Factors to Consider When Opening a Bank Account

When you want to put money in a bank account, there are several different kinds of accounts you can choose.

• Basic Bank Account. This type of account was set up under a government scheme to allow poorer families to have access to a bank account. You can deposit your wages into this type of account, use it to pay your bills and pay your tax credits. You receive a debit card so that you can access ATM machines and make purchases with the money coming out your account. There is no overdraft allowed with this type of account, so if you are worried that you might overspend, you won’t be able to do so with a basic bank account. You can access the account by visiting the branch, online, or through the post office.

• Current Account. With this type of bank account, you have all the features of a basic bank account with the addition of an overdraft. This means that if you should overspend, the bank will allow you to spend more than the amount of money in your account by a predetermined amount.

• Premium Account. This type of bank account allows you to earn higher than usual interest on the amount of money you have in the account. You can have an overdraft of up to £1000 and not have to pay any interest or fees when you use it. Like the basic and current accounts, there is a daily limit on how much you can withdraw from your account through an ATM and you have 14 hours access through ATM’s and online banking.

When you decide to open a bank account, you have to decide which type of account is for you. If you intend to have any amount of money in the bank, then you need to look for an account that pays a high rate on interest .on daily balances. Basic bank accounts do not pay any interest on the money you have in the bank and are often referred to as checking accounts only.

Some banks do not offer the option for debit cards and in this day and age, this is one of the most common and preferred ways of making purchases. In fact, one could say having a debit card to use with your account is an absolute necessity when it comes to choosing a bank account. Many banks that don’t have debit service do have a cash card you can use to make withdrawals from your account but you have to visit an ATM machine in order to do so. This would be useless to you if you want to make a purchase in a store, by telephone or online.

Do you write a lot of cheques or want to be able to do so? You have to find out whether the bank has a means of providing you with cheques if you can open such an account. You also have to find out the manner in which you can order cheques.

In some cases, you have to place the order with the teller at the bank, in others you have to mail in a request form, but the easiest way of ordering new cheques is to be able to place your order online. This should be your next question – Does the bank offer online banking services?

Online banking is the modern way of banking from transferring money to paying bills. You simply access your bank account through the Internet and perform many different transactions from the comfort of your home or office. In some cases, banks only offer this service for specific accounts, so you need to find out which of these accounts would be better for you.

The interest rate that the bank pays on your balances is also important because it willed determine how much money you will earn on your savings. Some accounts will only pay interest if you have a high balance at the end of the month and in order to receive any interest at all you must maintain this balance at all times. The higher the balance, of course, the higher the interest paid. If you do have a lot of money to deposit, you should check out all the options in interest that the bank offers.

If you write checks, pay your bills online or make withdrawals, you need to know if the bank charges a fee or fees for these services. In some bank accounts you are only permitted to have a specific number of transactions per month.

If you need to send a wire transfer from your account or receive one, you do need to know in advance how much this will cost you. The same applies to obtaining a money order or cashier’s cheque in your home currency or in foreign currency.