We all use a bank, whether for our current account, savings or borrowing money. There are very few of us that do not have a bank account. However, there are a lot of banks to choose from and we should be careful to choose one that is good. The word good is obviously very vague and what is meant by this is that we need to make sure that it is suiting our needs. There are different things that might be important to us and there might be certain characteristics that are really important to us.
Cost/Interest
Something that will be important to most of us are the bank charges and interest. If we have a current account there will be certain charges, including those for an overdraft and if we have a loan there will be interest to pay and possibly charges as well. Just as you would get if you took out a payday loan without a credit check. If we have savings, we will be paid interest and this will give us a return. These amounts will differ depending on the bank and so you should take a look and compare a few to see whether you will be better off moving. Often, we have been with a bank since we were children. Banks know this and that is why their children’s accounts have such good interest rates as they want to get their brand loyalty started off from a young age. However, we will probably find that there are cheaper banks available or ones that will pay a better return on savings and so it is worth investigating this.
Branch/online/post
We tend to vary in the way that we like to bank. Some of us like to deal with a local branch. We want to be able to go in and speak to someone and deal with our banking in person. However, there is a growing trend in online banking, where we will be able to check our balance, make transactions and all sorts of other things purely online. This can be convenient as it can be done at any time. There are some accounts which are dealt with through the post or even by telephone. These can be better for some people who do not like online banking due to fears about security and perhaps do not have any branches in there local high street or do not like going there.
Reputation
A lot of people will consider the reputation of the bank. They might want to use a bank that they have heard of or one that has been recommended to them. It is often the case that we will not want to swap to a different bank because we are worried about what an alternative one might be like. It is not an unjustified concern but it can be a good idea to check out alternatives and perhaps talk to other people about who they use so that you can think about whether there might be alternative banks that you might be happy to swap to. You should also be able to find reviews and information about them online. Obviously, you will also want to check out what their charges and interest rates are to see whether they will be better than who you are with already.
Provide right type of accounts
Obviously, you will also need to think about what types of accounts you need as well. Most banks will offer a current account with an overdraft facility, a savings account or a selection of them and loans. However, if you are looking for very specific types of accounts, then you will need to make sure that they have what you are looking for.
