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A business bank account in Jersey is held with a deposit-taker registered by the Jersey Financial Services Commission. The Jersey Resolution and Depositors Compensation Authority lists 20 of them, all branches or subsidiaries of UK and international groups such as Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest International, Royal Bank of Canada, Butterfield, Santander, Standard Chartered and UBS.
Their published criteria split business customers in two. Retail business accounts are for businesses run from the islands: HSBC’s Channel Islands and Isle of Man business banking wants every director, owner and signatory resident in Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man, and NatWest International’s Business Account wants all owners, directors and shareholders resident in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Gibraltar. For a Jersey company owned and run from abroad, the published route is the other one: an application introduced by a regulated intermediary, such as the trust company business that administers the company.
Article 8 of the Banking Business (Jersey) Law 1991 forbids anyone to carry on deposit-taking business in or from within Jersey without registration under that Law, and the JFSC grants it. The same Commission runs the Jersey Companies Registry, publishes a search of the entities it regulates and offers a Registry search with certificates of good standing. The JRDCA’s list of covered banks names every bank registered under the 1991 Law.
Jersey has collected beneficial owner information centrally since 1989, now under the Financial Services (Disclosure and Provision of Information) (Jersey) Law 2020, but the register is not public. Since February 2025 Jersey businesses carrying out customer due diligence, banks among them, can search the Obliged Entity Beneficial Owner register for that purpose alone, so the owners you declare to a Jersey bank can be compared with what the company filed. The 2020 Law also requires every company to name a nominated person when it is registered, such as a regulated trust company business or a significant person, lawyer or accountant resident in Jersey.
The Jersey Bank Depositors Compensation Scheme protects up to £50,000 per eligible depositor per Jersey banking group, under Part 7A of the Bank (Recovery, Resolution and Depositors’ Compensation) (Jersey) Law 2017. Eligible depositors are individuals, wherever they live, and Jersey registered charities. Company accounts are not covered unless the company is a registered Jersey charity, and trust and partnership accounts are excluded too. Only deposits with a Jersey registered bank in an account in Jersey count, and money held with e-money or payment apps is outside the scheme. A Jersey company’s balance at a Jersey bank therefore has no compensation scheme behind it, unlike a UK company’s balance at a UK bank, where the FSCS generally protects companies’ deposits.
Summarised from each institution’s own pages in October 2026.
| Provider | Type | Who it says it serves |
|---|---|---|
| HSBC, Channel Islands and Isle of Man business banking | Bank | Domestic trading businesses based in the islands, with every director, owner and signatory resident there; no nominee, group or offshore holding structures |
| NatWest International (The Royal Bank of Scotland International) | Bank incorporated in Jersey | Business Account for owners, directors and shareholders resident in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Gibraltar, one layer of ownership, no nominees; separate forms for companies introduced by intermediaries |
| Lloyds International (Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets, Jersey Branch) | Bank branch | Island Business Banking Account for businesses operating in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man; separate financial institutions teams |
| Butterfield Bank (Channel Islands) | Bank | Corporate accounts whose typical local clients are trust companies, fund administrators, captive insurers, asset managers, law firms and liquidators |
| Barclays, Jersey Branch | Bank branch | Local businesses, and international corporate banking booked in the islands |
| Wise Business | E-money institution | Lists Jersey among the places where Wise Business users hold money and get the business card; confirms support at sign-up |
Three fintechs sometimes named for Jersey companies do not take them on their own published rules: Revolut Business requires a company registered in the UK, the EEA or the United States, Airwallex’s list of eligible registration countries includes the Isle of Man and Gibraltar but not Jersey, and Mercury only opens accounts for companies formed in the United States.
Forming a company, providing its registered office or acting as its director or secretary for others is trust company business under Article 2 of the Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998, and Article 7 forbids carrying it on in or from within Jersey without JFSC registration. NatWest International publishes account opening forms that only intermediaries may use, for companies and trusts they introduce, and a company mandate whose signing arrangements can point exclusively to the intermediary’s authorised signatories or combine an outside director with them.
Settle with the administrator who signs on the account, whether you join the mandate, and which bank receives the application. Where a retail route applies, HSBC describes account opening as primarily digital, with meetings by phone or SmartServe and sometimes documents dropped at a branch.
Article 3 of the Order makes the bank identify the customer and anyone acting for it, understand its ownership and control, identify the individuals who are its beneficial owners or controllers, and learn the purpose and intended nature of the relationship, with ongoing monitoring that covers the source of funds where necessary. For a Jersey company that usually means:
Jersey uses sterling. In the European Payments Council’s list of SEPA countries Jersey carries its own code JE in BICs but the prefix GB in IBANs, the same as the UK. The Crown Dependencies have been inside the geographical scope of the SEPA schemes since 1 May 2016, and a bank incorporated in Jersey and registered with the JFSC for deposit-taking is automatically eligible to join them. Whether a particular bank offers SEPA euro transfers is a question for that bank.
Forming the company and opening the account are separate decisions by separate bodies: the JFSC registers the company, and the bank or e-money institution decides on the account. We can form a new company through Jersey company formation or supply a ready-made Jersey company, and help prepare the bank application. No one can promise that a bank will accept the company. For the wider picture see our Jersey company overview and the guide to shelf companies with bank accounts.
Yes, but as two steps with two decision makers. The JFSC registers the company, whose application must name a nominated person, and the bank decides separately. For a company owned and run from abroad, the published route at banks such as NatWest International is an application introduced by a regulated intermediary such as a trust company business; the retail business accounts of HSBC and NatWest International are for island residents.
The Jersey Financial Services Commission. Article 8 of the Banking Business (Jersey) Law 1991 prohibits deposit-taking business in or from within Jersey without registration under that Law. The Jersey Resolution and Depositors Compensation Authority publishes the list of registered banks covered by the compensation scheme, 20 banks and branches in October 2026, and the JFSC publishes a search of the entities it regulates.
No. The Jersey Bank Depositors Compensation Scheme protects up to £50,000 per eligible depositor per Jersey banking group, but only individuals and Jersey registered charities are eligible. Company accounts are excluded unless the company is a registered Jersey charity, and trust and partnership accounts are excluded too, so a company’s balance rests on the strength of its bank.
Not through the retail business accounts: HSBC requires every director, owner and signatory to live in Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man, and NatWest International requires its owners, directors and shareholders to live in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Gibraltar. Banks such as NatWest International keep a separate route for companies introduced by regulated intermediaries.
Wise lists Jersey among the places where Wise Business users can hold money and receive the business card, and confirms at sign-up whether a particular business is supported. Revolut Business only takes companies registered in the UK, the EEA or the United States, Airwallex does not list Jersey among its eligible registration countries, and Mercury serves only companies formed in the United States. E-money balances are outside the Jersey compensation scheme.
No. Jersey has held beneficial owner information centrally since 1989, now under the Financial Services (Disclosure and Provision of Information) (Jersey) Law 2020, but access is limited to the JFSC and Jersey authorities, overseas authorities through formal exchange, and, since February 2025, Jersey businesses searching the Obliged Entity Beneficial Owner register for customer due diligence only. A separate significant persons register is public and shows directors.