Minimum earnings on Current Accounts - what happens when you change job?

stanglish

Sorry I can't find the answer to this one anywhere and it's a really newb question so apologies if I've missed a common thread.

There are a lot of current accounts floating about with a minimum earnings amount attached to them. Couple of Qs:

1) How are your earnings calculated? Can you count bonuses etc as part of this?

2) What happens when you change job and suddenly earn less than the previous 'minimum' wage. Do they instantly chuck you on another account type?

Would be v grateful if anyone can shed any light on this for me! :beer:

innovate

As long as you can ensure that the minimum amount is paid into the account every month, it doesn't matter where it comes from, and there is no bank that demands that the minimum amount is paid in in a single transaction ;-)

heloid

I haven't been making min payments on my HSBC account for nearly 2 years and they just send me a letter every 6 months saying I've been bad.

Best thing to do though is to call them if your gap between pay checks is a problem.

stanglish

Cheers for the info guys. Just seems a bit wooly on their part that they don't explain this. The last thing you want is to change all your banking then get blagged because one of your bonuses didn't come or you were slightly under their threshold.

innovate

I would not chance it and not pay the required amount in each month - - it would be breaking the T&Cs, and you'd be wholly responsible for all consequences.

As I said before, you do not have to have a salary/wages paid into these accounts, and it is not necessary to pay it all in a single monthly lump sum.

The T&Cs are very clear - all they say is that £x must be paid into the account each month (where a month is usually defined as a calendar month).

InsideInsurance

I disagree that it is very clear with all banks.

Some have very vague requirements such as a salary of £XX,000 and paid into the account. More than one bank I spoke to couldnt say what they expect coming in as evidently you could have a gross salary of £XX,000 but be making a large pension contribution, could have CSA contributions coming out etc and so the net value could potentially not be massive but you would still have a salary of £XX,000 and it is still being paid in.

Best idea is to speak to them up front as you may be able to retain the account either on the same terms or for a higher fee or alternatively they may simply convert it to a different account type more suitable (in their eyes) for your current situation.

innovate

Which banks are you thinking of?

I know of no bank that forces you to have a salary paid into a current account, or that has any T&Cs to that effect. I have current accounts with HSBC, FD, Nationwide, Santander, Lloyds, Halifax, NatWest, Citibank, RBS - and I haven't had a salary paid into any of them for the best part of 10 years. Quite a few of these have minimum monthly deposit requirements but none of them ever insisted on the deposits to come from an employer. Or, indeed, that the monthly deposits are made in a single lump sum.

Most of them will ask you how much your income is (income isn't necessarily the same as salary) when you apply for a current account. Some of them will ask for proof of the figure you provide them with. I have also never come across a request for review of my income sometime down the line.

Some of them stipulate, in their T&Cs, very clearly how much the mimium monthly deposit must be. None of these are asking for that minimum payment to come from salary, or that it must be made as a single lump sum each month.

Some of them also require a minimum balance - again, that is detailed in the T&Cs.

InsideInsurance

Barclays Premier require a gross salary of £75,000 and it is to be paid into the account.

Natwest Private requires an income of £100,000 (or £150,000 for joint) and it be paid into your account

CLAPTON

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Barclays Premier require a gross salary of £75,000 and it is to be paid into the account.

Natwest Private requires an income of £100,000 (or £150,000 for joint) and it be paid into your account

one wonders how they recognise a salary payment as opposed to any other monetary payment.

innovate

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Barclays Premier require a gross salary of £75,000 and it is to be paid into the account.

Natwest Private requires an income of £100,000 (or £150,000 for joint) and it be paid into your account

Barclays say

To be eligible to join Premier Banking, you must:

• have an annual gross income paid into a Barclays current account of £75,000+
• or £50,000+ saved or invested through Barclays

Nothing about salary

Own_My_Own

Do not think this would work in practice, but got me thinking.
What's to stop somebody opening up a number of these accounts and transferring the same money via SO or DD from account to account, and meeting the criteria of the banks.
As some accounts pay you to deposit over certain amounts pcm, you could make money by doing nothing.