CashFlows has become the latest player to enter the UK business bank account arena, with pledges to save businesses £1bn before the government's Business Bank even gets off the ground.
The online payments and invoicing specialist has launched its CashFlows Account today, which will consolidate existing business banking services and simplify financial transactions, lowering fees in the process.
And, thanks to a tie-up with Shawbrook Bank, the CashFlows Account will pay business customers 1% interest on all current account balances, currently the highest rate offered by a business bank account.
CashFlows claims it can reduce the amount a business spends on fees and charges by up to 40%, allowing customers to invest or 'recycle' that money back into their business.
From today, businesses are being invited to check how much money they can save and the interest they can earn using the CashFlows Calculator.
Speaking to the Huffington Post UK, chief executive Nick Ogden estimated that a company with £20 million turnover could save as much as £30,000 to £40,000 a year by using the CashFlows account, money that could be spent on new staff or infrastructure.
Around 500 existing customers of CashFlows other services will be migrated across to the CashFlows account from today, and Ogden hopes the model could be rolled out to Holland, Belgium and the US some time next year.
"The savings mean we can offer a price payment plan - that's fixed price banking for business," he said. "We're not a lender, nor a deposit taker, and we're not intending to evolve into either - we're just offering transactional banking services. And CashFlow Account customers can transact between themselves free of charge."
According to research conducted online by YouGov, British small businesses alone collectively spend more than £2.3 billion a year on transaction charges and fees to run their business banking.
Aiming itself initially at the small and medium sized businesses, the account also offers payment cards to be used by companies and their staff for a £5 yearly fee.
"We're trying to be the business equivalent of First Direct," Ogden continued. "We want to actually listen to our customers and interact with them - we want to hear what's happening with their business first hand. If you transact more than your usual quota in a quarter, we're not going to heavily penalise you for it; we'll call up and ask why they happened."
Ogden is a supporter of the department for business, innovation and skills' business bank, and has written to business secretary Vince Cable to voice his support.
"But the problem is BIS's bank isn't going to be available for 18 months - the reality is we're only a couple of quarters away from the economy starting to get better," Ogden said.
"Inflation is edging down, wages are starting to edge up; these are all incremental changes but from the second quarter of 2013, we're going to start to feel better. Ernst and Young's ITEM Club report has already shown there's a bit more consumer spending."
While the 'recycled' cash may well provide a welcome boost, it is yet to be seen whether it would provide enough money to assist businesses in dire need of cash injections.
On the day of the British Bankers' Association's annual conference, the need for loans and other investments is now critical for many businesses, and a business bank which offers neither may have to fight hard to be noticed.