Why do you bank with your bank? 19 January at 11:30PM edited 19 January at 11:31PM in Budgeting & bank accounts 63 replies 3.8K views

RG2015

Eco_Miser said:

Perksy5 said:

So, why do you bank with your bank?  Sentimental reasons? A feature you like? Maybe it's the UI of their app? 

Back in 1955 the Yorkshire Penny Bank ran a school bank in the primary school I'd just become a pupil of. That account is long closed, but the current account I opened with them in 1970 is currently paying 2%, with access to a 3% flexible cash ISA. So sentiment or good returns or laziness?

I've opened, and often closed, many other accounts with many other banks, for higher interest and or switching bonuses or other rewards, but I've kept that first proper adult current account, sometimes with only a nominal amount in as some other bank was paying more.

It seems a shame that the great legacy of the Yorkshire Bank has all but been lost in bank mergers and takeovers. At least the brand is still used. Somehow though it does now seem to be lost in the Virgin Money ethos.

My Dad was with the National Provincial, which merged with the Westminster bank over 50 years ago. I have been with NatWest for just under 50 years.

Curiously the intended name of the National Provincial Bank in 1828 was the Royal Bank which is how the RBS in Scotland is now being rebranded (still under the NatWest Group banner).

https://www.natwestgroup.com/heritage/companies/national-provincial-bank-ltd.html


NatWest for me still offers the best banking system and functions.

That said I have 10 other current accounts for different offerings such as cashback (123) and top interest rates. Santander, Barclays, Lloyds, First Direct, HSBC, Virgin Money, Chase, RBS and Nationwide all have top rates.

The other is TSB which is now redundant awaiting a switch.

enthusiasticsaver

We have banked with Barclays, Alliance and Leicester, Nationwide, Lloyds, First Direct, Santander and now Starling. 

Our current bank we chose because  we were travelling abroad for a month and foreign transactions paid via Starling incurred no Forex charges. However we were so impressed by them we closed our Santander and now use Starling as our main current account. I like the pots features and budgeting information. I also like the way they notify us whenever a transaction goes through. Some of the features we could get through other bank accounts too  though. 

35har1old

mgdavid said:

I've been with Barclays for my main accounts since the 1960s. I stay with them because they've never effed anything up, they provide simple mainstream banking services with no gimmicks, and I've never paid them a penny in charges.

Poor online service can't do a switch to them online. Blue rewards cost you £5 to get £5 Back with 2 direct debits and until recently they had no savings accounts worth having, Now they have one their rainy day account

35har1old

Rob5342 said:

My main account is with Monzo, I use them because they have a good app with lots of budgeting features likes having pots you can split money into and have direct debits come out of. Some of the other banks apps are archaic in comparison, despite having been around for far longer..

 Their savings accounts don't have the best interest rates i think

35har1old

Bridlington1 said:

Nationwide for the regular saver
Lloyds for the monthly savers, £50 0% overdraft and the free magazine
Halifax for the regular saver and the £15/mth for making debit card payments to myself
TSB for the £5/mth for making debit card payments to myself
Natwest and RBS for the digital regular savers plus the £3/mth (post fee) for logging into the app and paying out 2 DDs
Santander for the free railcard and £1.5k 0% student overdraft
Bank of Scotland for the regular saver
Virgin money for the exclusive cash ISA and 2% interest on the current account so ideal for paying out cheques.
HSBC for the regular saver
Co-op for the refer a friend bonus
Amex, Tesco bank and Capital one credit cards for the direct debits they provide.
Hull and East Yorkshire credit union for the £25 bonus on their Christmas saver.
Metro bank for completeness seen as I've banked with pretty much every other bank so thought, why not? Now it gets used as a nominated account for some savings accounts.

7 of the above I've had switching incentives out of as well.

I have savings accounts with about a third to a half of Britain's building societies, largely because of decent paying savings accounts and the fact that many offer the best rates to existing customers and customers with however many year's continuous membership. Plus I have a few savings accounts because they let me make deposits by direct debit or debit card and another load because they offered decent interest rates but have fallen behind so now contain minimal balances in case the rate rises again.

Used to bank with Barclays for the rainy day saver but they closed my account just weeks after I opened it. I've had a card reader out of them though.

