The Bank Account That’s Quietly Undermining Your Charity

And why the board probably hasn’t noticed.

If you’re a trustee or director of a charity or CIC, let me ask you something uncomfortable:

When was the last time you reviewed your bank account?

Not the balance — the actual account.

If your answer is “I don’t know,” “the treasurer handles that,” or “we’ve always used the same bank,” — you’re not alone.
But you might be walking straight into trouble.

This Isn’t About the Money. It’s About Control.

The average charity bank account in the UK is held at one of the big four banks.
It was set up 10+ years ago. It requires two signatures, usually manual. Only one person can log in online. The user experience is terrible, the service worse.
And crucially — no one on the board really understands how it works.

This isn’t just a nuisance. It’s a governance failure waiting to happen.

What Happens When Things Go Wrong?

Let me paint you three scenarios I’ve seen firsthand:

1. A finance volunteer resigns, and no one else has online access. Months of delay, paper forms, and frozen payments follow.
2. The bank flags a suspicious transaction — but no one’s sure who’s authorised to respond. Everything halts while you prove your own identity.
3. You try to switch to Xero or QuickBooks and realise your current bank account doesn’t allow CSV exports or reliable transaction feeds.

These aren’t what-if hypotheticals. They’re daily occurrences in small charities and CICs.

You Need a Bank That Works Like a Business Tool

You wouldn’t tolerate a key system in your organisation being unfit for purpose — why accept it from your bank?

In 2025, your organisation should have:

• Dual online authorisation (not paper-only)
• Role-based access (so trustees don’t need to share passwords)
• Compatibility with your accounting software
• Clear audit trails
• Instant visibility of cashflow

If you don’t have those, then I’m sorry — your banking is a bottleneck. And when MTD ITSA rolls in, it’s going to be a liability.

“We’d Love to Switch, But It’s Too Much Hassle”

I hear this a lot. And yes, switching isn’t fun.
Charity accounts are slow to open. Banks ask for constitution documents no one’s touched in five years. Mandates take weeks.

But you know what’s worse?
Needing to switch in a crisis. When the person who knew the logins is gone. When your funder’s waiting for payment confirmation. When your payroll’s due and no one can approve it.

Switching now is pain with a purpose. Switching later is panic.

So What Should You Do?

Start here:

1. Audit your access — who can actually log in and make payments?
2. Check compatibility — can your account integrate with your accounting software?
3. Review alternatives — Unity Trust, Metro Bank, The Co-operative Bank and a few others are improving their charity offers
4. Bring it to the board — this is not “ops admin.” This is financial governance.

Final Word

Too many trustees and directors treat the charity bank account as background noise.
It’s not. It’s the central nervous system of your organisation’s finances.
If it’s slow, restricted, opaque, or locked behind one person’s credentials — that’s not secure. That’s a single point of failure.

And governance isn’t about crossing your fingers and hoping for the best.

It’s about seeing the risks before they become problems.
The banking system might not move fast — but you can.