Charity and Business Current Account

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS can pay compensation to depositors up to £85,000 per eligible person, per bank, if we as a Bank fail to meet our Financial obligations. In general, all retail depositors and businesses are covered by Deposit Guarantee Schemes.

For further information about the compensation provided by the FSCS (including the amounts covered and eligibility to claim) please refer to the FSCS website Bank & savings protection checker | Check your money is protected | FSCS or call the FSCS on 0800 678 1100 or international customers can call 020 7741 4100. Please note only compensation related queries should be directed to the FSCS.

Read our fee information document for a full list of actions, items and associated fees here

You can withdraw cash at any cashpoint worldwide that displays the Visa symbol. You can also view your current balance (excluding any arranged overdraft facility) and change your PIN.

For any transaction made outside the UK which is not a GBP or Euro transaction, there will be a flat rate charge of £1.25 per transaction. This fee will not apply to any GBP or Euro transactions.

• You can see the current exchange rates on the Visa website, Click here.
• Open Visa’s Currency Conversion Calculator.
• Choose the currency you want to convert to.
• Enter a ‘Transaction Amount’ (write ‘1’ if you just want to find out the rate).
• Change the Bank fee percentage to ‘1.50%’, as we charge a 1.50% markup on the Visa exchange rate.
• And choose Great British Pound (GBP) as your ‘Card Currency’.
• Tap ‘Calculate’ to see the current exchange rate!
• The rate you see is the one we pass on directly to you.

Please remember, we’ll use the exchange rate at the time the transaction settles (usually a few days after you make it), rather than the one you see at the time you actually make the transaction.

Also, our debit cards are made of degradable PVC so they’re recyclable – doing what we can for the environment!

We issue your charity current account statement electronically every 3 months. Going paperless keeps costs down and is better for the environment.

All being well, you’ll never need to use an overdraft. However, many charities experience fluctuating cash flow and a pre-agreed overdraft facility allows you to bridge the gap and meet your financial commitments without incurring charges.

Any agreed overdraft facility – including interest terms and the agreed limit – is subject to a formal application being submitted to us and subsequent approval from us to put the facility in place. Please refer to the overdraft section in our business account terms and conditions.

Borrowing funds without authorisation can become an expensive business. We will always do our best to help you avoid unexpected costs, but the fact is, if you go over your agreed overdraft limit, or if your account becomes overdrawn with no agreement in place, a fee will be charged. If you try to make a payment or if direct debits or standing orders are presented for payment, and you don’t have enough funds in your account, these items may be returned unpaid. Again, you may be charged a fee for each unpaid item.

Please read our overdraft terms and conditions carefully so you understand the importance of having the right borrowing arrangements in place. If you have any questions about the suitability of your overdraft, please contact us.

If you already have a Business Current Account with a UK bank or building society and you want to switch it to Reliance Bank, we’re here to make sure everything happens simply and smoothly. It is guaranteed to take 7 working days and it’s free. It’s all part of the Current Account Switch Service.

To switch your account to us, start by opening a Business Current Account.

How the Current Account Switch Service works:

• Open your new account
• Pick a switch date
• We will take care of closing your old account and moving your balance to your new account
• We will move all your payments, coming in and going out, from your old to your new account
• Next, we will redirect any payments accidentally made to your old account and get the sender to correct your details
• And finally, we will refund you for any missed payments of fees incurred as a result of your switch.

When sending funds to an account outside of the UK, it is important that you quote as many of the beneficiary’s (person receiving the funds) details as possible. You will need to quote the following:

• IBAN – International Bank Account Number
• SWIFT Code/BIC
• You may sometimes be provided with a routing/fedwire number in place of a SWIFT Code/BIC
• Beneficiary’s full name
• Beneficiary’s address – This is particularly important for any payments being made to Canada where this is required to process the payment
• Bank’s name

You may sometimes be required to supply details of an ‘intermediary bank’. The intermediary acts as a middleman between Reliance Bank (as the sending bank), and the receiving bank (where you will be sending the funds).

You would be expected to provide the SWIFT Code/BIC and bank name of the intermediary bank; you will sometimes need to provide an account number too.

Charges Incurred for International Payments

When making a payment to an account outside of the UK you will be charged dependent on the following:

• EURO Payments – A payment being processed to an account in EUROs within the European Economic Area (EEA) will incur no further charge to that of a Faster Payment. Personal customers will incur no charges for Faster Payments/EURO payments whilst Business customers will be charged dependent on agreed rates.
• European Community Payments – Any payment made to a beneficiary within the European Economic Area (EEA) in a non-EURO currency will be sent on a ‘shared charges’ basis whereby Reliance Bank’s charge of £15 will be passed to you as our customer, and the receiving bank may apply a charge to the beneficiary account. The beneficiary will therefore not necessarily receive the amount sent in full.
• International Payments – Beneficiary Charges – Our standard charge for any payment sent outside of the EEA is £15. For such payments, the beneficiary may incur further charges on their account and so they will not necessarily receive the full amount that you have sent.
• International Payments – All Charges – If you wish to incur all the charges from both Reliance Bank and from the receiving bank, to ensure that the beneficiary will receive the full amount that you have sent, then please advise us. You will incur an initial charge of £22.50 and further charges may be passed on to you at a later date.

If someone wants to send funds to your Reliance Bank account from outside of the UK, they will need the following information:

• SWIFT Code/BIC – MIDLGB22
• IBAN – GB70MIDL40053041376543
• Bank – HSBC
• Bank Address – 27-32 Poultry, London, EC2P 2BX
• Beneficiary Account Name – Reliance Bank Ltd
• Beneficiary Address – Faith House, 23/24 Lovat Lane, London, EC3R 8EB

It is vital that the individual sending the funds states ‘For further credit to your account name and account number’. This will ensure that the funds are credited into your account.