Importers and exporters need more than domestic banking because their money moves across countries, currencies and deadlines. The FX margin, payment delays, intermediary fees and access to working capital usually matter more than the monthly account fee.
The best account depends on how the company trades. A wholesaler importing from Asia prioritises supplier payments in USD or CNH and funding between order and sale. A business sourcing from Europe prioritises EUR balances and SEPA payments. An exporter selling into the United States prioritises receiving USD on local details and choosing when to convert. A software exporter with little stock needs collections and FX; a manufacturer pays for materials, staff and freight weeks before its customer settles and needs finance as well.
Larger traders usually keep a traditional bank for lending, guarantees and documentary trade finance alongside a specialist account for daily flows. The right choice is the provider, or pair of providers, that fits how money actually moves through the business.
| Provider | Best for | Trade finance |
|---|---|---|
| HSBC UK | Established traders needing conventional trade banking | Letters of credit, collections, guarantees, import and export finance |
| Wise Business | Transparent FX and straightforward supplier payments and collections | Not a trade finance provider |
| Airwallex | Businesses operating across several markets or entities | Not its core proposition |
| WorldFirst | Import, export and ecommerce collections and payments | Limited compared with a bank |
| Revolut Business | Multi-currency banking with cards and expense controls | Limited |
| OFX | FX-intensive businesses wanting specialist dealers | Not traditional trade finance; forwards available |
| Helm | Traders running several corridors with documents attached | Introductions to invoice and trade finance providers |
The providers do not share the same legal form. HSBC and Revolut Bank UK are banks; Wise, Airwallex, WorldFirst and OFX are e-money institutions; Helm is an operating platform over licensed partners. That difference decides how money is held and protected.
Fees and features come from each provider's own UK pricing and product pages in October 2026. Where a provider sets pricing case by case, the article says so.
| Provider | Account or plan fee | FX conversion |
|---|---|---|
| Wise Business | Free to register; one-off £50 for account details in 22 currencies | From 0.24%, varies by currency |
| Airwallex | Explore £0 or £19 a month; Grow £49; Accelerate on request | 0.5% above interbank on majors, 1% on others |
| WorldFirst | Free to open; no subscription or maintenance fee | Up to 0.50% on majors; 0.30% for the first six months |
| Revolut Business | £10, £30 or £90 a month; Enterprise custom | Interbank within allowance (£1,000 to £60,000), then 0.6% |
| OFX | Standard £0; Full Suite £75 a month for five users | Quoted per transaction |
| HSBC UK | Set by account tariff and relationship | Set by HSBC |
| Helm | Monthly platform fee in writing | Partner conversion fees in writing |
| Provider | Example fee |
|---|---|
| WorldFirst | USD to the United States £0.77; USD to mainland China £11.55; EUR via SEPA £0.27 |
| Airwallex | Local EUR, GBP and CHF transfers free; SWIFT £10 to £20 |
| Wise Business | Incoming USD wire 6.11 USD; domestic USD, EUR and GBP receipts free |
| Revolut Business | £5 per international transfer above the plan allowance |
HSBC is the reference point for conventional trade banking: foreign currency accounts, international payments, FX risk management, import and export letters of credit, import and export collections, guarantees and standby letters of credit, buyer loans, HSBC TradePay and an international business overdraft. For an importer it can fund the gap between placing an order and selling the goods; for an exporter it can fund manufacture before the customer pays and provide the guarantees that tenders require.
The trade-off is a more traditional credit and onboarding process. Many established traders keep HSBC for financing and documentary products and use a specialist account for routine collections, FX and supplier payments.
Wise is strong where the main job is moving money with transparent conversion. It shows the conversion fee separately from the rate, from 0.24%, and offers receiving details in 22 currencies, including GBP, EUR and USD. An exporter receiving USD can hold it and later use it for USD costs rather than converting to sterling and back. An importer can pay regular suppliers and see the full cost before sending.
Wise Payments Limited is an FCA-authorised e-money institution. It is a payments platform, not a relationship-led trade bank, so a business needing trade credit, larger lending or letters of credit will need another provider alongside it.
Airwallex combines global accounts with local receiving details in more than 20 currencies, transfers to more than 200 countries, corporate cards, expenses and payment acceptance. An exporter collecting in several markets can use local details without a bank account in each country, and its integrations suit ecommerce businesses, platforms and larger finance teams.
An importer with a few core suppliers may not need the full platform. It becomes more compelling as the business grows across entities and markets. Airwallex (UK) Limited is an FCA-authorised e-money institution.
