Which of these banks should I switch to?

Rob5342

steven141 said:

NBE97 said:

Hi all, 

I am looking at switching my current account to one of the following, which bank do you use and why? Please give me pro's and con's to each.

Thanks in advance


-Monzo
-Chase
-First Direct
-Starling
-Halifax 
-Natwest

Monzo - although I had it for a very short time. I found that they charge for stuff that other banks do for free like being able to access open banking accounts from other banks. The app was ok but nothing that stood out as anything special to me. There also isn’t any in credit interest and the savings rates can be beaten elsewhere. Not sure of what the fascination is about this bank but lots of people swear by it.

There are two reasons I like them so much. The first is their pots, being able to put money aside in pots for bills or Paypal payments and then setting the direct debts to come directly out of those pots makes budgeting so much easier (you could do the same thing by having different bank accounts but you can't change those on the fly like you can wtith pots). The other is the notifications they give for transactions as well as showing upcoming payments. Other banks have notifications too but in my experience they aren't implemented anywhere near as well as Monzo have done (with Halifax for example it took almost an hour to give a notifcation when I made a transfer into the account). Starling are good too, I chose Monzo as Starling didn't have spaces at the time I opened the account, I did think about switching to them but they stopped their current account interest.

For savings it's best to look at the rates everyone offers, there's normally no need to have them in the same place as your current account.

jbrassy

I have accounts with three of those banks and think they're all good for different reasons.

I've used FD as my main account for about 10 years. Customer service is great and the £250 0% overdraft can be useful. There are no fees for overseas spending and ATM withdrawals and the 7% regular savings account is pretty decent. 

I've had Starling for several years as well. I initially opened it because it has no fees for overseas spending and ATM withdrawals. This is the main reason why I still use it today. However, it has a very good app and good customer service as well. 

I use Chase because of the 1% cashback perk that it offers. I mainly use it as a back-up for the instances where Amex is not accepted. Again, the app and customer service is pretty good and there are no fees for overseas spending and ATM withdrawals.

If I were you, I would switch your bank account to First Direct to get their £175 switching bonus. Then, just open accounts with Starling and Chase at the same time (you can have more than one bank account). These two banks never offer switching bonuses, so no point in switching to them. Just open them up and take advantage of the benefits they offer. Ultimately up to you to decide what you want from your bank account and pick which one (or ones) best fit your needs. 

If you want a decent savings account, I would consider looking at the providers on this page rather than any of the banks you mentioned: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-accounts-best-interest/

Bigwheels1111

I've had all but Monzo.

Problems with them all.

Got piles of cash from justified complaints of all of them.

TSB were the best over 1k.

First Direct wins my vote. 26 years with them so far.

They held 3 very large transfers from Friday to Monday, I called them 10/15 times in the 5 days.

Once the money went through after speaking to fraud department, who id wanted in the first place, I got onto my complaint. This is where lots and lots of calls came in.

I explained it all, They coughed up £150 ish interest I had lost, £50 to say sorry there and then.

All in my account within a minute or two.

Once my complaint was looked into I got another £150 I think it was..Best of all I spoke to a real person the whole time.

gt94sss2

FlorayG said:

Monzo have the most options for where to keep your money in 'pots' within your current account - so savings but don't pay any interest. There's also a decent rate savings account. Customer service excellent

Monzo's customer service is not great. In fact, they deliberately hide the option for customers to send in app messages and if you try and call - cut you off after 10 minutes

NBE97

thank you all for your replies some very helpful advice and pointers, First direct could be a top contender however I do worry about taking away the ability to go into a branch to talk to someone or put cash in the bank when needed

lr1277

With FD you talk to a person on the phone. I see no difference between this and talking to someone in branch.

With FD, like most banks, you can deposit cash at a post office (subject to each post office branch's cash limit). At which point you have post office locations and opening times as opposed to HSBC branch locations and opening times.

NBE97

ah great stuff, there are lots more post offices than bank branches which is a good thing, glad to hear this would still be an option. 

also wondering about fees on credit cards and current accounts, see some of these cards charge fees, is this a necessary upgrade or just marketing tactics

eskbanker

NBE97 said:

also wondering about fees on credit cards and current accounts, see some of these cards charge fees, is this a necessary upgrade or just marketing tactics

As with savings accounts, you don't need to source a credit card from your current account provider(s), so likely to be better to just go with the best product for your needs in each category rather than looking for a 'one stop shop' for everything.

Current accounts are mostly free, but there are some chargeable ones offering cashback rewards and the like, plus packaged ones including bundled insurance products, etc, as explained in the MSE article linked earlier, but each bank will have free offerings....

Rob5342

When did you last go into a bank branch? Most people never do, I haven't been into one for 25 years. With first direct you can pay in cash in HSBC branches if you want to as well as post offices, but again when was the last.time you had to pay in cash?

Choosing accounts is no big deal and there ia no need to have everything in one place Just choose a current account, credit card and savings account at whichever bank suits you best and change them each time you find something better.

You can still keep your existing current account, its always a good idea to have at least two current accounts at different banks in case either of them have problems. 

jimjames

I'd go for the one paying the highest switching incentive. I have accounts with most banks and no issues with any apart from speed of payments with Coop.