New Metrobank branch.

Archi_Bald

Kingston store, not branch.

opinions4u

cockmad wrote: »

Must say, their personal loans are very competitive and their credit card
is pretty good too. Yet is hardly ever mentioned on any of the money comparison sites. (Probably not paying enough for their endorsement)

Might consider opening an account with them in January 2015 after I've finished using HSBC.

Why would a money comparison site be interested in their very average credit card?

Their personal loan rate are 3% above best buy too.

labp04

I find it interesting that a number of folk give a good impression of seeming to want to smack MetroBank at any opportunity?

Anyways, this morning, I'm interested in opinion4u's comment that this bank's credit card is "very average". Really? I for one cant find too many credit cards offering zero charges for use abroad without a complex criteria alongside; and the usually better than Visa Mastercard exchange rate, but I await education.

I guess as with most things it comes down to personal requirement and preferences - and, maybe, a more sophisticated understanding of "average" than mine.

Yes, their website has come in for a deal of criticism but it seems to be secure and provides me with the info I occasionally need; similarly their faster payment system and some of their customer care staff have also been criticised. All of which sounds pretty familiar to me in respect of many other banks and certainly does not fit with my experiences.

Nah, depending on usage, I reckon both their credit card and debit cards are good tools, particularly for frequent travellers, and are pretty hard to beat for these purposes. In short, they are my preferred cards for using whilst travelling.

Just my t'uppeneth you understand and now I'm off for a coffee

opinions4u

labp04 wrote: »

Anyways, this morning, I'm interested in opinion4u's comment that this bank's credit card is "very average". Really? I for one cant find too many credit cards offering zero charges for use abroad without a complex criteria alongside; and the usually better than Visa Mastercard exchange rate, but I await education.

It's pretty simple. Most people spend no more than a couple of weeks a year abroad and 50 weeks a year in the UK. Great value currency exchange is a tiny benefit to the majority. Compare it to the Halifax Reward Clarity card which pays a fiver a month to active users and Metro is a poor relation. The lack of 0% incentive makes both cards sit in a very small market niche.

I guess as with most things it comes down to personal requirement and preferences - and, maybe, a more sophisticated understanding of "average" than mine.

Very simply, I could earn more in interest in stoozing a 0% deal or utilising a decent cash back card all year round than I could save in currency exchange charges.

That said, I have more than one card so I get the best of both worlds. Getting better value elsewhere than Metrobank can offer.

Nah, depending on usage, I reckon both their credit card and debit cards are good tools, particularly for frequent travellers

The debit card is great for travellers. The credit card is, as you rightly point out, merely good. It can be beaten. Even in my agreement about the Metro debit card, I get better value from my Halifax Clarity free fivers overseas, even allowing for the few pennies of cash interest I incur on occasional ATM withdrawals.

I do understand Metroank's approach though. They're not out there to sell to the masses via the Internet. It's about getting people into [STRIKE]branches[/STRIKE] stores to log them average products with the occasional niche marketing point because this is more profitable than attracting online rate tarts.

cockmad

opinions4u wrote: »

Why would a money comparison site be interested in their very average credit card?

Their personal loan rate are 3% above best buy too.

The interest rate on their credit card is 13%, certainly not the best
but still good compared to the majority offering 18%. IMO I would not call that a "very average credit card"

cockmad

[QUOTE=opinions4u

Their personal loan rate are 3% above best buy too.[/QUOTE]


Yes their loans are not best buy, however what is unusual is that they offer competitive APR rates for small loans (£2000- £7500)

The majority of banks offer an APR of approximately 17%+ for small loans. Ratesetter, Zopa, Sainsburys certainly beat that if you fit their profile and have an excellent credit rating. If you pass Metrobanks credit score, everyone is given the same APR.

Bloomberg

cockmad wrote: »

The interest rate on their credit card is 13%, certainly not the best
but still good compared to the majority offering 18%. IMO I would not call that a "very average credit card"

I too am very underwhelmed with what I have seen on the Metro Bank website. Apart from the commission free foreign transaction I struggle to see what is so great about them and what all the excitement is about. Apparently they can make you a card in branch, isn't that something which Barclays have just started offering? I certainly won't be rushing to open an account with Metro Bank



I walked past their Reading branch whilst shopping and was not even tempted to go in there. Would someone please tell me what is so special about Metro Bank?

opinions4u

Bloomberg wrote: »

Would someone please tell me what is so special about Metro Bank?

What I will give them is:

Sunday opening.
Instant card production.
Safe deposit boxes, albeit at a price.


What I won't care about, ever:

Free dog biscuits.
Free coin counting machines.


Their product range doesn't stand out.

Archi_Bald

Worth noting also that the only way you can pay the credit card is by direct debit from your Metrobank current account. This is the only credit card on the market I know that has such a restriction.

Since I wanted my direct debit to come from one of my other current accounts, I immediately cut the card up once I realised this restriction. It also wasn't exactly easy to cancel the credit card, even though I called them with that request on the very day I had taken out the card. They seriously suggested I should make a 70 mile round-trip to the store just to cancel the credit card. I had to file a formal complaint before they acted.

cockmad

Bloomberg wrote: »

I too am very underwhelmed with what I have seen on the Metro Bank website. Apart from the commission free foreign transaction I struggle to see what is so great about them and what all the excitement is about. Apparently they can make you a card in branch, isn't that something which Barclays have just started offering? I certainly won't be rushing to open an account with Metro Bank



I did not realise that Barclays are now printing cards in branch. Cheers for that information. It would appear that Metrobank have set a precedent which other banks are now adopting.