Money coming in tomorrow - which bank?

ffacoffipawb

eskbanker said:

ffacoffipawb said:
firstdirect definitely showing payments in (today is 29/09/2020) which is useful.

Out of curiosity, in what way is it useful?  It presumably only applies to BACS payments (where the bank is aware in advance of an inbound transaction because of the multi-day processing cycle) but these will typically be scheduled on a predictable basis anyway, when they're pensions, salaries, etc....

OK.

Yes BACS only, which also covers interest from NS&I Income Bonds (account now closed) and premium bond prizes.

My wife uses a post office card account. They have no online access and the card can only be used in the Post Office. These accounts are being done away with in a year's time. So we need to find a bank account for her that is easy to manage. First direct need an app or dongle to log in which is a pain.

Many times she has gone to the post office to take out her child benefit only to be told that it isn't there - usually because it is paid every 4 weeks and the previous payment was 3 weeks ago!

If she could see beforehand the money was there it would save a wasted journey.

She likes using cash hence withdraws the lot in cash for spending. Card spending is probably a no-no.

bradders1983

colsten said:

I think I have read Monzo does this, too. Personally, I fail to see the attraction of this feature. I know when my regular incoming payments are due from my personal finance manager (AceMoney, but others are available), where I can see regular incoming (and outgoing) payments months in advance, not just 24 hours before they are due. 

I am with Monzo and I dont see anything pending, I am due a refund from a Swedish rail company and that isnt showing and I have never seen any other refund show as pending either. Maybe its different if you pay to upgrade to their paid service 🤷‍♂️

eskbanker

ffacoffipawb said:

eskbanker said:

ffacoffipawb said:
firstdirect definitely showing payments in (today is 29/09/2020) which is useful.

Out of curiosity, in what way is it useful?  It presumably only applies to BACS payments (where the bank is aware in advance of an inbound transaction because of the multi-day processing cycle) but these will typically be scheduled on a predictable basis anyway, when they're pensions, salaries, etc....

OK.

Yes BACS only, which also covers interest from NS&I Income Bonds (account now closed) and premium bond prizes.

My wife uses a post office card account. They have no online access and the card can only be used in the Post Office. These accounts are being done away with in a year's time. So we need to find a bank account for her that is easy to manage. First direct need an app or dongle to log in which is a pain.

Many times she has gone to the post office to take out her child benefit only to be told that it isn't there - usually because it is paid every 4 weeks and the previous payment was 3 weeks ago!

If she could see beforehand the money was there it would save a wasted journey.

She likes using cash hence withdraws the lot in cash for spending. Card spending is probably a no-no.

Fair enough, thanks for explaining - I'll resist the urge to continue to play devil's advocate!

colsten

bradders1983 said:

colsten said:

I think I have read Monzo does this, too. Personally, I fail to see the attraction of this feature. I know when my regular incoming payments are due from my personal finance manager (AceMoney, but others are available), where I can see regular incoming (and outgoing) payments months in advance, not just 24 hours before they are due. 

I am with Monzo and I dont see anything pending, I am due a refund from a Swedish rail company and that isnt showing and I have never seen any other refund show as pending either. Maybe its different if you pay to upgrade to their paid service 🤷‍♂️

Your refunds are probably for debit card purchases? These aren't handled though BACS. A Swedish rail company would, in any case, not use BACS, and those early notifications only apply to BACS payments. Monzo definitely show forthcoming incoming salary / pensions payments, alongside imminent outgoing payments. As you can see, Monzo announced this over 2 years ago, and there's no reason to believe it only applies to the upgraded service.

bradders1983

Fair enough. I dont have any individual or company paying into my Monzo account anyway, as I have read on sites like here they are very quick to block accounts, so that explains it .

EarthBoy

ffacoffipawb said:

eskbanker said:

ffacoffipawb said:
firstdirect definitely showing payments in (today is 29/09/2020) which is useful.

Out of curiosity, in what way is it useful?  It presumably only applies to BACS payments (where the bank is aware in advance of an inbound transaction because of the multi-day processing cycle) but these will typically be scheduled on a predictable basis anyway, when they're pensions, salaries, etc....

Many times she has gone to the post office to take out her child benefit only to be told that it isn't there - usually because it is paid every 4 weeks and the previous payment was 3 weeks ago!

So your wife gets confused as to how many weeks ago she was last paid.  She just needs to set herself a reminder for every four weeks.  She can do that with a smartphone, or just write it on a physical calendar or in a diary.  That will save her trying to draw the money out a week early.

ffacoffipawb

I wouldn't risk my wife's child benefit payments with Monzo - read too many horror stories of accounts being closed and monies withheld plus the hassle of opening another account with someone else and getting the payments diverted again!

bradders1983

You would hope that Monzo see DWP payments as a trusted source though, and they arent for eye watering amounts. Its a fair concern though.

colsten

ffacoffipawb said:

I wouldn't risk my wife's child benefit payments with Monzo - read too many horror stories of accounts being closed and monies withheld plus the hassle of opening another account with someone else and getting the payments diverted again!

For the avoidance of doubt, I have not recommended Monzo, not here, and not anywhere, ever. I have simply responded to your query which banks have the advanced payment gizmo.

ffacoffipawb

bradders1983 said:

You would hope that Monzo see DWP payments as a trusted source though, and they arent for eye watering amounts. Its a fair concern though.

You say that, but I have seen stories about benefit payments (DWP) and tax refunds (HMRC) being taken with no reason, with accounts being closed with no warning at all, and I have no reason to doubt the people saying as such. Bad enough trying to bring my wife into the modern banking world without risking this (it would be my fault, lol).