Metro Bank - London

abercrombie

Hi guys,

I am in the process of trying to find a new bank and have came across Metro Bank, I am aware a lot of people may not of heard of them as they are only based in London at the moment, but was wondering if anyone does or did bank with them and what their thoughts are of them?

Cheers

Mikhail

Very basic banking! Their credit cards do not support Direct Debit from the other banks; they can't send you a pin reminder. I receive credit card statements after they charged my account. I wouldn't use them as main current account yet; at the moment I use they only for traveling, as there are no fees/commissions for using debit/credit cards abroad.

heloid

The internet banking is pretty bad as well - good enough for checking statements/balance but that's about it.
I'm only using it for a cheap holiday card, going to wait until I see some improvements before reassessing.

benjus

I agree with the above... not quite there yet for using as a main account, IMHO. The biggest problem for me is that they do not yet support outgoing faster payments, so paying someone takes 3-5 days.

Good points are - free overseas card use and generally good customer service (in my experience). It's also the fastest I've ever opened an account - about 30 minutes from seeing an advisor to having a working debit card in my hand.

System

They are excellent! The best online banking I have seen with any bank, always someone to talk to on the end of the phone, free banking abroad - real no hassle banking. Was in Berlin at Easter and they gave me a quick call on my mobile to check it was really me using the card. I was impressed. I know for a fact that some banks will simply stop the card while you are on holiday and leave you in a mess.

I had a duplicate ATM withdrawal appearing on my statement last week. I rang them, they emailed me a form to complete, I emailed it back and within a couple of hours the duplicate withdrawal had been credited to my account.

They are a bricks and mortar bank - you walk in to open an account and walk out with your debit card, cheque book and online banking all set up. Superb.

To those people who criticise Metro Bank's online banking service (heloid?). please tell me what you want to do online that you can't. The only thing I can think of is that you need to phone them to cancel a direct debit. I have successfully done that by sending a simple secure message. Compared to say, smile, or Norwich & Peterborough, or Nationwide, or NatWest (I could go on) it is much better. Your criticisms need to be more specific because IMO you are referring to the online service when the bank first opened which was completely different. Either that or you are simply regurgitating what others have incorrectly reported.

Faster payments out of Metro Bank is coming soon.

bubieyehyeh

I agree Metro bank's internet banking is functional, and provides more details than most, such as times of ATM withdrawls which I've not seen on other banks sites. However it isn't very pretty and the User interface design isn't great. However when I've phoned or visited they have always been great.

olly300

Metrobank expect you to go into a branch if there is an issue with your payment cards or PINs with ID. This means there is no issue of payment cards and PINs getting lost in the post. Plus people are less likely to commit fraud if they are on CCTV and have to talk to a few people, at least 3 staff have talked to me every time I've gone in, so can be recognised.

I would wait to use Metrobank as a main account as there is currently an issue with Metrobank's payment cards not being accepted in all outlets (in the UK and abroad), which has nothing to do with the bank themselves it's to do with when these payment outlets get their list of valid banking numbers updated. I had a similar issue with my Nationwide Flexaccount years ago when Nationwide first started offering the account. I couldn't set up direct debits and my debit card got rejected in some places.

System

As with any new bank (or branch) it takes a while for companies to update their databases. I have around 25 direct debits going out of my MB account each month and only Anglian Water have had a problem with the sort code. I set up a standing order to them instead. I have never had my debit card refused anywhere - and I use it a lot!

labp04

Olly300, can you tell me where you get this, "I would wait to use Metrobank as a main account as there is currently an issue with Metrobank's payment cards not being accepted in all outlets (in the UK and abroad)" from? I have used MetroBank credit and debit cards extensively both in the UK and across Europe this year without any problems or difficulties. I wonder how widespread this issue might be and if there are any particular stores/Countries to avoid?