NationStates Jolt Archive

One of the banks in the UK is bringing in charges for just having a bank account. This is a first in the UK though in the article it states that the UK is unusual in having free basic banking services (no fees for having an account, no charges for cashing cheques etc). So, people of NSG from around the world do you have free basic banking, if not what are the level of fees you have to endure.

What do people think about free basic banking or not, I am personally in favour of free basic banking as they already use any money you deposit with them to invest and loan out and they get returns much higher than they pay interest on your money.

The bbc news article that sparked this thread:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6148776.stm

They must be really desperate for money if they need to bring in charges for having an account.

They must be really desperate for money if they need to bring in charges for having an account.

Oh yeah. You should see the accounts for most of the banks in the UK - I expect the Company Execs can only afford cheap baked beans for their meals.

This would be a bank that is part of the banking industry of the UK...which made in excess of £100bn profit last financial year.

Can they justify charging for this, I wonder?

I bank simply...a checking account, a savings account, a checkbook (used only for tuition payments), and a debit card.

All these together cost me exactly $0.00 per year, provided I keep a minimum balance of $5 in each account, and I don't use ATMs that charge fees.

I cannot imagine why anyone would bank somewhere that charges fees...*mind boggles*

This would be a bank that is part of the banking industry of the UK...which made in excess of £100bn profit last financial year.

Can they justify charging for this, I wonder?

Wow, I knew they had large profits but I didn't realise they were that big.:eek:

I have a couple of savings accounts, a VISA/Mastercard combo card, online and phone banking, stuff like that and I don't pay anything for it - not even the credit card. Being a student has its perks when your bank decides you're too poor to afford things, but that they still want you as a customer. :)

I have a couple of savings accounts, a VISA/Mastercard combo card, online and phone banking, stuff like that and I don't pay anything for it - not even the credit card. Being a student has its perks when your bank decides you're too poor to afford things, but that they still want you as a customer. :)

Would you have to pay for these things if you weren't a student?

Bank accounts are generally free here.

What do people think about free basic banking or not, I am personally in favour of free basic banking as they already use any money you deposit with them to invest and loan out and they get returns much higher than they pay interest on your money.

here in Italy unfortunatly it's perfectly normal to have charges for having an account. I was not aware free banking actually existed somewhere in the world.

i don't recall exactly how much i spend per year, but it's several tens of euros...

I bank simply...a checking account, a savings account, a checkbook (used only for tuition payments), and a debit card.

All these together cost me exactly $0.00 per year, provided I keep a minimum balance of $5 in each account, and I don't use ATMs that charge fees.

I cannot imagine why anyone would bank somewhere that charges fees...*mind boggles*

That is not much different to the UK except you can go down to a balance of zero and that the majority of cash machines are free of charge (annoyingly the ones that charge are increasing in number).

I agree that I can't imagine why anyone would stay with a place that charges.

Just for info if people didn't read the article:

First Direct, the bank introduing charges, will charge £10 a month unless you pay in at least £1500 per month, have a balance of £1500 or have one of their other products such as a loan, savings account or insurance. The average wage in the UK is around £22,000 and after tax is less than their limit so it peanalises everyone but the very well paid.

I have a couple of savings accounts, a VISA/Mastercard combo card, online and phone banking, stuff like that and I don't pay anything for it - not even the credit card. Being a student has its perks when your bank decides you're too poor to afford things, but that they still want you as a customer. :)
Some banks here offer the same for students, others don't.
Mine doesn't. Checking and credit card are free, but I pay a monthly fee of , hmm, I can't remember, something like 3 € for it. It's the cheapest they offer because I only do online banking, so no paperwork for them.

They actually charge for sending you your monthly balance statements, too. They charge the postage it costs. And since it's mandated by law that they send you these statements, you couldn't opt out of that until very recently when they started sending the statements as email attachments, so no more postage costs.

Saving accounts don't cost anything, though. Just checking accounts.

I'm not sure if there is even one bank doing business in Germany that does not charge for a checking account (except for student accounts who are often free).


I *never* thought about this before, because it just... is like that. *shrug*

But now I'm starting to get angry. :mad: :p

Here in the US it is common for the large "national" banking institutions to charge fees for nearly every damn thing. They end up nickle and diming one to death. However there are truely "free" banks out there. Most likely regional banks that need the capitol.

First Direct, the bank introduing charges, will charge £10 a month unless you pay in at least £1500 per month, have a balance of £1500 or have one of their other products such as a loan, savings account or insurance. The average wage in the UK is around £22,000 and after tax is less than their limit so it peanalises everyone but the very well paid.

Maybe it's a test to see how stupid people are? You'd have to be pretty stupid to stay with them and get charged, considering pretty-much every other bank (even NastyWest!) is free. If you consider 0.1% interest on a current account free, of course, but that's another matter entirely.

However there are truely "free" banks out there. Most likely regional banks that need the capitol.

