Common questions about
UK business accounts

Yes. ARIDANG specialises in UK business accounts for non-residents and foreign-registered companies. You do not need a UK address, UK director, or branch visit. The entire process is online and typically completed in under 24 hours.

We have onboarded businesses registered in Estonia, Poland, UAE, Hong Kong, Cyprus, and dozens of other jurisdictions — all with full access to UK payment rails.

Most accounts are approved and active within 24 hours. The application itself takes under 15 minutes.

Our team reviews your documents before they reach compliance — which removes the most common cause of delays: missing or incorrectly formatted information arriving at the compliance desk.

Typically required: certificate of incorporation, proof of registered address, director passport or national ID, and a brief description of business activities and expected transaction volumes.

For non-resident or internationally-registered companies, we may also ask for a corporate structure chart or a recent bank statement. We tell you exactly what's needed upfront — no surprises midway through the process.

Traditional UK banks (Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds) typically require a UK-based director, a branch visit, and a waiting period of several weeks. Non-resident or foreign-registered companies are routinely declined.

ARIDANG accounts are fully online, accept non-residents, and open in under 24 hours — while providing access to the same UK payment rails: FPS, BACS, CHAPS, plus SEPA and SWIFT. See the full comparison on our compare page.

Payment services are provided by Gemba Finance Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 (FCA FRN 804853). You can verify this on the FCA register.

ARIDANG OÜ acts as an introducer and onboarding partner, helping businesses apply and manage their accounts through the Gemba platform.

SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) is a payment integration initiative that allows euro-denominated bank transfers across 36 European countries under a single set of standards. It covers all EU member states plus Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino, Andorra, and the UK (post-Brexit, the UK remains part of SEPA).

SEPA eliminates the cost and complexity of cross-border euro payments within Europe — transfers are processed the same way regardless of which two SEPA countries are involved.

SEPA Credit Transfer (SCT) is the standard SEPA payment — arrives within 1 business day, widely supported across all 36 SEPA countries, and used for most routine B2B euro transfers.

SEPA Instant (SCT Inst) is real-time — funds arrive within 10 seconds, 24/7/365, including weekends and public holidays. ARIDANG accounts support both. Instant is available where the receiving bank also supports it.

Yes. Your ARIDANG account includes a dedicated EUR IBAN and full access to SEPA rails. You can send SEPA Credit Transfers and SEPA Instant payments, and receive euro payments from any SEPA-connected account — without needing a separate EU bank account.

This is one of the main reasons international businesses choose ARIDANG: a single account covers UK domestic payments (FPS, BACS) and European euro payments (SEPA) simultaneously.

Yes. ARIDANG accounts support bulk SEPA payment uploads via CSV and API-based automation. This is particularly useful for payroll bureaus, accountants, and businesses processing regular supplier or payroll runs across European countries.

You can schedule recurring SEPA transfers, batch multiple payments in one instruction, and receive confirmation of each individual payment status — all from the same account dashboard.

SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) is a global messaging network that banks use to send international payment instructions. A SWIFT wire transfer moves funds between banks in different countries using standardised message formats.

To send a SWIFT payment you need: the recipient's IBAN or local account number, their bank's BIC/SWIFT code, and the payment currency and amount. Transfers typically arrive within 1–3 business days depending on the corridor and intermediary banks involved.

SEPA is a European-only payment system covering 36 countries, euro-denominated only, highly standardised, and typically very low cost. Best for routine B2B euro transfers within Europe.

SWIFT is a global network covering 200+ countries and all currencies. Used for international wire transfers outside SEPA zones, or in currencies other than EUR. SWIFT can involve correspondent bank fees and is generally slower and more expensive than SEPA.

ARIDANG accounts support both — SEPA for European euro payments and SWIFT for global transfers in 16+ currencies.

ARIDANG accounts support outbound payments to 160+ countries via SWIFT. Supported send currencies include GBP, EUR, USD, CHF, AUD, JPY, CAD, SGD, and more.

Inbound payments are accepted in 16 currencies, each with a dedicated IBAN — so counterparties pay you in their currency, and you hold the balance natively without an automatic conversion.

BACS (Bankers' Automated Clearing Services) is the UK payment rail used for Direct Credits (bulk salary payments, supplier runs) and Direct Debits (recurring collections). Settlement takes 3 working days from submission.

ARIDANG accounts support BACS Direct Credits, making it straightforward for UK payroll processing. You can upload a payment file, specify the processing date, and the funds are distributed to recipient accounts automatically on the agreed date.

FPS (Faster Payments) — arrives within seconds, 24/7, up to £1m per payment. Used for most everyday GBP transfers between UK accounts.

BACS — 3 working day settlement, used for bulk payroll and direct debit collections. Lower cost per transaction for high volumes.

CHAPS — same-day settlement, no upper limit, used for high-value or time-critical GBP payments (property transactions, large corporate payments).

ARIDANG accounts include access to all three rails from a single GBP account.

A multi-currency business account lets you hold, send, and receive money in multiple currencies from a single account — without being forced to convert everything to one base currency each time.

ARIDANG accounts hold 16 currencies simultaneously. Each major currency (GBP, EUR, USD) has its own dedicated IBAN, meaning your counterparties can pay you in their local currency and you receive it natively — no conversion loss, no intermediary conversions.

16 currencies: GBP, EUR, USD, CHF, AUD, JPY, CAD, SGD, NOK, SEK, DKK, HUF, PLN, CZK, RON, and HKD. FX conversion between currencies is available at mid-market rate plus a transparent spread — starting at +0.35% for major pairs.

Yes. GBP, EUR, and USD each come with a dedicated IBAN. This means UK clients pay you on your UK sort code and account number, EU clients pay via SEPA to your EUR IBAN, and US counterparties can wire to your USD account — all landing in the same multi-currency dashboard without conversion.

You can also create unlimited virtual IBANs for fund segregation — useful for businesses that need to keep client money separate from operating funds.

Yes, there is a straightforward monthly account fee. There are no setup fees, no minimum balance requirements, and no hidden charges. Full pricing is available on the pricing page.

FX conversions are priced as a percentage spread over the mid-market rate. Major pairs (GBP/EUR, EUR/USD) start at +0.35%. The full FX rate sheet is available on the pricing page. There are no markups applied without notice.