NatWest’s Mettle gives users access to FreeAgent’s accounting software
Mettle, NatWest’s digital bank for businesses and freelancers, has announced its partnership with FreeAgent, giving all its customers free access to the cloud-based accounting software.
FreeAgent was bought by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), now to be renamed NatWest, for £53 million back in 2018.
FreeAgent’s CEO Ed Molyneux discussing its partnership with RBS’ business banking arm in 2017
Mettle says the introduction of free accounting services comes after its users said they wanted to try out accounting software, but were hesitant to pay a subscription fee.
Using FreeAgent will continue to be free for Mettle users, as long as they make at least one transaction per month from their Mettle account, the bank says.
Businesses who sign up and transact at least once a month using Mettle will save upwards of £150 a year – the minimum cost of an annual FreeAgent subscription.
FreeAgent allows users to monitor tax flows, check tax due dates, forecast corporation tax, automate VAT returns “in a single click” and check income, expense and profitability performances.
“This marks the first step in our partnership with FreeAgent so watch this space for exciting next steps,” the bank said in a blog post.
The Mettle-FreeAgent collaboration is also part of a bigger initiative from NatWest to help small businesses survive the current coronavirus pandemic.
NatWest has also announced £5 billion in SME support, and is taking part in the government’s ‘Coronavirus Business Interruption Scheme’.
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