Do you still use a banking passbook?

MSE_Laura_F

Santander has announced it's phasing out its passbooks by March 2021.

Once a common bank account supplement, passbooks are seen much less often these days.

Do YOU still use a passbook?

How do you feel about Santander scrapping theirs?

Daliah

Passbooks are now a waste of natural resources and a costly overhead for the providers. Passbooks will be a thing of the past in the not too distant future, as demand for them is literally dying out.

Congratulations to Santander for speeding up their passbook phase-out.

EssexExile

I have one building society passbook. It just sits in my drawer.

[Deleted User]

I assume that is meant to say March 2022?

I had a passbook account until last year when I had the account closed. It was with Santander. I had the account from birth but eventually closed and shredded the book. They were always a weird account, I could not add it to online banking, the people at the desk always seemed a bit confused about the books as well. One time Santander told me I couldn't access money in the account because it was under my fathers name. Many forms filed in and then all they did was take the book, cross out my fathers name and give me the same book back!

Closing the account was another bunch of papers, and they could not close it on he same day, I had to withdraw all the funds, then come back in 24 hours, then the account could be closed. They still let me keep the book, but it causes confusion if anyone finds the book so I shredded it. I still think it is nice for children to have a book. Mine came in a blue child saver case. Closed 30 years later. Abbey National logo on the front. 

Fingerbobs

I'm quite surprised to hear that any mainstream bank still issues passbooks. I have a few for various accounts with smaller Building Societies, but I can't see the point in them at all. Mine just sit in a box in a drawer and are seldom touched, unless the Building Society asks for them when I close the account. 

General_Grant

I have a few for Virgin Money savings accounts - when these accounts couldn't be opened online and you had to go through a branch visit every time you opened a new one.  They didn't even try selling other products the last few times.  

Of course, after the initial one, payments into the account were then made by SO bank transfers but the books still have to be taken in for updating.

I'm more than happy for them to disappear.

strawb_shortcake

We have one for a joint savings account, I quite like it but probably more sentimental as pasbooks were what introduced me to savings accounts when I was little. 
I also like that its not easy access, not linked to internet banking so any withdrawals cannot be spontaneous 

KxMx

Slightly different but HSBC still insist on either a personalised pay in slip from your own pay in book or a slip you fill out in branch for counter cash/cheque deposits, and cheque machine deposits. 
Totally archaic and a huge waste of paper these days.
You can use cash deposit machine with just debit card, but it only takes notes, not coins. 

I bypass them whenever possible and deposit via Post Office using my debit card*, like a normal person!

*cash only, cheques require a personalised pay in slip, so I use the HSBC app instead. 

blue.peter

I don't think I've had a passbook in over 20 years. And that was for a savings account with a small local building society, not a bank.

Shakin_Steve

Yorkshire Building Society still use passbooks. I had the same experience as a previous poster when I accompanied my son to change his account from a children's account to an everyday saver. The teller tippexed my name out and wrote his name over it. I don't think the passbook is essential because the account can be managed online, but I still see people getting theirs updated in branch.

EssexExile

Shakin_Steve said:

Yorkshire Building Society still use passbooks. I had the same experience as a previous poster when I accompanied my son to change his account from a children's account to an everyday saver. The teller tippexed my name out and wrote his name over it. I don't think the passbook is essential because the account can be managed online, but I still see people getting theirs updated in branch.

I was talking to YBS a while ago about changing some accounts and they said I had to send in the passbooks. I denied ever having any passbooks because, like others here, I thought they went out with the ark. Anyway they posted me some information about the new accounts and when I went to the filing cabinet I found the passbooks I denied having! I asked about updating all my accounts to online and she talked me though the process, it was so complicated I have just left them as they are.