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Compare the best charity bank accounts

Compare the best UK bank accounts for charities, community groups, and not-for-profit organisations.

Updated: 21st April 2026 

Best Charity Bank Accounts Harry Jones modified

Written by Harry Jones

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Edited by Liam Gray

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Best charity bank accounts

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Expert take

Need to know

Charities and not-for-profit organisations come in many shapes and sizes, but all share one requirement: a dedicated bank account. Keeping charity finances such as donations, grants, and expenses separate from personal funds is a core governance principle.

With around 250,000 active organisations in the UK’s Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector, demand is significant, and choosing the right provider is part of a charity’s duty of care to its trustees and beneficiaries.

Most major banks now offer charity accounts, but eligibility, documentation, turnover limits, and processing times vary widely.

What is a charity bank account?

A charity bank account is an account opened in the name of a charity, social club, Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), or other not-for-profit. It’s used exclusively for the organisation’s finances, covering everything from donations and grants to Gift Aid claims and expenses.

Charity accounts come with governance requirements that go beyond those of standard business accounts. Trustees are collectively responsible for the charity’s finances, and banks often require dual authorisation on payments to reflect this shared accountability.

Trustees are expected to keep charity funds secure and entirely separate from personal finances. According to the Charity Commission’s CC14 guidance, mixing the two is a direct breach of trustee duties.

CC14 also stresses that trustees should regularly review their banking arrangements to ensure they remain in the charity’s best interests. That includes checking whether funds are properly protected by FSCS, whether the account is sufficiently liquid, and whether the fees still represent good value, particularly if the arrangement hasn’t been reviewed in years.

Who can open a charity bank account?

Registered charities

Charities registered with the Charity Commission (England and Wales), OSCR (Scotland), or CCNI (Northern Ireland) are typically the easiest to onboard. Some banks even offer Free for Life banking, provided turnover stays under a certain threshold.

CIOs (Charitable Incorporated Organisations)

CIOs are a relatively modern legal structure, registered with the Charity Commission and benefiting from limited liability. They sit outside Companies House, which can confuse banks, and many providers still struggle to process CIO applications smoothly.

Unregistered charities and small community groups

Organisations with an annual income under £5,000 are not required to register with the Charity Commission, but they still need somewhere to hold their funds. Options are more limited at this end of the market, with only high-street providers such as Co-operative Bank, NatWest, and Lloyds offering accounts.

CICs (Community Interest Companies)

CICs are Companies House entities that trade for profit but with a social purpose, with profits staying in the community through an Asset Lock. Crucially, CICs are not charities, which means many banks require them to open a standard business account rather than a community one.

Faith groups and places of worship

Faith groups and places of worship, including mosques and churches, are typically exempt from registration if their income is under £100,000. Banks usually accept them via a Trust Deed and may offer features like Gift Aid-friendly reporting.

Other non-profit types

Parish and town councils are statutory local government bodies that require a public sector account. Onboarding can be thorough and manual, often involving more checks than a typical charity application.

What do you need to open a charity bank account?

Opening a charity bank account is a more rigorous process than opening a typical business account. Banks are required to carry out anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) checks, and they view charities as high-volume, low-profit, and high-risk for money laundering. 

For charities, this means verifying both the organisation itself and all authorised signatories, and sometimes every trustee on the board.

Organisational verification

Typically, charities need to provide:

  • Charity registration number from the relevant body (Charity Commission, OSCR, CCNI, or Companies House, depending on structure)
  • Governing documents, such as the Constitution, Trust Deed, or Articles of Association, are usually reviewed manually
  • Minutes from a trustee meeting authorising the account opening and nominating signatories (banks often require specific wording, so request a mandate form or template beforehand)
  • Proof of registered and correspondence address
  • Operational details such as expected annual income, funding sources, where money will be spent, and the charity’s general activities

Trustee and signatory verification

  • Proof of identity (passport or driving licence) for all authorised signatories
  • Proof of address (utility bill or bank statement) for all authorised signatories
  • A minimum of two signatories at some banks
  • ID and address checks for every trustee where boards have fewer than four members
  • Companies House Personal Code for CIOs and charitable companies, syncing bank data with the national register

Why do charity applications take so long?

Each trustee has to pass individual KYC checks, and the application is only as fast as the slowest signatory. If one trustee has an expired passport, the whole process can stall and time out before it’s complete.

Poor credit history can also lead to delays, and some banks require in-person appointments in addition to the digital paperwork.

