CO-OP bank account opinions

Rudyson

I switched to them just over a year ago, and use them for the RS. I don't remember how easy it was to set up, but don't recall ant hideous difficulties. What I do remember is how well the switch went: at every stage they told me what I had to do, and by when, to qualify for the next payment - very helpful.

flaneurs_lobster

Co-op is not my main bank. One thing that does bug me is not being able to look up debit card details in the app (and I assume online - I never go there). Forget your PIN and they need to send you details by post.

Store my details in my password manager.

One thing in their favour, announced today that they are abolishing fees on overseas non-£ transactions.

HillStreetBlues

I wouldn't say they are behind the times but the last letter I got from them was on Papyrus

The_Groat_Counter

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82064891#Comment_82064891

I've had a Co-op account for many years, in more recent times it's not been my main account, but I don't recall such problems with the app - neither with it being "down for days" (though I have experienced it being down, that's true), nor with it being a particular PITA to use.

There's no bells and whistles with the Co-op Bank, but you can speak to their customer service people easily and I recall finding them friendly and helpful.

The whole bank is a little behind the curve - in part because of several years of uncommitted owners and uncertain future ownership - but it's now a subsidiary of Coventry Building Society with a certain future, and is undergoing a bit of a catch-up.

subjecttocontract

I only have an existing CoOp Bank account because they offer me a packaged account for travel, car breakdown & mobile at £12 pcm (was £18 pcm up to a week ago). That's such a good deal it's enough to retain me as a customer, something many other banks make no attempt to do.......and I'm happy to switch & collect my £300 from them in due course

Santander with their 6% Edge Saver, Zero interest card & 8% reg saver understand the need to retain me as a customer. As do Nat West, RBS & Nationwide. Most of the others make little or no attempt to retain customers and deserve the treatment they get from serial switchers.

ChirpyChicken

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82064999#Comment_82064999

Good news.

Nebulous2

They seem to be improving.

An annoyance for me was that there was always a short delay in moving money in and out. I do a monthly round of money to pay regular savers and meet funding requirements. It was quite frustrating waiting for money to arrive, and then waiting for it to land somewhere else. In the last 2-3 months that delay has disappeared.

The no foreign fees is a useful new feature.

Most of all though, their packaged bank account met my needs better than any of the others I looked at - and they've just dropped the price from £18 a month to £12.

Rob5342

I switched to them for the bonus. They are extremely old fashioned, even worse than Nationwide which is really saying something. They do the job, in the same way that a horse and cart does, but I'd never use them for my main account as they are so archaic.

It's better to choose your main account to suit what you want, and have some other accounts that you switch around for the bonus.

pafpcg

I've had my Co-op bank account for over twenty years. I've only ever used the web-based facilities, never the smartphone app, and I think I've been into a Co-op bank only twice in that twenty years! Because their systems have had drawbacks, Co-op has never been one of my main "hub" accounts, but as Nebulous2 has said above, things have changed:

• when Faster Payments were introduced in 2008 revolutionising retail fund transfers, Co-op's woefully slow transfer delays made it impossible to qualify as one of my primary accounts. Credits to the account and transfers out usually took in excess of 10-15 minutes. A year or so ago, I noticed that transfers out to another bank account were now instantaneous; a few months ago, credits to the Co-op accounts also became instantaneous. Maybe the Co-op account now meets my requirements as a "hub" account.
• Co-op bank account statements were, I found ten years ago, unsuitable for my needs in that entries for any day were not listed in a time-sequential order, making it difficult to follow the flow of funds into and out of the account. This may still be true but my current usage of my account is too low to trigger the problem.
• Others have commented on how "old fashioned" their procedures are - maybe true but it doesn't compare with how the Clydesdale system works - that's truly weird! But any views on the system interface are highly subjective; familiarity can quickly make interacting with alien systems pain-free - both Co-op & Clydesdale offer services that work and, in my experience, work effectively - I've never had any complaint, which has to be the fundamental basis for any bank account to which your funds are entrusted.

I echo the recommendations above NOT to switch a main bank account until the new account has been thoroughly tested and has shown it meets the requirements. Use a "burner" account to get any switching bonus.