Replacement for Co-op Cashminder

[MrsD]

Think we need to replace our bank account

needs to be a basic but our defaults are coming up for 4 years old (aw might have a party when they get to be five....)

can't be barclays, RBS, HBOS, HSBC,

we've got visa debti cards just now and I'd like that facility again

was thinking about Clydesdale, Nationwide or Santander

any other suggestions?

[Deepie]

Re: Replacement for Co-op Cashminder

I'm with Santander never had any problems...........

Maybe because it's the only one I don't owe money too...allegedly ..........

[MrsD]

Re: Replacement for Co-op Cashminder

basic account seems to only give a cashcard,is that what you've got/

[PlanB]

Re: Replacement for Co-op Cashminder

I'm with Santander never had any problems...........

Me neither

[SA Gold]

Re: Replacement for Co-op Cashminder

any other suggestions?

The only bank i'll ever use. Linky

[ScabHunter]

Re: Replacement for Co-op Cashminder

This one has probably been sorted out long ago, but just in case it hasn't I'll offer my thoughts anyway. They might still help anyone who is in a similar position.

Clydesdale looks like a pretty good basic account, but like Yorkshire Bank it comes with a Maestro card and not VISA. If you were prepared to be flexible, it might not be a bad solution.

Nationwide is one of the better basic accounts, and it does come with the VISA card you are looking for. It does, however, have three major disadvantages, which may or may not affect you. The first is that the online banking portal does not work on a Linux operating system. Why, I've no idea, but it doesn't. What makes this worse is that there is nothing to tell you this until you try to access it and find that it doesn't work. If you never use Linux, then of course you will not have any problems.

The second drawback is that the VISA card cannot be used outside of the United Kingdom. I know you went to Amsterdam some time back, so you obviously do go overseas from time to time. You can get prepaid debit cards which can get you round this problem, including a Virgin Money card denominated in Euros or US dollars, but you might still want to look elsewhere if you travel often.

The third problem only applies if you want to upgrade to one of the Flex accounts once your credit file is clear. Nationwide seem to operate in the opposite way to most banks, who improve your internal score when you use the basic account and maintain it well. If you want a Flex account in the future, you are probably better off staying away and only approaching Nationwide once your file is clear.

The Santander basic account is poor, and not recommended. It does not come with a debit card of any kind, so the only way to make it usable is to run it in conjunction with something like a Kalixa Pay or Orange prepaid Mastercard. You'd then need to do an online transfer every time you wanted to buy something with the card. If you've got better alternatives, I'd use them!

So, out of the choices you've listed, it probably comes down to whether the card being VISA or the ability to use the card overseas is the most important factor. If it is you and Mr. D both looking for accounts, you could always get one Clydesdale and one Nationwide so that each account covers the weakness of the other one.

One other possibility – If you've got three years of clean history, you could also try the Metro Bank/Bank of Baroda combination which I use. It is more than likely that Metro would give you a full current account with a cheque book and you'd never need to worry about basic accounts again. The combination would give you a Mastercard, a VISA card, two cheque books, and two accounts on which you could set up direct debits. One cheap day trip to London on a National Express overnight coach, and you could have everything you'd need for years.