FAQs

From 1 February 2026, we’ll introduce a small fee for businesses that make a high number of outbound Faster Payments (FPS). Each Business Rewards Account includes 150 free FPS payments a month. After that, a 12p charge applies to each extra payment.

Each Faster Payment costs Allica Bank to process through our payment partner. This fee makes sure that customers who make a very high number of payments contribute fairly to those costs — while most business users continue to enjoy free payments within their monthly allowance.

The fee only applies to customers who make more than 150 outbound FPS payments in a month.

At the start of each month, we’ll count how many FPS payments you made in the previous month. If you made more than 150, we’ll charge 12p for each one over that limit.

Example:
If you made 175 FPS payments in one month, 25 of those would be chargeable:

175 – 150 = 25
25 × 12p = £3.00

Fees are charged on your main Business Rewards Account balance, so we will take your low balance fee from there if it applies.  

If there’s not enough money in your Business Rewards Account to cover the fee, and you’ve got money in a linked Savings Pot, we’ll automatically move the amount needed into your main account before debiting the fee. If there’s still not enough, the fee will appear as a pending transaction until there is. 

Pending fees won’t take your account into a negative balance.

Fees are due and payable on the first day of each month based on the previous month’s activity. Any fee due will be debited from your account on the first day of the month.

When you begin an FPS or bulk payment, we’ll show you in both web and mobile journeys whether you’re currently within your 150 free payments or if this transfer will take you over the limit. For bulk payments (only available via web) we will also show you how much it will cost you for that file in total to process.

If you schedule a payment for a future date beyond the current month, we won’t be able to confirm whether that payment will incur a fee. In this case, you’ll see a warning that the transaction may be subject to a fee when it is processed. This is particularly important for Bulk Payments that when processed can be up to 500 at once.

You’ll also see the fee on your monthly statement.

No. There is no grace period for FPS fees. If you make over 150 outbound payments from the first month your account is open you will be charged on the first day of the next month.

Get in touch with your Relationship Manager or our Customer Service team here. We’ll take a look at your account and make any changes if needed.

From 1 February 2026, we’ll introduce a £25 monthly fee for Business Rewards Accounts with an average balance below £10,000 in the previous month.

This helps us keep the account fee-free for businesses using it as their main operating account.

You’ll only be charged the fee if:

• Your account had an average balance below £10,000 last month
• You don’t have an active loan or overdraft with Allica
• You’re not part of a connected group of businesses that, on average, holds more than £10,000 per account across the group

Connected groups are identified based on ownership criteria. This means that where an individual holds 25% or more ownership, is a sole trader, or in a partnership, this will form a business group linkage.

We identify all businesses connected through these relationships, both direct and indirect connections and assign them to a group identifier.

Assigning a group identifier to these connected businesses helps us calculate fees fairly based on the group’s set up. This process ensures that the right average balance fees are applied to every business in the group.

If your business is connected to others, all the Business Rewards Accounts across the group are reviewed together.

Here’s how it works:

1. We check the total balance across all accounts in the group.

• If the group’s average balance per account is more than £10,000, none of the accounts will be charged.
• If it’s under £10,000 per account, we move to step 2.

2. We check each account individually.

• If an account’s average balance is over £10,000, it won’t be charged.
• If it’s £10,000 or less, the £25 fee will apply.

This means only accounts with lower balances will be charged, even if they’re part of a group.

It’s important to keep in mind that the more accounts you open, the more the total balance is spread out which can reduce the average per account. If your overall funds stay the same but you add more accounts, this may bring your group’s average per account below £10,000 and could mean some accounts become subject to the low average balance fee.

If your business isn’t linked to others through a shared owner, each Business Rewards Account is reviewed on its own.

• If an account’s average balance is over £10,000 → no fee
• If it’s £10,000 or less → fee applies

Having other accounts with higher balances won’t offset this — each account is treated separately.

Your average balance will be worked out as the total amount you have in your Business Rewards Account and linked Savings Pot over the course of a month.  

For example:

• If you keep £20,000 in your Business Rewards Account and £40,000 in your linked Savings Pot for a month, you will have an average balance of £60,000.

• If you keep £5,000 in your Business Rewards Account and £30,000 in your linked Savings Pot for a month, you will have an average balance of £35,000.

We calculate your closing balance each day, then take the average across the month. This is done at account level (Business Rewards Account plus Savings Pot), and also across connected groups if applicable.

Fees are due and payable on the first day of each month based on the previous month’s activity. Any fee due will be debited from your account on the first day of the month.

Fees are charged on your main Business Rewards Account balance, so we will take your low balance fee from there if it applies.  

If there’s not enough money in your Business Rewards Account to cover the fee, and you’ve got money in a linked Savings Pot, we’ll automatically move the amount needed into your main account before debiting the fee. If there’s still not enough, the fee will appear as a pending transaction until there is. 

Pending fees won’t take your account into a negative balance. 

Yes. You’ll receive a reminder mid-month if your balance is getting close to the threshold where a fee may apply.

Speak to your Relationship Manager or our Customer Service team here. We’ll check your account and reverse the fee if needed.

If your unpaid low average balance fees total £75, and remain unpaid into the following month, your account will be restricted and you will receive a notification about this change. During restriction, you will still be able to receive payments, but you will not be able to send money out until the total of the outstanding low average balance fees (£75) are paid.

If the fees continue to remain unpaid for an additional month, we will issue you a notice to close the account.

Yes. Every newly opened Business Rewards Account comes with a grace period before any low average balance fee is charged.

You’ll always have at least one full calendar month after opening your new account before the fee could apply.

For example:

• If you open your account on 9 March 2026, your first full month is April 2026. That means your grace period runs until 30 April 2026.
• If your average balance in April is below £10,000, the £25 fee would first apply on 1 May 2026.

Some connected groups may get a short grace period before the fee is applied. If this applies to you, your Relationship Manager will be in touch.