Opening a basic current account

marcsshell

hi,

I have recently switched from a cash minder account at the co-op to a Santander 123 account. I have decided that I want a basic account that I can transfer x amount of money into via a standing order each month to pay for our day to day living costs. By the time I thought on that is what I wanted to do it was too late to stop the complete switch.
The reason behind me doing this is I want to set us a budget and stick to it whilst saving as much as possible in the 123 account. We don't want to be tempted to just keep spending because we can see a balance. The plan is to possibly leave the debit cards for the 123 account with my dad for safe keeping.

Anyone know where I can apply online for a basic account please. I have looked but some say apply in branch or apply for one of the reward accounts and if we get turned down for that then we would get the basic one. We don't want Santander as again it would be so easy to just go to our online banking and transfer funds across.

Or would something like a prepay credit card be better? Am I correct in thinking that they charge? TIA

20aday

You can apply online for the Nationwide FlexBasic account.

It's a "basic" current account in the fact there's no credit facilities i.e. Overdrafts available to you.

The Visa Debit card can be used for contactless payments & offline transactions (which a lot of "basic" Debit cards can't do).

In terms of prepaid cards some do charge fees for loading the card, cash withdrawals etc.

marcsshell

20aday wrote: »

You can apply online for the Nationwide FlexBasic account.

It's a "basic" current account in the fact there's no credit facilities i.e. Overdrafts available to you.

The Visa Debit card can be used for contactless payments & offline transactions (which a lot of "basic" Debit cards can't do).

In terms of prepaid cards some do charge fees for loading the card, cash withdrawals etc.

Thanks, nationwide is one that I didn't try. I don't want any sort of overdraft on any of my accounts so that's not a problem.
I am determined that we won't get into debt again like we have in the past. I will be working out how much we will need for shopping,fuel,bus/train fares and my girls activities and set the standing order up to cover it. Then once it's gone it's gone until the following month. Need to make sure all my bills get paid and we have savings behind us which is something that we haven't had before. Thank you so much.

marcsshell

Just looked at the Nationwide basic current account and it would appear that I can't open one.
You must be 18 years old or over and living in the UK.
You don't qualify for one of our other current accounts.
You don't have a UK bank account elsewhere, or
- you have a UK bank account elsewhere and you want to switch it to us, or
- you have a UK bank account with us or another UK-based provider but need a FlexBasic account because you're in financial difficulty.

I already have a 123 account and don't want to switch. I'm not in financially difficulty but I'm doing it to stop the cycle of over spending. Anyone any ideas please?

xylophone

Why not open a TSB Plus account (opt for no overdraft)- transfer in at least £500 a month and go paperless - you'll earn interest on up to £2000 in the account.

marcsshell

xylophone wrote: »

Why not open a TSB Plus account (opt for no overdraft)- transfer in at least £500 a month and go paperless - you'll earn interest on up to £2000 in the account.

Will go look at that one now. I tried a few earlier on but not sure which ones I looked at.

marcsshell

Thanks Xylophone. One account all set up ready for me to set SO to go in after we have been paid the end of the month.
Hopefully this will enable us to stay on the straight and narrow and build up savings in the 123 account.

badger09

Can I ask approx how much you have in the Santander 123 account and how much you're likely to be able to save each month?

marcsshell

badger09 wrote: »

Can I ask approx how much you have in the Santander 123 account and how much you're likely to be able to save each month?

123 account only just opened so nothing at the min, have just over £1000 in a basic Santander savings account which is emergency fund. Hoping to save around £1000 p/m if I have done my sums right.

badger09

marcsshell wrote: »

123 account only just opened so nothing at the min, have just over £1000 in a basic Santander savings account which is emergency fund. Hoping to save around £1000 p/m if I have done my sums right.

A Santander 123 account is not the best option. There are accounts paying up to 5% interest and regular savers paying up to 6%.

Have a look here and read around the forum


http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/compare-best-bank-accounts

20aday

marcsshell wrote: »

Just looked at the Nationwide basic current account and it would appear that I can't open one.
You must be 18 years old or over and living in the UK.
You don't qualify for one of our other current accounts.
You don't have a UK bank account elsewhere, or
- you have a UK bank account elsewhere and you want to switch it to us, or
- you have a UK bank account with us or another UK-based provider but need a FlexBasic account because you're in financial difficulty.

I already have a 123 account and don't want to switch. I'm not in financially difficulty but I'm doing it to stop the cycle of over spending. Anyone any ideas please?

Interestingly enough I opened the FlexBasic account in December despite having an account with Lloyds Bank (Club Lloyds) and I didn't switch either.

I wouldn't have thought of TSB but their in-credit interest (without a monthly fee) is one of the better options out there.