I am mainly driven by money when it comes to my banking choices so am not too fussed about sentimental reasons/app layout etc. At the end of the day I'll bank with whichever banks gives me an incentive to bank with them.

Nationwide regular saver restricted to £50 month 5% .How about Hinckley & Rugby £500 Month 4.75%
LLoyds will soon need funding of £2000 a month to avoid the fee
Halifax OK 3 payments of £500 requires £1500 x3 times funding
TSB Making those 30 payments to get you £5 Taking that you likely to spend 5 min per transaction times 30 = 2.5 Hrs per month
Plus it only last 6 months. That's why i named mine Mickey Mouse
Nat West and RBS require funding of £1250 per mth its only recently they have increased the total you can saver to £5000
Santander Same's a good deal 
Bank of Scotland requires £1500 funding interest rate on current account poor. Regular saver good
Virgin ISA rate OK  No more than one current account is worth holding for Interest on a £1000 dep
HSBC Requires Funding of £1500 per month Regular saver 5% why not use First Direct Regular Saver 7%
Co-op Refer a friend no longer available

Bridlington1

35har1old said:

Bridlington1 said:

Nationwide for the regular saver
Lloyds for the monthly savers, £50 0% overdraft and the free magazine
Halifax for the regular saver and the £15/mth for making debit card payments to myself
TSB for the £5/mth for making debit card payments to myself
Natwest and RBS for the digital regular savers plus the £3/mth (post fee) for logging into the app and paying out 2 DDs
Santander for the free railcard and £1.5k 0% student overdraft
Bank of Scotland for the regular saver
Virgin money for the exclusive cash ISA and 2% interest on the current account so ideal for paying out cheques.
HSBC for the regular saver
Co-op for the refer a friend bonus
Amex, Tesco bank and Capital one credit cards for the direct debits they provide.
Hull and East Yorkshire credit union for the £25 bonus on their Christmas saver.
Metro bank for completeness seen as I've banked with pretty much every other bank so thought, why not? Now it gets used as a nominated account for some savings accounts.

7 of the above I've had switching incentives out of as well.

I have savings accounts with about a third to a half of Britain's building societies, largely because of decent paying savings accounts and the fact that many offer the best rates to existing customers and customers with however many year's continuous membership. Plus I have a few savings accounts because they let me make deposits by direct debit or debit card and another load because they offered decent interest rates but have fallen behind so now contain minimal balances in case the rate rises again.

Used to bank with Barclays for the rainy day saver but they closed my account just weeks after I opened it. I've had a card reader out of them though.

I am mainly driven by money when it comes to my banking choices so am not too fussed about sentimental reasons/app layout etc. At the end of the day I'll bank with whichever banks gives me an incentive to bank with them.

Nationwide regular saver restricted to £50 month 5% .How about Hinckley & Rugby £500 Month 4.75%
LLoyds will soon need funding of £2000 a month to avoid the fee
Halifax OK 3 payments of £500 requires £1500 x3 times funding
TSB Making those 30 payments to get you £5 Taking that you likely to spend 5 min per transaction times 30 = 2.5 Hrs per month
Plus it only last 6 months. That's why i named mine Mickey Mouse
Nat West and RBS require funding of £1250 per mth its only recently they have increased the total you can saver to £5000
Santander Same's a good deal 
Bank of Scotland requires £1500 funding interest rate on current account poor. Regular saver good
Virgin ISA rate OK  No more than one current account is worth holding for Interest on a £1000 dep
HSBC Requires Funding of £1500 per month Regular saver 5% why not use First Direct Regular Saver 7%
Co-op Refer a friend no longer available

I originally opened Nationwide for the Flex Regular saver (£200/mth), the £125 switching offer and the 0% overdraft. Even then 5% on £50/mth is worth having if it''s easy access IMHO.

I already have about 2 dozen regular savers including H&R at 4.75%.

I just send £1.5k of my easy access savings bouncing through my accounts to meet the monthly funding requirements

TSB payments takes me about 30 seconds per transaction so 15 mins per account or £20/hr if it was paid work. Once the 6 months is over you can upgrade the account into a spend and save plus account, then downgrade it again to restart the 6 month cashback period.

Natwest/RBS can be topped up using round ups, which don't count towards the maximum monthly limit.

