Switching money between accounts to keep benefits

nelf

This might seem like a daft question......

I have just opened a new bank account (First Direct) which I will be using for business, as I am setting up as self employed doing IT work.

The account requires £1,000 to be paid in each month to continue to be fee free (I sure as hell hope to be earning a lot more than that!)

I have just received a letter from one of my existing accounts (Nationwide) stating that my free travel insurance will end with them on 31/12/19 - unless I pay £750 per month into that account. I don't expect to be using that account a lot in the near future.

Could I set up a monthly transfer of, say £1,000 to go from one account on one date - then back to the other account on another date, to keep both stipulations satisfied?

YorkshireBoy

nelf wrote: »

I have just opened a new bank account (First Direct)...

The account requires £1,000 to be paid in each month to continue to be fee free

You'll be pleasantly surprised when you get round to reading the T&Cs of this new account you've just opened and realise that it doesn't!

Could I set up a monthly transfer of, say £1,000 to go from one account on one date - then back to the other account on another date, to keep both stipulations satisfied?

You only need to meet the Nationwide stipulation, but yes you could. Then again I wouldn't risk reciprocal SOs where one of the accounts always had a minimal balance. Instead I'd make manual transfers once per month at the same time.

Does using it for business purposes breach the T&Cs?

Wheres_My_Cashback

nelf wrote: »

This might seem like a daft question......

I have just opened a new bank account (First Direct) which I will be using for business, as I am setting up as self employed doing IT work.

The account requires £1,000 to be paid in each month to continue to be fee free (I sure as hell hope to be earning a lot more than that!)

I have just received a letter from one of my existing accounts (Nationwide) stating that my free travel insurance will end with them on 31/12/19 - unless I pay £750 per month into that account. I don't expect to be using that account a lot in the near future.

Could I set up a monthly transfer of, say £1,000 to go from one account on one date - then back to the other account on another date, to keep both stipulations satisfied?

Personal account for business use

That's a surefire way to get your account frozen and a forced closure with a nice letter stating that you are not welcome as a customer ;-)

nelf

Wheres_My_Cashback wrote: »

Personal account for business use

That's a surefire way to get your account frozen and a forced closure with a nice letter stating that you are not welcome as a customer ;-)

I am setting up as a sole trader and opened this account for all payments to be kept separate from my other 'ins & outs'.

I made no secret of the fact that when on the phone to them that it was for business, so if they have an issue with that then I'll go elsewhere.

eskbanker

nelf wrote: »

I am setting up as a sole trader and opened this account for all payments to be kept separate from my other 'ins & outs'.

I made no secret of the fact that when on the phone to them that it was for business, so if they have an issue with that then I'll go elsewhere.

And (like all the other banks) they make no secret of the fact that their personal accounts aren't to be used for business:

Our accounts are not to be used for business purposes. If you need a business account please give us a call and we can help you get in touch with HSBC UK who offer these.

by stating it clearly in their Ts & Cs: https://www1.firstdirect.com/content/dam/fsdt/en/documents/pdf/fdAccTandC.pdf

Up to you if you consider it worth the risk of continuing but there have been many posters on here who've had personal accounts closed because of business use so prepare to be met with 'told you so' if/when you join them!