02GF74
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 posted on 15/8/08 at 08:36 AM |
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OT - online bank account
I have current account with natwest into which my salary goes into. there is a healthy balance in there but the interest I get is a paltry 0.025 %
 i.e. taking the p155
I like to stick with Natwest as they have service tills plus I like their on-line banking thing as it is simple and intuitive to use.
BUT I WANT MORE THAN 0.025 % interest - cheeky bastids would charge loads more than that if I were to borrow from them.
So what are my options.
1. write to NatWest and say I want bigger interest on current account or I move (been there many many years).
2. get salary paid into a higher interest account, maybe with another bank, and then transfer money into NatWest current a/c? (inconvenient and
I'll probably forget and get overdrawn)
3. Tell Natwest to shove it and find another bank with same service, high interest and nice online banking facility.
4. or?
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Alfa145
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| posted on 15/8/08 at 08:52 AM |
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1) NATWEST wont care but they may have a higher interest current account
2) As you say inconvienient
3) I use halifax online and it is very intuitive and feature rich, easy to transfer money about or open other accounts online and setup bill payments
and standing orders.
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eznfrank
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| posted on 15/8/08 at 08:52 AM |
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Why don't you move the healthy balance bit, or basically what you aint using on a monthly basis into one of their ISA's or similar?
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BenB
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| posted on 15/8/08 at 08:53 AM |
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Few current accounts pay much interest. Even the ones that pay "20x most banks" only pay piddly amounts!! IE 20x of 0.025% is still pretty
pathetic.
I'd get an ING direct bank account and use their "regular" saver function to transfer a sizeable stash of salary into the ING
account each month and just keep a little slush fund in the current account for day-to-day stuff. If you transfer a little less than you could out of
your account the balance will slowly increase but it's very easy in Natwest to put a link to your ING account and every few months transfer the
excess into the savings account.
Of course a really nice option if you have a mortgage is something like a One account where the balance is offset against your mortgage. Unfortunately
it also limits your choice of mortgages so they may not be the most attractive ones on offer.
In my experience Natwest and companies like that rely on numbers IE they don't give a damn about an individual. You can threaten to go to a
different bank and they'll just say "okay" and watch you walk...
The ING online system is very intuitive BTW. Limited in scope, but very intuitive. And much nicer on the eye than the Natwest one. It's also
very easy within ING to set-up a cash ISA (takes a couple of days) which is worth it if you've got 3k to stash away and avoid paying tax on
(assuming you haven't used your allowance this year).....
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BenB
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| posted on 15/8/08 at 08:59 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Alfa145
1) NATWEST wont care but they may have a higher interest current account
2) As you say inconvienient
3) I use halifax online and it is very intuitive and feature rich, easy to transfer money about or open other accounts online and setup bill payments
and standing orders.
they have a higher rate of interest account but they charge you through the nose for it and the rate of interest still blows.
sure, you get loads of "advantages" but they're scams (ie free use of airport luxury lounges- but only if you buy your ticket
through NatWest travel, free home contents insurance- but only if you buy your buildings insurance through Natwest insurance)....
And if you do ever go for an "upgrade" don't think it'll be easy to get out of it (I only did it because I saved £250 on my
mortgage by being a "private" account holder and it cost me £220 for the year and there were a few perks like free basic breakdown
cover).... Every time I went into any branch of Natwest I was offered an upgrade (sometimes after being made to wait for 20 minutes for "an
urgent review of your account" ) but when I wanted to change back to a normal account suddenly I have to send a letter in
blood in triplicate to the pope during a full-moon in a month beginning with # in Aramaic.... (okay a bit of an exageration but it still took 6
weeks!!!!)....
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bilbo
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| posted on 15/8/08 at 09:04 AM |
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Don't discount option 2 in your list.
You can set up standing orders/scheduled payments to automaticaly pay a fixed sum from one bank account to another every month. That way you
can't forget. If you use the on-line banking facility of the account you should be able to set this up yourself, otherwise I'm sure the
'friendly' banking staff will do it for you.