Exactly...forget "banks", stick with Credit Unions. They are generally local or state operations, and in my experience do not stick you with a bunch of fees after you've committed to them.

One of the banks in the UK is bringing in charges for just having a bank account. This is a first in the UK though in the article it states that the UK is unusual in having free basic banking services (no fees for having an account, no charges for cashing cheques etc). So, people of NSG from around the world do you have free basic banking, if not what are the level of fees you have to endure.

What do people think about free basic banking or not, I am personally in favour of free basic banking as they already use any money you deposit with them to invest and loan out and they get returns much higher than they pay interest on your money.

The bbc news article that sparked this thread:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6148776.stm


I currently get a free account, but that only lasts another month or two until my status as a student expires. I'm not sure exactly how much i'll be slugged in fees. It's possibly dependent on my income.

My banking is better than free, they pay me to have an account at my bank.

Fifth/Third offers a checking account that has no fees, and, if you opt for the online statement, they actually allow your account to accrue .5% interest every month. So I actually get green for just letting my money live there.

My banking is better than free, they pay me to have an account at my bank.

Fifth/Third offers a checking account that has no fees, and, if you opt for the online statement, they actually allow your account to accrue .5% interest every month. So I actually get green for just letting my money live there.

What is .5% interest as an annual interest rate?

The best I have seen in the UK is the co-op bank with 3.??% interest annually for a current/checking account. Can't remember the exact figure.

What is .5% interest as an annual interest rate?

The best I have seen in the UK is the co-op bank with 3.??% interest annually for a current/checking account. Can't remember the exact figure.

Let's see if I can figure this out...

So...if I've got 400 dollars in the bank, I get two bucks a month. Over twelve months I get 24 bucks. So, every year of having 400 dollars in the bank gives me...

16.6% Interest. That can't be right...where's my math wrong...

A co-op...is that kinda like a credit union in the US?

I have free checking for my personal account, complete with overdraft protection.

My business account though.....not so much. It has a minimum balance requirement, a certain number of transactions a month I am limited to, and stuff like that.

One of the banks in the UK is bringing in charges for just having a bank account. This is a first in the UK though in the article it states that the UK is unusual in having free basic banking services (no fees for having an account, no charges for cashing cheques etc). So, people of NSG from around the world do you have free basic banking, if not what are the level of fees you have to endure.

What do people think about free basic banking or not, I am personally in favour of free basic banking as they already use any money you deposit with them to invest and loan out and they get returns much higher than they pay interest on your money.

The bbc news article that sparked this thread:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6148776.stm

My British account is free for the moment, but my French account charges me about €4 a month. But that includes a credit card and they'll send my statements to another European country if I don't have an address in France at anytime. I don't think that is a bad deal really. If you got the basic checking account with them, no ATM card though I think, it is free. But if there are more services, it's logically that you would have to pay more. From what I understand First Direct offers many services that other banks don't.

Let's see if I can figure this out...

So...if I've got 400 dollars in the bank, I get two bucks a month. Over twelve months I get 24 bucks. So, every year of having 400 dollars in the bank gives me...

16.6% Interest. That can't be right...where's my math wrong...

A co-op...is that kinda like a credit union in the US?

Basically the co-op is a bank where the profits are returned to its members depending on how much they used the co-op facilities (not just banking ones). Not all customers are members (so not quite a building society) but it only costs £1 to become a member. The co-op are also a food store, funeral directors and travel agents (off the top of my head).

$24 dollars is 6% of £400 so that would be a 6%, interest rate I think. That is very good for a current/cheque account. How did you get 16.6%?

$24 dollars is 6% of £400 so that would be a 6%, interest rate I think. That is very good for a current/cheque account. How did you get 16.6%?

Must have switched a decimal point somewhere or something...

Sheesh, free banking? Next thing you know, the English will have free health care. Bunch of silly socialists.

This would be a bank that is part of the banking industry of the UK...which made in excess of £100bn profit last financial year.

Can they justify charging for this, I wonder?

Here we go again. What was their gross margin? What was the real profit?

Do you have anything like the credit unions we have in the States? Simply put, it's a membership organization that operates a non-profit financial institution. They're usually associated with places of employment.

My British account is free for the moment, but my French account charges me about €4 a month. But that includes a credit card and they'll send my statements to another European country if I don't have an address in France at anytime. I don't think that is a bad deal really. If you got the basic checking account with them, no ATM card though I think, it is free. But if there are more services, it's logically that you would have to pay more. From what I understand First Direct offers many services that other banks don't.

First direct is one of the best for customer service (real people not a machine on the phone) and for some services it offers very competitive deals (though others are pretty bad).

I think most of it services are offered by its competitors as well. i FD is also a phone and internet only bank, no branches, so it can't really be costs that has forced this charge to come about as you would expect the high street banks (that have branches) to charge first because of rising costs.

