The questions we actually get asked.

An independent UK editorial site that reviews business banking options, helps UK SMEs pick between them, and handles hands-on onboarding for teams choosing Gemba. We are not a bank. We do not provide regulated advice. We earn a commission when you open a Gemba account through our links — disclosed on every page.

Gemba Technologies Ltd is an FCA Authorised Payment Institution (FRN 804853) headquartered in London. We have an Introducer Partner agreement with them — if you open an account through our link, we receive a share of future transaction fees. They do not see or approve our editorial content. We write about Wise, Revolut, Tide, Starling and Airwallex too, and recommend them over Gemba where they fit better.

No. We are an editorial publisher and introducer, not a regulated firm. The banking, payment and card services described on this site are provided by Gemba Technologies Ltd under FCA authorisation (FRN 804853, verifiable on the FCA register). If you need regulated financial advice specific to your circumstances, please speak to an FCA-authorised adviser.

For a UK limited company with a clean record, the initial digital application is 10–15 minutes. Verification and account activation usually land the same or next working day — we have seen verified accounts ready to send a first SEPA payment inside five working hours, but two working days is more typical. Complex ownership structures (multi-jurisdiction, trust layers) take longer because the compliance team has to unpick them.

Certificate of incorporation, a recent Companies House filing, photo ID for each director and person with significant control, and proof of residential address dated within the last three months. If you trade through a holding company, expect a request for the ownership chart. We share a document checklist with every onboarding customer before they start, which cuts the back-and-forth.

Yes. Gemba onboards businesses registered across the EU and many other jurisdictions. Documents and timelines vary by country of registration. For non-UK companies we recommend a pre-onboarding call so we can flag likely compliance questions before you start the application rather than midway through it.

As of the last product sync, 16 currencies including GBP, EUR, USD, CAD, CHF, DKK, NOK, SEK, PLN, RON, CZK, HUF, HKD, SGD, ZAR and CNY. GBP, EUR and USD come with a dedicated IBAN in your company name. Other currencies are held as balances in a shared IBAN with a reference.

A virtual IBAN is a unique IBAN that routes into your main account but appears as its own account number. The use case most of our customers have: segregating client funds. A payroll bureau can give each client employer a dedicated IBAN that receives contributions, without opening 40 separate bank accounts. Gemba allows unlimited virtual IBANs at no per-IBAN fee — that is the single biggest feature-led reason we recommend them for payroll and accounting firms.

There is no blanket platform cap, but individual transactions may trigger compliance review based on destination, currency and relative size versus your account history. Scheduled large payments (property completions, cross-border supplier runs over £250k) benefit from a short email to compliance beforehand so nothing gets held up on the day.

UK: Faster Payments, BACS (Direct Debit and Direct Credit) and CHAPS. Europe: SEPA Credit Transfer and SEPA Direct Debit, plus Target2 for larger euro transfers. Rest of world: SWIFT. Card acquiring is available for businesses that take card payments. This combination is the practical reason to be on Gemba rather than stitching Wise plus a UK challenger bank together.

The published corporate rate is 0.70% over mid-market for major currency pairs and 0.90% for minor pairs. This is higher than Wise (around 0.43% on common pairs) and lower than most UK high-street business accounts (2–3%). If FX is the overwhelming majority of your activity, Wise may still be cheaper; if you also need virtual IBANs and a full UK rails stack, Gemba is usually the better total cost of ownership. Always verify current rates at ge.mba.

Short answer: different strengths. Revolut Business is strongest for card-heavy consumer-facing SMEs and UK day-to-day operations. Wise Business is strongest if FX rate is the only thing you care about. Gemba is strongest when you need unlimited virtual IBANs, all UK and EU payment rails in one account, and enterprise-grade compliance — which describes most payroll bureaus, accounting firms and international SMEs we work with. See the full side-by-side on our UK business banking comparison.

Yes. Gemba exposes a REST API for account management, payment initiation, balance checking and webhook events. It is solid but lightly documented compared to Wise or Stripe; expect to ask questions during integration. Bulk payment processing is supported via both API and file upload.

Xero has a native integration. QuickBooks and Sage integrations are possible through the API or via Zapier, but are not one-click out of the box. This is a real gap if you expect the Revolut-style "connect your accounting software in 60 seconds" experience. We walk customers through the Xero connection as part of onboarding.

No. Gemba is a Payment Institution, not a bank, and does not offer credit products. If you need lending, Starling Business, Tide (via partners) or a high-street bank will be a better fit for that specific need — you can keep the Gemba account for operations and use a separate lender for credit.

Support is UK business hours, plus limited weekend cover. Response times during working hours are generally under four hours; out-of-hours urgent issues go to an on-call queue. If instant 24/7 chat is a hard requirement, Revolut Business has it; Gemba does not pretend to.

No. Funds are safeguarded in segregated accounts per the UK Payment Services Regulations 2017, which means they are protected if Gemba itself gets into trouble — but it also means they do not earn interest. If interest on cash is material to you, a traditional bank savings account or a separate treasury setup makes more sense.