Banking Service

Getting the best banking service for your needs is about establishing your own priorities before talking to the banks.

Looking for the right banking service begins with looking at your own needs. Do you want credit (cards, overdrafts, loans), instant access to your money, savings and investments, business advice, internet banking, or indeed just a helping hand? When you know what you want, then you can properly evaluate your options- and don’t think for a minute that all banks offer the same service: they don’t!

So you’re after a banking service? Well, what’s wrong with the big high street banks? Actually, there’s nothing wrong with them. While they won’t give you good interest rates; they are excellent for basic financial advice, and usually free if you remain in credit. But these days, we’re all borrowers too. And internet banks offer far better borrowing rates than the high street, as do also the supermarkets like Sainsbury’s or Tesco.

Then there’s your credit cards- almost every financial institution can offer you one- but the high street banking service is pretty lousy for credit card rates too. Try IF, First Direct, Egg or Smile instead.

Everyone offers insurance too- but different companies are competitive for different products; so you most likely get your car insurance from a totally different provider than your home contents insurance (or travel, or life cover, or unemployment cover etc. etc.)

The golden rule with getting the right banking service is: chase the deals in more than one place. Except for offset accounts where there is a huge benefit in keeping banking products together, you lose nothing by shopping around for your exact needs.