Debt Help - Bank Account Advice

Basic bank accounts are designed, as the name would suggest, to offer ‘no-frills’ bank account facilities. They do not come with any credit facilities, meaning that the vast majority of applicants, even bankrupts in some cases, can be accepted.

Indeed, the most common reason for applying for a basic bank account is having an adverse credit history, whether that be defaults, county court judgements or even a bankruptcy. Basic bank accounts are designed to allow such people to open and use banking facilities. However, not all banks are that flexible with who they will accept for any kind of account.

It is a common misconception that anyone can apply for some kind of account at any bank. Although the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has made strong recommendations in the past to the banking industry to provide some form of banking to applicants who would not normally meet their acceptance criteria, they are not currently enforcing this recommendation. Having said that, there are enough basic bank account providers out there to mean that you should almost certainly get accepted for an account that meets your needs – it just might take some research.

Opening a basic bank account is very similar to opening a ‘normal’ bank account. If your chosen account provider has high street branches, you’ll usually need two forms of identification and proof of address.

Three recommended providers of basic bank accounts are ;

Co-Operative CashMinder Account. www.co-operativebank.co.uk

Yorkshire Bank - ReadyCash Account. www.ybonline.co.uk

Natwest Bank - Step Account. www.natwest.co.uk

Some providers offer telephone banking. If you decide to open an account with one of the following providers, you can withdraw cash at Post Office branches free of charge, using your card and PIN;

* Abbey
* Alliance & Leicester
* Bank of Ireland
* Bank of Scotland
* Barclays
* Clydesdale Bank
* The Co-operative Bank
* First Trust Bank
* Halifax
* HSBC
* Lloyds TSB
* Nationwide Building Society
* NatWest
* Northern Bank
* The Royal Bank of Scotland
* Ulster Bank
* Yorkshire Bank