MSE News: Top overseas spending card no longer available to new N&P customers

This comes hot on the heels of the closure of the Cash Transactor account by NandP's parent, Yorkshire Building Society.

Looks like there is some re-organisation in UK banking. Previously Secure Trust Bank closed its current account, the only prepaid account secured by FSCS and cited competition from free basic bank accounts. Now YBS!

patientperson wrote: »

Perhaps Cumberland BS - Plus Current Account is a solution.

This is Cumberland fee free when using an ATM abroad so very much the same result as N&P Gold.

However .. as always there is a but .. which is that you must either be an existing Cumberland member or live in their operating area.

Thanks for the information. It doesn't help me but it may help others

Heng_Leng wrote: »

I understood YBS would be reviewing the N&P brand in Q4 2016.
This would seem to fit in with this time frame.

It looks like N&P have withdrawn their credit card as well, because I can't find any mention of it on their website, apart from the login for existing customers. Without current accounts or a credit card, there doesn't seem to be anything left to distinguish N&P from the main Yorkshire brand, so the N&P brand will probably be wound up and the branches re-branded as YBS.

Heng_Leng wrote: »

I don't know if they will keep the current accounts as is (free foreign use) but the fact they've withdrawn their quasi-basic transactor account suggests they are planning to withdraw completely (from current type products) or re-launch current accounts YBS network wide.

They are of a sufficent size to be a challanger 'bank' with a good sized network (second only to Nationwide)

Introducing Yorkshire BS current accounts is a possibility, and I know they've considered it because it was mentioned in one of the online surveys I did for them a while ago. However, I think it's unlikely in the current economic climate.

They'd be starting from scratch, or at least from a very small account base, if they use the existing N&P accounts as a starting point for them. The current account market is already crowded so they'd have to offer some good sweeteners to make people switch to them and I doubt if they could afford any. Is the free usage abroad sufficient to attract a lot of new customers, and could YBS continue to afford to offer this perk?

The Coventry BS isn't far behind the Yorkshire in size and they have discontinued their own current account, so I wouldn't be surprised if YBS withdraw the N&P current accounts completely for existing customers.