Coconut opens 1,000 smart business current accounts in three months since launch

Coconut, an app-based smart current account combining banking and accounting services, has opened 1,000 business current accounts since its launch on 31st January.

The app has been designed specifically for the UK’s freelance and self-employed workforce.

An additional 10,500 freelancers, self-employed people and limited companies have also signed up to the waiting list.

The Coconut Start account is free and can be opened in minutes on a mobile.

Coconut works by giving users visibility into how much tax they owe with a real-time estimate, categorises their expenses for tax and allows them to stay on top of client payments with instant notifications. The app also fills out users’ tax returns.

The London-based company is planning to make use of new APIs developed by HMRC to automate tax and VAT returns. The aim is to make tax and VAT returns seamless end to end for the customer or their accountant.

Sam O’Connor, co-founder and CEO of Coconut, said: “We’re seeing a massive shift in how people work – since 2000, 90% of new businesses have no employees, highlighting this trend towards entrepreneurship and self-employment.

“Our vision at Coconut is to build the platform that underpins this movement, giving personal business owners the tools they need to thrive.

“We’ve been totally amazed by the response so far to our first product. Since launching, we’ve opened more than 1,000 sole trader current accounts and the number of sign ups has grown to 10,500.

“We’re really grateful for the support we’ve received from the freelance and self-employed community. We are pushing on to get the Android app launched and have a lot of exciting features in the pipeline.”