How many bank accounts do we have?

enthusiasticsaver

Just 2 current accounts now. One joint Santander 123 with OH for incoming pensions, holding emergency savings and annual savings pots plus outgoing direct debits and monthly budgets. One personal FD account for just my personal spends.

soulsaver

I was reducing there for a while, with multiple switches.

Thanks Santander

However I find myself seeing value on offer from the less familiar (still FSCS protected) banks and grabbing some fixes/notice ac.s to offset the rates' down trend.

So Gatehouse, Al Rayan, KRBS, Investec and Cynergy recently added.

System

soulsaver wrote: »

I was reducing there for a while, with multiple switches.

Thanks Santander

However I find myself seeing value on offer from the less familiar (still FSCS protected) banks and grabbing some fixes/notice ac.s to offset the rates' down trend.

So Gatehouse, Al Rayan, KRBS, Investec and Cynergy recently added.

Aren't they savings accounts rather than bank accounts?

reallydismayed

I've now got two with Metro because I kept losing my debit card.

And I opened a second account with RBS at a Scottish branch because they were threatening to hive off my London account to Williams and Glyns. That hiving off never happened. And they closed the branch in Scotland soon after I opened it.

swfinancials0121

Nice poll results! This is one of my first posts on the MSE.CC forum and I was going to make a new thread but decided it doesn't warrant that much attention from users; the issue is with HSBC and a basic account. How long after having an HSBC Basic A/C are you eligible for a standard current account or Advance/Premier as I am in that earning threshold. N.B: HSBC always rejected me because I have many bank a/cs, but after much time they finally gave in and I have one working well - the main reason is its simplicity (web use) and payment Tx between my father and me (he uses HSBC).

Bank accounts I have:

Barclays Premier Current account w/ Blue Rewards + 6 savings a/c + HTB ISA (9y)
Halifax Reward Current Account + 2 savers (7yrs)
Santander Basic Account (1yr)
HSBC Basic A/C w/ no savings options (1m)

International:

CitiBank Checking account (Polish division)(CitiHandlowy)
Raiffeisen Bankieren (DE-EEU bank a/c)
Kommerz Bank (DE)

Digi-banks/proxy banks:

Monzo
Revolut
Metro (closed in Dec 2018 by Metro Bank PLC)


Credit Accounts:

Barclaycard Visa [Everyday spend card]
Halifax Clarity Card [Emergency card]
Capital One Platinum (Med-Prime) [Old card from student days]
and about 3 sub-prime cards that have limits ranging from £200-1,200 from student days - I used to struggle - now they are in a clear state and have been since 2017, I keep them purely for the green dots and higher/lower % use of Cr on my a/c balance sheet.

In general, I don't earn that much more than the next. I have a steady cash flow and 2-3 income streams so the bulk goes into BARC whilst the others are spread out over my banks. I do find many banks to be hostile when trying to open an a/c and, their knowing that you have 'an account already' - I understand their stance - but I think we customers do have a say and they are keeping our money, guarding it and making huge £££ profits on their fractional reserves so I would like banks to be a bit more 'courteous' and focus on the customer like in Germany, France, Poland and, in most cases, North America.

HSBC refused me unless I opened an advance account and that this account be my ONLY account, I quickly told the bank clerk that it is not he who decides who can and cannot have an account but HSBC's internal system and next, an 'actual' banker, not a doorman (no disrespect).

I think it is healthy for consumers to have 2-3 current accounts as it keeps all the banks in check and makes sure they are not 'slipping' on their terms and perks. Look what a disaster METRO is now and yet they keep coming up as Nr1 on the polls. Metro's model is dated and too American; in Great Britain people would rather do all the banking OUTSIDE of the bank rather than inside! Look at the size of Metro's outlets - they're probably paying huge £££ for rental freehold just for what? 30 new customers a day and a money changing machine?

I always keep all my banks topped up with as much money as I can so they're not making a loss, the bulk of my income goes to 2 banks and my family too have banked with the same banks so I don't understand why they are so frightful. I don't use cash anymore.

swfinancials0121

When I got my Metro Bank A/C in 2016 it was mostly because of their superb EU 0% fees - no other bank at the time had such an equivalent, then came Revolut and Transferwise and this killed the market. Barclays now offers a similar idea - you buy your currency at a locked rate and it acts as a top-up card to be spent, they know when people go abroad they rely on Cr cards and Top Up Debit Cards.

