Changing bank accounts

Do you have a local building society may be your best bet nobody can guarantee that any financial institution will not close its local branch. Where we live the building society is the only one left that has a branch.
Or if you have an accessible post office how about opening an account with them.

Nationwide have made a commitment to keeping all their branches open until 2028.

I have a local one and it’s always very busy and very helpful. A welcome human face to banking.

Ive had my account there for more years than I can remember. They did once make a mistake in my account and sent me flowers and chocolates to apologise😁

I, too, was with the royal Bank of Scotland, but when Santander took over, I chose to move to the Nationwide, which is a bank, and a building society. What is more it is still owned by its members and was not floated off on the stockmarket, like most other building societies.

Last year they paid me £200 dividend because, at the time, as well as a current account I also had a mortgage with them.

They run their call centres through their branches, so the branch will probably be closed a couple of days a week, but they are determined to stay on the high street where others are closing down. I am a very happy Nationwide customer and would recommend them.

Thus speaks a satisfied cutomer of over a decade

Yes, another happy Nationwide customer here! I was with my previous bank for 50 years so it was a big change but it was really easy and I have been in my local branch (a free bus ride away) several times and the staff have always been great.
Now I wonder why I didn't make the change years ago.

If all you have is state pension and presumably pay regular bills by direct debit, then do you just want somewhere to withdraw cash? You can do this at any cashpoint anywhere whoever you bank with. Most are free, even those in shops and petrol stations.

Look at moneysavingsexpert and chose a bank that gives you a cash bonus to switch.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/compare-best-bank-accounts/#nationwide

Can I please urge people NOT to say who they bank with. If MN/GN was subject of a cyber attack - and it has been in the past - then hackers would have your email address which can easily be linked to other data about you. That data is then sold on. Next thing, you will be getting a phone call from scammers purporting to be your bank

No doubt someone will come along and say I am catastophising but I’m not. I am just warning elderly people to be careful about what they broadcast on an open forum.

Excellent advice about not naming your bank PaynesGrey

I am sure most, if not all, GNs will not consider you are catastrophising as you can't be too careful.

I would give you a yellow handclap if I knew how to.

ExDancer do you have a local Post Office?
If so all your banking with your current bank can be done via the post office counter.

Sago

ExDancer do you have a local Post Office?
If so all your banking with your current bank can be done via the post office counter.

When you draw out money at a Post Office, does the counter staff see your details? They have a screen in front of them so presumably they do. Another possible security risk.

PaynesGrey

If all you have is state pension and presumably pay regular bills by direct debit, then do you just want somewhere to withdraw cash? You can do this at any cashpoint anywhere whoever you bank with. Most are free, even those in shops and petrol stations.

Look at moneysavingsexpert and chose a bank that gives you a cash bonus to switch.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/compare-best-bank-accounts/#nationwide

Can I please urge people NOT to say who they bank with. If MN/GN was subject of a cyber attack - and it has been in the past - then hackers would have your email address which can easily be linked to other data about you. That data is then sold on. Next thing, you will be getting a phone call from scammers purporting to be your bank

No doubt someone will come along and say I am catastophising but I’m not. I am just warning elderly people to be careful about what they broadcast on an open forum.

There is so much information about us on the net that I do not think a raid on GN or MN for our email addresses would put us more than very marginaly at risk..

I appreciate your concerns, but when you consider how many people leave their card details on sites they use frequently - like M&S, I think I will continue to sleep easy in my bed, even though I have admitted to banking with Nationwide.

Do you have a local post office? Where I live all the banks have closed, but transactions can be done at the post office, or take the bus into the next town, but even there, branches of some banks are closing.
By the way, Halifax is HBOS , ie Bank of Scotland, and part of the Lloyds Group, so you can do transactions with any of the three.

M0nica. Marginally at risk is all is takes.

Hackers who have got into the back end of a system could easily match email addresses (which is all you need to join GN) with the user names and what that user has posted. An 88 year old woman with mobility issues saying she banks with XXX would be catnip to a scammer.

Have you ever looked at the dark web to see what is held there about you there? People might be very surprised at what they see. Very easy to use an email address to get someone’s name, address and phone number. How do people think scam call centres get data in the first place? They aren’t hacking bank records. They are hacking random sites that don’t have good security - which GN does not have. That’s evident from the number of spam bots that roam the site.

Do you actually need a bank branch?
As has been said you can get cash from any ATM.
If you are happy with online banking I'd recommend Chase.
If you telephone with a query a real person picks up the phone (no please press 1 or robots to get past). This is a big plus in my book.

mum2three no not all your information will be visible.

