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First Direct - what’s all the hype?
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I have many current accounts too, but my need for customer service isn't any greater than if I had just the one account. Although the choice of bank can increase the frequency of contact with that bank. In the past when I've done more of my banking activity with Chase, Santander and Lloyds, I found myself having to deal with more phonecalls related to security holds on payments, which was rather off-putting. Over the last 3-4 years, where I've pulled all of my activity back to FD, I've needed to contact them less than once per year, which is a major improvement, and I still value even this infrequent contact being a positive experience, because I can't stand waiting in a long queue to speak to someone, being passed from pillar to post, or having to answer all sorts of random questions related to my very complicated credit files on the rare occurrence that there is something urgent I need to get done.
But all of that said, the best CS in the world wouldn't attract me if the banking app wasn't good enough. Which is also where those other banks I mentioned above were a bit of a let-down (issues ranging from being too bloated and slow, delayed notifications, to lacking valued quality of life features).
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I must be lucky. I opened my first bank account when I started work 50 years ago. Like a lot of people these days, I've got more than one account. I'm pretty sure I have never telephoned a bank.
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They update the app as that is what the vast majority use for banking.
YouGov research from December 2025 showed 73% of us used a banking app during the year, vs 61% internet banking and just 31% branch. FICO research from March 2025 said 75% rate a good app as the most or second most critical factor (branch access is 33%), age is the major divider with over half of the 3 youngest age groups saying that was the top priority vs 37% of the 55-64 group and 24% of 65+
Sam Vimes' Boots Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness:
People are rich because they spend less money. A poor man buys $10 boots that last a season or two before he's walking in wet shoes and has to buy another pair. A rich man buys $50 boots that are made better and give him 10 years of dry feet. The poor man has spent $100 over those 10 years and still has wet feet.
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What about people like me who sometimes use the app & other times use internet banking ? I don't seem to be represented.
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Decisions on products are not made on individual circumstances
Sam Vimes' Boots Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness:
People are rich because they spend less money. A poor man buys $10 boots that last a season or two before he's walking in wet shoes and has to buy another pair. A rich man buys $50 boots that are made better and give him 10 years of dry feet. The poor man has spent $100 over those 10 years and still has wet feet.
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Im aware of that. I was referring to the YouGov statistics.
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The fact that both the App and Online percentages were above 50% demonstrates that there is some overlap in those who use the app and internet banking. I would guess most of those using internet banking also use the app, but we only know the percentage using both is somewhere between 11-61%.
I don't know if the research also asked what was the preferred method of accessing banking services, but the 75% rating the app as a "top 2" factor from the other survey hints at the answer.
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Since 134% of respondents used either the app or online or both, at least 34% used both, meaning 39% used just the app, and 27% just online, totalling 100% using the app, online or both, of which 31% also used a branch, and none used just a branch..
If 61% (the maximum) used both, only 12% used just the app, and no-one used just online, totalling 73% using the app, online or both, meaning 27% just used a branch and 4% used a branch and some form of digital.
If 35% (just over the minimum) used both app and online, 99% used some form of digital, leaving 1% branch only.
Unexpectedly, using the YouGov data, and guessing how many used both app and online, the more people who used both app and online, the more people there were who only used branch
Eco Miser
Saving money for well over half a century0 -
I can now see my 11-61% range made no sense, doh, thanks for correcting that.
It shouldn't be unexpected that the fewer people out of 100 that used both digital services (thus being double counted), the more used any digital service (not double counted), and the fewer of those people didn't use a digital service (which is the necessary condition to qualify for only using branch).
Oh, won't someone think of the telephone and postal banking users!
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You're right, I just wasn't thinking in those terms and got surprised by the result.
Eco Miser
Saving money for well over half a century0
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