terms, or freeze pending a compliance review. If it happens, do not open a second application at the same provider or its group. Respond in writing to any review request within the stated deadline, request a written closure reason where offered, and apply to a different provider with the reason resolved. A parallel secondary account, opened before it is needed, materially reduces the impact.

Revolut Business is currently the strongest on team cards, spend policies and per-employee budgets. Tide is close on physical cards for UK teams. Wise Business offers cards and is expanding its expense features but remains primarily a payments product. Starling has cards and a simple expenses feature suitable for small teams but is not built as a spend-management platform.

Not automatically. FSCS covers up to £85,000 per depositor at a fully licensed bank. EMIs safeguard client funds in segregated accounts at partner banks — this is a real protection but a different legal mechanism. For an operating company with normal working balances, this rarely dictates the choice. For a holding company or a treasury with balances above £85,000, prefer a licensed bank (Starling, or a high-street bank once eligible) or split balances across accounts.

For Innovator Founder, Skilled Worker sponsor licence or Global Talent supporting evidence, UK immigration caseworkers strongly prefer a fully licensed UK bank account with matching business address, over an EMI account. In that scenario, prioritise Starling (once a UK-resident director is in place) or a high-street bank, and hold a Wise or Revolut account alongside for international operations rather than as the primary.

We do not accept referral commissions or affiliate fees from any of the four providers named in this article. Our Business Banking Assistance service is paid for by the client, so the recommendation is genuinely provider-agnostic. Provider names are used descriptively for comparison and do not imply endorsement, partnership or affiliation.