Which bank ??

Question

I want to change bank a/c's and i dont know which is best. does anyone reccomend a desent bank a/c. i want it to make payments in shops and online and to pay my bills!!

Answer 1

WAMU (Washington Mutual) Free online checking and you get points which can be spent for all charges you make with your ATM/check card.

Answer 2

All banks are the same to be honest. The are all just as bad (and as good) as each other.
With any current account (cheque / Debit Card account) you open, if it is a new account, you will find that the banks will initally only offer you a Visa Electron debit card.
Visa Electron isn't bad, you can use it in most shops across the board and even over seas (the visa part of the card is the bit that works here), the problem will come when it comes to On-line banking as Visa Electron is generally not accepted for on-line transactions.
Visa Electron enables you to pay for goods, on the basis there is sufficant funds in your account at time of transaction. (Basically, if you haven't got it, the transaction won't be accepted/authorised)
All banks will give you this card when you first open an account as a way of restricting you and until they are happy with the way you run you account. (Kind of like a way of credit scoring you for a few months)
Basically there has to be regular credits (ie salary) usually of more than about £250 + paid in monthly and that you use your account properly. Once the bank are happy with what they see and the way you run your account, you will then be allowed to apply for an upgrade to your Visa Electron card, which will be a Visa Debit. Only then, with a Visa Debit Card do you have the freedom to use it everywhere (On-line included).
The only downside to the Visa Debit is that you can use it to the point of spending all your money and more which can result in you going over-drawn, and if you haven't got an agreed overdraft with the bank - charges will then be incured onto your bank account.

I would suggest to look for the bank with the lowest charges, but then, even that would be difficult.

Nationwide is a good one. I always find the staff, in branch, in call centres and online very helpfull and pleasent, as well as the info they offer understandable. No I'm not a Nationwide employee, but have had current accounts with Abbey National (VERY BAD !!), The Woolwich - now owned by Barclays (Kinda not so bad, but can be unhelpful) and Barclays (They are alright, however can turn very nasty if you get into really bad debit and don't pay them back). Oh and now a Student Natwest account (So far So good with these guys).
All of these guys offer on-line banking too :)

Answer 3

I also use the Cooperative Bank. With them I can keep in touch with my money 24 hours a day, by telephone, in person, or on-line. I have access to my money at any of their branch counters, using cash machines, Post Office branches and other outlets. It took me about five weeks to change over banks, but once everything, including my Direct Debits were sorted, I have had very few problems. Phone them on: 08457 212 212 Web-site: www.co-operativebank.co.uk Smile is the Internet banking arm of the Cooperative Bank.

Answer 4

Bearing in mind your precise needs, I'd recommend www.if.com (Intelligent Finance), which offers 3% Interest rate (without forcing you to pay at least £500 or £1000 each month, like Alliance & Leicester does), on their current account.

Beside, since you don't seem to require branch-based banking (as your needs are limited to making payments, bill, etc.) Intelligent Finance's Internet-based banking should satisfy your needs thoroughly.

In addition, they ALSO offer other products, which may interest you in the future, if not now. They charges are not as severe as the high street banks & has time scale of 3 working days for bill payment, 5 working days for cheque clearance, etc. (same as high street banks).

Beside, the customer service is fantastically brilliant.

So, you get EVERYTHING that any high street bank offers but at BETTER rate of interest paid on your money & less severe charges with wonderful customer service (through Internet or 24/7 phone).

Answer 5

Go to www.bankrate.com they rate all the Banks, and there you will find all the info you need. If you bank on line the location of the bank does not matter, you want it to be FCID insured and pay a good interest rate and the fees you may or may not have to pay should not be too high also pay attention to the star ratings. It will be easy to make your own choice. Best of luck, and Happy Thanksgiving

Answer 6

Assuming you're in England...
Nationwide FlexAccount is really simple for internet banking, you would have a debit card, and could set up debit payments online for bills etc. I believe. Also, at the click of a button you can open an e-savings account, read up on it if interested on their website.
First Direct has also been recommended to me though I haven't used it. I think they have a 24hr phoneline service so if you got confused when internet banking I'm sure you could ring them for help easily etc.
Smile looks good too, tho again haven't used it.

Answer 7

If you are in the UK then i would recommend Alliance & Leicester. Their current account pays 3.6% and they have just introduced a special savings account which can be fed from the current acc.to a maximum of 250 GBP/month paying 12% interest over 12 months.

Answer 8

I would go with natwest or a building society-get one that has UK only call centres! I'm with Lloyds/tsb(not for long mind) and their customer service is all abroad-not good when you're trying to bank AND you can't get straight through to a branch without going via them either.

Answer 9

I don't know where you are or who you bank with now, but I use Bank of Scotland - easy to deal with and good online and phone access. Debit / credit cards available as well as cheque books.

Does everything I need it to do!

Answer 10

One bank is pretty much as good as another. Just make sure they offer you the specifics, if any, that you need ie...check card, on line access, phone access, bill payer, etc...