NatWest has launched a start-up package for new businesses.
Under the scheme, new firms will receive money-saving guidance in the areas including business planning, cashflow management, finance, risk management and sales and marketing.
In addition to providing 18 months free followed by six months discounted banking, NatWest will also encourage companies to build a web presence by offering discounts on web site creation.
Discounts on insurance and car and van purchases are also offered.
To facilitate the programme, NatWest has introduced 100 new business managers to its local branches.
Meanwhile, the bank has also launched today a new mobile banking service for several rural, isolated communities in Cornwall. Customers will be able to cash cheques, make deposits, pay bills, get quotes on products, obtain forms and open accounts just the same as at any other branch.
Unique to England and Wales, the service will run five days a week along scheduled routes and times. Routes will be reviewed from time to time to measure public demand.
"There continues to be a need for greater access in rural areas, and as such we are committed to improving access," said Paulette Rowe, managing director of NatWest.
"At a time when some organisations are closing branches, we firmly believe that our branch network and services, such as the new mobile bank, remain very important for the communities they serve."
The Cornwall service attempts to build on The Royal Bank of Scotland's 13 successful mobile banking services across isolated areas of Scotland, which have been running since 1946.
