Banking

[dearydeary]

Hi everyone

My parents have been adverse to online banking and their local Lloyds is closing.

I was thinking of First Direct as they could access it over the phone.

Any other suggestions or experiences?

Thanks in advance

It depends if they can do everything that's required over the phone. I've been with FD for years and they push you more and more towards using the app. The phone service is still good though.

Do they have a post office nearby? You can do quite a lot of transactions you'd normally do at a bank branch at the post office.

Thanks, I use FD too and agree they push for the App

Hadn't thought of post office, my only concern are the queues

I will have look

Do they have a Nationwide nearby? They've made commitments to keep branches open til 2028 - I was in there the other day (first time in about 10 years, I mostly use Monzo) and was pleasantly surprised at how short the queue was and how friendly it seemed.

Nationwide might be an option as there is one on town

Thanks

You could use Natwest or Barclays. They still have a lot of branches open and you can do things online too. My father in law is Internet adverse too and I'm trying to set one up for him with his bank.

Watch out for Barclays - all ours have closed or are closing, leaving the only open branch actually available in the South Wales Valleys to be in Cardiff city centre. My parents, who banked at the branch in their town, are 15 miles away from it.
(To be fair they offer a weekly in person service at the local library hub, and physical banking with cash and cheques can be done at the PO).
Mine are finally, finally moving towards online banking. They can’t cope with the phone as DM is deaf and DF can’t get through all the push button menus. DF is quite good online but I think I will have to be with him and help him do it when I visit.

Lloyds do phone banking. Speak to the branch before they close and get the 'exceptions' number (I think that's what it's called) but most banks have a dedicated number forpeople who don't want to or can't use online banking.

Stick with Lloyds and do telephone banking. Use Post Office for cash or cash back in the supermarket.

I would probably use Nationwide if they like going in, as that is most likely to stay open, also they might still be offering £175 I think, to switch accounts

Have been a FD customer for over 35 years and yes though they prefer you to use online banking, if you explain to them the reasons to use telephone banking instead they are extremely helpful.

Thanks for replied everyone

Will see about exceptions number for Lloyds & explore FD

Replies sorry 😉

Yep, another recommendation for Nationwide. They're the only remaining bank in our town after both Halifax and Santander closed down last year. The Nat West, Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds all closed 2/3/4 years ago. Nationwide's commitment to keeping branches open for another few years together with their £170/£175 account switching bonus is making them very popular at the moment!

One thing I would say is that their internet and telephone banking systems are pretty poor compared to the likes of Halifax and Santander, so the counter/branch services are their main USP at the moment.

My father will be stuffed come November when his branch of Lloyds is slated to close. Thanks to being scammed too many times Lloyd's withdrew both his credit and debit cards! He has an ATM card but goes into the branch mostly. As he refuses to do online ('not safe') or telephone (I can't repeat his racist comment) banking the staff in the branch pay bills for him, set up direct debits etc. Lloyds is the only bank nearby and the local post office was closed last year..... I have visions of paying bills for him and then receiving a cheque to pay me back 😭 The nearest bank will be a 40 minute bus ride away......

I found Nationwide very good - not only as a physical branch for my father (where they recognised and remembered him) but also for ease of dealing with both PoA and probate.

Is there a Banking Hub near? If Lloyds are the last bank in town they now won't be able to close until one opens.

When did that ruling come in? Both my town and the nearest town eaxh side are totally without banks. You have to go at least 8 miles for any bank

New FCA ruling last year. Will apply to all future closures. Up until August I was working on the roll out for one of the banks.

Well the Barclays debacle over the weekend will hardly fill them with confidence
Many will now point and say "well look what happened there"

MIL is against internet banking. Fuck knows why. She does everything on the phone with HSBC.

What about paying in cheques? I know some places are better than others regarding this.

My parents reluctantly agreed to allow me to do online banking for them with Nat West under 'trusted friend'. So now I pay cleaners, carers and various other things for them. On the rare occasion they are given a cheque I bring it to my home town to pay it in.

As an aside, we occasionally get cheques from MIL and I get a paying in envelope at the PO, fill in the little slip and pay in over the counter at the PO. When MIL is gone we probably won’t have cheques again… I know some banking apps will read a cheque, sadly mine doesn’t.

Thanks everyone, so many more replies 😊

Will investigate further Nationwide. FD were not helpful when I called yesterday
🤷‍♀️

I need to check if their account has the USwitch facility to make it less painful!

Ah, no wonder there’s been such a flurry of closures recently. No-one wants to be the last bank standing.

We now have a temporary banking hub in the town hall. Seems to cover the things you can do in the post office. No scanner, so no registering PoAs.

Some banks now allow you to "bank" cheques virtually by taking a photo of the cheque via their online banking app, so no need at all to physically take/send the cheque to the bank.