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Santander , who own Abbey, have announced the launch of a new current account from January which will offer fee free banking.
Contrary to much opinion that the forthcoming Judgment from the Supreme Court in the case between the OFT and the Banks this does not seem to be signaling the end of free banking, rather the opposite.
The Account is however only available to consumers who hold their Mortgage with Abbey although there is no requirement to make mortgage payments from the account.
The ZERO Current Account from Santander offers:
Contrary to much opinion that the forthcoming Judgment from the Supreme Court in the case between the OFT and the Banks this does not seem to be signaling the end of free banking, rather the opposite.
The Account is however only available to consumers who hold their Mortgage with Abbey although there is no requirement to make mortgage payments from the account.
The ZERO Current Account from Santander offers:
- No authorised charges
- No unauthorised charges
- No charges for unpaid items
- No charges for paid items
- Overdraft interest rate of 12.9 per cent
- No separate unauthorised overdraft interest rate
- No charge for use of ATMs world-wide and no foreign exchange fees
- Fee-free debit card usage for purchases world-wide
- 6 per cent in credit interest rate fixed for 1 year (balances up to £2500 if you credit more than £1k per month)
- No banker’s draft fees
The bank have stated that if you didn't have enough credit in your account to make your Abbey Mortgage Payment then they would pay it and continue to charge the overdraft rate of 12.9% on the additional overdraft.
This is an addition to their Zero range of products which includes The Santander Zero Credit Card which offers no fees and a 0% interest of purchases for the first three months.
António Horta-Osório, Chief Executive of Santander UK, said:
“Santander is uniquely placed amongst UK banks to change the way it does business, and our new approach is one based on simplicity: the more business you do with us, the more we will offer you in return.''
The Bank told Legal Beagles they hope that customers will find the deal so attractive they will use the account as their primary banking account and manage all their direct debits and standing orders through it.
They have also said that this decision, of course, has no relation to the forthcoming judgment in the Supreme Court over the fairness of bank charges, nor anything to do with the OFT's recent Market Study on Personal Current Accounts. Figures obtained by LegalBeagles show over 1.2 million customers currently have their complaints about bank charges on hold pending the outcome of the test case.
We feel that this type of account comes into line with the OFTs recommendations made in the PCA report and will be beneficial to consumers pushing the hand of the other banks to lower their fees, it is a clear and easy to understand system offering good value for money.
The deal will be available to all customers of Abbey and Bradford & Bingley when the two banks become Santander. It will be extended to Alliance & Leicester customers when it re brands to Santander later in 2010.
Consumers wishing to pre-register interest should call 0800 234 6058
We will comment further when we receive a copy of the full terms and conditions of this account.
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