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Lloyds and Bank of Scotland to start charging clubs and societies up to £8.50 a month for a current account – here are your options

Lloyds Bank branch
Emily White
Emily White & Gavin Shepherd
25 October 2024

If you're a club or society using Lloyds or Bank of Scotland's 'Treasurer's Account' you'll soon be moved to a new paid-for version costing up to £8.50 a month. The shake-up takes force on 14 January 2025 unless you move your money elsewhere beforehand. Here's what's happening – and your options.

The high street banks' Treasurer's Account currently offers fee-free daily banking for non-profit organisations including charities, clubs and societies. For new account holders there is an annual turnover cap of £50,000 – though some existing account holders may have exceeded this limit.

Clubs and communities will be moved to a paid-for current account from 14 January

But from 14 January 2025, the rules are changing for clubs and societies only:

  • If you have an annual turnover of £249,999 or less, you'll be automatically moved to a 'Community Account', which costs £4.25 a month. You'll also only be able to make 100 electronic payments a month from the account for free, after which there will be a fee per payment, though the banks wouldn't confirm how much this would be.

  • If you have an annual turnover of £250,000 or more, you'll be moved to a 'Business Current Account', which has a monthly fee of £8.50. It also charges 20p per payment on electronic payments after the first 100 a month.

There is no change for small charities, which will still be able to use and apply for the fee-free Treasurer's Account.

Lloyds Banking Group, which both lenders are part of, told us it started writing to all affected customers about the shake-up from Wednesday 16 October and will continue to do so until Thursday 7 November. It said it's making the change to "keep in line with the market", though it wouldn't tell us how many account holders are impacted. Halifax, which is also part of Lloyds Banking Group, does not offer a Treasurer's Account.

Alternative accounts to consider

If you want to avoid the charges, there are fee-free alternatives to consider. All of the options listed below are current accounts (as with the Treasurer's Account) and can therefore be switched to using the Current Account Switching Service (CASS), which will close your old account and move your money, Direct Debits and standing orders across within seven days. 

  • The co-operative bank's 'Community Directplus' account is for organisations with an annual turnover of less than £1,000,000.  

  • Metro Bank's 'Community Current Account' is for organisations with an annual turnover which does not exceed £250,000.

  • NatWest's 'Community' bank account is for organisations with an annual turnover of less than £100,000. To be eligible for this account, at least one party making the application must be an existing NatWest customer.

If you're hoping to earn interest on your organisation's funds, a community savings account could also be a decent option. These are usually designed to be opened alongside a current account.

For those who don't require the features of day-to-day banking, Metro Bank has a 'Community Instant Access' account paying 0.95% with no minimum amount required to open it. You can also make instant, penalty-free withdrawals of £1,000 or less, though for withdrawals over £1,000 you must give one week day's notice.

MSE Email icon 11 February 2025

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