Is the Post Office OK as a bank?

Bigwheels1111

Just keep the bank account you have. I have not been in a branch for over 6 years.
Do not pay cheques in at a post office.
When they go missing, they blame the bank and say it’s not our problem.
The bank say it’s the post office responsibility.
I paid a cheque in at a post office in Bromley, Kent.
8/9 weeks latter it finally got paid into my bank, in Aberdeen.

To deposit cash or withdraw I use the post office.
Done via debit card and instant.
What more do you need.

Eyeful

Parkhall said:

I'm living in the past when they did have some kind of current accounts 

The Post Office Bank was called "Giro Bank", It was a very good bank for the working person. Was open when all other banks shut early & they gave excellent service Sold off buy Margret Thacker. I found the bank went down hill after that.

subjecttocontract

It depends on your definition of OK.
On a scale of 1-10 I'd probably not give them more than 2/10 and that's only because they sell stamps & deliver parcels !

ChirpyChicken

Eyeful said:

Parkhall said:

I'm living in the past when they did have some kind of current accounts 

The Post Office Bank was called "Giro Bank", It was a very good bank for the working person. Was open when all other banks shut early & they gave excellent service Sold off buy Margret Thacker. I found the bank went down hill after that.

Yes like Saturday mornings and 515pm!

friolento

subjecttocontract said:

It depends on your definition of OK.
On a scale of 1-10 I'd probably not give them more than 2/10 and that's only because they sell stamps & deliver parcels !

The Post Office doesn't deliver parcels. It's Royal Mail that does. Different companies.

Though you can use the Post Office to have your parcels from the RM, Evri and DPD redirected to them, for pickup by yourself.

w0z

It depends on what you need, but the Post Office isn't a bank and don't offer a current account..
I don't think Post Office has a Banking licence in the UK, afaik they partner with the Bank of Ireland (UK) plc
You can use branches as a portal to pay into and withdraw from SOME other Bank accounts.

The Post Office Savings platform online (BoI) is in my opinion poor compared to other online bank's interfaces. No faster payments and you need to have another bank account to withdraw from online saver so it is not possible to withdraw from the online savings account at a post office afaik. and the online software was written in the last century, it has a horrible user interface. BOI telephone customer service isn't very good either.

The only cheque ever lost when I paid in to a mainstream bank  was at a Post Office, (I was not able to visit any other bank at the time), mind you that was many years ago, it still leaves a bad taste, I had to have it re-issued.
Why anyone would want to consider using them as a portal for their main bank account is beyond me.

In fairness the only good things I can say are at least they still have a lot of physical branches, if that is an important factor, and their currently issued savings account (March 2025) isn't too bad with the bonus but only for a year (4.4%) - it's variable anyway and drops to 1.25% after a year, I think that says everything you need to know.
Avoid unless there is a compelling physical reason.
Unfortunately there are so few branches of other banks now that the Post Office well may be the last physical option to many, heaven help us... 

Olenna

Eyeful said:

Parkhall said:

I'm living in the past when they did have some kind of current accounts 

The Post Office Bank was called "Giro Bank", It was a very good bank for the working person. Was open when all other banks shut early & they gave excellent service Sold off buy Margret Thacker. I found the bank went down hill after that.

The Post Office did briefly offer current accounts a few years ago (basically rebranded Bank of Ireland accounts) that were fairly uncompetitive and they never really took off. These were all closed down shortly thereafter 

friolento

I reckon the PO services they provide for a whole range of banks are ok https://www.postoffice.co.uk/everydaybanking

Any accounts with the name “Post Office” are old versions of Bank of Ireland accounts. Their systems and their CS don’t have a good reputation. I always give PO accounts a wide berth. Not that they have market leading rates normally, anyway.

jimjames

Parkhall said:

I'm living in the past when they did have some kind of current accounts 

What's wrong using your existing account at the post office for branch functions?

w0z

jimjames said:

Parkhall said:

I'm living in the past when they did have some kind of current accounts 

What's wrong using your existing account at the post office for branch functions?

Nothing if you trust their competence and I.T. systems. Speaking only for myself I don't.