Bank (current account) recommendations

WillPS

Just a thought, but if you moved to an app based bank (Starling or Monzo) you couldn't be asked to show ID in person.

Whether or not the alternative they would offer is better or not, I can't say.

jimjames

Pagala said:

colsten said:

You'd be mightily annoyed with Santander if a fraudster posed as yourself, and had been allowed to syphon £4,000 out of your account, wouldn't you?

Yes, that's absolutely true.

However, if that fraudster knew my DOB, my last transactions (date and exact sum), AND had just made that payment after logging into my account on the desktop computer I always use for banking, AND had my mobile phone (with the bank's own app installed and my passcode, etc.) AND debit card, then I would say that that fraudster would have definitely earned his salt. That's the sort of unlikely scenario Santander just "protected" me against.

So the fraudster had you on the phone using your own computer to transfer money and had told you to confirm it to the "fake" bank that would call you? All entirely possible and reported by others as having happened. Maybe not as unlikely as you think

jbrassy

Going back to the original question - you asked about which bank accounts are the best. I've tried a few different bank accounts as I like to switch regularly to pick up the free money banks hand out for switching. 

In my personal opinion, First Direct are the best and I've been using them as my main bank account for over 5 years. Their customer service is excellent. If you need to talk to them, their phone lines are open 24/7, 365 days a year and I rarely have to wait long for them to answer. The £250 interest free overdraft can also be useful when you overspend a little during a particular month.

A close second would be Starling Bank. Their app is really slick and easy to use and their customer service has again been generally good. They are also the best for overseas spending as they charge no fees on overseas spending and ATM withdrawals.

The ones I would suggest avoiding are HSBC and Natwest. HSBC online banking and app are really outdated while Natwest have terrible customer service.

adamp87

I really don’t get the hate for the HSBC app, aside from not being able to set up standing orders via the app I don’t really have an issue with it. It does all the basics and it’s fast for me. 

I don’t really find much difference between that, Yorkshire/Halifax/Lloyds to be fair. They are pretty much the same.

Startling have by far the slickest & nicest app I’ve used however. 

jbrassy

adamp87 said:

I really don’t get the hate for the HSBC app, aside from not being able to set up standing orders via the app I don’t really have an issue with it. It does all the basics and it’s fast for me. 

Maybe it depends on what phone you have? I had the HSBC app on Android and it was really slow and laggy (and my phone is not that old). Maybe the iPhone app is better? It's surprising that the HSBC app is so poor and the First Direct app is ok when they're part of the same company. 

I agree that Starling have the best mobile banking app though. 

AbundantBudget

I have iphone and HSBC app is absolutely fine. It has instant notifications, all DDs and incoming payments, e.g. salary show as pending transactions day before which I love. None of my other high street bank accounts shows pending incoming payments. Also it shows balance after bills for the payment cycle similar to Monzo.

jbrassy

AbundantBudget said:

I have iphone and HSBC app is absolutely fine. It has instant notifications, all DDs and incoming payments, e.g. salary show as pending transactions day before which I love. None of my other high street bank accounts shows pending incoming payments. Also it shows balance after bills for the payment cycle similar to Monzo.

The HSBC iPhone app sounds a lot better than the android app. FYI - the First Direct app (on android) also shows pending incoming balances such as salary which I agree is useful to have.