Personal Accounts Choosing Your Bank

While many people are with their bank because theyre used to them or because it seems like an unwanted hassle to change accounts, there can be benefits to shopping around. And just because you keep your main account in one bank, theres no need to keep all your accounts or credit cards with one firm.

If you have a poor credit rating or a large overdraft, you may find it harder to change banks, but some banks will buy your overdraft from you, or offer to convert it into a loan. For a small fee you can request details of your credit rating from Equifax or Experian the two leading credit reference agencies.

Convenience

Depending on your circumstances, you may find youd be better off with one of the new internet banks, like Smile or Cahoot. These can give better interest rates, because they have lower overheads than high street banks that have to run branches in real time. On the other hand, you may rather stick with a large bank you know and trust perhaps you have a good relationship with your branch manager and can expect extra support when you need it. The larger banks also have plentiful local branches, which could be a plus point if you need to, say, pay in cheques frequently.

Terms

While interest rates are an important consideration, there are other factors to take into account when choosing a bank, such as bank charges. Some banks will charge more than others, for example, if you exceed your overdraft limit or if a cheque bounces. Others will charge extra to provide you with copies of statements. Check that the bank complies with the Banking Code, a UK body that promotes best practise in the financial sector.

Bear in mind too, that some banks will offer excellent terms for new customers in order to attract your business, so it may be worthwhile swapping just to take advantage of these. You may find a lower-interest loan, for example, with a new bank.

Bank policy and corporate ethos

Some institutions offer ethical banking, so that you can be sure your money is not being used to fund companies who do not conform to certain criteria. The Co-operative Bank led the way in ethical banking, but there are other banks and investment companies to choose from.

As well as the larger high street banks, there are smaller banks, building societies and friendly societies to consider. While normally associated with savings, some offer current accounts with attractive rates, and many of the new building societies are in fact indistinguishable from banks.

Internet Banking – Which Web Bank is Right For You

Internet Banking – Which Web Bank is Right For You

Finding information online seems like the proverbial search for the needle in the haystack with so many sites and adverts vying for attention just thinking about searching for an internet bank is enough to bring on a headache. However, it might well be worth the effort out of the five best-paying current accounts today, four are provided by internet banks. With a difference of two or three percent, the benefits could be substantial.

Enter online banking into your search browser, and youll pull up several independent sites comparing different banks and accounts. While the special offers can change day to day, there are a few banks that have been performing consistently well the big three being Cahoot, Egg and Smile. Cahoot is the online arm of Abbey National, and the Co-operative Group runs Smile, but both currently offer better deals than their high street counterparts. Intelligent Finance is also a contender. Shop around to find what suits you best whether its a low rate loan or a high performance current account, the right choice will depend on your individual needs and situation.

Take into account things like customer service as well as the terms offered its important that you can contact your bank easily when you need to, and that dealings with them are not an unpleasant ordeal. Even if you conduct most of your business online, there are still likely to be occasions when you need to speak to a human being, and friendly, well-informed staff can make a vast difference to your banking experience. First Direct is now planning to introduce a virtual bank clerk to make online banking more customer friendly.

Ease of use is another factor a bank with a website that is easy to navigate will help you plan your finances with the least amount of hassle. Online banking has now come a long way from the days you could only view your account online you can now pay bills, set up direct debits and transfer money between accounts at the click of your mouse. Egg have recently introduced a service called Egg Pay that lets you securely send money to friends and family via email, and in future we can expect account aggregation an overview of all your financial dealings on one web site that will help make your transactions more efficient.
.
Moneywise and Which magazines are good sources of information to compare banks with check out their websites.

An Examination of Online Banking in the United Kingdom

In the UK, many banks and building societies are attempting to capture a sizeable percentage of the online banking market share. And it seems that the UK consumers are benefiting from this competition most. Online banking in the UK is getting big; there is no doubt about it: 6.5 million consumers are online banking customers. And that figure is projected to rise every year–not because of bank closures–because of the ease that online banking offers. Everyone can say that it is easy and some people may still be dubious about that. But to anyone who is an online banking customer, they will know just how easy and simple it is.

Before choosing an online bank to open an account study carefully what services the bank allows you to do online. Also check the accessibility of talking to a live person. Make sure the banks internet site allow you send secure emails.

The UK, like any other country, has banks on every street corner. And these banks try to lure new customers in with big bright signs: “apply now and get a 6.9% APR rate on your card!” When you are on the Internet, these banks take the same approach. On their websites, there are banners that banks use for advertising space because they recognize that so many people are using online banking; and that they need to emphasize their competitive advantages to draw customers over the Internet.

Some major U.K. banks have opened independent online banks such as Abbey National with www.cahoot.com. There is also www.smile.co.uk the online bank of The Co-operative Bank.
Despite all of the advantages to online banking in the UK, not everything is perfect.
One in twenty consumers will fall victim to online fraud; and when they do, it will cost them big time. The UK’s fraud cost last year was 58 million (101 million), which is quite scary for consumers looking to join an online bank. To be honest, it is safer to use a brick-and-mortar bank; however, in order to keep this safety net, you must sacrifice convenience and flexibility.

If you decide to open an online banking account but are apprehensive about the security issues, you should spend a considerable amount of time selecting a unique and hard-to-crack password; and in addition to this, you should also use other values for your optional information that is hard to determine.

Other Online Internet Banking Security Tips:

- Make sure your operating systems OS and browsers is updated with the latest upgrades (patches).
- Use an anti-virus and anti-spyware programs update them and scan your pc at least once a week.
- Install a personal firewall and learn to use it
- Always close your browser window after online banking and delete cookies.
- Change your passwords once a month.
- Never reply to emails asking for you to update your password or give your password. The online banks will never ask for your password.
- Always type in the browser address bar the online banking url. Do not click on a link especially in an email as this may take you to a scammers page.
- Never bank online from an internet caf.