Need help re switching to Nationwide please

mardatha

I've been with the RBS since I was 17 which is a looong time ago. I think things are going to change there and was looking at the Nationwide, under this 7-day switching thing. Bear with me please because I'm a pensioner and have never done this before
I'm just wondering how you get your cash in the gap between switching and waiting for a new bank card to arrive? And after that do you need to go into a branch every time you want some money or can you use ordinary ATMs? We live very rural and its a bit awkward to get to a branch.

pinkdalek

Your existing bank account (RBS) remains open up until the day of your swtich, so for cash withdrawals until that time you would use your RBS card as normal.

On the switch day your account closes and you would then use your new bank card. If you are concerned about new cards/PINS not arriving within the 7 days, you can ask Nationwide to put the switching date back and you can advise them what day you want your account to switch to. Normally speaking it can be anything from 7 days to 21 working days in the future, if you put the date back, your RBS account will stay open for you to use as normal. Putting the date back will give you more reassurance that your card/PIN will arrive in easily enough time.

The other option is to withdraw a volume of cash and keep it safe in your house as a contingency.
Hope that helps.

grumbler

Normally, you open a new account first and have it running, then switch the old one to it on the agreed date.
Nothing stops you from transferring some money manually to the new account before switching.

And don't miss £100+ that you can get for switching to Nationwide: http://www.nationwide.co.uk/products/current-accounts/landing-page/recommend-a-friend (or £75 Quidco).

Archi_Bald

Opening an account and switching another account to it are two totally separate processes. You don't have to ask for the switch when you open an account but you clearly do have to open an account before you can switch to it.

I would always wait with the switch request until I have card, PIN and online access all working for the new account. You can also transfer some, or even all, of your money yourself before you request the switch.

EDIT: Also worth noting that the 7-day guarantee refers to the switch process only. There is no guarantee for how long it takes to have a new account fully operational.

indsty

I'm no spring chicken either and had been with RBS for 47 years!! Decided to switch last week (to M&S), and it has all been incredibly easy. Everything is done for you. Once your new account is open you can transfer a bit of money into it and once your card and PIN arrive you can check it all works. Then on switching day your RBS account will be closed.

I had been putting it off for ages, don't know why now as it is very easy and the bank look after all your direct debits and "pay-ins". Just keep a good eye on your statement for the first month or two to put your mind at rest that everything is as it should be.

Hope your's goes as smoothly.

mardatha

Ok thank you everybody. Hubby not happy so I'm going to look into it more and talk to him about it. ty