This account offers registered charities, community interest companies, community benefit societies, co-operatives and credit unions an ethical way to bank. You can also apply for funding for special projects, as well as access free resources through our Business Support for Co-ops programme.
This year, we are proud to sponsor the Sport Gives Back Awards, a ceremony that recognises individuals and organisations that use sport to change lives. In addition to this, up to £20,000 from our Customer Donation Fund will be donated to Community Directplus customers who make a difference through sport.
Annual limits apply. Read the full tariff for all fees and charges
Apply for up to £1000 in grants from the Customer Donation Fund to support your project
We’ve been the winner of the 'Best Charity Banking Provider' award by Moneyfacts 9 years in a row
Integrate your accountancy software like Xero, Sage or Quickbooks within your online banking
Go Get Paid, the free, simple and secure app to help you get paid on time
Start up guides, articles on the Business Exchange, free webinars and Co-operatives UK business support scheme
Specialist business advisers on the phone and The Co-operative Bank Business Help app
Partnership service offerings include insurance, sustainability tools, merchant services, HR tools and tech support
Online and in-person banking including mobile, instant secure messaging, telephone and in-branch
Zellar is a software platform designed to support organisations to meet their sustainability goals, helping you to measure, manage and improve your sustainability scores. All of our Community Directplus customers now benefit from a 50% discount. T&Cs apply. Find out more here.
Check your eligibility and apply.
The Co-operative Bank reserves the right to review the account tariff for customers who exceed any one of the following annual limits of credit turnover exceeding £1m, depositing more than £100,000 in cash, or depositing more than 5,000 cheques.
Find out more about these standard charges, including other applicable charges and what they mean by viewing our Community Directplus Tariff PDF.
Limits apply
This account is only available to registered charities, community interest companies, community benefit societies, co-operatives and credit unions.
You can apply for one of our savings accounts during your application for this bank account.
During your account application, you can also apply for an arranged overdraft for cash flow and short term borrowing.
Please note: Your application is subject to status. This means we’ll assess your financial circumstances and complete credit checks.
To avoid delays, please ensure you add all key individuals within your organisation to your application.
If you’ve already started an application you can continue it here.
To be eligible for the Community Directplus account you and key individuals must be:
Your organisation must be one of the following:
And your account must not go above any one of the following annual account limits:
If your organisation is a limited company, the following must be true:
Your application is subject to status. This means we’ll assess your financial circumstances and complete credit checks.
Not eligible for this account?
You may be eligible for one of our other accounts.
To apply for the Community Directplus account, you’ll need:
Read the following important documents and save copies for your future reference.
Business account Terms and Conditions PDF
Community Directplus Tariff PDF
Standards of Lending Practice PDF
How we use your personal information PDF
FSCS Information Sheet and Exclusions List PDF
Current Account Switch Agreement PDF
To view information on charging periods and pre-notification dates please visit our account charging page.
As a provider of UK business bank accounts, we have agreed to a basic set of information we’ll need from you to set up your UK business current account.
Find out what you’ll need to provide using the business banking checklist from UK Finance.
If you currently have an open Community Directplus account with us, please apply for an additional account by completing our online application form.
Never open a bank account in either your name/organisation name for someone else to use, or agree to move money through your account for someone else – even if they offer you money in return. If you do this, you could be committing a crime with serious consequences.
Less than 60 minutes
Apply online
On average completing the application takes less than 60 minutes. You can also save it to complete later.
Within 5 business days
Timescales of applications
We aim to review your application within five business days. We may require additional supporting information which we'll ask for at this time.
Within 10 business days
Set up
You will receive your online login information and security token details within seven to ten business days of application approval.
Please note if you are applying with eleven Key Individuals or more, your application will take longer to process.
Our Current Account Switch Service makes switching your account simple, fast and free.
Learn how to switch your business account to us.
Free for 30 months, then £7 per month thereafter
Banking limits and minimum balance apply
No monthly service fee
Charges apply for cash, cheque and other special services
No monthly service fee
Banking limits apply
Your eligible deposits held by a UK establishment of The Co-operative Bank plc are protected up to a total of £85,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the UK's deposit guarantee scheme. This limit is applied to the total of any deposits you have with The Co-operative Bank and smile. Any total deposits you hold above the limit between these brands are unlikely to be covered.
Please read further information on the FSCS scheme here or visit their website.