What is the difference in Halifax Easycash account and Basic Account?

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NightySnoozySnooze
NightySnoozySnooze Posts: 1 Newbie
in Budgeting & bank accounts
I have had an Easycash account for around 12 years now. I never thought to upgrade as it suits my purposes fine as i just need somewhere to deposit money, pay direct debits and withdraw cash.

I was logged into my online account and i had the option to see if i could get an upgrade, i filled out this information and this morning received an email telling me i was eligible for a Basic Account. I just have to go into the branch and bring my identification.

I looked on their website to see if there is any difference in services but i don't see any. It appears that they may have just changed the name from Easycash to Basic Account.
On the page for their Basic Account (sorry i cannot post the link), at the bottom is says
Existing Easycash customers
You may be able to convert your existing Easycash account to a Basic Account or see if you’re eligible to upgrade to one of our other current accounts through Online Banking.

I'm wondering now whether or not it is worth going through it to upgrade to what is essential the same service under a different name. Would there be any benefits to me doing this?

Comments

  • cifpower
    cifpower Posts: 6,502 Forumite
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    They are one and the same. Just rebranded. Only difference is Easycash had a Visa Electron card but Basic has a Visa Debit card.
  • System
    System Posts: 178,094 Community Admin
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    The basic account lacks penalty fees - therefore not 'one and the same'.
    I suggest that you accept the conversion unless you love Electron.
    cifpower wrote: »
    They are one and the same. Just rebranded. Only difference is Easycash had a Visa Electron card but Basic has a Visa Debit card.
  • pinkdalek
    pinkdalek Posts: 1,355 Forumite
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    cifpower wrote: »
    They are one and the same. Just rebranded. Only difference is Easycash had a Visa Electron card but Basic has a Visa Debit card.

    No they are not.
    Basic will not charge the customer for any failed payments or any transaction performed in sterling. Easycash charges £10 per failed item eg failed direct debit.
  • deadendwaterfall
    deadendwaterfall Posts: 308 Forumite
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    cifpower wrote: »
    They are one and the same. Just rebranded. Only difference is Easycash had a Visa Electron card but Basic has a Visa Debit card.
    And with basic accounts now, since the rules were changed in mid-2017 regarding contactless payments being treated like chip + pin payments in that they're processed in real time, don't you get a contactless card by default or can you get one if you ask?
    :o
  • EarthBoy
    EarthBoy Posts: 3,041 Forumite
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    deadendwaterfall wrote: »
    And with basic accounts now, since the rules were changed in mid-2017 regarding contactless payments being treated like chip + pin payments in that they're processed in real time, don't you get a contactless card by default or can you get one if you ask?

    You cannot get a contactless card on the Halifax basic account. Halifax make that quite clear on their website.
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