NatWest Business and coronavirus: we’re here to support you

Contact your Relationship Manager. They are on hand to help and can advise on the support measures available.

For our larger commercial and corporate customers, we can help hedge your Foreign Exchange and Interest Rate risks and assist with managing changing cash flows.

We are also ready to help you manage delay and disruption to your supply chains. Possible solutions include Supply Chain Finance (eligibility criteria applies, security may be required. Over 18s only), working capital facilities and short to medium term debt facilities.

The government has set out several measures to support small businesses affected by COVID-19. These include:

• a one-off grant of £10,000 to help small businesses that pay little or no business rates. Local authorities will provide the funding
• deferring VAT payments due between 20 March and 30 June 2020, for 3 months
• deferring income Tax Self-Assessment payments due on the 31 July 2020 until 31 January 2021
• support for businesses with less than 250 employees who are paying sick pay
• business rates holiday and cash grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses
• protection from eviction for commercial tenants who are unable to pay their rent due to  COVID-19
• Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for UK employers with a PAYE scheme. Employers can claim for 80% of furloughed employees’ usual monthly wage costs, up to £2,500 a month

Visit the government business support page for further details and eligibility criteria.

Visit gov.scot for support for businesses in Scotland.

Visit gov.wales for support for businesses in Wales.

Our Relationship Managers and Business Banking teams across the UK are here to offer help to mitigate the impact of coronavirus.

Our support package includes:

• An extension of £5bn to the fund providing working capital support to meet the needs of SMEs
• Capital repayment holidays
• Temporary emergency loans with no fees
• Overdrafts (with no fees up to £5k)
• Local Business Growth Enablers are working with their networks to share information on coronavirus readiness

Rapid Cash lends between £25k and £500k against unpaid invoices to limited companies. Support with cash flow is available to B2B companies. Eligibility criteria applies, product fees may apply.

Esme can provide unsecured loans to businesses from £10,000* to £250,000 over a one to five year repayment period with no set up costs or early repayment fees. 

Get your instant quote on the Esme website without affecting your credit score.

*From £25,500 for sole traders

To be eligible, you must:

• Be over 18 years old and a UK resident
• Have been actively trading for more than 3 years and a track record of making profit
• Have a turnover of more than £50,000 per annum
• Be a homeowner

If you’re an existing Esme customer and would like to speak to them about how the current situation may be impacting your business,  please email us.

Talk to HMRC about managing payments. You can set up a ‘time to pay’ agreement to delay debt collection. They have a coronavirus Helpline. Call 0800 015 955 or read more here.

Tyl by NatWest provides payment services - over the phone, online, via link or in person – helping to adapt your business model. Keep customers and staff safe with more ways to pay with minimal contact. 

In this difficult time, we have waived terminal rental fees until the end of 2020. 3G connectivity charges will also be waived until the end of June or longer. So, with our standard no minimum monthly transaction fees, you only pay for what you use.

Find out more about Tyl

NatWest Mentor service is your expert in employment law & HR, health & safety and environmental management. We may be able to provide you with consultancy and advice to help your business. Visit NatWest Mentor. Mentor services incur a fee.

Through our NatWest Mentor service, we’re offering free access to MentorLive, an online compliance management system where you will find a range of tools, templates and guidance to help you identify key priorities and take specific actions to mitigate the impact of coronavirus on your people and your business. Please click here to register.

We’re doing everything we can to keep our branch services running for customers. Unfortunately we’re unable to keep all our branches open today and our remaining branches are operating on reduced hours.

We’re prioritising core opening hours from 10am until 1pm. Please help us support those who need us most. Our colleagues in branches and contact centres are working incredibly hard in difficult circumstances. Please don't visit your branch unless it's critical and if you do, please practice safe social distancing.

If you still need to deposit cash and cheques, there are a few options which can help you maintain safe social distancing:

• If you’re already signed up for our Business Quick Deposit service, you won’t need to use our cashier service, and you can use the receipt as pay-in evidence.
• In branches with Bulk Coin In machines (BCI) you’ll be able to empty the bags of unsorted coin to be automatically counted and then take your receipt to the branch colleague at the front desk, who can lodge the receipt in your account.
• You can also place orders for cash and coin.
• You can still use Night safes, which will be emptied and items processed as usual although there may be delays if the branch is temporarily closed
• Open Credits – if your branch is closed, although it’s not possible to transfer Open Credits between branches your nearest open branch will be able to help you
• Post Offices offer banking services and remain open as an essential service. You can find information on opening times and services offered here.