Triodos vs Nationwide or maybe Starling?

Yamenja

I am really fed up with the Co-operative Bank and want to switch. Because ethics matter to me, I think I've narrowed it down to either Triodos, Nationwide or Starling. I don't use mobile devices and manage my accounts on a desktop system, so would really love to hear from others who do that and use any of those three banks. I've actually used Nationwide a fair bit when I held Power of Attorney for someone with accounts there, so know that the newer accounts are easy to manage on their system, though my ancient savings account with them is extremely cumbersome, and that ethically they probably don't match the other two. I think a reward still applies to a switch to Nationwide, which is tempting, but ease of account management is my priority at present. so that's the aspect I'd most like to hear about. TIA!

kaMelo

Nationwide online is pretty straightforward, in fact registering online allows management of previous branch based accounts too. Tridos always seems to be top spot in the ethical banking list but I have no knowledge of their systems. Starling's online systems are pretty decent and modern, being as they're new(ish) and not encumbered by legacy systems that's not surprising really.

Depending upon where you live there is The Cumberland who always seem to get second spot in the ethical banking list. They are a Building Society rather than a bank but they do have a current account along with savings accounts and a decent if not spectacular online system. The only negative I would give them is faster payments in and out are done in batches rather than instantly and payments often only show on the next working day.

Yamenja

kaMelo said:

Depending upon where you live there is The Cumberland who always seem to get second spot in the ethical banking list. They are a Building Society rather than a bank but they do have a current account along with savings accounts and a decent if not spectacular online system. The only negative I would give them is faster payments in and out are done in batches rather than instantly and payments often only show on the next working day.

That's really helpful, thank you, kaMelo. 

blue.peter

You might find this thread helpful.

Yamenja

blue.peter said:

You might find this thread helpful.

Thanks muchly!

gsmh

I contributed to the thread @blue.peter linked to. I too am concerned about the ethics of any institution and have been with Triodos twice - you can read my comments in the linked thread. Surprisingly to some I now have my main current account with the Royal Bank of Scotland. Most of the banks are making strides to be more ethical - more than likely because their image has been somewhat toxic. I see no reason why banking ethically should give me sub-par banking, which was certainly the case with Triodos, so once you think about compromise the decision becomes easier.

Yamenja

gsmh said:

 I see no reason why banking ethically should give me sub-par banking, which was certainly the case with Triodos, so once you think about compromise the decision becomes easier.

Thank you, gsmh. I am definitely resigned to compromise! I keep thinking I've reached a decision (Starling or Nationwide) then see something else to make me hesitate. Most definitely pros and cons with all of them. 

blue.peter

Yamenja said:

I keep thinking I've reached a decision (Starling or Nationwide) then see something else to make me hesitate. Most definitely pros and cons with all of them. 

For what it's worth, I have one of my two current accounts with Nationwide, and am happy with them. (T'other's with TSB. Not as good as Nationwide, IMO, but not as bad as some would have you believe.)

blue.peter

gsmh said:

I contributed to the thread @blue.peter linked to.

I had a feeling that you'd soon pop up here! (I'm not having a dig. I know that this is a subject that interests you, and you do have some helpful things to say about it.)

Yamenja

blue.peter said:

Yamenja said:

I keep thinking I've reached a decision (Starling or Nationwide) then see something else to make me hesitate. Most definitely pros and cons with all of them. 

For what it's worth, I have one of my two current accounts with Nationwide, and am happy with them. (T'other's with TSB. Not as good as Nationwide, IMO, but not as bad as some would have you believe.)

That's worth something, for sure, thank you blue peter. Tbf they performed well with the old POA accounts and closure of them, and are tempting because they are familiar. I can understand my ancient savings account not being well-integrated into the online system. They are a bit clunky and their Trustpilot ratings are dreadful, but knowing what to expect and their not having shareholders to appease makes them attractive. I was nearly there with Starling who introduced the online facility due to customer demand, but reading up on their now biggest shareholder is off-putting.  

blue.peter

I'd be a bit wary of ratings on the likes of Trustpilot, Feefo and so on. There's a tendency for unhappy customers to vent their spleen there, whilst the contented ones keep quiet. Of course, that's not to say that you can't learn anything useful from the comments. Sometimes, you can.

As for Nationwide's online system, I use it on a desktop computer and find it good enough for my purposes. In addition to my current account, I also have one of their credit cards. I do pretty much everything I need there. And it does include a secure messaging function. It's a bit clunky at first because you'll find that you keep needing to use a card reader to do pretty much anything. However, that requirement pretty much disappears once you've got everything ticking over.

FWIW, it's certainly better than TSB's.