It was always going to be the case that the handful of Bounce Back Loan lenders that are accepting new customers were going to start getting overwhelmed with applications for new accounts from business owners who want a Bounce Back Loan.
Two that recently shut their doors to new customers were HSBC and Metro Bank, that left just four banks that are still accepting new business account application, those being Yorkshire Bank, its sister bank Clydesdale along with Starling Bank and Barclays.
However Yesterday Barclays amended their criteria for Bounce Back Loan applicants:
As such they have now decided that if you want to apply for a Bounce Back Loan with them you must not be operating your business through accounts with another bank.
They have also decided that if you want a Bounce Back Loan with them you must have a Business Account with them or have a Personal Account that you were using for business purposes before March the 1st this year, and be able to prove you were using it for business purposes before that date too.
Those new rules do appear to state that if you have a bank account for your business with any other bank then you will not be able to apply for a Bounce Back Loan with them:
“We’re no longer able to offer you a Bounce Back Loan if you’re operating your business through accounts with other banks.”
That sentence does say it all.
“To apply for a Bounce Back Loan with us, you’ll need to be a Barclays Business customer, or have a personal current account with us that was opened on or before 1 March 2020.”
The above sentence does indicate that like most other banks they have now imposed a cut off date, that being the 1st of March, and as such if you didn’t have a business account or a personal account open and in use with them for your business before that date you cannot go on to apply for a Bounce Back Loan with them.
I am hoping Barclays will allow those who are already in their system and in the process of opening an account with them before the rule change will still be allowed to get their new account application processed and a new account opened and can then go on to apply for a Bounce Back Loan, for they should be subject to the rules that were in place when they applied and not be subject to those new rules added yesterday.
Barclays Twitter team even jumped into one of my tweets to offer their apologies to one customer who has just been told they cannot open an account and then go on to apply for a Bounce Back Loan.
Applying for a Bounce Back Loan
If you are new here and are looking for a list of banks that are accepting new customers then click HERE.
CEO Email Addresses
One way to get some action or some form of update from a bank when you have been waiting a long time for a BBL or bank account (including feeder and servicing accounts updates), is to contact the CEO of the bank and a full list of CEO email addresses are on this page of the website