which bank to go to now??

tiger135

after issues (explained elsewhere) with nationwide plus their awful rebranding, i decided to transition to a new bank, guess what - it was virgin!
now they are going to be eaten up by n/w pacman where can i go now? 
wondering whether to try the new ones, chase, monzo etc or stick with a big name, hsbc, santander? any thoughts on this in 2024?

WillPS

tiger135 said:

now they are going to be eaten up by n/w pacman where can i go now? 

It's early days and these things sometimes hit roadblocks. Co-op Bank were supposed to buy TSB but didn't. Santander were set to buy a chunk of RBS temporarily rebranded as Williams & Glyn but that never happened.

If you want to jump the gun then the only real answer is 'anywhere else'.

tiger135 said:

wondering whether to try the new ones, chase, monzo etc or stick with a big name, hsbc, santander? any thoughts on this in 2024?

All will provide perfectly cromulent current accounts, if that's all you need.

Why did you pick Virgin Money? If the only requirement is 'not nationwide', then it doesn't matter. If there are other requirements, tell us what they are. Do you want branch access? If so, what for?

Would you like debit card cashback, cashback on bills or some other rewards?

Is a £175-£200 switching bonus of interest?

mebu60

There's no rush, if and when the takeover happens the two entities will not be merged immediately.

Perhaps check out switching offers and see if any banks offering such an incentive appeal.

steven141

From a banking app perspective, any of the Lloyds Banking Group banks (Lloyds Bank, Halifax & Bank of Scotland) and the NatWest Group banks (NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland & Ulster Bank) seem to have the better apps out of the main banks, but if you want an internet based one, Chase, Monzo and Starling Bank seem to have decent apps as well. 

jadex

No rush as Virgin will operate under it's own brand and separate banking licence for 5 years (?) after takeover, which might take a long time to actually materialise anyway

Mark_d

I have been with Starling since 2017.  The app makes banking so easy.  You can do some transactions at the post office.

Today I received a rare cheque in the post.  With Starling I just needed to photograph the cheque using the app.  It's as simple as that.

boingy

You've got at least four years to choose a new bank, probably more. Don't rush into anything.

WillPS

Mark_d said:

I have been with Starling since 2017.  The app makes banking so easy.  You can do some transactions at the post office.

Today I received a rare cheque in the post.  With Starling I just needed to photograph the cheque using the app.  It's as simple as that.

To be clear, that's not a unique feature to Starling, in fact the vast majority of providers offer it; the exceptions are Monzo, Metro, Chase, Nationwide and Co-op Bank.

Rob5342

I'd suggest Monzo or Starling as they have the best apps around by far. Nationwides is like something out of the stone age in comparison.

steven141

Rob5342 said:

I'd suggest Monzo or Starling as they have the best apps around by far. Nationwides is like something out of the stone age in comparison.

The only thing is that Monzo or Starling don’t have branches but as has been said above, Starling Bank customers can use the post office. 

HillStreetBlues

steven141 said:

 Starling Bank customers can use the post office. 

But don't pay in more than a grand in cash in a year otherwise you get hit with charges.