Triodos Bank Current Account

Legacy_user

Current customers can register now before it launches to everyone, but it costs £3 a month and pays no interest on balances. I like the ethics of Triodos but not sure I'm willing to pay £3 each month and lose out on what other banks pay - I'm with the TSB currently. Thoughts anyone?

Zanderman

Details here: https://www.triodos.co.uk/downloads/pca-what-you-need-to-know-e.pdf

Roll-out is from June to those who have pre-registered their interest.

Edited to add: the pdf says it's open to all: "The account can be opened by any UK resident aged 18 or over who meets the eligibility criteria"

colsten

£3/mth for no benefits, and no FSCS protection? 18% overdraft charges, and 2.5% foreign transaction fees.

"Ethical".

System

Lol! That's my thinking too. Was keen when I heard about them launching a current account, but there has to be something in it for me!

Stuart_W

This account does provide an ethical current account option, but it is not going to be one considered as "moneysaving" by most on this board.

A more fruitful discussion may result on the ethical money saving board rather than the bank account one.

This disappointing thing for me is that it can't for me be a "main" current account alternative, as there is no opportunity to pay in cash - only bank transfers and cheques by post.

Only a minority of folk looking for "deep-green" ethics are likely to consider this option.

It yet has to be seen whether any new owner of Co-op bank customers choose to carry on any ethical policy of any sort, which might happen (although of course it might not). Being paid £5.50 per month versus paying £3 per month means a difference of £8.50 per month beween currently using co-op as your main account and using Triodos as your main account. Of course, a lot is likely to change in the coming months.

I would also feel even more uncomfortable without FSCS protection and reliant on a Dutch one now we're leaving the EU.

cifpower

I think it depends on how much you believe your ethics are worth. If £3pm is too much then perhaps your ethics aren't that deeply held.

SnowTiger

cifpower wrote: »

I think it depends on how much you believe your ethics are worth. If £3pm is too much then perhaps your ethics aren't that deeply held.

They charge for their ethics, not yours or mine. :rotfl:

What are ethics anyway? The co-operative bank markets itself as ethical. It's previous chairman resigned after reports of him apparently purchasing illegal drugs appeared, along with details of how he spent his working day at the ethical bank emailing rent boys.

And, although it was late to the party, we discovered that The (ethical) co-operative bank didn't have two pennies to rub together and is today teetering on the going bust.

The ethics thing is a marketing ploy.

System

SnowTiger wrote: »

They charge for their ethics, not yours or mine. :rotfl:

What are ethics anyway? The co-operative bank markets itself as ethical. It's previous chairman resigned after reports of him apparently purchasing illegal drugs appeared, along with details of how he spent his working day at the ethical bank emailing rent boys.

And, although it was late to the party, we discovered that The (ethical) co-operative bank didn't have two pennies to rub together and is today teetering on the going bust.

The ethics thing is a marketing ploy.

You are paying so that they don't use deposits on nasties, not the proclivities of the staff including the chairman.

Stuart_W

The Co-op bank always ends up getting dragged through the mud on here. However, to this day, there is still no other major current account provider that can guarantee my money, the little I have of it, when held on deposit in my bank will not be spent on certain things I do not agree with. This, for me personally, is the ethical criteria I look for.

That's a simple basic premise that I'm sure many current members of the Co-op bank subscribe to. Whether the new owner of either the co-op bank, or its customers if accounts are sold off separately, keeps any ethical policy like that in place will remain to be seen.

My savings are held with Ecology Building Society but they don't offer any current account provision.

I may well end up with Triodos, but am disappointed at the lack of ability to deposit cash, so it can't be my sole current account and I would need at least an additional easy access account elsewhere to channel cash (not that I ever deposit much). I could use my credit union account, who offer free post office and paypoint deposits, but that seems a little unfair dumping processing costs of cash on them, only to transfer it out again straight away. The £3 fee is lower than I was expecting, and it will be interesting to see if they can achieve enough scale to cover costs without increasing the fee. I think they are relying an a big chunk of ex-Co-op customers moving over.

Online adverts like this show they're after many Co-op sutomers who are after moving.

System

I suspect that they'll add Post Office access as it's pretty much essential for a branchless current account - unless you never use cash/cheques.

Zinc20

I wonder how picky they will be, Husbanken was a nightmare of snobs.