23 May 2023: If you have an account with CCLA please see the important notice in the CCLA section near the bottom of this page.
You may choose whichever bank you want to keep your accounts with but we are aware that many PCCs, like the Bath and Wells Diocesan Board of Finance, bank with NatWest, so we are able to provide details for that bank here.
NatWest Bank
Current Accounts
Cash Management Scheme (CMS)
New PCC accounts will need to decide whether to enter this scheme, which is offered by NatWest Bank for current accounts only and has been in existence for over 20 years for PCCs with the two dioceses of Bath and Wells and Gloucester. The aim was to provide PCCs with a reasonable level of interest on their bank current accounts, with around 400 participating accounts in 2021. By the bank pooling all participating bank account balances daily, larger sums can be placed on deposit, generating a higher rate of interest return on an instant access current account. These deposits can be in the form of 12m Fixed Interest Treasury deposits or 95-day notice accounts.
The CMS has been renewed for a further year from June 2022.
PCCs in the CMS - your accounts will be managed by the Commercial Banking team. Contact details.
PCCs not in the CMS - your accounts will be based in NatWest’s Business Banking division. You have access to the Businessline team on 0345 711 4477 and can also use the online ‘Cora’ helpdesk assistant.
Community Bank Current Account
- This is available for any Not For Profit entity such as Limited Companies, Clubs and Societies, Churches and Places of Worship, Registered and Unregistered Charities, Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs) and Non Personal Trusts.
- Free banking is only available to those Community Bank Account customers where the annual credit turnover being paid into the account is less than £100,000. If this limit is exceeded, the account would be automatically identified and moved onto the Standard Tariff at the next charging period.
- Full details of this account.
New PCC – NatWest relationships
Charging will apply as per the information above, however, at least one of the associated parties named on the application (such as signatories, main point of contact, etc.) must be an existing NatWest customer.
Savings Accounts
Interest bearing savings accounts can be applied for through the service teams or by using the online Bankline facility. These accounts cannot be part of the CMS, meaning any savings account balances will not be pooled. More information.
Mobile Branches
A Mobile Branch is a bank which comes to you and allows you to do all your usual everyday banking, like making deposits, withdrawing cash and paying bills. More information.
Online Banking with NatWest
Bankline for Communities (BFC)
BFC is a new free service for NatWest Community customers but is currently closed to applications.
The main features of this service are:
- Mandatory dual authorisation of online payments and administration for enhanced security.
- Raise and approve payments as a team.
- View all your balances and transactions online at any time.
- Add and manage the users in your organisation (those on the bank mandate).
- Free access to the Bankline Mobile app which includes a cheque scanning feature.
- Zero fees – no extra fees to those associated with your business current account.
This service is currently not open to further applications.
PCCs can still bank online using the Full Bankline version. They will be charged for items as shown in this tariff, relevant as at April 2022.
NatWest “Know Your Customer” Due Diligence for accounts including Parochial Church Councils – 2021-23
From time to time and in line with the Financial Conduct Authority regulatory standards and timeframes, NatWest needs to undertake periodic reviews on their customers to ensure they have the most up to date information. They are reviewing our accounts and your Parochial Church Council account may be included within the review, requiring some action from account holders. Longstanding NatWest accounts have not had any information gathered about them for some time and this exercise is designed to improve the bank’s required record keeping.
NatWest have chosen to conduct this through an electronic self-serve portal which will require you to sign in and update/certify details on key principals, signatories, identification documents, etc.
NatWest Your Business Profile Guidance - PCC Account
All PCCs will have received a postal letter, sent and dated 20th February 2023. The letter will be sent to the named contact and address held by NatWest. This could be historic if the bank has not been kept up to date with any required changes. An electronic copy of the letter can by supplied by NatWest for any new individuals within PCCs who have not received the letter.
An appropriate person with the PCC, e.g. the Treasurer, will need to go to this link, log into the NatWest Your Business Profile portal, and enter the username shown in the 5th paragraph of the letter received.
Portal Completion
The following sections have been pre-filled by NatWest and there is no need to change any of the information:
- Basic details
- Business activity
- Financials
Please progress to the next section without changing any information. NatWest needs assistance to identify all individuals with control over the bank accounts, i.e. an authorised signatory. Individuals are classified as Associated Parties (AP) for this exercise. All signatories to the NatWest bank accounts for the PCC will need to remain as APs.
Associated Parties (APs)
All signatories currently registered with NatWest have had their basic details pre-filled with information that NatWest holds.
Please do not delete any APs who are to remain as signatories. If any signatories are deleted, the exercise will not be completed until all signatories are identified in the way detailed below.
The PCC representative will need to complete the following extra details for each AP in the portal:
- Full legal name ( as it appears on any government-issued ID)
- Role within the organisation
- Date of birth
- Home address
- Nationaility
- Contact email
- Contact mobile phone number
All APs will be identified through electronic methods, e.g. electoral voters roll, which will hopefully require no further input.
If NatWest are unable to do this electronically then the email address and/or mobile phone number provided above will be used to send an electronic identification link to the AP, for them to complete a further electronic collection of identification through the Hooyu system.
