Banking in the UK

Ok I've seen some others have posted on my specific topic but the ones I saw are old and just wondering what may have changed, what I need to be aware of?  I'm coming to the UK soon and need to open a checking account so I can receive income on a direct deposit from UK employer.  A little research has me thinking HSBC may be the way to go?  I wont have to much of a need to transfer money from the UK to USA I don't think but my wife will.  Any advice is appreciated and addition thoughts and advise are also welcome. 

Thanks

T

According to recent surveys (try googling watchdog and banking), the top three high street banks were First Direct (a division of HSBC), the Co-operative Bank and Alliance of Leicester, at least in terms of customer service. HSBC is certainly a fair choice.

Banks to avoid would probably be Lloyds TSB, Halifax and Bradford and Bingley. Banking is in a bit of a sorry state here at the moment, but like most big crises, probably won't affect your average man on the street except to cause needless panic. Good luck! 

Banking is in a bit of a sorry state here at the moment, but like most big crises, probably won't affect your average man on the street except to cause needless panic. Good luck! 

...and raise the average man's taxes to pay for mistakes of the banks!

It depends on where you'll be living. There isn't an HSBC branch within 20 miles of where I live. I use the Royal Bank of Scotland, which does have branches in England, and I've always been completely happy with them.

I'm a massive fan of internet banking - I use Smile which is part of the Co-operative Bank and I've been nothing but impressed by them. I also pay a monthly fee for a premium account which gets me road side assistance cover, mobile phone insurance, travel insurance, and a few other nice extras. I've never had to pay a fee for using another bank's cash points and their customer service is fantastic....

To expand on Anne's post: one obvious differences in banking between the US and the UK is the fees.  It is not standard in the UK to pay a monthly fee for a standard account.  It is also unusual to be charged for using other banks ATMs or for having cheques printed.

Some of the 'Premium' accounts give quite worthwhile benefits for a small monthly fee but you should be able to get a basic account for free.

In my experience with all of the large banks, things can really vary from branch to branch. For instance, we have an account with RBS, and our main branch is absolutely fantastic. We are able to call the branch directly, and we have been really happy with the service. However, I had to use the branch closest to my office for something not too long ago, and it was a nightmare.

I think this is similar with grocery stores, which really seem to vary from location to location. Just look at any of the threads about them on this on this site, and you will find that while a Sainsbury's or Morrison's might be fantastic in one location, it might be terrible in another.

I agree with PR that you shouldn't have to pay for a basic account. I know that HSBC has a 'passport' account which you have to pay for. In my opinion it just seems like a way to rip off immigrants. You may have to be persistent, but at the end of the day, you should be able to get a free basic account from a bank.

Yeah, I have to agree. I don't see what the appeal is of the HSBC account. You are entitled to a regular, free checking account (in most instances) so why not get one?

The following link is a pdf file from the FSA (Financial Services Authority) about basic bank accounts in the UK.  Page 4 shows a list of the various banks, what their basic bank account is called (as of August 2008), and what the account includes (direct debits, standing orders, debit card, etc).  Basic bank accounts are free (no monthly fee), and they do not offer overdraft or cheque writing privileges.

http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/pdfs/bank_accounts.pdf

Note that the best banks in general may not be the best banks for a newcomer to the UK. For example, if you haven't built up credit in the UK (your credit doesn't transfer over from the US), you aren't going to get the best interest rates or the best credit card deals that a bank offers.

And different banks will have different identity requirements for opening a bank account, which may cause issues for people who don't yet have jobs, utility bills or haven't established residences in the UK for a significant amount of time. This seems to vary from branch to branch, so it's probably best to get word of mouth recommendations.

Ok I've seen some others have posted on my specific topic but the ones I saw are old and just wondering what may have changed, what I need to be aware of?  I'm coming to the UK soon and need to open a checking account so I can receive income on a direct deposit from UK employer.  A little research has me thinking HSBC may be the way to go?  I wont have to much of a need to transfer money from the UK to USA I don't think but my wife will.  Any advice is appreciated and addition thoughts and advise are also welcome. 

Thanks
T

Not exactly old, and only two topics down:

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=47115.0

=)

Note that the best banks in general may not be the best banks for a newcomer to the UK. For example, if you haven't built up credit in the UK (your credit doesn't transfer over from the US), you aren't going to get the best interest rates or the best credit card deals that a bank offers.

And different banks will have different identity requirements for opening a bank account, which may cause issues for people who don't yet have jobs, utility bills or haven't established residences in the UK for a significant amount of time. This seems to vary from branch to branch, so it's probably best to get word of mouth recommendations.

Agreed. I was unable to get an account with the two building societies that I tried (Nationwide and Alliance & Leicester) because I am not on the electoral roll. Just could not get around that requirement no matter who we spoke with at various branches. However, my husband's Nationwide account has been a life saver while we've been living in Brussels for the last 3 months as neither their credit card nor ATM card charge any fees or currency conversion charges--something that, I believe, every other bank does. Given the perks of their accounts, I definitely would have opened my account with them, but they just didn't make it possible.

As far as your basic current account goes with the major banks--I don't see all that much difference between them to be perfectly honest.