Current account recommendations please ?

Viz_2

Good morning.

My partner has given up work as we are moving too far away to commute in. The current account she has at the moment is the Lloyds TSB select where £7 in paid monthly to use it.

She intends to close this account as it is required to pay in a minimum salary.

Is there a current account she can open that doesn't require a payment and doesn't require a monthly salary paid into it ? Interest on the balance isn't an issue.
Cheers

Mark7799

Most bog standard accounts fall into this category. What sort of facilities does she need and are they local to her? Is it worth while considering one of the Banks you can use at the Post Office (Barclays, Lloyds, Co-op?)

Lee__6

Hello Viz,

Regarding accounts that don't require a minium pay-in (that I have personal experience with), I would recommend HSBC if you're not bothered by their pitiful interest rate of 0.01% on positive balances. I know many find them awful, but in the 3 years I've been with them they've been very good indeed. Unlike some banks, they don't charge you the minute you go overdrawn as they offer a buffer service on their overdrafts which are very handy for the occasional mishap. I don't pay my salary into the account.

I recently took out a second account for use as my primary current account and that was with the online bank, Smile. I haven't had the account open long, but in the time I've been with them they've been excellent. It comes with £500 overdraft as standard and a decent 3.3% interest on positive balances, and you can pay in at any Co-Op bank or Post Office....plus you get the convenience of a pretty comprehensive online account management system which means you can access your account online at any time and do all sorts of stuff with it (set-up & cancel DD's, transter between accounts, set-up standing orders etc. It's also handy if you don't like branch banking (like myself).

I'm sure others will post a bunch of good suggestions for the account you're after if neither of those tickle your fancy (to use the vernacular!)

Best wishes

stevem01

If you don't need branch access, then I reckon it will be hard to beat the services of Cahoot. I've been with them for around 4 years and have no cause for any complaint whatsoever. They've been faultless, provide a good rate of interest on their current account, competitive savings account interest rates, relatively cheap loan rates and credit card facilities. You can make deposit payments at Post Offices or by pre-paid postal envelopes and can withdraw at many ATM's without charge. All they lack is a local branch system, but that's no hardship really

Steve

JoseChungsDoomsday

whatever you do do not go to halifax!!

nationwide is a good bank, they have a decent interest rate and low overdraft rates

CopperPlate_2

Lee_ wrote:

Hello Viz,
I recently took out a second account for use as my primary current account and that was with the online bank, Smile. I haven't had the account open long, but in the time I've been with them they've been excellent. It comes with £500 overdraft as standard and a decent 3.3% interest on positive balances, and you can pay in at any Co-Op bank or Post Office....plus you get the convenience of a pretty comprehensive online account management system which means you can access your account online at any time and do all sorts of stuff with it (set-up & cancel DD's, transter between accounts, set-up standing orders etc. It's also handy if you don't like branch banking (like myself).

I'd second that. smile every time...:D

CopperPlate_2

stevem01 wrote:

If you don't need branch access, then I reckon it will be hard to beat the services of Cahoot.

Yes, if there were no other banks in existence perhaps, and the supplies of shoeboxes and beds suddenly dried up.

stevem01 wrote:

I've been with them for around 4 years and have no cause for any complaint whatsoever. They've been faultless

You must be with a different version to the one I was with then...;)

steve01 wrote:

All they lack is a local branch system, but that's no hardship really

And decent customer service, staff that know what they are talking about, a flexible website...;)

CP

CopperPlate_2

Viz wrote:

Good morning.

My partner has given up work as we are moving too far away to commute in. The current account she has at the moment is the Lloyds TSB select where £7 in paid monthly to use it.

She intends to close this account as it is required to pay in a minimum salary.

Is there a current account she can open that doesn't require a payment and doesn't require a monthly salary paid into it ? Interest on the balance isn't an issue.
Cheers

Branch based accounts with the likes of the Royal Bank of Scotland usually don't have a min pay-in. RBOS - when I was with them - were actually quite decent even though their accounts were stuck in the Dark Ages as far as what they offered was concerned.

Nationwide doesn't have a min pay in but if you don't pay £1000 a month you don't get the higher rates of interest on the account, but as you've said, that's not an issue for you. smile ask that you have a minimum balance of £1000 OR pay in your wages/salary/pension or income each month but don't specify that there should be any minimum in respect of that pay in from what I've read.