I have a basic checking account that doesn't charge me any fees as long as I have direct deposit; if I don't then I get charged a monthly fee. I also have to keep the balance in my savings account above a certain amount, or I get charged a monthly fee.

I bank with First Direct & am (just) lucky enough to be able to avoid these new charges. But £10 per month doesn't sound a lot when you consider what they actually do for me .....

My wages go in on the last working day of the month. On the first working day of the new month they pay the following for me automatically .... mortgage, electricity, endowment policy, car & buildings insurance, contact lenses, car breakdown cover, car loan payment. Imagine the hassle involved if I'd to go traipsing around each company every month paying those bills myself. Sod that for a lark. Life's too short. £10 is a bargain.

The ones I feel sorry for are the folks on benefits/pensions & who are struggling enough as it is. I remember once when I worked for the social security office this girl coming in looking for a Crisis Loan (emergency payment) .... she'd gone overdrawn by £0.21 and with all the charges involved she ended up owing the bank £140 and when we paid her benefits in she had nothing to live on for a whole 2 weeks. That's the ones I feel sorry for.

I bank simply...a checking account, a savings account, a checkbook (used only for tuition payments), and a debit card.

All these together cost me exactly $0.00 per year, provided I keep a minimum balance of $5 in each account, and I don't use ATMs that charge fees.

I cannot imagine why anyone would bank somewhere that charges fees...*mind boggles*

Yeahhhaaaaa i bank even more simply, a saving acount for my wages to go into. and ohh heh nowt else.

Would you have to pay for these things if you weren't a student?

Bank accounts are generally free here.

Not the accounts or the phone bank thing, but I do believe they take a fee for online banking, which is weird since you're basically doing their job for them... also, the VISA and Mastercard combo would have a regular annual fee.

What is .5% interest as an annual interest rate?

The best I have seen in the UK is the co-op bank with 3.??% interest annually for a current/checking account. Can't remember the exact figure.
You can get about 6% with Halifax, so long as you pay in a certain amount each month and don't touch it.

I currently get 2% annual interest from RBoS...which is fine, until you look at this lovely statistic (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6146228.stm)...

So my money is being devalued at a net rate of...erm...about 0.3% a year, I think. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

You can get about 6% with Halifax, so long as you pay in a certain amount each month and don't touch it.

I currently get 2% annual interest from RBoS...which is fine, until you look at this lovely statistic (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6146228.stm)...

So my money is being devalued at a net rate of...erm...about 0.3% a year, I think. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

That is why i try and keep as little as possible in a current account and store the rest in saving accounts with good interest rates.

In the case of FD I don't get £1500 a month, my policy on savings means my balance will never be £1500 and I like to shop around rather than be forced due to charges to have a poor value product.

My wages go in on the last working day of the month. On the first working day of the new month they pay the following for me automatically .... mortgage, electricity, endowment policy, car & buildings insurance, contact lenses, car breakdown cover, car loan payment. Imagine the hassle involved if I'd to go traipsing around each company every month paying those bills myself. Sod that for a lark. Life's too short. £10 is a bargain.
Erm, that's just Direct Debit. All banks and building societies will do that. £10 per month isn't so much of a bargain when anyone else will do it for free :p
Also, if you move banks the new one should move all your direct debits and standing orders for you automagically so that isn't even any hassle any more!

Most standard banks accounts in Australia have monthly account fees, ATM fees, excess transaction fees, etc charged to them. Cheque accounts tend to attract the highest fees, the banks here really hate cheques. Student & pensioner accounts tend to be fee free & often if you have a large enough home loan they'll waive some of the fees.

The major banks in Australia are just about the most profitable businesses here.

Credit Unions are the way to go, because they're almost always fee free. They don't have the convenience of having branches everywhere though.

I don't pay any fees on my accounts, because I used to work for a bank & they have never updated my account status. :p

I have a student account so pretty much everything is free. Swish.

I have a student account so pretty much everything is free. Swish.

Untill you are not a student. I have to say being a student is great as you get a pretty large overdraft facility which you pay no charges or interest on. The banks bank on the statistic that once netted you are more likely to ditch your wift than them.

Untill you are not a student. I have to say being a student is great as you get a pretty large overdraft facility which you pay no charges or interest on. The banks bank on the statistic that once netted you are more likely to ditch your wift than them.
And my bank is going to suffer as soon as I get a job and pay off my overdraft. They have very kindly given me a £2000 overdraft in my first year as a graduate...and once that's paid off, I'm moving my money to somewhere where the interest outstrips inflation (the RPIX, at least).

And my bank is going to suffer as soon as I get a job and pay off my overdraft. They have very kindly given me a £2000 overdraft in my first year as a graduate...and once that's paid off, I'm moving my money to somewhere where the interest outstrips inflation (the RPIX, at least).

Good luck in finding a god enough account, there are a few. Trying to find an interest rate to beat RPI would be a big challenge without there being any ridculous restrictions