A virtual business address benefits businesses from flexibility to enhanced security of residential addresses and mail. But will the virtual business address affect my banking? This is a question a lot of business owners ask themselves.
If you are considering using a virtual business address and using it for your banking and financial services, this article is for you. We will highlight how to use a virtual business address for banking and financial services.
Understanding virtual business addresses for banking
A virtual address is ideal for self-employed, remote-based business owners and freelancers who want a professional touch to their business. Additionally, it is also ideal for startups and small businesses who always choose to operate from the comfort of their home to save on costs. The address helps entrepreneurs receive their mail and correspondence securely and take advantage of the additional services it offers.
One of the common questions entrepreneurs ask is whether banks accept virtual business addresses as proof when opening a business account. The short and simple answer to that is yes. A virtual business address is a street address located in a real office building, meaning it is an appropriate address for your business to act as proof of address when opening a bank account and conducting banking activities.
Virtual addresses are increasingly becoming more common as entrepreneurs are using them to incorporate their companies and for their correspondence. When it comes to banking and financial services, there are specific considerations to keep in mind.
The bank and financial institutions will need to verify the virtual business address so they may ask for additional documents such as a service agreement or lease or a No Objection Certificate (NOC) showing that the service provider has allowed you to use the address.
They may also ask for business documents to verify the legitimacy of the virtual business address. They may ask for a company registration certificate, business owners’ identification, and other necessary paperwork.
What is the use of a virtual business address?
Enhance privacy
A virtual business address enhances the privacy and security of residential addresses and mail management. If you use your residential address as your registered office address, it will be available in public records. If you use a virtual business address, you get to keep your residential address private.
Secure mailing address
A virtual business address ensures mail is secure from falling into the wrong hands. Businesses handle sensitive details and virtual business addresses offer secure mail handling Services. Your mail gets to be received at the address on behalf of your company. The agents will scan and send your mail via email or forward it to your designated address.
Flexibility
A virtual business address gives businesses the flexibility to work from anywhere and maintain a fixed physical presence. This favors remote, home-based businesses, nomad entrepreneurs, and freelancers. Your mail will also be forwarded to wherever you want it to be sent, and it will also be scanned and sent to you via email, giving businesses the flexibility to acknowledge the correspondence no matter where they are.
Compliance purposes
According to the Companies Act 2006, a company should have an ‘appropriate’ address when registering a company. An appropriate address should not be a P.O. Box, it should be an address that can receive correspondence, and a representative on behalf of the company should be acknowledged.
A virtual business address is an ‘appropriate’ address since it can receive correspondence on behalf of the company and send it for the company to acknowledge. It is also a street address located in a physical location in a real building. The address should be in the same jurisdiction as where the company was registered.
Enhanced scalability
You can easily scale up or down your business without incurring the infrastructure cost. The virtual office service does not offer a long-term contractual agreement, making it easy to cancel if the company struggles.
How to use a virtual business address for banking and financial services
Choose a service provider
Various service providers are offering virtual business addresses. Choose the one that offers features that align with your business needs. Will supplementary services or features help your business operations? What is your budget? What location do you want? Answering these questions will make it easy to settle for a service provider.
Register your company with the address
You must register your company first to use a virtual business address for banking purposes such as opening a business account. You can only open a bank account once your company is incorporated and trading.
Provide details to the bank
Once your business is registered, you can provide your registered office address to the bank. It will act as proof of address to open a business bank account. The bank and financial services will use the registered office address to send correspondence.
In summary, virtual business addresses can be used in banking and financial services. Before a business opens a business bank account, business owners should first register the company with Companies House and use the virtual business address as their registered office address. Once the company is registered and trading, you can now open a business bank account.
The bank may ask for additional documents to prove that the service provider has allowed you to use the virtual business address. For a seamless banking experience, you can choose a service provider that offers business bank accounts as a supplementary service in their virtual office packages. This will help your business effectively open a bank account without a hassle since you have been referred by an agent.
This one-stop service eases the whole process of obtaining a virtual business address in the location of your choice, incorporating your company, and opening a business bank account. One of the service providers that have all these services in their package is Icon Offices.
Their packages come with free multi-currency UK accounts and international money transfer accounts. A company’s bank accounts, both UK and non-UK residents, can be set up online and also receive up to £100 cash back once the account is successfully opened.
