closing bank account when you work for that bank

stclair

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

Stuffy and old fashioned was when banks forced employees to have their current account with their employer.

Cricky I can remember the uproar and it's still the case now for the RBS Group.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6482979.stm

http://metro.co.uk/2009/10/26/rbs-force-staff-to-take-accounts-207533/

freezspirit

I don't know about opening and closing accounts. But I had a friend who worked in her local bank but had to do her banking (paying bills, taking money out, asking for a loan etc) in another branch so that it was all above board.

JoseChungsDoomsday

planteria wrote: »

i wouldn't close it. i would leave it open, and potentially just not use it much.
i know in days gone buy it was expected that bank employees would have their accounts with their employer. even a credit card elsewhere was not deemed 'on'.

I used to work for a bank many moons ago and they said the same to me - you need an account with us to receive your salary. It's now been outlawed, thankfully.

Like others have said, you can keep it open and not use it. One benefit is if you want to take out a staff product down the line (loan, mortgage etc) having the account, even though it's not used, will help them give a more accurate credit score.

On the other hand, I'd just close it. I hate having too many accounts floating around.

synth

Thanks everyone for all your replies!

Rather than switching, I think I might just open another current account elsewhere and then when I get paid, I'll move my salary via a SO to my new account. As people have helpfully pointed out, this will allow me to keep my staff account and give me the opportunity to apply for staff products such as a loan and mortgage further down the line.

synth

regprentice wrote: »

You might find you are contractually obliged to have an account. You should check before you close your account. I've worked for a couple of banks in the past (rbs and halifax) and both required you to bank with them.

As pointed out you can still get your wages paid in and then transfer them out to another more useful account.

Interestingly ive been told that rbs/natwest are stopping this requirement from feb. Their quite laughable reasoning for this is that they want to compete for their staffs business on 'service offering' and 'quality' which is a fairly bs way of saying they are reducing/removing discounted products for staff. Banks are going through a hard time atm...again at rbs/natwest i'm aware they have a scheme to encourage staff to volunteer to paint and decorate branches at the weekends to cut costs. Hope you work for a better bank.

Good luck in your new job.

I've checked and we're not required to have a staff account. I've come across quite a few colleagues that bank with Barclays, Halifax, Lloyds, ect and they have their salary paid directly into their non X bank accounts.

synth

Heng_Leng wrote: »

It is all linked to financial management as late payments and unauthorised overdrafts could be disciplinary issues!

Not an issue! I've always stayed in the black, never had any missed or late payments, always paid my credit card balance in full, ect.

Heng_Leng wrote: »

Many people (even years ago) get paid into their staff account and then send it straight out to another bank for privacy.

I would suggest the OP just opens an account elsewhere and just asks for his/her salary be paid into that directly and leave the staff account dormant.

I would feel strange about getting my salary paid into a different account because I'm sure they'll ask why, ect. I think I'll set up another current account and get it transferred via SO.

synth

freezspirit wrote: »

I don't know about opening and closing accounts. But I had a friend who worked in her local bank but had to do her banking (paying bills, taking money out, asking for a loan etc) in another branch so that it was all above board.

fortunately, I don't work in a branch but it would be interesting to see if that's the case with all banks because that would be a pain in the but!

We're told as soon as we leave the premises, we stop being 'employees' and become 'customers.'

YorkshireBoy

synth wrote: »

get it transferred via SO.

Probably better to make manual payments, rather than SO, unless you've a cheap/free OD facility equal to your salary amount.

synth

JoseChungsDoomsday wrote: »

On the other hand, I'd just close it. I hate having too many accounts floating around.

This.

A year ago I had 3 different current accounts. Don't think they were doing my credit history/score any harm since they were all in credit. However, I'm one of those people who prefer to just have one main bank account. I've never been good at the 'using several accounts to gain all the benefits.' It's fantastic for people who can make it work though. I admire them.

I ended up closing my spare accounts before I started my job with this bank. Think I'll keep this one open and just apply for another current elsewhere and get my salary transferred over via SO. Seems like the easiest thing to do as I'm not completely slamming the door to discounted products such as loans and mortgages with my employer. :cool:

synth

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Probably better to make manual payments, rather than SO, unless you've a cheap/free OD facility equal to your salary amount.

Apologies but I don't understand.

So rather than transferring the whole lot via SO (I get the same amount each month so I can transfer the exact amount or maybe leave £50 sitting in account), would it be better to make, for example, 3 manual payments from bank X to my new bank account?

May I ask why, as the result would be the same, wouldn't it?

Is it because it would show more activity on my old account?