Perhaps best to set this up to pay a fixed amount into the savings from the current rather than the other way round?
---------------------------------------
Build Diary: http://bills-locost.blogspot.com/
Web Site: http://locost.atspace.com
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gingerprince
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| posted on 15/8/08 at 09:25 AM |
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My current account is Barclays, again a paltry interest rate.
However I also have a Barclays e-savings account alongside. I can transfer money immediately online from one to the other. Interest rate is about 4%
- not brilliant but it is an instant access account. They have a similar one with higher interest for months you don't withdraw.
Basically I move all money that's not needed from current to savings. I tend to be over-zealous and move more, but then I can move a hundred
quid or so back near the end of the month if I'm running short. Best of both worlds, and then periodically transfer money I know I won't
need for a while from the eSavings to my ISA (not Barclays). Again, all online.
Looking at the Natwest account they have a similar eSavings gig (4.3%) so it might be worth looking into?
I find it a good balance between convenience and interest. A more effective option would be one of these all-in-one offset accounts, but that of
course is a wholesale change.
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smart51
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| posted on 15/8/08 at 09:30 AM |
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could you set up a standing order to transfer, say 30% of your salary to a higher interest account on the day after you get paid, then have a standing
order set up on that account to move the money back 2 weeks later?
assuming you don't spend a whole months worth of money in the first week, you'll get more interest whilst maintaining the convenience.
Natwest pay 0.25% on their current account. Halifax pay 2%? 3%? If the average sum of money in your account is £300, then you'll be about £70
per year better off.
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matt_claydon
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| posted on 15/8/08 at 09:31 AM |
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Just switch banks, there are plenty of high interest current accounts around. Natwest online banking isn't that great anyway.
E.g. Halifax: http://www.halifax.co.uk/bankaccounts/highinterestcurrentaccount.asp
Pays 5.12% on balances up to £2500 - more than that you should be putting in savings anyway, try Kaupthing Edge who pay 6.55%
Loads of good independent advice and comparisons on http://www.moneysavingexpert.com
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wilkingj
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| posted on 15/8/08 at 11:04 AM |
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What!!!!...
MY HSBC Current account Interest rate is about 17%..
Oh Shite... thats what I pay them for spending too much.
At the end of the Money, I still have some Month left!
1. The point of a journey is not to arrive.
2. Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
Best Regards
Geoff
http://www.v8viento.co.uk
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 15/8/08 at 12:02 PM |
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I used to be with Barclays, but got pee'd off when I got a quarterly interest payment of 35p - from which they deducted tax!
I moved to Halifax, and 1 month later I was getting around £3 a MONTH, i.e. £9 - £10 a quarter, after tax.
Barclays weren't interested when I left them (I was expecting some form of contact to ask why I was leaving - but nothing). Halifax smoothed
the change-over, dealing with the transfer of all my standing orders and direct debits free of charge.
I'm not saying Halifax are perfect, but they have always given me the impression that they're keen to have my business.
David
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Paul TigerB6
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| posted on 15/8/08 at 12:16 PM |
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I would never choose a current account based on the interest rate - put quite simply a current account should really be chosen based on the efficiency
and convenience of running your day to day expenses.
As above if you want interest on your outstanding balance then put it into a savings account or better still an ISA where the taxman wont be taking
20% or more. If you are happy with Natwest then stay with them but have a look at their e-ISA where you can earn 5.5% tax free, and e-savings account.
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fesycresy
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| posted on 15/8/08 at 12:19 PM |
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You need a wife and kids like mine.
They'll make sure your account is so empty that you'll never give a toss what interest rates they pay 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up.
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Fozzie
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| posted on 15/8/08 at 01:54 PM |
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What BenB says ^ ^ ^
I just keep what I need per month, bills etc in my current, plus a small amount for 'emergencies' 
The rest I have set up standing orders for an ISA and to ING, it gets taken out of the current account and straight into the savings pot! 
I agree that ING is very easy to manage online, and you can move money between your accounts very easily.
Just my tuppence worth of course!
Fozzie
'Racing is Life!...anything before or after is just waiting'....Steve McQueen
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