Metro Bank - how long in branch to open account?

heloid

MB CC is great for overseas spending. Get the mastercard exchange rate and 0 fees including cash withdrawals.

cfw1994

Holborn branch was pretty quick and friendly when we got one last summer (prior to a 1 month USA trip !)...although the poor guy had to fix their printer during the process !!
I would echo the comment about chatty staff - actually dealing with a friendly human being, a rarity in the world of banking ! More than happy to explain things clearly :-)

Love the way you can take a load of change in & chuck into a counting machine - no charge to do that - nice way for our kids multiple savings banks to be converted to holiday cash for them!!

We got a Post Office credit card for overseas usage, very easy & no excess charges (unlike our regular Tesco one)

glider3560

I visited the Chiswick branch last night. Had to wait about 5 minutes to be seen, but was offered a drink, which I declined as I wanted to get the process done as quickly as possible.

It was all very simple. Took about 20 minutes before I was leaving with the debit card in my hand.

I have to say that the branches (sorry, stores) have been fitted out very well. You'd be forgiven for thinking you were not in a bank branch.

No hard sell for any other products. A savings account was offered, but I declined after asking the interest rate.

The advisor was very friendly. He was quite interested in what I do for a living, but this isn't unexpected as most people are when I say.

First thing I did after leaving the branch: try my card in an ATM and then look shocked as it actually worked!

cfw1994

okay, I'll bite: what *do* you do for a living ?
Most people glaze over when I mention my job......computer stuff (yawn!)

glider3560

cfw1994 wrote: »

okay, I'll bite: what *do* you do for a living ?
Most people glaze over when I mention my job......computer stuff (yawn!)

Cancer Research

thebarber

So after looking around for a easy option i saw their card

I went in the branch and was told there would be a 5 minute wait and was offered a drink straight off the bat i was impressed just for the little things they do. Got the card in 30 minutes no hard sell for anything else. The documents came in a envelope that fits in you jacket pocket.
The few things I really like about this bank is firstly opening times are great as I opened the account on a Sunday
mon-fri 8am-8pm
sat 8-6pm
sun 11-5pm

Second they print the card in store in 10 minutes and allow you to pick your pin on the spot which I think is brilliant the only thing that betters it is if i lose my card i walk in their store after work 7pm and they print a replacement in 10 minutes. Im with santander and they print on the cards meaning it wears off whereas metro are embossed. Im going away in two days so the instant card instant pin is a lifesaver right now.
Im only going to use it as a holiday fund account but it ticks alot of boxes. The lady said most people coming to get it for the card do so because of this site. they put £3 on the card "as a thank you buy a coffee" The card is a mastercard contactless type

I dont work for the bank im a security guard
Im just really surprised that a company is finally giving the sort of service I would like but never seem to get.

mrchiggles

Does the free drink include beer?

innovate

thebarber wrote: »

The documents came in a envelope that fits in you jacket pocket.

I did not wear a jacket when I opened mine, and the documents wouldn't fit into my handbag. To be fair, my car was in their free car park just behind the Chiswick Branch, so I did manage.

thebarber wrote: »

Im with santander and they print on the cards meaning it wears off whereas metro are embossed.

My Santander cards are embossed.

purplekat

Hey,

Just to give my two cents about metrobank. It took me about an hour in total to open the bank account, with a little wait in a London Branch which isn't too bad. Got a CC with my expected amount. Giving them travel notice was so easy, no specific dates like others, just told them that I was going away for a year and to which countries.
Debit card was invaluable for travelling, however I had a problem with the credit card, which went on for a couple of months, when trying to sort from abroad, they are not easy to deal with. My credit card was set to pay off by DD, however one month this didn't go through properly and for the next several months there was knock on effects on the payments until manually paid the balances down to zero. I have since got rid of the credit card.
Don't know if that helps, but in my opinion, they are great when everything is working fine, but difficult if you can't get to a branch when things are going wrong.