WorldFirst's World Account collects in more than 20 currencies, including USD, GBP, EUR, PLN, TRY, JPY and CNH, and pays in more than 100 currencies to more than 210 countries and regions. Receiving and holding are free, and forward contracts let a business fix a rate for a future payment. It suits importers that also receive marketplace or overseas customer money and want to reuse currency rather than convert it.
World First UK Limited is an FCA-authorised e-money institution. Large credit lines, letters of credit or full corporate banking still require a bank.
Revolut Business holds more than 25 currencies and combines international payments with cards, permissions and expense management in one app, which suits businesses where cross-border payments sit alongside staff travel and purchasing. Plans cost £10, £30 or £90 a month, with FX at interbank within allowances of £1,000, £15,000 or £60,000 and 0.6% above them, so a high-volume importer should model total cost rather than the headline price.
The PRA approved Revolut Bank UK Ltd's exit from mobilisation on 11 March 2026, and Revolut is moving existing UK customers across in phased batches with at least two months' notice. Confirm which entity holds the account.
OFX's Global Business Account receives, holds and pays in more than 30 currencies to more than 180 countries, with spot transfers, forward contracts and limit orders and specialist dealer support. Its value rises with annual volume, because small rate differences move gross margin on large flows. UKForex Limited, trading as OFX, is an FCA-authorised e-money institution; it is not a substitute for a trade bank where letters of credit, guarantees or large lending are needed.
Helm, the firm's own business account and payments platform, runs a trader's collection accounts, supplier payout accounts and currency conversion in one workspace, with invoices, bills of lading and customs documents attached to each payment. The accounts and payments are provided by licensed partners in each region and the business contracts with them through Helm; spot and forward conversion run through licensed providers, and Helm offers trade finance. The Helm page lists the corridors covered.
It is most relevant to importers, exporters and wholesalers with recurring cross-border activity across several corridors. A business with occasional low-value payments will usually be better served by a self-service account.
| Point | Bank | E-money institution |
|---|---|---|
| Protection | FSCS up to £120,000 per eligible depositor per bank | Safeguarding, not FSCS |
| Lending | Overdrafts, loans, trade finance | Not from e-money balances |
| Typical role for a trader | Core balances, credit and documentary trade | Collections, FX and supplier payments |
Safeguarding means the e-money firm keeps customer money separate from its own, in a segregated bank account or covered by insurance or a guarantee. The FCA's CASS 15 rules, in force since 7 May 2026, add an annual safeguarding audit and a monthly safeguarding return. A trader holding large balances should confirm which entity holds the account and where the money sits; the firm's safeguarding practice explains the regime.
Start with the trade flow: the countries you buy from, invoice currencies, average and peak payment size, frequency, and how much cash is tied up between ordering and selling. Then identify the main constraint: FX cost, payment reliability, currency holding, credit or a combination.
A delayed payment can stop goods being released, lose a production slot or miss a sailing. Treat reliability and support as commercial features, and ask what happens when an exceptional payment is held, not only how fast normal ones arrive.
A provider that is cheap on a £2,000 test payment may not suit a business regularly sending £100,000 to suppliers. Compare the effective exchange rate, explicit fees, settlement route, tracking and support on your own corridors and sizes.
Holding currency is useful where suppliers invoice in USD or EUR or the business also earns foreign revenue. Judge it against actual cash flows, not the number of currencies a provider lists.
Importers often pay before they earn: a deposit at order, a balance before shipment, then weeks before the goods sell. Assess the cost of finance against trade margins and the cash conversion cycle. The guide on how UK importers pay overseas suppliers covers methods by supplier country.
Identify customer countries, invoice currencies, receipt size and frequency, and whether customers prefer local methods or international wires. Choose an account that reduces payment friction without creating unnecessary conversion or reconciliation work.
Local USD details let an American customer pay on familiar US rails rather than sending an international wire. Receiving in the customer's currency improves the buying experience and gives the exporter control over when to convert; where the business has costs in the same currency, it avoids converting twice.
An exporter that prices an order months before payment exposes its margin to currency movements and conversion costs. The account should show the value actually received after conversion, and the business should decide in advance whether to fix rates on large receivables with a forward contract.
Map the costs that fall before revenue: materials, production, freight, duties and payroll. If growth repeatedly creates a cash gap, the finance around the account matters as much as the account. The guide on how UK exporters receive international payments covers receiving methods and export finance in detail.
The United States was the UK's largest export market in the four quarters to the end of March 2026, taking £203.3 billion of UK goods and services, 21.7% of the total. Exporters should prioritise local USD receiving details, so US customers pay by ACH or domestic wire, and decide how much USD to hold. Importers buying from US suppliers benefit from local USD payouts, such as WorldFirst's published £0.77 fee for USD payments to the United States.
