A British company that trades overseas can often run into many unwelcome fees and charges when handling international currency, as well as numerous administrative headaches.
Silverbird aims to change the latter by allowing businesses to hold funds in up to 200 different currencies.
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Alas, this still comes at a high price – Silverbird does not apply a monthly account charge, but you’ll pay a substantial sum in handling fees for any domestic or international income – but a company that does a great deal of overseas business may find Silverbird the easiest way to control their finances.
Silverbird business banking services
- Pros and cons
- Business current accounts
- Business overdrafts
- Business savings accounts
- Silverbird at a glance
- Other business finance products
- Silverbird reviews
- Silverbird eligibility criteria
- Silverbird finance alternatives
Pros and cons of Silverbird for business services
| Pros of Silverbird | Cons of Silverbird |
|---|---|
| ✓ Simplifies sending and receiving funds from overseas | ✗ Limited product niche |
| ✓ No monthly or application fees | ✗ Potentially high transaction fees |
| ✗ No apps and telephone support is very hard to access | |
| ✗ Not FSCS protected |
Business current accounts
Silverbird offers a very particular product to business customers – the ability to send and receive funds in 30 different currencies from all over the world. These funds are subject to Silverbird’s own in-house protection, but as Silverbird is not a bank, FSCS regulation does not apply.
The pricing associated with a Silverbird account will be tailored to the unique circumstances of your business. You will be asked a range of questions upon application for an account, and if successful, Silverbird will discuss expenses with you.
The good news is that you will not be charged an application fee to open your account, and will not need to pay a monthly fee to keep the account active. Every transaction you make will attract a charge though.
Expect to pay an average €4.95 for every incoming transaction in £, $, or €, and 0.10% of the transaction value (minimum of €14.95) for any other currency. Outgoing payments are even more expensive at €9.95 for £, $ and €, and a 0.15% fee (minimum of €19.95) for other currencies.
These fees may be adjusted depending on the volume of business that you do through Silverbird, but this will never be a cheap account to run – you’ll need to deal with high-volume transactions to make it worthwhile.
Business overdrafts
✗ Not offered by Silverbird. See best business overdrafts.
Business savings accounts
✗ Not offered by Silverbird. See best business savings accounts.
Silverbird at a glance
| Phone number | N/A |
| App downloads | N/A |
| Website | www.silverbird.com |
| Number of branches | N/A |
| FSCS protected? | No |
| Founded | 2019 |
Other business finance products
✗ Silverbird offers a very niche product range, with no additional services available to business customers.
Silverbird reviews
What are other business banking customers saying about Silverbird?
| Review platform | Score | Number of votes |
|---|---|---|
| TrustPilot | 4.2/5 | 15 |
| Feefo | Not reviewed | N/A |
| Reviews.co.uk | Not reviewed | N/A |
| Smart Money People | Not reviewed | N/A |
| Which? | Not reviewed | N/A |
| Average score | 4.2/5 | 15 |
Silverbird eligibility criteria
Silverbird is quite strict about who is entitled to open an account, only offering their services to businesses that deal with significant sums of overseas trade. If you are interested in opening a Silverbird account, expect to be grilled about your business practices to ensure that this provider feels that you will be an appropriate match.
Silverbird finance alternatives
If you’re looking for a cheaper alternative to Silverbird, think about 3S Money, Intergiro, or Airwallex, or if your overseas transactions are comparatively limited, you may be better served by Wise, Revolut, or even a PayPal business account.