High-Risk Business Accounts UK Fee: What to Expect
All high-risk industries like gaming, CBD, vape, e-commerce and online gambling have to deal with complications of getting high-risk business accounts in the UK. First, you need to find a reliable financial service provider or bank that offers business accounts to high-risk companies. Still, the struggles don’t end there when you are operating in a high-risk sector. Once you succeed in acquiring high-risk business accounts in the UK, then there’s a bigger challenge awaiting. With higher risks come higher fees for every service, from account maintenance to high-risk transactions. These considerably higher costs can put a lot of strain on your business, impacting your cashflows, profit margins, and, in fact, all your financial operations.
Getting and maintaining high-risk business accounts in the UK is exceptionally complicated, with inherently stricter regulations imposed by regulatory authorities. Owning to the additional scrutiny, banks and financial service providers are also forced to impose additional requirements from extensive documentation and rigorous process to higher fees. When dealing with high-risk businesses, higher fees also help banks mitigate financial risks that are accompanied by such sectors. If you are also a high-risk business going through the same intricacies, this blog is for you. Let’s break down the typical costs you should expect with high-risk business accounts in the UK.
Common Fees to Expect with High-Risk Business Accounts in the UK
- Account Set-up Fees
After finding a reputable bank or financial service provider, the first fee that you’ll encounter is the account set-up fee. Think of it as an entrance fee to register for an account, which usually covers costs for initial assessments, credit checks, document reviews, account creation, and customer support. These fees can vary from bank to bank, depending on the fee structure and degree of complexity of your business.
- Account Maintenance Fees
Another fee associated with high-risk business accounts in the UK is account maintenance fees, which is a monthly cost for the financial services offered to you. This fee also depends on your industry and transaction type, but being part of a high-risk category, expect it to be a little above that for a standard business account.
- Transaction Fees
Every time you process a payment, you pay a transaction fee. Just like standard accounts, high-risk business accounts in the UK are also subject to transaction costs, which are, yet again, generally higher than standard rates. However, it is essential to consider costs, especially if your business has a higher transaction volume. With higher transaction costs, your profit margins can be eaten up with every payment, placing significant financial strain on your business.
- Chargeback Fees
When working in a high-risk industry, you are prone to face chargebacks, which can be daunting and costly for businesses. Banks also charge additional fees to handle chargebacks, which vary depending on the risk level of your business. So, if you want to save your hard-earned money from draining into these extra fees, the best you can do is implement strategies to mitigate disputes and chargebacks.
- Chargeback Reserve
Chargeback reserve is another cost that, in simple terms, is a deposit kept by a bank or financial service provider to shield themselves from potential financial risks in high-risk sectors. The amount held by banks serves as a guarantee to ensure that any potential chargebacks or frauds can be covered without financial risk to the bank. Hence, these aren’t used unless a chargeback is filed.
- Early Termination Fees
The early termination fee is a penalty which you only pay if you choose to terminate your account prior to the end date of the contract. It is either deducted as a flat fee or as a liquidated damage fee. Again, it depends on your volume and contract, but it is best to clear the terms of termination before signing a contract to save your high-risk business from a tremendous loss.

How to Ensure Transparency in Fees
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- Request for the fee breakdown before signing a contract.
- Compare fee structures of different service providers.
- Check if there’s room for negotiation in fees.
- Always monitor statements for your high-risk business accounts in the UK to ensure no hidden fee is deducted.
Wirewand – Most trusted High-Risk Business Accounts in the UK
It is highly crucial to priortise transparency when choosing a high-risk business account for your company. That’s where Wirewand steps in. Wirewand offers reliable, secure and completely transparent financial services to empower high-risk businesses to manage their financial operations seamlessly. So contact us today and get in touch with our team to explore how our high-risk business accounts in the UK can help you mitigate risks and reach your goals. Â