MSE News: Post Office to launch first current account

System

Itself?

It's a clearing bank & issuer of Sterling banknotes in Northern Ireland.

ERICS_MUM wrote: »

which bank does Bank of Ireland use for sterling clearing (i.e. CHAPS settlement member ) ?

innovate

disposalist wrote: »

Have a good look in the contract for 'special conditions' that allow them to take your cash or drop the agreed savings rate if they feel like it...

The T&Cs that will apply to the current account haven't yet been published. You are right, of course, they need to be evaluated properly.

Not sure there will be "a contract for 'special conditions'" - - that sounds a weird thing and not relevant to a current account.

What do you mean by "they are allowed to take your cash"? Is it about offsetting? If so, that's a completely normal T&C, you find that everywhere. Perhaps you can post a link to the T&Cs you are referring to.

"Dropping the agreed savings rate if they feel like it" - - that would probably be a variable savings rate, and it's normal that they vary. Recently all rates went south, so BoI aren't different to any of the others.

I do agree that they have a terrible track record when it comes to informing people of drops in interest rate, but may be they learnt from their most recent debacle with their Online Saver.

disposalist wrote: »

(yes, I do have a BoI 'tracker' mortgage they just more-than-doubled the rate of)

presumably you are still paying a very low interest rate? It's always annoying if borrowing rates go up. However, as annoyed as you might be, the mortgage rate has nothing to do with their yet to be launched current account.

stclair

BobQ wrote: »

I doubt it will overload counters these days. I assume it will come with a cash card so most people will only need to use the counters for paying in. They will I imagine be very useful in villages where the banks have long since been closed.

It could also help those who do not have internet access to make transfers to other accounts.

But it may also mean an end of the Post Office facilitating cash withdrawals for other banks. Why would Lloyds encourage its customers to use the PO if it is becoming a competitor for current accounts!

You having a laugh bank branches are bursting at steams because some customers tend to us a branch to transact when they could use telephone or Internet banking.

Pincher

Get your masks and pistols ready, boys. There's gold in dem dar village Post Offices.

ERICS_MUM

Heng_Leng wrote: »

Itself?

It's a clearing bank & issuer of Sterling banknotes in Northern Ireland.

It's not listed as a current member on the CHAPS Co website, perhaps it's in the process....

roddydogs

Only for the Brave & people who like waiting behind old people or E-Bayers sending out parcels.

antrobus

BobQ wrote: »

...I think its a great idea to reinvent this in a modern form, no doubt it will fatten up the post office before it gets privatised. Had the post office been allowed to keep Girobank I suspect that many of the small post offices would not have closed.

Unlikely. The personal banking side of Girobank was a loss-maker. It was the commercial side of Girobank that made the money, and the money it made was largely dependant on supplying and handling the cash to feed the government benefits contract. Which, of course, doesn't exist anymore because benefits are paid into bank accounts.

Lagoon

Based on the extortionate prices that Royal Mail charge for the rest of their sub-par services, I won't be rushing to my local Post Office to take out one of these accounts.

innovate

Lagoon wrote: »

Based on the extortionate prices that Royal Mail charge for the rest of their sub-par services, I won't be rushing to my local Post Office to take out one of these accounts.

Now that's a considered and rational assessment (not) of an offering for which we have not seen any detail yet.

antrobus

innovate wrote: »

Now that's a considered and rational assessment (not) of an offering for which we have not seen any detail yet.

Particularly since the Post Office is no longer part of the Royal Mail.