Current Accounts: Know the ins and outs

There were many examples of banks offering cash bonuses, which were belied by overdraft fees last year. Halifax Bank of Scotland, in particular, launched a Reward Current account, which offered a monthly cash bonus of £5 if £1,000 was paid into it during the course of the month. But if a customer became overdrawn, even with a prior agreement, it would cost them £5 a day for an unauthorised overdraft. This is a lot. Also becoming common are “package deals.”

With so many recession related concerns these days, it’s really important that people have banks that they can rely on. Customers, more than ever, need to monitor finances and watch spending if they are to be able to live within their means and still have some cash to buy the specialist items they want. Banks have to tell customers exactly what they are getting themselves into; transparency is the key. Otherwise, banks lay themselves open to the charge that costs like overdraft fees are deliberately concealed.

With companies such as Alliance and Leicester, you can get a very detailed description of all the current savings accounts available. In addition, with Premier Direct and Premier Current accounts, you can get cash and interest benefits, and overdraft fees are £5 monthly rather than daily. Check out Alliance and Leicester’s website for more information on these and other options for current savings accounts.