I leaving First Direct after nearly 40 years

wmb194

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6681391/i-leaving-first-direct-after-nearly-40-years

Duplicate post

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6681383/im-leaving-first-direct-after-nearly-40-years

grumpy_codger

Well, you are leaving FD. Where are you moving your banking to? Wise isn't a bank - it's a finacial company specialising in internationa bank transfers, you can't compare it to a bank in this respect.

FD clarly state their own fees, but add that even within EEA payments "may incur intermediary and agency bank charges" and that "When making a payment outside the EEA, you might also need to pay intermediary and agency bank charges." If the charges are fixed (I think usually they are), for small amount they can easily make 21% or even more. Also, depending on what currency you chose to pay in, either the sending or the receiving bank will charge for currency conversion.

That's why savvy people hardly ever use banks for international transfers and started using special compnies for this, e.g. the same Wise when it was Trasferwise long time ago.

MSE: Sending money abroad

COIAHLGW

Is the cost really when a surprise when sending money bank to bank nowadays? This is why companies like Wise exist.

Maegi

Since you've been charged £5 - that looks like a SWIFT payment by HSBC UK (First Direct) which means using intermediary and agency banks (& their charges) are not unreasonable.

Wise are a transfer specialist so have more options at their disposal but in some instances still have to use intermediary banks with extra charges attached.

jaybeetoo

When First Direct first started, they were innovative and something new. Now they’ve been left behind by the likes of Starling who are now what FD used to be. I opened an account with FD when they first started. They were a breath of fresh air. After over 30 years I left them when they went through a period of decline. They used to answer the phone after a couple of rings but then they went through a period of not answering the phone for ages. Other parts of their service declined too. That’s when I left. They didn’t keep investing to stay ahead. It was a shame.

masonic

In this instance, it appears the charge was incurred because the payment failed and the money needed to be returned by the intermediary. The OP's mention of "no way of knowing whether you'd entered all the details correctly" opens the door to the possibility of something not being entered correctly, and that may explain why an earlier payment went through ok and this one didn't.

gt94sss2

First Direct launched in October 1989.

Given this they won't have any customers who have been with them for 37 years yet along 40.

gropes

I think I'll just take the money out of my savings account and keep the current running.

friolento

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82120685#Comment_82120685

Not holding money in First Direct savings accounts seems a smart move - with the exception of their Regular Saver, which has for nearly 2 decades consistently paid an excellent interest rate, albeit on a limited amount of money. Definitely keep that pre-requisite FD current account, even with a £0 balance.

There are plenty of better savings accounts for the rest of your cash - though you should actively manage your money and move it when the rates become unattractive, which they invariably do

https://moneyfactscompare.co.uk/savings-accounts/