Barclays Banking
As one of the largest British banks, Barclays Bank offers a full range of financial services including loans, credit cards, mortgages, insurance and pensions.
The standard Barclays Bank account (for over 18's) offers a bank card and access to an agreed overdraft limit without any monthly fee (although of course interest will be charged). The interest rate is lower than an unarranged overdraft. Agreed overdrafts attract a rate of 15.6%APR, but non-agreed lending attracts an extortionate £20 per day!
A nice touch is that cheques up to £1,000 are available immediately for use (no three day wait for them to clear!)
Other Barclays banking service costs are: banker's drafts: £10, stopped cheques: £10, additional statements: £0.50.
As we become more European, you may also be interested in the Barclays Euro account. If for example, you're paid in Euros, this account attracts no exchange conversion costs when you want your money in Sterling.
And like many banks, Barclays banking includes a raft of "premium service" accounts. The first is "Additions", which offers a package of benefits for an extra £7.50 per month. These include breakdown recovery, a legal helpline, extended warranty and purchase protection, a will-writing service, and some cheaper deals on services like pet insurance and foreign exchange. It's a fair deal, and in fact they'll refund your fees if you don't like the service after three months.
Oh yes, and there are far too many options for the under 18's, including a "Young Persons" account, BarclayPlus and further packages for students.
