Bank Account for Newborn

mercman_3

Dear all,

Once again I find myself turning to this greta forum for some advice.

Baby is now here and has had an awful lot of presents along with some money

We would like to open a bank account for her and also have the family allowance paid directly into the account.

My question is, which is the best bank to deal with. I have heard some good things about A&L

Anybody got any input to this thread please?

Regards

P&P...o, not forgetting little Chloe

scoobylou_3

It may be worth checking out Coventry BS as a little while back they started a 'family first'? account paying over 7% on child benefit money paid in and over 6% on any other.Sorry cant be more specific but have a look on their website. Not sure if this is a market leader now but it was when launched. Im sure others more informed than me will post if they know better. Hope this helps.

fsdss

i found A&L C**p, poor customer service, poor complaints procedure, so i withdrew all my money (at the time about 30k) and went to nationwide who i must add have been excellent

mercman_3

anybody got any further views on this issue?

cheers

P&P

Woby_Tide

stealing someone elses topic but on a similar issue, when opening an acocunt for a newborn/baby, what do you need to take to the bank/building soc to get it opened, birth certificate? anything else or does parent just provide their own ID instead and sign on behalf of child that all info is correct?

SammyD_2

scoobylou wrote:

It may be worth checking out Coventry BS as a little while back they started a 'family first'? account paying over 7% on child benefit money paid in and over 6% on any other.Sorry cant be more specific but have a look on their website. Not sure if this is a market leader now but it was when launched. Im sure others more informed than me will post if they know better. Hope this helps.

I think the linked Coventry account is now at 5% rather than 6%. I don't think you can get the child benefit money paid direct into an account for your child, as it is paid to the parent ... but there is nothing to stop you then transferring it to your child's account. We opened a Nationwide account for both our children - (baby no. 2 has just been born) - I don't think it is currently the highest payer, but is still near the top and has been pretty consistent. They are also pretty good about things like us banking large bags of coins into the account.

We also have our child benefit paid into the 7% Coventry Account. I also have an Alliance and Leicester current account - I don't recommend them (hard sell, poor service) and I think they just lowered the rates on their childrens' accounts.

And remember that if interest from the money you give your child exceeds £100/per annum it is taxed as if it is your income (money from other relatives is ok though).

Best of luck, and congratulations...

Hunnymonster

Thanks to moneylaundering detection regulations you need to take (at least) proof of identity (eg. passport, photo driving licence) and proof of address (eg. driving licence, recent utility bill, recent bank statement etc), child's birth certificate helpful to prove that it's not for you - don't forget to sign the R85 on behalf of the littl'un to stop Gordon taking his bit.

Sometimes if you already have an account yourself with the same institution, only proof that you hold that account is plenty - but I'd say 'be prepared'

SammyD_2

Woby_Tide wrote:

stealing someone elses topic but on a similar issue, when opening an acocunt for a newborn/baby, what do you need to take to the bank/building soc to get it opened, birth certificate? anything else or does parent just provide their own ID instead and sign on behalf of child that all info is correct?

You need birth certificate for child, and then parent needs stuff to id themselves (ie the parent) - we had to show drivers licence (ie proof of identity and address). I would also take a utility bill in case they need two forms of id from you. Nothing worse than getting to the front of the queue and then having the wrong stuff.

sooz

SammyD wrote:

I think the linked Coventry account is now at 5% rather than 6%. I don't think you can get the child benefit money paid direct into an account for your child, as it is paid to the parent ... but there is nothing to stop you then transferring it to your child's account. We opened a Nationwide account for both our children - (baby no. 2 has just been born) - I don't think it is currently the highest payer, but is still near the top and has been pretty consistent. They are also pretty good about things like us banking large bags of coins into the account.

We also have our child benefit paid into the 7% Coventry Account. I also have an Alliance and Leicester current account - I don't recommend them (hard sell, poor service) and I think they just lowered the rates on their childrens' accounts.

And remember that if interest from the money you give your child exceeds £100/per annum it is taxed as if it is your income (money from other relatives is ok though).

Best of luck, and congratulations...

you can get child benefit paid directly into the child's account. i know coz we do [much safer as we then don't touch it, and also it does not come under the 100 pound interest rule]

another vote for nationwide. they are great.
wherever you choose, just remember to transfer the money to a different account when they give your baby a cashcard - aged 8 i think.

bylromarha

fsdss wrote:

i found A&L C**p, poor customer service, poor complaints procedure, so i withdrew all my money (at the time about 30k) and went to nationwide who i must add have been excellent

Ditto. They can offer me all the incentives they want, but nothing will persuade me to return.

We use Nationwide for DD. All fine, though I don't think it's the best rate out there.

Coventry looks good as we also put away the child benefit each month, but small print says you can't withdraw the money until the child is 18( or something like that, can't check on the website as not currently working) We decided not to go with the account because of this as although we currently have good intentions, you never know when the next rainy day is coming.

RichyRich

I don't know whereabouts in the country you are but often the best accounts come from regional building societies (Scarborough, Harpended and Cambridge come at the top of a quick MoneySupermarket Search). The Yorkshire Building Society have a 5% account with Instant Access and I think that they're pretty much nationwide now (based solely on the knowledge that they have branches in Newmarket and London).

If you don't need instant access and can contribute regularly to the account Halifax offers 10% on the Children's Regular Saver.

I would advise deciding the best type of account first of all (i.e. do you want Instant Access, Bond, or Notice Account) then looking for the best rate to go with it. All things being equal I'd personally go with a building society rather than a bank (provided it had the same rate and access terms, etc) simply because I find their staff much more helpful, less pressurised sales and knowing that I'm contributing to this dying breed. I believe that in some cases loyalty actually counts in Building Societies [to a moderate extent].

I think that Leeds & Holbeck BS are also nationally based, along with Nationwide (speaks for itself), the Yorkshire, the Skipton, etc.

Maybe it would be a good idea to get an account with a passbook? Then when your child gets older and you are teaching him/her about saving, he/she can see his/her savings build up in "real time" and he/she can always see how much money they have. Then one day you will go to the branch to put some money in and an "Interest" line will be added, at which point you can explain that it's a reward for being a good little saver?

Just some ideas. This doesn't constitute financial advise and all that.