EUR receiving details with an IBAN in the business's own name, and SEPA payments to suppliers, keep euro trade cheap and predictable. Holding EUR avoids converting twice where the business both sells to and buys from Europe.
Suppliers commonly invoice in USD or CNH. Providers with CNH accounts and published China payment fees, such as WorldFirst, suit importers paying Chinese manufacturers; letters of credit from a bank suit first large orders.
Trade with Latin America, Africa and the Gulf often involves currency controls, documentary requirements from the buyer's or supplier's bank, and fewer providers with local rails. A corridor-by-corridor set-up, with licensed partners in each market, usually works better than one global account.
Compare how much leaves your account with how much the beneficiary receives. A free transfer can still carry a wide rate margin.
| Monthly FX volume | Cost of each 1% of margin |
|---|---|
| £100,000 | £1,000 a month, £12,000 a year |
| £500,000 | £5,000 a month, £60,000 a year |
| £2,000,000 | £20,000 a month, £240,000 a year |
Even a 0.5% difference on £500,000 a month is £30,000 a year, more than most traders spend on all their account fees combined. The same discipline applies to receipts: measure what remains after incoming charges and conversion.
The trade cycle runs from paying a supplier, or funding production, to receiving the customer's money. Finance options sit around the account rather than inside it:
A facility that enables a profitable order may be worth more than a small FX saving. The guide to trade credit for importers and exporters explains how each facility works and what lenders look for.
Often several, each with a clear role. A common structure is a bank for core banking, overdrafts, letters of credit and guarantees, plus one specialist account for international receipts, FX and supplier payments. An importer may keep an HSBC trade facility while running supplier payments through WorldFirst, Airwallex or Helm; an exporter may add Wise or Airwallex for USD and EUR collections alongside its bank.
Each additional account should solve a specific need: cheaper FX, local receiving, speed, credit or service. Finance teams need payment permissions, reconciliation, accounting integrations and balance visibility across all of them, so if a new provider creates more manual work than value, the saving is not worth it.
Providers ask trading businesses for evidence of their trade, such as contracts, invoices and shipping documents, because cross-border flows attract closer financial crime checks. Where an account is hard to open in a particular corridor, the firm's banking and payment processing service places businesses with suitable banks and providers.
| Business profile | Strongest fit |
|---|---|
| Established trader needing credit, guarantees and letters of credit | HSBC, plus one specialist account |
| Importer making regular supplier payments in USD, EUR or CNH | WorldFirst, Wise or OFX |
| Exporter collecting USD and EUR from repeat customers | Wise, Airwallex or WorldFirst |
| Multi-market business with several entities | Airwallex |
| Growing team with many cards and approvals | Revolut Business |
| Trader running several emerging-market corridors | Helm with licensed partners per corridor |
Four questions settle most decisions. How easily can customers pay us? How reliably can we pay suppliers? What does moving and converting money really cost? Who finances the gap between paying and being paid?
It depends on the countries, currencies, volumes and finance needs. HSBC suits conventional trade finance; Wise, Airwallex, WorldFirst, Revolut and OFX suit collections, FX and supplier payments, and most traders combine a bank with one of them.
Reliable supplier payments, a competitive effective FX rate, the right currencies, payment tracking and support when a payment is held. Importers that pay before they sell also need trade or inventory finance.
Local receiving details in the currencies customers pay in, the ability to hold those currencies, transparent conversion and support for delayed receipts, plus finance for orders on open-account terms.
Yes, where the business regularly receives and pays in foreign currencies. Holding currency reduces conversions, and the benefit is greatest when inflows and outflows share a currency.
No. They are e-money institutions that safeguard customer money separately from their own. Bank deposits are FSCS protected up to £120,000 per eligible depositor per bank.
Many do, for overdrafts, larger credit, letters of credit, guarantees and documentary finance. A specialist account and a bank work well together with distinct roles.
Every 1% of margin on £500,000 a month is £5,000 a month, or £60,000 a year. Compare the effective rate on your own payment sizes, not a headline fee.
Buckingham Capital Consulting has obtained FCA payment and e-money authorisations for firms including Global Send, Hryze and Dzing Finance since 2013, and arranges the business, safeguarding and operating accounts those firms and their trading customers rely on. Its banking team places importers and exporters with banks and licensed payment providers matched to the corridors, currencies and volumes they trade.
Speak to an expert: WhatsApp +44 7563 115980, Telegram @buckinghamcapital or info@buckinghamcapitalconsulting.co.uk.
This article is general information, reviewed against the regulator’s published requirements on the date shown. It is not legal advice; the regulator’s current publications take precedence.