Can you pay a cheque into a First Direct account at an HSBC branch?

Lith

Auntie-Dolly wrote: »

First Direct is an online bank - why would they have branches? I post my cheques to them as I prefer that to having to go into town. If you prefer a physical High Street presence you'd need to use another bank.

Has it always been online tho?

Why would it need branches? well why wouldn't it? also has HSBC always owned it? or was this a recent take over?

EarthBoy

Lith wrote: »

Has it always been online tho?

Why would it need branches? well why wouldn't it? also has HSBC always owned it? or was this a recent take over?

First Direct was set up by the old Midland Bank, -which became HSBC. It was originally a telephone banking service, and became online later on. They have never had any branches, and there is no possibility of them opening any either. That's the whole point of them, really, -the clue is in the name "First DIRECT". They offer a different service to branch banking. Branches would be extremely expensive to open and run, and would doubtless be very unprofitable. Their existing customers know this and are mostly happy to bank online or by phone, -if they don't like it, then they don't open a First Direct account in the first place.

You can use any HSBC branch to pay in cash or cheques. The branch stamp your paying in book as a receipt and key the transaction into their terminals just like any other payment. Unless the procedure has changed in the last month (I paid in a cheque about five weeks ago) then the branch that said they just post cheques to FD were either mistaken, or incompetent.

System

As Earthboy says, and as First Direct's website states, First Direct is (since HSBC bought Midland) a division of HSBC Bank plc. The Terms and Conditions for the first direct current account confirm (para 5) that you can pay in cash and cheques at HSBC branches.