How many bank accounts / savings accounts have you had in your lifetime (so far)

Flobberchops

Circa 21 years ago: first building society account (Nationwide) to receive pay from my first retail job. I don't believe this came with a debit card
Nineteen years ago: Opened NatWest student account to get a debit card, railcard discount etc
Twelve years ago: (second stint at university) I cynically opened a RBS student account purely for the fee free overdraft
Ten years ago: RBS not impressed. They put me into collections. I pay off money and close the account
Seven years ago: Finally close my near-dormant Nationwide account in a fit of spring cleaning zest. It has about ten pounds in it and has been faithfully generating about 2p interest per annum. So long and thanks for all the pennies.
Five years ago: Open Barclays account and I switch across all of my Natwest balance and DDs. Close Natwest.
Four years ago: Open Halifax account. They have (at the time) the best Help to Buy ISA and I've recently opened a Junior ISA, so it makes sense to have a current account to act as a "hub" for the savings. I pay in the exact minimum to qualify for the £5, I mean £3, sorry, £2 monthly reward.
Two years ago: Open a largely unwanted Metro current account as this is a prerequisite to set up a fixed term savings account in branch.

Current accounts: three active, three closed
Savings accounts: ten active (including two child accounts), five closed
All figures and dates approximate

Fingerbobs

If you include credit cards and share dealing accounts, over 100 for me.
Around 50 active at the moment.

oldagetraveller

That piece of string is approximately 1 mile long.
Lots of them.

colsten

Not sure yet as I still haven't finished this book

Eco_Miser

Back in 1956 I opened a savings account with the Yorkshire Penny Bank. Still got the book, though the account was closed when I went to Uni - where I opened accounts 2 & 3. Came back and opened account 4, which I'm still using.

I've also had accounts with Nationwide, Newcastle, Scarborough, Skipton, Alliance & Leicester Building Societies, Post Office Savings Bank/NS&I, Citibank, Lloyds (2 current, many annual RSs), Halifax (current and many RSs), TSB (2 Classic Plus, and many RSs) , Santander, Tesco, Marcus, Virgin (many RSs), and probably others I've totally forgotten. Following the high interest.

IvanDP

Interesting.
I never had a bank account until I was 16 when I opened a basic Nationwide current account.
I still have this account albeit nowadays as a FlexAccount.
(All of my savings and borrowing, plus my main credit card are also Nationwide products)
I had a Nat west current account and credit card for a number of years, but closed the account as it had been sat dormant for a long time, but did keep the credit card.
Up until about 2 years ago, these were the only accounts I had ever had..........
BUT... when the "challenger" banks burst onto the scene, I took quite an interest and now have numerous digital bank accounts.
So, as it stands now:
Nationwide (customer since 1981,my main current account, credit card and savings)
Nat West (customer since early 90's, current account now closed, but credit card still active)
Starling ( holiday savings and spending account)
Monzo (Everyday spending account, with direct debit to pay off Nat West CC on the rare
occasions it's used)
N26 (purely out of curiosity)
Revolut (just so i have a visa debit abroad as all the others are Mastercard)
Tandem Cashback Credit Card (for the free overseas spending and the cashback, plus as i said, I like
fintechs :rotfl:)

blue.peter

Current accounts (in this order):



1. Midland (3 years)
2. Barclays (12 years)
3. First Direct (25 years)
4. Santander (4 years)
5. RBS (2 months, likely to move after 1 year)


Savings/ISAs: lost count. At least two cash ISAs and two "ordinary" savings accounts with First Direct; cash ISAs with NatWest (twice), Clydesdale, Santander, Virgin; savings accounts with Santander, Ulster Bank, Virgin (four?), NatWest, RCI Bank (two), Paragon Bank, Saga (actually Birmingham Midshires, and they were dire). One or two building society accounts (Woolwich and Holmesdale come to mind). One S&S ISA (Hargreaves Lansdown).

badger09

blue.peter wrote: »

Current accounts (in this order):



1. Midland (3 years)

:question:

blue.peter

badger09 wrote: »

:question:

Midland Bank was taken over by HSBC in 1992 (HSBC had had a stake in it for a few years before that), and adopted that name in 1999. I had my account with them in the mid-'70s.


(I take it that you're rather younger than me - I don't think that anyone of my generation would have questioned my reference to the Midland.)

[Deleted User]

blue.peter wrote: »

Midland Bank was taken over by HSBC in 1992 (HSBC had had a stake in it for a few years before that), and adopted that name in 1999. I had my account with them in the mid-'70s.


(I take it that you're rather younger than me - I don't think that anyone of my generation would have questioned my reference to the Midland.)

When I was a youngster (1970s) the "big 4" English banks were:-

Lloyds (still exists as LBG)
National Westminster (still trades as such but part of RBS)
Midland (now HSBC, Midland name no longer exists)
Barclays

Most Scots banked with a Scottish bank. The big Scottish banks were:

Royal Bank of Scotland (Royal Bank took over National Commercial Bank of Scotland in 1972, which in the 1950s comprised 2 banks, National Bank and Commercial Bank); back then RBS was a respected Scottish clearing bank and nothing to do with Nat West
Bank of Scotland (now part of LBG, then independent)
Clydesdale Bank (popular in Glasgow and environs)