Triodos Bank Current Account

Zanderman

Just had my code to apply...

And the £3 fee doesn't apply yet, as they say the account is only in an early release form (whatever that means). Their wording is

Because some features and services are limited for a short while in this early release period, we won’t be charging you the monthly £3 account fee until your account is updated to the full version. When this happens you won’t need to do anything, we will simply notify you.

By becoming an early adopter, you’ll be among the very first to receive your eco-friendly Triodos Debit Mastercard made from natural plastic — you’ll be able to use this for any purchases or at ATMs. You’ll also have access to internet banking and the opportunity to conveniently manage your money using our new mobile banking app.

At this stage, the account is not to be used as your main bank account – salary, mortgages, rent, bills and any other regular payments will need to be kept with your existing current account. But don’t worry, we will notify you when and how you can switch these over using the Current Account Switch Service. For now, the account is intended more for one-off purchases when shopping or going out, alongside any ad hoc internet banking payments.

Which all seems a bit odd... haven't quite decided whether to give it a try or not.

Zanderman

Anthorn wrote: »

Anyway on a more constructive note, Triodos are still keeping the final details of their current account secret stating that those final details will be provided when an account is offered. So if anyone has those details please post it. Ok, ok I'm impatient.

Does this help?

https://www.triodos.co.uk/en/personal/current-account/triodos-current-account/key-features/

robatwork

I know the main discussion is a couple of months old, but anyone who really believes ANY bank is ethical needs their bumps feeling.

I guess if it makes you feel better about yourself, go right ahead. Just don't be under illusions that this one is run by people with only purity in their hearts.

eskbanker

robatwork wrote: »

I know the main discussion is a couple of months old, but anyone who really believes ANY bank is ethical needs their bumps feeling.

I guess if it makes you feel better about yourself, go right ahead. Just don't be under illusions that this one is run by people with only purity in their hearts.

I'm as cynical as anyone about 'ethical banking' but to be fair my understanding is that the concept is rather broader than claiming that their staff are all inherently altruistic!

I'd always hesitate to cite Wikipedia as a reliable data source but in this case https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethical_banking covers a reasonable amount of ground as a discussion piece, including the awkward truth that "Claiming to be an "ethical" bank requires an objective way to determine what is ethical" while recognising that:

Other areas, such as fair trade, have comprehensive codes and regulations to which all industries that wish to be certified as fair trade must adhere. Ethical banking has not developed to this point; because of this it is difficult to create a concrete definition distinguishing exactly what it is that sets an ethical bank apart from conventional banks

or to put it another way, any bank can claim to be ethical without needing to worry about niceties like having to comply with defined standards!

Anthorn

Zanderman wrote: »

Does this help?

https://www.triodos.co.uk/en/personal/current-account/triodos-current-account/key-features/

Not really but thanks for the effort.

My initial concern is in the area of credits to the account / making deposits to the account.

Please correct me if I'm wrong but all deposits to Triodos savings accounts have to be electronic (i.e. faster payments, bacs) and the savings accounts are described as "online only accounts". The new current account has that same description of "online only account". So therefore what about cheque deposits which are currently not allowed in the savings accounts? More specifically, third party cheques payable to the account holder. In that case if cheque deposits are not allowed then an additional bank account would be needed by Triodos current account holders just to process those cheques.

I'm starting to warm to the idea of the Triodos Current Account notwithstanding the £3 monthly account fee. But with regular cheques in Euro and USD incoming the account may be far from a done deal.

eskbanker

Anthorn wrote: »

So therefore what about cheque deposits which are currently not allowed in the savings accounts? More specifically, third party cheques payable to the account holder. In that case if cheque deposits are not allowed then an additional bank account would be needed by Triodos current account holders just to process those cheques.

This is clarified in various documents published on their website - https://www.triodos.co.uk/downloads/pca-what-you-need-to-know.pdf includes "Pay in cheques by sending them to us in the post" as a feature and this is reiterated in clause 14.1 of the account Ts & Cs, which confirms that one of the options for paying into their current account is:

By sending a cheque in the post with a paying-in slip or letter using our Freepost address (Freepost TRIODOS BANK).