Bank of Scotland vantage is used as a spare account for switching purposes so has 2 DDs going out of it each month. It doesn't cost me anything to have vantage enables so decided, why not?

I never normally keep anything in the VM current account but if I am opening a savings account by post I send a cheque, so Virgin's 2% interest is better than a normal current account if funds are waiting fo the cheque to clear.

HSBC doesn't require any funding. I don't use fist direct because I am waiting until I become eligible for their next switching offer.

Co-op refused to pay me the switching incentive for my last switch so have taken them to the FOS.

penners324

Starling- great app, notifications (especially the 1s the day before DDs are going out), pots (Inc have DDs come from them).

35har1old

Bridlington1 said:

35har1old said:

Bridlington1 said:

Nationwide for the regular saver
Lloyds for the monthly savers, £50 0% overdraft and the free magazine
Halifax for the regular saver and the £15/mth for making debit card payments to myself
TSB for the £5/mth for making debit card payments to myself
Natwest and RBS for the digital regular savers plus the £3/mth (post fee) for logging into the app and paying out 2 DDs
Santander for the free railcard and £1.5k 0% student overdraft
Bank of Scotland for the regular saver
Virgin money for the exclusive cash ISA and 2% interest on the current account so ideal for paying out cheques.
HSBC for the regular saver
Co-op for the refer a friend bonus
Amex, Tesco bank and Capital one credit cards for the direct debits they provide.
Hull and East Yorkshire credit union for the £25 bonus on their Christmas saver.
Metro bank for completeness seen as I've banked with pretty much every other bank so thought, why not? Now it gets used as a nominated account for some savings accounts.

7 of the above I've had switching incentives out of as well.

I have savings accounts with about a third to a half of Britain's building societies, largely because of decent paying savings accounts and the fact that many offer the best rates to existing customers and customers with however many year's continuous membership. Plus I have a few savings accounts because they let me make deposits by direct debit or debit card and another load because they offered decent interest rates but have fallen behind so now contain minimal balances in case the rate rises again.

Used to bank with Barclays for the rainy day saver but they closed my account just weeks after I opened it. I've had a card reader out of them though.

I am mainly driven by money when it comes to my banking choices so am not too fussed about sentimental reasons/app layout etc. At the end of the day I'll bank with whichever banks gives me an incentive to bank with them.

Nationwide regular saver restricted to £50 month 5% .How about Hinckley & Rugby £500 Month 4.75%
LLoyds will soon need funding of £2000 a month to avoid the fee
Halifax OK 3 payments of £500 requires £1500 x3 times funding
TSB Making those 30 payments to get you £5 Taking that you likely to spend 5 min per transaction times 30 = 2.5 Hrs per month
Plus it only last 6 months. That's why i named mine Mickey Mouse
Nat West and RBS require funding of £1250 per mth its only recently they have increased the total you can saver to £5000
Santander Same's a good deal 
Bank of Scotland requires £1500 funding interest rate on current account poor. Regular saver good
Virgin ISA rate OK  No more than one current account is worth holding for Interest on a £1000 dep
HSBC Requires Funding of £1500 per month Regular saver 5% why not use First Direct Regular Saver 7%
Co-op Refer a friend no longer available

I originally opened Nationwide for the Flex Regular saver (£200/mth), the £125 switching offer and the 0% overdraft. Even then 5% on £50/mth is worth having if it''s easy access IMHO.

I already have about 2 dozen regular savers including H&R at 4.75%.

I just send £1.5k of my easy access savings bouncing through my accounts to meet the monthly funding requirements

TSB payments takes me about 30 seconds per transaction so 15 mins per account or £20/hr if it was paid work. Once the 6 months is over you can upgrade the account into a spend and save plus account, then downgrade it again to restart the 6 month cashback period.

Natwest/RBS can be topped up using round ups, which don't count towards the maximum monthly limit.

Bank of Scotland vantage is used as a spare account for switching purposes so has 2 DDs going out of it each month. It doesn't cost me anything to have vantage enables so decided, why not?

I never normally keep anything in the VM current account but if I am opening a savings account by post I send a cheque, so Virgin's 2% interest is better than a normal current account if funds are waiting fo the cheque to clear.

HSBC doesn't require any funding. I don't use fist direct because I am waiting until I become eligible for their next switching offer.

