Couple of switching questions

IronstoneIzadora

Hello

I haven't switched bank accounts for about 15 years so am a bit confused about the process and was hoping someone might be able to clarify things for me!

Santander have confirmed my switch date is the 27th of January.  My debit card arrived today and I've been able to log in to internet banking and the app and my goodness it's already so much better than Smile.

What happens with salary?  I am due to be paid on the 31st.  I was under the impression that Santander would let my employer know, however I've just spoken to payroll and they haven't been notified, so they have added my new account details manually to ensure I still get paid next week.

Secondly, I know they are meant to transfer direct debits over, however what happens with pre-authorised payments on my Smile debit card?  Eg Netflix, Now tv, etc?  When I registered for the account they asked for my card details, so will those transfer over as well?

thanks!

BeerSavesMoney

The Current Account Switch Service will redirect all payments made to your old account to your new account so your salary would of went in fine even if the old details were used. From my experience though I’ve had to tell my employer my new bank details myself.

From the day your switch completes we’ll automatically redirect any payments from your old account to your Santander account and we’ll also contact the sender to give them your new account details. We’ll do this for a period of three years or longer, in accordance with the Current Account Switch Agreement. This means there’s no need to worry about missing any payments.

https://www.santander.co.uk/personal/support/current-accounts/switching

Debit card payments won’t be switched over, you’ll need to update your subscription payment methods with your new debit card details.

IronstoneIzadora

thanks, that's really helpful!

Good to know they do it indefinitely.

eskbanker

IronstoneIzadora said:

Good to know they do it indefinitely.

They don't do it indefinitely as such, they redirect payments for a minimum of three years, and once that period has expired they'll continue until a 13-month period elapses without any redirections being processed.

Unlikely to be a significant difference, but best be clear about the exact terms of the arrangement, which will be covered in the documentation Santander have issued to you....

penners324

Santander app is very poor in my opinion so hate to think how bad Smile is

IronstoneIzadora

penners324 said:

Santander app is very poor in my opinion so hate to think how bad Smile is

oooh where do I start?

The app is basically a glorified website with only basic functionality.  Transactions take days to show up, and when they do, they're usually listed on a different day to when the transaction actually occurred (compared to say, Monzo where things show immediately - it's been a nightmare when trying to do a budget/logging purchases).  I haven't been able to set up a payment transfer via the app for over a year, it just crashes each time.  And for an "internet only" bank, their internet banking is down a hell of a lot, sometimes for entire weekends...