Many traditional UK banking providers require you to set up your account in person or by telephone if you’re a non-resident – if they let you set up an account at all. This takes up valuable business time and resources.
With WorldFirst, you don’t need a UK address to hold an account with GBP account details.
You can register for your multi-currency business account online simply by submitting personal ID documents and basic business information, including your trading name, address, industry and registration number. Approval usually takes less than 48 hours – and then, you can start using your World Account immediately.
Once set up, you can create a currency account in GBP with local account details, including a UK IBAN. That way, you can receive funds, sell goods and pay suppliers in the UK and internationally– as if you were a UK business.
What’s more, with a World Account, you can hold over 20 different currencies in a single account – and you’ll get local account details for each currency. So, alongside GBP, you can hold EUR, USD, AUD, SGD, CNH and more, all in one place.
One of the key benefits of these local details is that it’s faster and much more affordable to make payments to the UK – or to wherever else you hold currency. For instance, you can pay a supplier in the UK directly from your GBP currency rather than using the SWIFT network for international transfers, which can take up to six business days.
Instead, with WorldFirst, 90% of payments settle within one business day.
Read more: How to open a GBP account online: Your options as a cross-border business