No cash pay-ins though if that's important to any prospective account-holders....

pvt

Eco-friendly Triodos Debit Mastercard with contactless and chip-and-pin technologies and ATM access

ROFLMAO

Just what I've been looking for - been increasingly concerned about the greenhouse gases my "ordinary" debit cards are belching out...

Anthorn

pvt wrote: »

ROFLMAO

Just what I've been looking for - been increasingly concerned about the greenhouse gases my "ordinary" debit cards are belching out...

In fact Triodos Bank's ethical principles go far deeper than the eco-friendly debit card. It was founded under anthroposophical principles. As Wikipedia explains, "The bank was founded as an anthroposophical initiative. The bank's statutes were committed to anthroposophical principles until 1999, but in later years, the bank has broadened its appeal."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triodos_Bank

The question of how much of its anthroposophical founding principles remains. However there may be those who would pay £3 per month per account for the merest hint of it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthroposophy

Shaunus4

Anthorn wrote: »

In fact Triodos Bank's ethical principles go far deeper than the eco-friendly debit card. It was founded under anthroposophical principles. As Wikipedia explains, "The bank was founded as an anthroposophical initiative. The bank's statutes were committed to anthroposophical principles until 1999, but in later years, the bank has broadened its appeal."

The question of how much of its anthroposophical founding principles remains. However there may be those who would pay £3 per month per account for the merest hint of it.

I'm another signed up to their early release of the Triodos current account. I've had one of their cards for a couple of months now (note: Mastercard, not Visa) and have been using it widely, without problems.

I appreciate the note about an overseas guarantee on our funds possibly being more risky - that seems a fair point, and one I hadn't considered.

However, I'm still delighted to be with Triodos, due to their ethics. What many of the posters here seem not to realise is how radically transparent they are in their investments. They literally publish details of everything and everyone they invest in, in an accessible way (google "Triodos: Know where your money goes" for the dedicated site through which they do this). So it's easy to check whether their ethics match yours.

Having realised belatedly just how many truly uncontroversially awful things my previous mainstream bank was investing in - just google it for your bank - I'm more than happy to pay £3/month to stop supporting such. I consider far better bang for my buck in terms of creating the world I want to live in than paying that money to a charity.

Couldn't be happier so far - it's great to support their challenge to the murky way things are currently done - and my partner is really keen to join too, once they open up the current account to more applicants.

Anthorn

Shaunus4 wrote: »

I'm another signed up to their early release of the Triodos current account. I've had one of their cards for a couple of months now (note: Mastercard, not Visa) and have been using it widely, without problems.

I appreciate the note about an overseas guarantee on our funds possibly being more risky - that seems a fair point, and one I hadn't considered.

However, I'm still delighted to be with Triodos, due to their ethics. What many of the posters here seem not to realise is how radically transparent they are in their investments. They literally publish details of everything and everyone they invest in, in an accessible way (google "Triodos: Know where your money goes" for the dedicated site through which they do this). So it's easy to check whether their ethics match yours.

Having realised belatedly just how many truly uncontroversially awful things my previous mainstream bank was investing in - just google it for your bank - I'm more than happy to pay £3/month to stop supporting such. I consider far better bang for my buck in terms of creating the world I want to live in than paying that money to a charity.

Couldn't be happier so far - it's great to support their challenge to the murky way things are currently done - and my partner is really keen to join too, once they open up the current account to more applicants.

Depends on how far you intend to take "ethical" and socially responsible. In my experience although perhaps not specific to yourself. some of those screaming for "ethical" in banking are hypocritical in for example the energy supplier they use: Say for example I switched to triodes because they are ethical then I would probably have to switch my energy to Co-operative Energy which offers 75% renewable sources and it's a co-operative owned by its members. But Co-operative Energy would cost me £41 per year more. Along the same lines Triodos' interest are dismal compared to other offerings elsewhere.

Overall "ethical" and socially responsible may well produce a feel-good euphoria amongst those who support it but it doesn't pay dividends.