Are there 'Oyster top-up-style' bank accounts?

squisher29

I try to keep my cash in my online savings account, topping up the 0.001% current account with spending money. I'm pretty good at keeping enough cash in there to cover spending, but every once in a while I get caught when a big payment comes out and I get hit with a bank charge (particularly if it goes over my overdraft).

As there's always money sitting in my saving account (that is with the same bank) I'd like an 'auto top-up' function - like the Oyster card - that adds funds when credit falls below a certain level. This would keep me in the black and cash in my savings account.

Is there a bank out there that offers this function?

Llamaman_2

Not that I know of. Banks profit out of customers becoming overdrawn so it wouldn't make sense for them to offer this.

A good alternative would be to get a small overdraft on your account, so if you do go slightly overdrawn you won't get hit by bank charges, only a very small amount of interest. Make sure your account doesn't have a per-day charge for using your arranged overdraft however.

Derivative

Get a current account that pays interest?
Santander's Preferred Current Account pays 5% on balances up to £2500, better than any savings account I can find.

innovate

Don't think the Santander Preferred Current is still open to new applications? They are heavily touting their 1-2-3 current now - - still, it pays a lot better interest (3% AER) than others do. There's one or two other potential benefits in that account, worth investigating.

To the OP - like Llamaman, I know of no bank who does what you are after.

It's probably not in their interest to offer this, however 'customer friendly' it would be! Firstly, they'd have to spend money developing, testing, implementing and supporting the appropriate systems, websites etc. Secondly, they'd lose out on all the interest and other charges they can rake in from people going over their limits. Not a compelling business case for any of them, I reckon.

So Derivative's suggestion sounds best for your needs - albeit you might have to settle for 3% AER.

agrinnall

Surely the best idea is to keep better track of the transactions on your account so that you are aware of when you need to transfer money in from your savings account. This will save you going into your overdraft unnecessarily, and has the added bonus that you should be able to spot any fraudulent transaction quickly.

innovate

Yes, agrinnall - - though sometimes things can slip through the net, especially if you have a busy job earning money!

An interest-paying current account (as long as the interest is decent) is a good alternative for peace of mind.

The Santander 1-2-3 is the best currently in terms of interest - even beating many savings accounts on balances between £3K and £20K. It does cost £2/month but you do get interest, and you can also get cashback on certain Direct Debits. I had this account for a month now, just got charged the £2, and at the same time got credits of some £15 for cashback and interest. I try to keep my balance somewhere around £5K, in order to always qualify for their best interest rate, whilst still paying bills on time as well. I got a few other current accounts - e.g. to qualify for Regular Saver accounts and ISAs, but I must say, the Santander 1-2-3 is the one that needs least watching and managing, and pays me most.

On the downside: Santander do have a pretty terrible reputation for Customer Service, and I have personally come across some of their worst, which annoyed me no end (and they paid compensation for it). But I am quite satisfied now that if you are persistent, and if you manage your account reasonably regularly yourself, they are no worse than any of the other banks service-wise. Their interest rates do beat many of the others, tough.

EDIT: I have not investigated their overdrafts since I don't ever plan to have one of these again - had too many when I was younger. They do give you £500 or something overdraft limit automatically, whether you want it or not. I don't want to give anyone the impression that the 1-2-3 current is the best for anyone and everyone - but if you are generally in credit overall (which the OP suggests he is), then the 1-2-3 is hard to beat at present, IMO.

squisher29

Thanks all.
Thought it would be a long shot for a bank to offer a 'money saving service' so, I'll get on to looking at interest paying current accounts... potentially the Santander one suggested.