Money for Life work in partnership with the Money Advice Service, an independent organisation set up by government. Money AdviceService provides free, unbiased money guidance across the UK to help people make the most of their money. If you have a question or need help, you can chat to them here.
Banking online means you’re more likely to manage your money properly because you can check your account at any time. Your bank is likely to funnel you in the direction of online money-management tools and mobile banking which is great because it means you can bank whenever you like, easily. Well, most of the time. Some banks are still unacceptably bad at the internet, so if their app keeps crashing your phone, think about moving on.
Sometimes you need to talk to someone to discuss your overdraft, open a new account or to do a complex transaction. You don’t want to travel miles for the pleasure, so make sure your bank has also mastered the art of face-to-face communication.
An almost inevitable by-product of being young is being occasionally overdrawn. It’s not ideal, and you should always try to avoid it, but it happens. So comparing different banks’ overdraft fees and other charges is a good way of saving money. Try to pick somewhere that offers an interest-free overdraft and compare what the fees are if you go overdrawn they can be quite different. The Money Advice Service has a handy comparison tool.
Sometimes banks offer all sorts of incentives from the exciting (skateboard!) and not-so-exciting-but-useful (low interest rates) to get you to bank with them. Be careful though and check how good your account with them will be after they’ve finished wooing you.
Some banks are more ethical than others, meaning they donate money to good causes or have rules about what kind of companies they’ll invest in. To an extent, ethics are a personal thing you might care lots about climate change, for others it’s saving tigers. Move Your Money, lets you check how ethical each bank and building society is.
Credit unions are super-ethical, but they tend to be local and not always ahead of the curve when it comes to online banking.
Switching banks is pretty simple. There are switcher guarantees to make sure lots of the work is done for you. You just have to pick a bank you prefer and let them do all the work. We’d recommend that you keep an eye on your direct debits to make sure they all get transferred. You can get more information here. The switching process should take less than seven working days and you can even choose the date it all goes live.
Money for Life work in partnership with the Money Advice Service, an independent organisation set up by government. Money AdviceService provides free, unbiased money guidance across the UK to help people make the most of their money. If you have a question or need help, you can chat to them here.
