Need To Open An Account

[jennyjoan]

I am with Santander whose offices are in city centre and I no longer go into city centre. They had a branch that I liked cos I could drive there but it is now closed down.

I want to open an account like I don't know what to open,

The banks near me are Post office (for savings), Danske Bank, and Ulster Bank.

Looked at the offers which are poor in the Ulster Bank which is just across the road from me. ISA seems to be the biggest percentage.

Is the Post office a good place to save. Thanks

[bednobs]

it depends what's most important to you. If it's easy access to the branch, then PO is a good idea. If you are saving millions of pounds, probably not so much

[Tilly2]

Do you do online banking, JJ? The best accounts seem to be which are accessible online only.

[bednobs]

and in all honesty, unless you ARE saving millions, interest rates will be poor everywhere

[jennyjoan]

I do online banking Tilly - am with Santander but you know that torn £5 note - everybody said a bank will change that for you. Well no banks would touch it.

I had to travel about 10 miles to get to a "local Santander" in glengormley - where the assistant was reluctant and said she couldn't give me a £5 note back but would it be ok to put it into my bank account - of course.

I did want to sorta be nearish to a bank and we do have loads of Post Offices - and it is only a small amount a month.

[ummmm]

Really? Banks have always taken ripped noted as long as the serial number is intact.

[jennyjoan]

that's right ummmm - know you got your son's money via torn money but no banks would touch it, tried Bank of Ireland on Lisburn Road, Danske Bank and Post office - lucky I did have a bank account (ie Santander)

[jennyjoan]

think Bank of Ireland said it was something to do with Coronovirus - I couldn't be bothered arguing over a fiver so walked out.

[Buenchico]

If you've got a current account with Santander (rather than a savings account) you can withdraw cash from it and pay cash into it at any Post Office branch. You can also pay cheques in at any Post Office if you've previously obtained some personalised paying-in slips and deposit envelopes from Santander:
https://www.postoffice.co.uk/branch-banking-services
(Click the 'Withdraw and Deposits' tab)

With the Bank of England base rate (upon which all UK banks base their own interest rates) currently at just 0.1% p.a., you're not going to find any savings account that will earn you very much money. If you're making regular savings though (rather than frequently nipping into a bank to make individual deposits or to take money out), I can't really see why you actually need to be near to a bank branch anyway. It would seem to make more sense to me to look for the best savings account to meet your requirements
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-accounts-best-interest/
or for the best ISA
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/best-cash-isa/

[jennyjoan]

thanks Chris for that lengthy answer.

[Tuvok]

I've once paid a cheque in to Santander via the Post Office.

Took a month to be credited to my account.

[New Judge]

//...where the assistant was reluctant and said she couldn't give me a £5 note back but would it be ok to put it into my bank account - of course.//

She would have said that's due to "money laundering" regulations. That's what she will have been told to say, anyway. And it's nonsense.