Which Current Account - Internet Banking

sssiii

Hi all, newbie here,

I am looking for a new Current Account, I mainly use Internet Banking.

Can you recommend the banks that offer the best Internet Banking experience?

I am currently with Barclays and have been for 15+ years but I just can't get on with the massive calculator sized card reader, it makes it totally impractical for my needs.

For me the user experience and customer service outweighs the 0.1% interest rates on this type of account, it will purely be money in every month (in excess of £2500) with all most of it going out by DD, S/O or electronic bill payment.

Thanks in advance
Simon

book12

Cahoot, Smile, and Halifax are good for online banking. Their internet banking is great.

The PINsentry device is only used for making new transactions to new payees, and not existing ones though.

gt94sss2

sssiii wrote: »

I am looking for a new Current Account, I mainly use Internet Banking.

Can you recommend the banks that offer the best Internet Banking experience?

I am currently with Barclays and have been for 15+ years but I just can't get on with the massive calculator sized card reader, it makes it totally impractical for my needs.

For me the user experience and customer service outweighs the 0.1% interest rates on this type of account, it will purely be money in every month (in excess of £2500) with all most of it going out by DD, S/O or electronic bill payment.

Virtually all the big banks and building societies have introduced card readers or plan to do so - the main exceptions being HSBC and First Direct.

HSBC's internet banking is very good, though with 2500+/month you should also easily qualify for First Direct though I haven't used/seen their internet banking since they revamped it (last year?)

Regards
Sunil

Jennifer_Jane

I like Co-op Bank. Very simple online (although I don't have a problem with PenSentry*), but Co-op is the easiest of all the online accounts I have and I liked the people I met when I set up the account. Friendliest little group, I've met.

You need PinSentry to check your Barclays account online, and I can see how that would be a bother, although I quite like the extra security implied with this device.
Jen
x

ShelfStacker_3

HSBC's internet banking is very good, though with 2500+/month you should also easily qualify for First Direct though I haven't used/seen their internet banking since they revamped it (last year?)

Personally I prefer HSBC's Internet Banking to First Direct's. HSBC's has a few features that FDs doesn't (stopping cheques for one, although admittedly I've only once had cause to use it) and FD seem to make getting the available balance of an account a bit harder than it rightfully should be (you have to make as if you're making a payment to another account to get the available balance - not especially hard but a bit of an odd hoop to jump through). I find the colour scheme a bit hard on my eyes as well.

That's not to say it's unusable, it just could be better (one of the few aspects of FDs service I have any issue with). It's certainly a dream in comparison with, say, RBS' (which seems to find new ways to make me enraged every time I look at it.)

menhim_2

Best two that I can recommend that dont use a card reader .... yet

Halifax Reward Current account gives you £5/month "interest" if you pay in £1000+ per month which you would qualify for. Online banking good, faster payments pretty good if a bit flakey at times. Some on here have reported getting up to £50 cashback from them if you go into a branch and ask if you will get cashback if you switch accounts.

First Direct supposed to be good, although I dont like their online banking very much, find it confusing. They will pay £100 sign up incentive to join ... and another £100 if after 6 months you dont like them and leave within a year. Can also earn another £75 cashback signing up for 1st Direct via cashback site WePromiseTo. Can give you more info if you are interested in that

Abbey & Alliance & Leicester dont use card readers yet, and pay pretty good interest rates on first £2500 in account for the first year. Can also earn cash back via cashback site for A&L. Been some negative feedback on these two though other people rate them highly. Abbey dont do faster payments yet and A&L only £250 a day.

I suppose it depends how you want to operate your account.

I think card readers may eventually be introduced by most if not all banks soon. I admit Barclays is an absolute pain to use, like Nationwide. Some banks ie. NatWest, only require you to use the card reader the first time you set up a payee, which is fine by me as it is additional security without becoming a pain to administer everytime you want to sign on or make a payment

HTH

book12

gt94sss2 wrote: »

Virtually all the big banks and building societies have introduced card readers or plan to do so - the main exceptions being HSBC and First Direct.

HSBC's internet banking is very good, though with 2500+/month you should also easily qualify for First Direct though I haven't used/seen their internet banking since they revamped it (last year?)

Regards
Sunil

HBOS and Lloyds TSB don't have card readers too... Not sure about A&L and Abbey though.

lynzpower

Im with Smile and cant praise them highly enough v easy online internet experience, no hassle, no multiple passwords etc. Excellent. Although I understand we are getting pinsentry fairly imminently.

menhim_2

ShelfStacker wrote: »

Personally I prefer HSBC's Internet Banking to First Direct's. HSBC's has a few features that FDs doesn't (stopping cheques for one, although admittedly I've only once had cause to use it) and FD seem to make getting the available balance of an account a bit harder than it rightfully should be (you have to make as if you're making a payment to another account to get the available balance - not especially hard but a bit of an odd hoop to jump through). I find the colour scheme a bit hard on my eyes as well.

That's not to say it's unusable, it just could be better (one of the few aspects of FDs service I have any issue with). It's certainly a dream in comparison with, say, RBS' (which seems to find new ways to make me enraged every time I look at it.)

I agree with you about First Direct internet banking. The colour scheme and layout is messy and confusing and has a few niggly little points that are starting to annoy me immensly. Probably the worse online banking I have used, never having used RBS ;-) First Direct telephone service is good, with extremely friendly staff you can understand !!! Except I dont like telephone banking and have only ever phoned them when their online banking hasnt been clear and not given me the information I required

Guess there is no such thing as a perfect bank ;-))

EarthBoy

gt94sss2 wrote: »

.....HSBC's internet banking is very good, though with 2500+/month you should also easily qualify for First Direct though I haven't used/seen their internet banking since they revamped it (last year?)....

I don't remember any changes to FD's internet banking. I've been using it for four or five years and it looks pretty much the same as it's always done to me.

gt94sss2

EarthBoy wrote: »

I don't remember any changes to FD's internet banking. I've been using it for four or five years and it looks pretty much the same as it's always done to me.

A year or so ago, everyone needed to register to use FD's online banking - I understood that this was due to a massive upgrade of some sort.. including changing login details etc.. ?

Regards
Sunil