Co-op Bank/smile overdraft rates to become 35.9%

Stuart_W

Haven't noticed this posted anywhere else yet, but Co-op bank have announced their new overdraft rates.

Broadly in line with everyone else, it's 35.9% for all varieties of current account.

Current account plus will keep a £200 interest free overdraft.
Smilemore will keep a £260 interest free overdraft.

All standard smile current account customers currently have a £500 fee-free overdraft at 18.9% so a big hike for anyone that used to use this regularly and stayed within their limit as they already pay just an interest rate and no fees.

https://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/assets/pdf/bank/currentaccounts/summary-of-changes-04042020.pdf

Comes into effect 4th April. I haven't been notified as a customer yet, just noticed it on their website.

born_again

Stuart_W wrote: »

Comes into effect 4th April. I haven't been notified as a customer yet, just noticed it on their website.

You may have received a variation of terms letter, towards the end of last year. Which covers the increase, just did not give any of the new rates.

peterowan

This is coming at a really bad time, practically doubling the interest rate. I've written to the Co-op to ask them to defer this change, and I'd encourage all other Co-op customers to follow suit. 

Thrugelmir

peterowan said:

This is coming at a really bad time, practically doubling the interest rate. I've written to the Co-op to ask them to defer this change, and I'd encourage all other Co-op customers to follow suit. 

Regulatory requirement to do so. 

eskbanker

Thrugelmir said:

peterowan said:

This is coming at a really bad time, practically doubling the interest rate. I've written to the Co-op to ask them to defer this change, and I'd encourage all other Co-op customers to follow suit. 

Regulatory requirement to do so. 

There is no regulatory requirement to increase rates as such, just to cease differentiation between arranged and unarranged rates (and remove fixed/daily charges), so harmonising on a lower rate would be a perfectly compliant model, even though they've all (unsurprisingly) elected not to take that route!  Given some other recent government and industry concessions to ease financial pressures during the current crisis, it's not a massively unrealistic aspiration that some sort of reduction of overdraft rates would be appropriate and welcome, even though deferral of the new rules themselves isn't particularly likely....