Opening a current account in the UK

Not really a tax question, but a finance one.

I've looked at websites for varous British banks, and they all say that to open a current account, you have to have a certain minimum salary, and you have to have your paychecks directly deposited in the account.

Now, what if you do not earn the minimum salary, but you have a substantial amount of savings? Would you be able to open a current account just by making a large initial deposit? I haven't been able to find any information on this anywhere. However, it seems odd that a bank would refuse a customer who is planning to deposit a large amount of money in the account.  Then again,  British banks are different than American ones.

The different banks all have their own different policies, you can but try. You might find this thread useful:

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=5567.45

I've looked at websites for varous British banks, and they all say that to open a current account, you have to have a certain minimum salary, and you have to have your paychecks directly deposited in the account

The banks these days seem to treat you as if you're applying for credit even when they are going to be holding your money.    As they issue "cheque guarantee" cards which effectively guarantee any check up to a certain amount even if there are insufficient funds in the account, I suppose you can say that they are taking a small chance.

But I believe most of the banks do offer a checking/current account without a guaranatee card, which involves just about zero risk to themselves.  (After a few months they will probably then offer you a £50 card anyway.)

As for pay having to be deposited directly, I've never heard of that being a requirement.   After all, there are many of us who are self-employed and thus don't receive a paycheck as such.

I'd ask around some more.  Maybe if you tell them you will open a savings account with a few hundred pounds initial deposit they'll be more amenable.