I think there is a bit of scaremongering going on here.

Yes your email address could be discovered via a data breach but strong passwords and changing your passwords frequently is important.

If you click the link and enter your email this site will tell you of it has been compromised.

haveibeenpwned.com/

Make sure your password is random, having the name of your pets, year of birth is a big NO.
For example wengyrumplen!?3 is much stronger than ziggycat56.

I recently had a call from EE my mobile provider, they asked me to verify my identity, I refused until they could verify theirs, the caller was really understanding and immediately sent me a text from EE.

Being safe online and on the phone is often just common sense, we have to learn to live with technology, it’s not going away.

*M0nica. Marginally at risk is all is takes.8

in whuch case we would never do anything, not even cross the road, because there was a marginal risk we might be rundown.

I make my own calculations on risk, we all do it all the time, and I think that saying on GN a bank I have an account with is one of those marginal risks that I will not lose any sleep over.

Our last bank has just shut down so you can never guarantee that they won't, although, if you have a Nationwide branch near you, as Lathyrus has said, they have pledged not to close any branches until 2028.

Or the Post Office if you have one nearby. Presumably their computer systems are improved now.

Can you cope with online banking?

M0nica. And that’s your prerogative.

Sago. Giving people a gentle warning isn't scaremongering. It’s just someone (me) with a knowledge of how back end systems work, urging people not to broadcast on an open forum who they bank with or indeed any personal details that could make them vulnerable.

A password has nothing to do with a hacker getting hold of someone’s name, address and phone number. Did passwords protect M&S customer data or Cooperative customer data from being stolen during the recent cyber attcks? No.

If hackers got into GN’s systems they would have everyone’s email address and username. That’s all GN ask to join. No other checks at all.

From that the hackers could see what people post. Women broadcasting their advanced age and who they bank with would be an easy target.

Hackers only have to go to the dark web and compare one hacked database with another. They find the same email address there linked to a full name, postal address and phone number, perhaps from a retail site that has been hacked recently.

Now they know your name, address and phone number as well as how old you are and who you bank with. It’s one step away from a phone call pretending they are XXX bank and that there’s a problem with your recent say M&S or Co-op transaction that you made on a certain date. It would all sound very plausible.

Many people will say they are savvy enough not to fall for it but one only has to watch BBC Scam Interceptors to know that many people do fall for it.

There’s a safer way to phrase and answer the question posed by the OP and that’s to ask what people know about planned bank branch closures without giving anything else away. Someone has given the reply: Nationwide have made a commitment to keeping all their branches open until 2028. That’s all anyone needs to know. Whether someone thinks Nationwide is good or bad is subjective. One person may have had a good experience, another may not.

Most banks have closed in our part of greater London now, but Halifax and Nationwide still seem to have more branches than others.

Pittcity

Do you actually need a bank branch?
As has been said you can get cash from any ATM.
If you are happy with online banking I'd recommend Chase.
If you telephone with a query a real person picks up the phone (no please press 1 or robots to get past). This is a big plus in my book.

There are always some things for which you need a branch: paying in large cheques, making large payments or withdrawing larg sums in cash.

rosie1959

Do you have a local building society may be your best bet nobody can guarantee that any financial institution will not close its local branch. Where we live the building society is the only one left that has a branch.
Or if you have an accessible post office how about opening an account with them.

I'm afraid that the Post Office is no longer a bank in its own right, though they do undertake transactions on behalf of other banks.

I change banks when there is a good deal offered, probably four times in the last 12 years. Never any problems and an extra £100 or £150.00 as a reward is great 84 years of age and not very tech savvy either. I do it online. easy peasy.

The banks are paying for new customers to join them. I changed from HSBC to Nationwide a year or so ago and they are so much better than any bank I have used in the past. Find one that has a location near you and find out if they are offering an incentive to switch to them. The switch over is done entirely by the bank and has never been a hassle for me.

Exdancer.
Halifax is a bank. Our branch is closing at the end of January.
Lloyds are part of the Halifax banking group.
I think a building society might be best for you.

To ex dancer-you mention you may switch to Lloyds so presumably there is a Halifax branch locally. If so, you should be able to do your banking there as they are both part of the same group.

cc, I've never needed to pay in a cheque large enough not be accepted online. I only deal in small amounts of cash or draw out over a period of time.
Large payments and transfers can be made after phoning the Bank for authorisation.
This is why I asked if the OP needed to use a branch.