MSE News: Government wants smarter basic bank accounts

JuicyJesus

Rafter wrote: »

Blimey JJ! Pretty negative response to what was trying to be an objective and helpful post!

Negative, but true.

Sure you can create budgeting spreadsheets and get text alerts or log in. But can you really do that while standing at the till in a supermarket?

Depending on your bank, yes. NatWest and First Direct both have excellent online banking apps. You can also get a myriad of different budgeting apps for smartphones.

It should be noted also that if the time when you're looking for your balance to see how much you can afford is after you've picked stuff up off the shelf and are looking to pay, you are doing it all very, very wrong.

There is absolutely nothing to stop a bank from giving you a card or phone app that tells you exactly how much is in your current account at that exact moment in time just as you could see how much cash you have by looking in your purse or wallet.

They already do.

Problem is they would lose millions in overdraft fees, charges and interest if they did so.

If people choose not to spend time or effort to budget they will pay overdraft fees. If they understand what is coming out of their account and budget accordingly they will not. I have never once seen an instance of a bank actively manipulating a persons' balance or account management in order to increase the amount of overdraft fees or amount of interest they pay. Banks would actually rather you didn't do so - people who pay fees or are consistently overdrawn are a credit risk.

Again, this problem is easily solved - one current account for bills, one for spending. Move money over to cover all bills due out on payday, available balance on spending account = money available. Simple. Or just use a calendar to tick off what bills come out when. People have managed this way for donkey's years, yet it is now the banks' fault that people don't, and their responsibility to ensure that people do?

I don't see it as the banks' responsibility to budget for people. They already do nearly everything else free of charge, I fail to see why nannying should be in their remit too.

That is why I'm hopeful that the mobile phone companies will do it for their customers instead because they arent burdened by the costs of all those branches, cash machines and bonus payments linked to unfair income streams!

The mobile phone companies have absolutely no reason to wish to do such a thing and even fewer reasons they would actually do so.