Small businesses will be hit by yet another cost increase as a result of new charges introduced by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) next month.

That is the conclusion of the not-for-profit National Federation of Enterprise Agencies, whose chief executive expressed concern that other banks will follow suit with similar charges.

George Derbyshire suggested that other banks will be "watching carefully" how RBS business customers react to the £10 fee, before deciding on their own policies based on that reaction.

"Whilst the sums involved seem modest in the context of the total turnover of a business, this is just one of a number of cost increases small businesses are seeing - transport, energy and utilities for example - all of which will make life more difficult, especially at a time when consumers are starting to feel the pinch," he continued.

Upon its announcement of the extra charges earlier this month, RBS claimed that only "a small percentage" of its one million business account customers benefited from free banking in the past.

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