U Account "Un-Banking" - Anyone heard of them ?

jasonwatkins

I know an account called "UAccount" was launched in 2009 which was a children's savings account but this seems more like a full bank account for anyone to use, albeit with three different payment tiers depending on what kind of usage you want.

https://www.uaccount.uk/

The 'free' banking occurs a £1 charge on most outgoing things and it goes up to £10 a month for completely free banking.

You also get a contactless prepaid mastercard as well.

They're also FCA regulated apparently ..

U is authorised and regulated by the FCA as a credit broker. The money paid in to your U Account is held in a Barclays account operated by Wirecard Card Solutions. Wirecard Card Solutions is authorised and regulated by the FCA under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011. The account is protected, which means it's used only to serve U Accounts and isn't subject to claims from creditors in the unlikely event U or Wirecard Card Solutions become insolvent. Your money is at risk only in the unlikely event that Barclays become insolvent.

JuicyJesus

Why would you want this? "£10 a month for free banking" is a contradiction in terms.

jasonwatkins

JuicyJesus wrote: »

Why would you want this? "£10 a month for free banking" is a contradiction in terms.

Well it is i suppose, but I guess it's up to the individual, and they're not the only bank to charge a monthly fee for "free" banking though. I would imagine their "free" model is likely going to be the most popular.

Does sound more like a prepay mastercard solution than an actual bank account the more i look in to it.

Paul_1977

Surely it's for people who the banks won't touch.

It's trading as U, but it's just a financial company.

jasonwatkins

Considering a lot of prepay cards charge a percentage for any POS transactions, a flat fee of £1 isn't bad actually IMO.

I tried signing up for a Pockit card, which is fee free, but that's disappeared without a trace and the company aren't responding either so this seemed like the next best option for a prepay card.

DrSyn

[QUOTE=

https://www.uaccount.uk/[/url]

The 'free' banking occurs a £1 charge on most outgoing things and it goes up to £10 a month for completely free banking.

You also get a contactless prepaid mastercard as well.

They're also FCA regulated apparently ..[/QUOTE]


1. How can a charge of £10 a month be thought of as free banking?

2. From the FCA website:-

Wirecard Card Solutions Limited Status: Authorised Electronic Money Institution (Reference number: 900051)

This is a firm that has our permission to issue electronic money (e-money) and provide payment services.

The Financial Ombudsman Service may be able to consider a dispute with this firm. Find out how to complain.

It cannot be determined if FSCS cover would apply to this firm.

Please contact the firm directly to understand whether their products/services would be covered by FSCS.


3. Quote:
U is authorised and regulated by the FCA as a credit broker. The money paid in to your U Account is held in a Barclays account operated by Wirecard Card Solutions. Wirecard Card Solutions is authorised and regulated by the FCA under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011. The account is protected, which means it's used only to serve U Accounts and isn't subject to claims from creditors in the unlikely event U or Wirecard Card Solutions become insolvent. Your money is at risk only in the unlikely event that Barclays become insolvent.

This implies the you are counting on Barclays for your monies protection not Wirecard Card Solutions.

Anthorn

Frees renamed as U and continuing the "Unbanked" theme. "Unbanked" itself comes mainly from the alternative financial market primarily in U.S.A. and refers to people who by choice or necessity don't have a bank account. Frees/U corrupts that and refers to it meaning an alternative to a bank account.

It's a prepaid card and cheaper and better can be had elsewhere. However what it does have in its favour is that extra accounts can be had which are useful for budgeting and a money manager. But it'll cost you.

jasonwatkins

i haven't seen many better prepay cards elsewhere

Anthorn

There are loads of better and cheaper prepaid cards and more to come. Here's a quote from the CEO of U in an article which highlights that crowded market:

I’m going after providing a bank account to people who live in Blackpool, Burnley, Hull, who are really struggling to manage their bank accounts

http://uk.businessinsider.com/neobank-banking-app-make-money-fintech-monzo-revolut-loot-atom-tandem-2016-11

I suppose the moral of the story is don't move to Blackpool, Burnley, Hull if you want to be able to manage your bank account

agrinnall

jasonwatkins wrote: »

Well it is i suppose, but I guess it's up to the individual, and they're not the only bank to charge a monthly fee for "free" banking though. I would imagine their "free" model is likely going to be the most popular.

You seem to have difficulty understanding the concept of "free": if you have to pay, it's not free, end of story.

jasonwatkins

agrinnall wrote: »

You seem to have difficulty understanding the concept of "free": if you have to pay, it's not free, end of story.

I'm not having any kind of difficulty thanks, so you can climb back up on your high horse.

Anthorn wrote: »

There are loads of better and cheaper prepaid cards and more to come.

At the moment, the best one, as i've said, is Pockit, because that's fee free but they're not sending out cards, keeping money deposited and not responding to any queries either, so that's not an option.

Every other one i've seen so far has upwards of a 2.5% POS transaction fee. Having a flat fee of £1 per transaction is a better way of doing it, obviously in my very humble opinion.