Advice on opening second bank account for bills, direct debits etc.

efilpickle

I am interested in opening a second - basic - back account from which to pay monthly bills by DD and standing order.

I am not able to apply for Co-operative's Cash Minder account as my current account is with the Coop and not sure if I'm eligible for Barclays Basic Account as I'd be eligible to open a current account with them.

Do I even need it to be a basic account?

My plan would be for my partner and I to pay our share of the bills into this new account each month and I'd rather keep things as simple as possible - no OD, no charges just a debit card maybe.

I'd also love to be able to apply online as getting in to town is not easy for me, but that would just be a bonus really.

Thank you in advance for your help!

efilpickle

Also, Virgin is out for me as the nearest branch is 18 miles away and I don't drive.

cheesetoast

You don't need to limit yourself to basic accounts at all.

It sounds like the NatWest (or RBS if you're in Scotland) Reward account would be worth a look. £3 monthly fee, and 3% back on bills paid by direct debit.

I use this account, and make a profit of about £10 a month on it.

efilpickle

Thanks for your reply, cheesetoast.

I will certainly investigate the Natwest Reward account when I get a moment, but could I ask if there is a minimum monthly deposit?

efilpickle

I've checked it out now and would only get £1.60p/m after the £3 monthly charge. I know any profit is not to be sneezed at but have had trouble with Natwest in the past so not keen on banking with them again unless it's really worth my while.

Looking at a current account with Barclays now. They're good for mobile and internet banking and looks as though I can apply online too.

Btw, cheesetoast, your UN has made me hungry..

jimjames

efilpickle wrote: »

Also, Virgin is out for me as the nearest branch is 18 miles away and I don't drive.

Any reason you need to drive to the bank? I've not visited a branch of my bank ever.
Worth making the most of any incentives to get the most suitable account for you, whether that pays most interest or largest switch payment

Just seen your previous post. Any reason why you're restricting it to those banks? Halifax pays you £5 per month if you have their account

Earthmother_2

We have a co-op cashminder account, and we wanted a secomd account for the ssame reason. We went with Nationwide and their flexi basic.

luvchocolate

I have 2 co op basic accounts ...works well I transfer between the 2 accounts for different things.

Smedders11

We just use a Halifax Reward (the no-fee one; not sure of the name) account because there's no fee and our bills don't tally up to much. Easy £5 a month, which is better than you ~£1 return.

NectarCollector

Smedders11 wrote: »

We just use a Halifax Reward (the no-fee one; not sure of the name) account because there's no fee and our bills don't tally up to much. Easy £5 a month, which is better than you ~£1 return.

I also use Halifax for bills as the £5 reward beats any cashback I'd get from any other account as my monthly bills are under £200. I just have a standing order pay in the minimum £750 on pay day, and a standing order a couple of days later paying £550 back to my main account leaving £200 in there to cover bills. I don't need an overdraft, but I have a £100 arranged overdraft so that if things do go wrong (bills go up) I'll only be charged £1/day