NatWest Reviews 

For the last 4 weeks I have tried to open up a basic Business Account! I have provide all my ID checks, keep provided what they are asking for. Each time more paperwork. Now after 4 weeks they need further ID checks which I had just provided through the CHAT but this won't do either, as they can't verify me, even though took my PIN for my private account! then sending me links where you can't upload documents. A total nightmare...stay away from NatWest Business Banking.

Awful online banking. Having moved from Sainsbury it has been a nightmare trying to register with online banking. I have tried several times to get an activation code, but it never works. I am now having to wait 5 working days for the letter, and that's assuming the post office deliver on time. I have no idea why Sainsbury moved to Natwest.

This bank has caused me to have mental health and anxiety attacks they should all be sacked and the bank need closing down it’s gone to far now disgusting behaviour staff members think they can get away with talking to people like crap

The process of opening a simple business account with NatWest could not have been more complicated. The application is lengthy, tedious, and filled with excessive questions that seem more suited to a large corporation than a small business. It often feels as though NatWest assumes every applicant is running a multimillion-pound enterprise with hundreds of employees—and it becomes your responsibility to prove otherwise.

The list of required documents and proofs is equally exhaustive. Even long-standing NatWest customers are not given any consideration; the process treats you as though you have no prior relationship with the bank. Questions about existing NatWest accounts add little value and feel redundant.

Overall, the entire experience feels outdated—reminiscent of banking processes from the 1960s, complete with the same bureaucracy and rigid mindset. The contrast with modern digital banks such as Starling and Tide is stark: with them, you can open an account in minutes, seamlessly and efficiently.

My experience with NatWest’s business account application has been frustrating and disappointing. It highlights why traditional banks continue to lose customers and close branches—while digital banks move forward, NatWest seems firmly stuck in the past.

My transfer from Sainsburys has been a nightmare. The Sainsburys app and website is now removed. I have set up an internet access with NatWest (that also was a nightmare) but it says my details are not yet available but will be when my Sainsbury's account is closed. So why are they not available? I can see nothing about my credit card account.
The Cora tool is useless sending me round to the same answers which were not answers to my questions time and time again. It would not transfer me to an agent because it said I was not logged in even though I was. Eventually Cora allowed me to contact them via WhatsApp. They say that somebody will deal with me; it usually takes 15 minutes. Well it's been double that time and there is no sign that anyone is going to chat.
I wish I had closed my Sainsburys account now. Nothing so far has actually functioned properly. How can a bank be like this and still allowed to trade?

Worst business bank I've ever used.

Natwest has never recovered from its 2008 disasters. Its now a completely cold and useless entity. Its almost entirely "automated" and the awful Cora fails at nearly everything thats more complicated than a balance enquiry. All their business systems seem designed to repel you with automated systems clearly designed by some techincal IT firm with no understaning of how people or businesses work, their telephone system is a never ending circle of frustration. Its a broken Bank

If I could give zero stars I would applied for additional business account what I thought would be a straight forward process has turned into a joke still waiting weeks down the line to keep being asked the same questions over and over again you would think u was asking for a business loan not to open an account

Closed my business account without notice. The only reason I knew it had happened was because it had disappeared from my app. What has transpired since, beggars belief.

Both the online help, and the people in branch, could find no communications to me on their CRM system to say that I'd been notified.

Absolute bankers all of them.

As you can see with the other reviews, avoid using Natwest Business Banking and find another bank. I had two business accounts with Natwest Business Bank under two companies. A customer from Reading decided he wanted to try and fraudulently get his money back from my business without consulting my business after he had signed a contract and paid for a service my business provided.
Without consulting me, Natwest Business Bank put a stop on both my Business accounts, where one business had nothing to do with the other. I then had to go through a lengthy process which took nearly two weeks to complete to prove the customer was being fraudulent and not the business.
There was no phone call it was all done via email where Natwest Business Bank decided my company was in the wrong immediately. To which i proved 100% i and my business was in the clear and did nothing wrong.
There was no sympathy with their customer, me and my businesses at all. I proved my customer had been fraudulent before they reinstated my business accounts. Shameful banking process at Natwest Business Bank.

Switch complete shambles - took ages - no human assistance. Switch eventually happened (4 months) but after 9 days (and no end in sight) I still can't access (or even view) my new account - can't therefore pay wages , can't pay bills, can't do my accounts as can't download to Quickbooks. Numerous emails and phone calls but absolutely useless.No activation code and no cards ever arrived - despite repeated requests over weeks - no explanation- just keep reordering but thy never arrive. I got a new Tesco Club card in 2 days ! - what's wrong with you guys ? Thought this bank was an established professional establishment but how wrong can you be ? No way of escalating the complaint or getting it resolved. Told me to go into local branch, which cost me time and money to cover, to be told by their staff that they are unable to help with on line business accounts !!?? I'm having a mental meltdown Nobody cares, and nobody in a hurry to do anything to resolve any of the above issues ! It shows, as nobody from Natwest responds to anything on Trustpilot either, I hate this bank already - will be contacting my old bank tomorrow and will be begging them to reverse this switch. DO NOT GET A BUSINESS ACCOUNT THEY ARE COMPLETELY INCOMPETENT AND WHAT'S MORE..... UNCARING ! The reason it is free is because it is cr*p.

⭐☆☆☆☆ A complete disappointment!

I'm a NatWest customer. They made me a loan offer, which I accepted. Despite uploading all required documents on time, they later blamed “missing paperwork” and sabotaged the whole process. Worst of all, they tampered with my credit score and then rejected the application as if it were a joke. This was a disrespectful and unprofessional experience. Such an unreliable and inconsistent bank. Zero trust, zero support. Never again with NatWest

There aren't enough hours in the day to explain the shambles that it NatWest Business Banking.