Co-op refused to pay me the switching incentive for my last switch so have taken them to the FOS.

Have you raised the issue with the Co-op as a complaint and got their final letter refusing to pay

Edi81

Pay goes to Lloyds as I work for them. 

I the transfer a chunk to Starling to pay all my house DDs knowing that when I go abroad I have free transactions. 

It’s nice and simple and works for me. 

Bridlington1

35har1old said:

Bridlington1 said:

35har1old said:

Bridlington1 said:

Nationwide for the regular saver
Lloyds for the monthly savers, £50 0% overdraft and the free magazine
Halifax for the regular saver and the £15/mth for making debit card payments to myself
TSB for the £5/mth for making debit card payments to myself
Natwest and RBS for the digital regular savers plus the £3/mth (post fee) for logging into the app and paying out 2 DDs
Santander for the free railcard and £1.5k 0% student overdraft
Bank of Scotland for the regular saver
Virgin money for the exclusive cash ISA and 2% interest on the current account so ideal for paying out cheques.
HSBC for the regular saver
Co-op for the refer a friend bonus
Amex, Tesco bank and Capital one credit cards for the direct debits they provide.
Hull and East Yorkshire credit union for the £25 bonus on their Christmas saver.
Metro bank for completeness seen as I've banked with pretty much every other bank so thought, why not? Now it gets used as a nominated account for some savings accounts.

7 of the above I've had switching incentives out of as well.

I have savings accounts with about a third to a half of Britain's building societies, largely because of decent paying savings accounts and the fact that many offer the best rates to existing customers and customers with however many year's continuous membership. Plus I have a few savings accounts because they let me make deposits by direct debit or debit card and another load because they offered decent interest rates but have fallen behind so now contain minimal balances in case the rate rises again.

Used to bank with Barclays for the rainy day saver but they closed my account just weeks after I opened it. I've had a card reader out of them though.

I am mainly driven by money when it comes to my banking choices so am not too fussed about sentimental reasons/app layout etc. At the end of the day I'll bank with whichever banks gives me an incentive to bank with them.

Nationwide regular saver restricted to £50 month 5% .How about Hinckley & Rugby £500 Month 4.75%
LLoyds will soon need funding of £2000 a month to avoid the fee
Halifax OK 3 payments of £500 requires £1500 x3 times funding
TSB Making those 30 payments to get you £5 Taking that you likely to spend 5 min per transaction times 30 = 2.5 Hrs per month
Plus it only last 6 months. That's why i named mine Mickey Mouse
Nat West and RBS require funding of £1250 per mth its only recently they have increased the total you can saver to £5000
Santander Same's a good deal 
Bank of Scotland requires £1500 funding interest rate on current account poor. Regular saver good
Virgin ISA rate OK  No more than one current account is worth holding for Interest on a £1000 dep
HSBC Requires Funding of £1500 per month Regular saver 5% why not use First Direct Regular Saver 7%
Co-op Refer a friend no longer available

I originally opened Nationwide for the Flex Regular saver (£200/mth), the £125 switching offer and the 0% overdraft. Even then 5% on £50/mth is worth having if it''s easy access IMHO.

I already have about 2 dozen regular savers including H&R at 4.75%.

I just send £1.5k of my easy access savings bouncing through my accounts to meet the monthly funding requirements

TSB payments takes me about 30 seconds per transaction so 15 mins per account or £20/hr if it was paid work. Once the 6 months is over you can upgrade the account into a spend and save plus account, then downgrade it again to restart the 6 month cashback period.

Natwest/RBS can be topped up using round ups, which don't count towards the maximum monthly limit.

Bank of Scotland vantage is used as a spare account for switching purposes so has 2 DDs going out of it each month. It doesn't cost me anything to have vantage enables so decided, why not?

I never normally keep anything in the VM current account but if I am opening a savings account by post I send a cheque, so Virgin's 2% interest is better than a normal current account if funds are waiting fo the cheque to clear.

HSBC doesn't require any funding. I don't use fist direct because I am waiting until I become eligible for their next switching offer.

Co-op refused to pay me the switching incentive for my last switch so have taken them to the FOS.

Have you raised the issue with the Co-op as a complaint and got their final letter refusing to pay

I raised a complaint and received a final letter from them over a month ago.