Cologne Basically, a business account does nothing more than a private checking account. Entrepreneurs receive payments by bank transfer, pay bills, sometimes pay cash in and out. While private checking accounts hardly cost any money, business accounts can incur significantly higher fees.
Direct banks that do not operate branches and whose communication runs exclusively online or via call centers tend to be cheaper. Anyone who is not dependent on the entire service portfolio of a classic bank can also open their business account with a so-called neobank or digital bank. Here, customers handle everything online or via an app. In return, they usually do not offer all the classic banking services. However, they sometimes provide services that are not available at branch or direct banks.
Only corporations are legally obliged to open a separate account for their business activities. But it also makes sense for the self-employed and freelancers to separate private from business finances. Accounting is easier and it looks more professional if the account is under the company name. And: There are numerous additional functions that can make everyday business life easier, for example interfaces to accounting software.
An account with a digital provider is particularly suitable for small companies, the self-employed and freelancers who primarily use it to process payments. Anyone who also needs lines of credit or other banking services will reach their limits, although there are also considerable differences among the purely digital providers.
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The Frankfurt financial consultancy FMH examined and evaluated twenty digital business account models exclusively for the Handelsblatt. She took into account the costs for the account, bookings, credit and debit cards as well as depositing and withdrawing cash. “The ideal case would be a low account fee paired with free booking items or a large number of free bookings at low prices,” says FMH expert Beate Balke. Giro and credit cards as well as an overdraft facility should also be part of the service portfolio.
Price and performance winners share gold and silver
Two providers share first place in the ranking. The neobank N26 and the digital bank Fyrst each achieve the same number of points and the category “very good” with two account models. At N26, these are the “N26 Business Smart” and “N26 Business You” accounts.
With an account management fee of EUR 4.90, Business Smart is significantly cheaper than Business You at EUR 9.90 per month. The more expensive product offers additional travel insurance such as compensation for flight delays or lost luggage. The Girokarte costs ten euros per year, the debit card is free.
In addition to private customers, N26 also offers business customers the opportunity to create sub-accounts for specific purposes. The decisive factor for the good rating was that bookings are free, no matter how many the customer makes.
The equally placed provider Fyrst has specialized exclusively in business customers. The monthly costs for the basic tariff are slightly lower than for N26: “Fyrst Base” is free and “Fyrst Complete” costs ten euros per month.
However, the costs for services are somewhat higher: 50 or 75 bookings are free, after that 19 cents are due for the base tariff and 9 cents for the complete booking. Withdrawing money is expensive: it costs a one percent fee and at least 5.99 euros plus 1.90 euros booking fee. Credit and debit cards are free of charge.
The good rating is mainly due to the additional services. Fyrst offers real-time transfers, a company direct debit mandate and digital credit products from 1.59 percent interest. There is also an integrated accounting solution that Fyrst customers receive a 25 percent discount on.
More of these “beyond banking products” could be added in the future, says Franziska Harms, senior marketing manager at Fyrst. Loan and financing offers, private provision services for entrepreneurs and managing directors and building savings offers are planned. “In addition, we will introduce new account models for special industries, such as a merchant account including a contactless payment solution for retail, gastronomy and the like,” says Harms.
Business account as an additional service for third-place winners
The bronze medal with the final grade “good” goes to the digital bank Kontist with the account models “Premium” and “Free”. These accounts also score with free bookings. But they lose compared to the winners when it comes to classic banking services: cash deposits are categorically excluded, withdrawing money always costs two euros, and the overdraft facility of eleven percent is comparatively high. In addition, there is no giro card, only a debit credit card, for which a fee of 29 euros per year is due in the free model.
Testing digital business accounts
The pricing may also have something to do with the fact that business accounts are not the company’s core product. Kontist is actually a tax and accounting app. Users can use the tool to estimate in real time how much tax they will have to pay.
Other specialists follow in the next few places. Provider Holvi – also in the overall rating “good” – has concentrated entirely on the self-employed, offering banking, billing and bookkeeping from a single source.
The digital bank Finom advertises an all-round carefree package for founders. Means: In addition to banking services, there is also start-up advice and support with entry in the commercial register.
Finom also enables the integration of accounting software and digital invoicing, with the app creating and sending invoices. Which model fits best is not only a question of price, but also depends on the accounting requirements.
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