Metro was unique in the in-shop printing of cards - what a brilliant idea. They had 24/7 service everywhere. The downsides were most definitely the application process for credit facilities* or loans; to apply you would HAVE to go in person to even start the process, not like to say, Lloyds where you can do 70% of the application and then go to the bank and have it confirmed and it be underwritten after checks etc.

Metro lost so much on the LSE: that their stock is the most shorted stock there is which is a bad sign, remember Carillion? Metro is eating HUGE amounts of debt every week just to keep those assets available and maintain the Cash:Asset ratio. I think a take-over by its operator (Barclays or Lloyds?) will be on the cards.

1. their cards were too well prices - 6% for a standard Cr Card? that's almost free money
2. their loans were also very low, not as low as HSBC's graduate loans but almost there
3. they never collected fees for over limits and other infractions instead offering to waive it as a gesture
4. they operate this 'safe key deposit' system which costs a fortune to insure and protect and they get very little ££ from it

Not a criticism, I just think they are far too friendly in all their offerings to stay alive in the market dominated by the 'Big 5'. I really do hope they will go on and come out well, it would then mean maybe a new bank could also come into the UK. When will Citi or Chase come in? Capital One Financial (COF) are in but only as semi-sub prime credit operators, not fully-fledged checking accounts like what they have in the US.

dawn1980

I have 4-5
1 joint with hubby that I don't use.
2 current: 1 main and 1 for my pocket money.
2 savings: 1 of these is new and is to save up for a second hand car over the next however many years I can keep my current one going.

None of them have huge balances though.:D

rhysgt

3 current account, 9 other savings\regular savers\ISAs and a Revolut for international travel

Jlawson118

Bank Accounts:
1. First Direct - I get my salary paid into it but over the last few months I've stopped using it's other services as much as I used to.
2. Monzo - Joined in August to try and encourage me to get saving again and so far it seems to be doing the trick
3. Halifax - I used to use the account for cash deposits as Halifax's branches are easier for me to access in my area, but now this is closer and easier to deposit within my local Post Office. I also have my mortgage with them fixed until next year, so I keep this account to make easy overpayments. When I switch my mortgage I'm considering closing the account. Also have my Clarity card which I use it to pay onto there.
4. Metro Bank - Got this for cash withdrawals and European expenditure but haven't used this account in years as my Clarity card does the same thing, and keep meaning to close the Metro account down. I struggle to remember my details for my internet banking too and end up locking myself out.

Ideally I'd like to just keep my FD and Monzo accounts. First Direct is easy to contact if need be, but just recently I feel this decline in their customer services, and a lot of the time I feel I have to ring them due to the lack of usability on their internet/mobile banking. And their interest rates on savings accounts are getting shocking.
Monzo I think are great but I think they're a little too new at the moment. I know they're fully backed by the FSCS but the trust just isn't 100% there yet. But I love the creative idea of pots, and being able to personalise them and even lock them to dates of your choice. Really encourages good spending and saving habits, and so far seems to be working well for me.

Credit Cards:
1. American Express Gold - Use this credit card for my everyday spend, and earn plenty of bonus points on travel/foreign spend.
2. Barclaycard Freedom Rewards - Use this for anywhere I can't use my AMEX.
3. Halifax Clarity - I tend to use this only when abroad and on cash withdrawals for the 0% rate and low interest
3. Virgin Money - Currently paying off a large balance for 0%. This covers my service charge for my apartment and my car insurance
4. First Direct - Tend to get 6 months 0% balance transfers on here, so it's currently paying for a holiday planned for March that myself and my girlfriend are paying off. Will be paid off just before we go, and if . the 0% rate continues we will probably do the same with our next trip
5. Sainsburys Bank - I tend to do my shopping at Sainsburys and jumped on this for the bonus Nectar points and I haven't regretted it. Though I use this for Sainsburys only

deejaybee

1. Santander 123 Lite ( wages in here and most d/ds )



2. Barclays with Blue Rewards ( Mortgage with them )


3. Halifax Reward Account ( although only got 1 d/d now so no rewards for a while -figured it was better to pay my van insurance in one go saving £60 than keep the d/d and earn £24 for year, but i really must swap a d/d from santander into here )


4. Nationwide - just finished the 5% , holding fire as have one more instalment into regular saver willthen be looking to switch this out in new year if any decent offers )