The complexity doesn’t end with the trustees. Banks have to manually review constitutions, trust deeds, and other governing documents, which most digital providers aren’t set up to handle. The admin is heavily front-loaded to reduce risk for the bank, which is the main reason applications usually take weeks rather than days.

How to switch your charity's bank account: a step-by-step guide

Changing your charity bank account is not a ten-minute task like switching a standard business account, where the Current Account Switch Service (CASS) does all the work. Charities are complex, public-benefit funds have high governance standards, and not all accounts are part of CASS.

Why switching is harder for charities

  • You need a formal Trustee Resolution authorising the closure of one account and the opening of another
  • New mandates must be signed by multiple signatories, even if the signatories haven’t changed 
  • Many specialist charity banks do not participate in CASS. This means manually updating donors, standing orders, direct debits, and Gift Aid registrations with HMRC

Step-by-step overview

  1. Hold a trustee meeting and record a formal resolution
  2. Open a new account before contacting the old one
  3. Notify all donors, funders, and fundraising platforms of the new account details
  4. Update your bank details on HMRC regarding Gift Aid registration (via Government Gateway)
  5. Transfer balances once you’re sure no more cheques or direct debits are still incoming
  6. Close the old account after a month or two of zero activity

Note: Where CASS is available, all direct debits and standing orders will be automatically transferred to the new account. However, all donors and funders still need to be notified for manual transfers and cheques.

Timing considerations

Allow for an overlap between old and new accounts, usually around 2 months. Remember, not only can it take months to open the new account, but the old one may receive income from donors who missed the alert or where cheques hadn’t yet been cleared.

Tips for opening a charity bank account

Start the process early

Application times of 6–12 weeks are common at high-street banks, plus longer if the signatories are slow to provide KYC. If the charity needs an account by a specific date (e.g., to receive a grant), begin the application well in advance.

Hold a formal trustee meeting first

Banks require formal trustee meeting minutes authorising the account opening, naming the proposed signatories, and confirming the mandate. Specific wording is often required, so it's worth requesting a mandate form or template from the bank before the meeting so the minutes can be worded correctly.

Gather all documentation upfront

The most common cause of delays is waiting for individual trustees to provide identity documents, so it's worth creating a secure dossier with passport or driving licence details and proof of address for every signatory before starting the application. Banks will also review the charity's governing document, so make sure it's up to date.

FAQs

An unregistered charity can, but you will need to provide a Constitution or Rules of Association to prove your status as a non-profit.

Expect a wait of 6 to 12 weeks at most high-street banks due to the rigorous KYC and AML checks on multiple trustees. To speed up account opening, make sure you have all relevant documentation prepared in advance.

A charity can have multiple bank accounts. It’s best practice to have more than one account if you exceed the £120,000 FSCS protection limit. It may also be useful to have an interest-earning account to supplement a current account for spending.

There is no legal maximum, but holding large balances comes with considerations. Some banks may reclassify the organisation as a corporate customer once balances exceed certain limits, which typically triggers higher fees. Charities with significant reserves often split funds across multiple accounts or providers to stay within protected limits.

Most charities nominate between two and four signatories to manage the account and handle day-to-day payments. That said, some banks still require identity checks on every trustee, particularly where the board has fewer than four members, so it’s worth confirming the specific requirements before starting an application.

If one signatory makes a payment, dual authorisation requires a second signatory to approve it. It’s designed to prevent errors and fraud. The Charity Commission recommends it, and some charity bank account providers will enforce it.

A CIC is usually unable to open a charity account as they aren’t charities. Instead, CICs most open either a community account or a standard business account.

Depending on the bank, it will export bank statements in a format that is HMRC-friendly, which you will then upload. This is usually a CSV or ODS file, but the clean structure within it is what’s important.

If you exceed the free banking limit, your charity will likely be moved to a standard business tariff, which may have lower free transfer allowances and higher monthly fees. If you’re not eligible for these accounts, you may need to switch to a new provider.

Yes. If both the current and new accounts are CASS-enabled, the transfer of balances and direct debits is automated and can be completed in a matter of days. However, many specialist charity banks don’t participate in CASS, which makes the process longer and more manual. In those cases, it’s best to open the new account a couple of months before closing the old one, allowing time to notify donors, update funders, and make sure no incoming payments are missed.

Best Charity Bank Accounts Harry Jones modified

Written by

Harry Jones

Harry has been a Finance Writer since 2019 and has worked with leading wealth management and fintech brands.

More recently, he has built in-depth domain knowledge on modern payment systems and enjoys helping smaller businesses compare options, find better solutions, and make smarter payment decisions. 

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