The HooYu System
HooYu is NatWest's trusted online identification partner. HooYu can quickly and safely verify people from all over the world by authenticating their ID documents and facial biometrics. It’s not only safer, it also speeds up the verification process meaning Your Business Profile review is faster. HooYu will send a secure link to your APs via email. When your APs click on the link, they will be taken to the HooYu website where they will take a ‘selfie’ and provide pictures of their chosen identification documents. HooYu will use this information to verify the identity of your AP. NatWest recommends reaching out to your APs to let them know they will receive an email or SMS asking them to confirm their identity via HooYu. Hooyu use a TLS encrypted connection to keep your APs' data secure. They delete all copies of your documents and any selfie data as soon as the identity check is done. If Hooyu is not successful or an AP does not wish to use this service, then they will be required to provide certificated identification documents to NatWest. This is a final step which the bank hopes will not be necessary in the vast majority of cases.
NatWest will individually contact APs where they require certified documents. Once the details are uploaded and identification checks show as complete then you should save the progress and log out.
Final Steps
Once AP identification is completed, NatWest Bank will manually override the outstanding Entity requirements at a later date. The record will then be complete for collection purposes at this stage. If there is anything further required, NatWest will contact each PCC individual. In order to help NatWest provide a better ongoing service, the main contact Email and Mobile Phone Number will also be stored in their records for each PCC, to ensure that their Corporate Service Team can identify any individuals for day-to-day banking enquiries
Support
Additional support for this journey will be available for Cash Management Group member PCC’s only through the two teams below in order of priority:
- Your Business Profile Team on 0203 416 5001
- Relationship Team Support on 0117 313 7778 or email: BristolCDDMailbox@natwest.com
- Open from 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday (excluding UK public holidays)
If you need to remove an Associated Party because they do need to be removed from the bank account mandate then please contact the Commercial Service Team on 0345 835 1215 or email: publicsectorandcharitiesservicingteam@natwest.com
Non-Cash Management Group PCC’s will only have support through option 1, the central Business Profile Team.
Notifying NatWest of management changes
It is very important that you notify the bank of any changes for the following, to ensure ease of communication and operations:
- Authorised main account contact
- Authorised bank signatories
To switch to NatWest and join the Cash Management Scheme, please contact the Finance Manager at the DBF with the following details and these will be forwarded to our contact at NatWest:
- Account name
- Legal entity: e.g. unincorporated body, charitable Incorporated organisation, incorporated body, etc.
- Turnover: less than £100k / amount
- Name of person completing application
- Email address
- Mobile number
The contact will receive a new account application link via email which will need to be completed online. If this is an issue, please advise so that a telephone appointment can be arranged instead.
To switch to NatWest but not join the Cash Management Scheme, please contact the Businessline team on 0345 711 4477 or email to open an account and complete the relevant forms.
Churches, Charities and Local Authorities (CCLA)
Important changes to accounts held by CCLA
With effect from 17 July 2023, CCLA will appoint FNZ TA Services Limited (FNZ) as its transfer agent. As transfer agent, FNZ will process all transactions in the funds, record changes to their records and distribute interest/dividends. This will result in some important changes which you need to be aware of.
The important changes include:
- New client and account numbers. These will be advised to you nearer the time, and you should use these in any communications with CCLA with effect from 17 July 2023. They will accept instructions quoting your existing account numbers until you have been advised of the new numbers.
- New fund bank accounts are currently being opened (for most funds) to send your money to, with effect from 17 July 2023. Please note that the current bank accounts will be closed after 14 July 2023, therefore any payments sent to these accounts from this date will be returned to you in accordance with banking standards. This may take up to 14 days. CCLA is not responsible for the return of monies after the bank accounts have closed nor does it accept liability for any delay in returning monies to you. If you wish to invest on or near the 14 July, please contact them beforehand. Details of the new bank accounts will be provided on the relevant forms for you to use when sending money to us and on their website.
- A subscription/deposit form/ buy units form/ buy shares form (as appropriate) will be required for all monies sent.
- New contact details for sending your instructions.
If you have any questions, please contact the CCLA Client Services team on freephone 0800 022 3505 or email the team at clientservices@ccla.co.uk. They will also be setting up a dedicated page on the CCLA website outlining these changes.
Get further information on the options that CCLA offer.
- CBF Deposit Fund – this is an instant access account. This is a place to keep money which is not needed immediately but is expected to be spent in the next 2 – 5 years.
- CBF Investment Fund - this is not a bank account, but pooled fund investment. The CCLA Investment managers invest in a range of products which meet the Church of England ethical guidelines. The capital and income returns are not guaranteed, so this is more suited for longer term investments, particularly if the PCC wishes to generate an income stream.
Accepting payments by credit card
If you accept payments by credit card, there are a couple of matters you need to be aware of:
- Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance - this is the credit card industry standard to ensure that the payment card information (PCI) you collect when someone pays you by credit card is securely processed, stored and transmitted by you (on paper, by phone or electronically). It is not required by UK law but is enforced through the contractual agreement with the card provider.
- Unsolicited donations - you should be cautious of accepting any large unsolicited donations, especially if made by credit card, from a donor not known to the PCC, especially if the donor requires you to pass on some of the donation. This could be part of a scam or a money-laundering scheme, both of which have been on the increase. For government advice read more on the gov.uk website.