By Tim Adler on Small Business UK – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
Handelsbanken has been voted the clear winner when it comes to what SMEs think is the best business bank account.
The Swedish bank, which has more than 200 UK branches, came top of the leader board in three out of five categories, according to the latest Competition and Markets Authority survey published in February 2026.
The bank was named best for relationship/account management (85%); SME overdraft and loan services (72%); and services in branches and business centres (72%) for the fifth time by the survey.
However, Monzo beat it to the top spot for overall service quality and online and mobile banking services.
BVA BDRC (now part of Ipsos) surveyed 20,450 small business customers between January and December 2025, asking them if they would recommend their provider to other SMEs.
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Overall service quality – Monzo
Monzo was ranked first for overall service quality (85%), narrowly beating Mettle by Natwest into second place (83%) and Starling Bank into third place (81%). Bank of Scotland tied with Barclays for joint last 16th place (52%).
Overall service quality
| Overall service quality | ||
|---|---|---|
| # | Bank | % |
| 1 | Monzo | 85 |
| 2 | Mettle by NatWest | 83 |
| 3 | Starling Bank | 81 |
| 4 | Handelsbanken | 75 |
| 5 | Tide | 70 |
| 6 | Zemplar Bank | 67 |
| 7= | Metro Bank | 62 |
| 7= | NatWest | 62 |
| 9= | Virgin Money | 59 |
| 9= | Lloyds | 59 |
| 11= | TSB | 55 |
| 11= | Royal Bank of Scotland | 55 |
| 11= | HSBC | 55 |
| 14= | Santander | 54 |
| 14= | The Co-operative Bank | 54 |
| 16= | Bank of Scotland | 52 |
| 16= | Barclays | 52 |
| Source: BVA BDRC |
Online and mobile banking services – Monzo
This was the only category where Handelsbanken did poorly compared to other providers. Monzo came top at 90%, followed by Starling (86%) in second and Mettle by Natwest Sin third (84%). The Co-Operative Bank was judged to have the least user friendly mobile and online banking service (47%).
Online and mobile banking services
| Online and mobile banking services | ||
|---|---|---|
| # | Bank | % |
| 1 | Monzo | 90 |
| 2 | Starling | 86 |
| 3 | Mettle by NatWest | 84 |
| 4= | Tide | 74 |
| 4= | NatWest | 74 |
| 6 | Zempler Bank | 73 |
| 7 | Lloyds | 72 |
| 8 | Royal Bank of Scotland | 70 |
| 9 | Barclays | 68 |
| 10= | HSBC UK | 67 |
| 10= | Bank of Scotland | 67 |
| 12 | Virgin Money | 65 |
| 13= | Santander | 62 |
| 13= | Metro Bank | 62 |
| 13= | TSB | 62 |
| 16 | Handelsbanken | 57 |
| 17 | The Co-operative Bank | 47 |
| Source: BVA BDRC |
Relationship and account management – Handelsbanken
Handelsbanken was the clear winner when it came to relationship and account management (85%) followed by Mettle by NatWest (75%) and Monzo (74%). Santander ranked bottom (48%).
Relationship and account management
| Relationship and account management | ||
|---|---|---|
| # | Bank | % |
| 1 | Handelsbanken | 85 |
| 2 | Mettle by NatWest | 75 |
| 3 | Monzo | 74 |
| 4 | Starling | 73 |
| 5 | Zempler Bank | 69 |
| 6= | Tide | 62 |
| 6= | Metro Bank | 62 |
| 8 | Royal Bank of Scotland | 60 |
| 9 | HSBC UK | 58 |
| 10= | Lloyds | 56 |
| 10= | Virgin Money | 56 |
| 12 | NatWest | 55 |
| 13 | The Co-Operative Bank | 54 |
| 14 | TSB | 53 |
| 15 | Bank of Scotland | 51 |
| 16 | Barclays | 50 |
| 17 | Santander | 48 |
| Source: BVA BDRC |
SME overdraft and loan – Handelsbanken
When it comes to arranging small business overdrafts and loan facilities, Handelsbanken was highest-recommended bank by SMEs (69%), although not by much. Metro Bank came in second (65%) with Lloyds taking third spot (57%). Barclays came last out of nine providers that offered SME overdrafts and loans (53%).
SME overdraft and loan
| SME overdraft and loan services | ||
|---|---|---|
| # | Bank | % |
| 1 | Handelsbanken | 69 |
| 2 | Metro Bank | 65 |
| 3 | Lloyds | 57 |
| 4 | Royal Bank of Scotland | 56 |
| 5= | NatWest | 55 |
| 5= | Bank of Scotland | 55 |
| 5= | HSBC UK | 55 |
| 8 | Santander | 54 |
| 9 | Barclays | 53 |
| Source: BVA BDRC |
Service in branches – Handelsbanken
Handelsbanken squeaked to first place at 72%, although Metro Bank – known for its grand banking foyers – was just behind with 65%. Virgin Money Bank followed in third (56%), though Barclays once again came last, finishing 12th (42%).
Service in branches
| Ranking | Bank | % |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Handelsbanken | 72 |
| 2 | Metro Bank | 65 |
| 3 | Virgin Money | 56 |
| 4 | The Co-operative Bank | 55 |
| 5= | Lloyds | 51 |
| 5= | NatWest | 51 |
| 7 | Bank of Scotland | 51 |
| 8= | TSB | 50 |
| 8= | Royal Bank of Scotland | 49 |
| 10= | Santander | 48 |
| 10= | HSBC UK | 43 |
| 12 | Barclays | 42 |
| Source: BVA BDRC |
Further reading
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The post What do SMEs think is the best business bank account? – survey appeared first on Small Business UK.
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