As someone with 3 separate businesses signed up, NatWest have made it next to impossible to stay loyal. In fact, I'm convinced they're purposely pushing people away.

Here are some examples:
- Took 8 months to open a business account
- Business cards are issued with no business name on them
- You have to manually apply for online banking and it takes weeks, even months.
- Support are beyond useless (phone, live chat, email)
- They send you no details of your new account. I had to phone to ask what my account number was
- Official correspondence doesn't reference the business name, making it impossible to know what business the letter is for if you have more than 1 with them

Conclusion... NatWest is a complete shambles and should not be trading business accounts. Avoid them at all costs if you're setting up or moving a business account. It's not worth the stress!

P.s I give zero stars if I could

Whilst using the Natwest app to online assistance Cora I received a txt on the same phone from a very close friend saying sadly that his father had passed away The next response from Cora was sorry about your recent bereavement is there anything else I can help with Is this illegal & begs the question how ! What other information can they see Since been told over phone may take up to 5 days then up to 29 days ! Then last Friday got an email stating up to 5 weeks for a response Both over the phone,email and Cora I have informed Natwest I have Motor Neurones Disease This seems to make there response longer As I'm sure everyone will know with my diagnosis time is something I don't have Be proud Natwest

Disappointing. All my business accounts are with Natwest and it can be a frustrating experience.

Communication:
Hard to get in touch with a human being,
Virtually no communication with you (especially for bounce back loans) until you get the threatening letter.
Chatbot is annoying and vague.
No support for business ideas.

Natwest to Natwest account payments take far too long (longest an hour to make a payment to another NW account I own.
They close your app without getting in touch with you which is wholly un profesional.

They then change their procedures when you are right about how awful they are when they are lacking certain things and still blame you for not meeting the payment.

not the best but the best of a bad sector.

Wish I could have chosen no stars. I had been speaking with Nat West bereavement services as executor of a deceased persons estate and had notified them of the death, submitted a death certificate and had been making enquiries for 3 weeks when they suddenly said 'cant speak to you about this matter as you're not who we've been speaking to previously '! They had previously promised one thing and done the exact opposite causing more problems and stress than the family needed at an already difficult time. Incompetence at its finest.

Had a fraudulent transaction on the business debit card. I 'froze' the debit card to avoid further transactions. Then tried to report the fraud and... unable to report as the card is frozen?! Rang Natwest... fraud team closed after 6PM.... Tried again today and the agent decided to hang up when I asked for his name. Unbelievable. So I decide to make a complaint online, filled the form and click on submit... only to get an error message stating 'Error while trying to send email. Please try after sometime.'
Absolutely appalling service when you need any help.

Absolutely terrible when it comes to opening a business account. I applied back in March this year and the account I wanted to open is still in review after 3 months. So I recently decided to set up a business bank account with Barclays and within a week they got back to me saying that my account is successfully opened. If you are in a similar situation I urge you to switch to another bank as soon as you can!

Worst bank! I had business account with them and they don’t support you anything over the phone and even if you visit branch. Never use Natwest business account.

1 August 2025 update: The spectacular uselessness of this bank continues. Three times over a period of 10 weeks I have been promised a card reader but it has never been received (I'm guessing probably never sent). Yesterday it was the end of the month and I realised it was the last day to pay my self-assessed tax to HMRC to avoid a fine. Tried to pay it online but of course still no card reader. Tried to communicate with the online robot: totally useless. Tried to phone to speak to someone: another speech robot this time and equally useless. Wasted another half an hour for no result. Only option was to pay it from my personal account with First Direct. Phoned them and immediately spoke to a human who was polite, efficient and quick. Security was very quick, just gave name and postcode and their voice recognition system did the rest. Whole transaction done painlessly in a couple of minutes.
For your time and sanity avoid this Natwest excuse for a bank and go elsewhere. It cannot be worse. That's what I'm now going to do. Not looking forward to it as it's bound to be more hassle. But anything must be better than Natwest online business banking.

25 June 2025
I was with HSBC online business bank for many years with reasonable service and security with a card reader gadget which worked well. The reader stopped working and when I asked for a replacement I was told no, they don't do those any more and that I would have to have the app on a smartphone. I don't want the app on a smartphone, not because I'm a Luddite but because 2 quite savvy people I know have recently had their mobiles stolen and their entire bank contents cleared out, with the sort of grief that involves. So I moved to Natwest because they still didn't insist on having the app.
After two months they have proved a total disaster area of poor systems and service. The changeover was a nightmare; so bad that at the end of it I was too worn out with it to even bother complaining. Today I have just tried to pay my corporation tax online. Went through all the usual accounts, security and references, got to the final bit and then computer said no: We need you to go on the app for biometric security check. Or use the card reader gadget. I don't have or want the app. They never sent me the card reader!
I phoned the helpline and a totally useless robot didn't even begin to deal with the problem. Somehow (not sure how) but I finally spoke to a human (very nice, very helpful but trying to operate in a disaster area dressed up as a bank). After explaining my problem I suggested perhaps I could just make the payment over the phone? Yes I could!
However 34 minutes later, yes 34! (according to my mobile - it seemed longer!) this one simple transaction to HMRC was finally achieved (I hope: still waiting on written confirmation from Natwest half an hour later). Totally unbelievable; it seemed to go on forever. I asked to be transferred to complaints and was left on hold for another 5 minutes. Related the above to person who answered and was told I should receive a response "in 5 working days".
Brilliant. I can't wait!