Business Banking · Gemba via financeb2b
A UK business account that doesn't apologise for the 21st century.
One account. Sixteen currencies. Instant UK payments and SEPA from the same dashboard. Onboarding in days, not months — and no branch visit required.
16
currencies supported
∞
virtual IBANs per account
—
FSCS (safeguarded, not FSCS)
3–5d
typical onboarding
§ 01 — Features
What the account actually does
Gemba is an FCA-authorised payment institution (FRN 804853), not a bank. That distinction matters for a handful of things — covered in the gotchas below — but for day-to-day operations it behaves like a business current account.
| Feature | Availability | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| UK Current Account | ||
UK sort code + account number Faster Payments, BACS, CHAPS |
✓ Included | Dedicated GBP account. Faster Payments in/out within seconds. BACS credit and debit. CHAPS same-day for high value. |
Online banking dashboard |
✓ Included | Real-time balance, transaction history, bulk payment upload (CSV), webhook notifications. |
Debit card (Mastercard) |
✓ Included | Virtual card instant; physical card dispatched within 5 working days. Contactless, Apple Pay, Google Pay. |
Open Banking (PSD2) |
✓ Included | Compatible with Xero, QuickBooks, Sage bank feeds via Open Banking. Read-only API access on all plans. |
Cash deposits |
✕ Not supported | Gemba is a payment institution, not a bank. No cash deposit facility. Electronic transfers only. |
| Multi-Currency | ||
Currency wallets EUR, USD, CAD, AUD, CHF, SEK + 10 more |
✓ 16 currencies | Hold and transact in each currency without converting. Rates applied only when you choose to convert. |
FX conversion |
✓ 0.70–0.90% | Interbank mid-rate plus a spread of 0.70–0.90% depending on volume. No hidden fees. Quote locked at point of conversion. |
Outbound SEPA / SWIFT |
✓ Included | SEPA Credit Transfer (D+1), SCT Inst (near-instant, EU recipients). SWIFT MT103 to 150+ countries. |
Inbound international wires |
✓ Included | Receive into your EUR IBAN or USD account number. Correspondent bank charges may apply from sending bank. |
| Virtual IBANs | ||
GBP virtual IBANs |
✓ Unlimited | Each vIBAN has its own sort code + account number. Funds settle to your main account with originator metadata. |
EUR virtual IBANs |
✓ Unlimited | IBAN format (GB-prefix). Suitable for receiving SEPA payments. Clients see a unique reference automatically. |
Auto-reconciliation |
✓ Via API | Webhook per inbound payment includes vIBAN identifier, sender details, amount, timestamp. Map to your ledger automatically. |
§ 02 — Decision matrix
When Gemba fits, and when it doesn't
We're paid when you open an account through our link, so we have every incentive to oversell. Here's an honest read of the four main scenarios.
Scenario A · UK-only trading
Gemba works, but a high-street bank may be simpler
If you only transact in GBP with UK counterparties, Gemba's multi-currency machinery is overhead you won't use. HSBC Kinetic or Starling may have lower monthly fees for purely domestic SMEs. Gemba shines when you have at least one international payment flow.
Consider alternatives
Scenario B · EU buyers or suppliers
Strong fit — dedicated EUR IBAN removes friction
A dedicated EUR IBAN means European counterparties pay you as if you're local. No correspondent bank hops, no rejection risk from banks that decline non-EU IBANs. FX at 0.70–0.90% beats most high-street rates by a wide margin.
Recommended
Scenario C · Payroll bureau or aggregator
Best fit on the market for this use case
Virtual IBANs per client, BACS debit and credit, SEPA, SWIFT from one platform, plus webhook reconciliation. No other FCA-authorised account matches this combination at SME pricing. This is the primary reason financeb2b partners with Gemba.
Strongly recommended
Scenario D · Marketplace or e-commerce seller
Good for receiving; limited for high-volume FX
Receiving multi-currency marketplace payouts into dedicated wallets works well. If you're converting £5M+ monthly, negotiate a tighter FX spread directly with a specialist broker. Gemba's 0.70–0.90% is competitive but not always the absolute tightest for very high volumes.
Good fit, check FX tier
§ 03 — What the brochure doesn't say
Three things worth knowing before you apply
01
Safeguarded ≠ FSCS
Gemba is an e-money institution, not a bank. Your funds are safeguarded under the FCA's e-money safeguarding rules — held in segregated accounts at a prudentially regulated bank. If Gemba fails, those segregated funds are ring-fenced. But that's different from FSCS protection, which guarantees £85,000 per depositor regardless of insolvency proceedings. If you need FSCS, you need a bank account.
02
No cash or cheque deposits
Gemba has no branch network and no cash deposit facility. If your business takes cash payments — retail, hospitality, trades — you'll need a separate bank account for cash handling and then sweep funds to Gemba electronically. This isn't unusual for e-money accounts but it's a genuine constraint worth planning for.
03
PSD2-grade onboarding
As an FCA-authorised institution, Gemba applies thorough KYB (Know Your Business) checks. You'll need certificate of incorporation, recent accounts or management accounts, UBO declarations, and director ID verification. For a clean, straightforward UK Ltd this takes 3–5 days. Complex structures (trusts, overseas shareholders) may extend this. Budget for the paperwork.
Ready to open a Gemba business account?
Applications typically take 3–5 days. We're available to guide you through the KYB process.