Barclays is moving around 550,000 of its SME customers over to different accounts in a move that will see some customers hit by unexpected fees.

A spokesperson for the bank said that majority, around 66%, of those affected, would either be better off, see no change, or pay no more than £1.50 ($2.50) a month more than they do already.

They also said that the charges would be capped at 0.5% of a business’ total monthly debit turnover.

Barclays introduced two new current accounts for business customers in May 2013, Any Payment and Mixed Payments.

Any Payments is for customers using mobile and online payments, whereas Mixed Payments is for those using cheques and cash.

A spokesperson for the bank said they had introduced these accounts after feedback from customers asked them to develop a more transparent and fairer fee system.

Currently, some business customers bank for free and others receive discounts, but in future only new customers will be able to bank for free and only for their first 12 months with Barclays.

The accounts are to be piloted in the North West of England, with around 20,000 Barclays business customers there, before being rolled out across the UK.

 

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