Bank Accounts with Real Time Transactions

Don80

In the nicest way possible, I'm going to be blunt here, the issue isn't with Lloyds, it's with you. If you know you have (say) £50 in your account the only way you would be charged is if you keep spending beyond this and/or are unaware of direct debits etc due out of your account. If you know they charge you £10 a day, surely you would want to know what you have left to take out?

In terms of when transactions show up in your account, all banks use the same payment systems (visa/mastercard/FP etc). These affect when things show up. I bank with Bank of Scotland (same group of banks as Lloyds and the same IT systems). If I use chip and PIN it shows in as deducted in my available balance immediately, even if it's not detailed for a couple of days. As with all main banks, contactless transactions can take a few days to show up.

The main thing here is you need to be aware of what is in your account, what payments are due out (e.g. direct debits) and how much you are spending on your card. None of that is Lloyds fault, they are all payments you are asking the bank to make, but you are not leaving money in your account to pay for it.

There are 2 things you can do:

1. Stop using your card to pay and switch to using cash. Leave enough to cover direct debits etc, and you won't go wrong.
2. (This is what I do) Have 2 accounts, one account you can use for spending and the other for your bills. Work out how much you need to have in your bills account to cover standing orders and direct debits. Transfer the rest to the spending account. With this, all I need to know is how much is in my account, and keep track of what I am paying for using my debit card. Bills etc can be ignored as the money is in my first account. If your second account is also with Lloyds, you can shift the money in no time via the app.

Other tips: Use their app to track your balance every day, you'll know you have less available if you paid for something yesterday and it's not yet showing. Also sign up for text alerts which can tell you your balance every week on a day you choose, also sign up for the low balance alert which will text you when your balance drops below an amount you choose.

I hope this helps

armistice

omega27 wrote: »

Look at Starling Bank, nearly as immediate as Monzo and probably as real-time as you can get for a current account. Also, you can pay in over the counter at a NatWest bank to their account with your account reference number and it appears the next day in your Starling account.

I can vouch for starling being realtime. If you draw cash out of an ATM, the app on your phone tells you You've made the atm withdrawal before you've even had time to walk away from the machine. If a Txfer is made to your starling account from another bank, the app notify's you of this within seconds.

System

NatWest or RBS current account with overdraft control

jonesMUFCforever

Post 12 is the right answer to OP's plight.

PeacefulWaters

armistice wrote: »

I can vouch for starling being realtime. If you draw cash out of an ATM, the app on your phone tells you You've made the atm withdrawal before you've even had time to walk away from the machine. If a Txfer is made to your starling account from another bank, the app notify's you of this within seconds.

How good are they at instant debit card transactions?

eDicky

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

How good are they at instant debit card transactions?

If your phone has connectivity a transaction instantly appears on the app, with a notification given, regardless of your global location.

takman

colsten wrote: »

So do most banks if the retailer sends them the transaction details there and then. There is no guarantee for that. Even if this did always happen, a bank account will still not show you what your spending commitments over the next few days or weeks are. Most people will have commitments that involve more than card payments.

Trying to use a bank account as your personal finance management tool is bound to lead to problems sooner rather than later.

Monzo is an online card so will report a transaction where an offline card won't. For example at McDonald's a transaction always takes a few says to appear if you use chip and pin or contactless. When using a Monzo card or appears instantly no matter if you use chip and pin or contactless.