Instant access with interest and chequebook

planes

Help!I am trying to help my mother a pensioner find an account that offers instant /easy access, provides a reasonable interest rate and a chequebook or cheque writing facility.

To explain she has money (pension) left over from weekly needs in the Post office that attracts no interest. She has used up all ISA allowances etc - so wants to put the surplus money somewhere she get at it at infrequent intervals mainly to write birthday cheques etc for grandchildren etc without too heavy a penalty.

Being over 80 she doesn't get on with pin numbers and telephone banking etc - likes the assurance of cheques - doesn't like the thought of having to withdraw large amounts of cash to walk down the road to a bank/BS to re-deposit into an account that provides easy access /chequebook (Seems like cheques are well on the way out).

Can anyone offer any suggestions or point me in the right direction -Currently best option for convenience for her is to transfer money into Barclays who I think are suggesting they will allow to get cheques written at the branch but no idea on cost. Of course in line with most they have a lousy rate around 1.75% aer without the effect of todays cuts.

Any help / advice gratefully received.

Planes

rb10

The problem here is that most, if not all, accounts that come with cheque books have appallingly low interest rates (~0.1%), unless you are able to fund them with £1000/month, which I assume your mother probably can't. (She could always have a £1000 monthly standing order going from current account to savings account and straight back again, which would in most cases satisfy the funding requirements, but that may be too complex for her.)

Halifax will write cheques in branch from any account that does not come with a cheque book for free, so if she is able to get into a branch, that is an option. Don't know about other banks' policies on this.

Something like their Guaranteed Saver account, paying 3% variable at the moment http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/guaranteedsaver.asp could be what she wants. Although this is a card-based account, and so she will be sent a PIN, she does not need to use it when she goes into a branch. If it was a passbook she wanted, it would probably be hard to get above the rate you have from Barclays.