I use Starling bank and have done for a while now, best move i ever made. Their charging structure is so much less compared to your average every day bank ie Natwest that i used to be with, who seemed to be increasing their charges all the time.
Advantages:
- Take a picture of a cheque, straight into account, clears in two days - no charge.
- Credit transfers - no charge
- Direct debits/payments out - no charge
- Monthly fees - none (unless you use one of their add on services)
- Service levels - fantastic , as long as your happy to do everything online, i do it all from my app on my mobile.
Only thing you have to pay for is a small fee for paying cash into the account, this is done via post office, very easy again.
No negatives so far with them, im sure at some point they might start charging more for business user, who knows, but for now, best bank ive ever used for sure.
And on the business account/personal account part, i would definitley have a business account, separate from your own personal account. Pay monies into your Starling business account as above, then just transfer what you want each month to your personal account - again no charge !!
All the best