One in four small businesses isn't happy with their banking – equivalent to 1.2 million small businesses. One of the key factors in choosing a bank was a competitive business package – cited by 30% of those interviewed*. Much of the dissatisfaction could be due to the fees that banks typically charge, which can often include fairly hefty monthly fees and charges each time a deposit's made.
Fortunately, there's a brilliant alternative to traditional business bank accounts: business prepaid cards.
For example, with the Cashplus Business Expense Account, there's no monthly fee – just a remarkably good value annual fee of just £29.99. And deposits are absolutely free via online and cash banking. What's more, there are no unexpected penalty fees, such as those that banks issue when an item such as a Direct Debit is returned.
As well as offering very good value, opening a business prepaid card is simplicity itself – even if a business has a poor credit rating. There are no credit checks required and there are no documents needed up front. What's more, there are no links to any other bank accounts, so business borrowings can be separated from cash flow.
Prepaid cards also make very useful corporate and expenses cards. That's because there's no risk of overspending, as company employees can only spend what has been topped up to the card's account. There's also a reduced risk of fraud, as brands such as Cashplus offer free internet banking, so that transactions and the card's balance can be checked in an instant.
If employees are out in the field on company business, if they're hit by unexpected expenses – from urgent car repairs to an extended stay in a hotel, the prepaid card can be topped up remotely.
Businesses where employees are likely to travel further afield, will welcome the fact that the Cashplus prepaid Business Expense MasterCard card is welcomed wherever you see the MasterCard acceptance mark. So employees are saved from the hassle of securing travel money.
On top of a prestigious looking Gold card, Cashplus can also provide Euro and US Dollar prepaid cards. The beauty of this is that the employee can move money from their Cashplus GBP account to Euros or US Dollars online. And at the end of the business trip, any money left in the currency card's account can be swiftly transferred back into the GBP account.
In short, any business should give serious thought to prepaid cards – if they need a convenient, great value and hard working alternative to a traditional bank account.
*http://www.businessmule.co.uk/blog/index.php
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About Advanced Payment Solutions Ltd (APS)
APS is the leading European prepaid card provider, with more than 500,000 cards issued and £500,000,000 in payment turnover. Its flagship product, the award winning Cashplus prepaid Gold MasterCard® is the UK's first general purpose prepaid card for consumers and in the last couple years APS has developed a growing interest among small businesses which now exceeds 2,500 who are utilising the benefits of the Cashplus prepaid Gold MasterCard to manage and control their business expenditures.