Is there much point in having several current accounts?

[Marcos]

I've ended up with 2 at the moment, but thinking of closing my HSBC and transferring to my older Barclays one that has a touch of overdraft allowance. Would i regret this later? Any reason to hold on to the HSBC one?

[kalniel]

Not unless it has some favourable condition that you want to hang on to (like free travel insurance or something).

[Saracen]

IMHO, yes there is a reason for more than one account. I'm busy right now but will say why (IMHO) a bit later.

[zulander]

or maybe if you want to use one as an ebay account or something - u know so if the worst comes to the worst and someone got your identity and wanted to spend your cash they would only have a small amount to use - other than that cant see any reason y you would want or need 2

[jim]

I have four at the moment, Lloyds is an old one I kept open because they said they might upgrade me to a student account (even though I'm not actually going to Uni for another 15 months) but I'm glad I've got it because now I should be able to open a regular saver account at 5%, Natwest I've got because I'm taking advantage of a special deal (in August they'll be giving me £50 for having a standing order into that account), Alliance & Leicester I had because it paid 10% interest, and now it doesn't so I've got an Abbey account at 6%.



For me it all depends what they're giving me - once Natwest have given me the £50, I'll close it, and I'll close A&L in the very near future because the interest rate is rubbish. Take your HSBC account for example, I would personally close it if I didn't need it for any particular reason. Then if you decided you did want a second current account, open a new account with them or Alliance & Leicester and claim £50 cashback or so. They spend most of their time nicking money off people, so it's nice to take advantage of them every so often.

[Saracen]

Okay, reasons ....

Firstly, my attitude is that if I have an argument with a bank, perhaps over service levels, I want to be able to walk away. I did that with Barclays many years ago, with one exceptionally rude and arrogant manager. But if you don't already have another current account set up and running, it can take a while to get it set up. And it's harder and slower setting up a new account now, with the ID checking and anti money-laundering laws and checks, than it was back then. If, however, you have another account up and running, it is feasible to withdraw your balance and instruct a bank to close an account on the spot. It minimises the effort, hassle and inconvenience.

Secondly, a basic precaution I use is that I keep accounts with serious balances strictly offline, I never, ever EVER put those account details online. If I don't put those details online, it makes it much less likely that that account can have any kind of online fraud perpetrated, and it means I can stipulate to the bank that online access is disabled on that account. I I can't access it online, and online fraud happens, well, it wasn't me, was it, because I don't have online access. Therefore, it's down to the bank.

Thirdly, there are accounts where you will get interest paid, but only if a minimum of £x a month goes in ..... but they don't stipulate that it has to stay in. So ..... have your salary paid into bank A, and feed the account at bank B from Bank A. And perhaps C from B.

But don't take that to silly levels, or you risk tripping fraud detection alerts.

Combine reasons 2 and 3 and it is possible to devise a system that both adds to your interest, while enhancing the security over your bank accounts.

Another reason is that it can be useful to build a bit of an account history with more than one bank. You can use one for personal stuff, and another for "business". I don't mean a fully fledged business (which really needs to be a business account), but if you do a bit of buying and selling, such as with eBay. I am not, for instance, associating an account in which I have an serious money with a PayPal account. They simply aren't getting those account details out of me. Again, it limits the potential damage if something goes wrong.

Another reason is if you want to use one account for main usage, and a second to build a find for something by putting a regular amount aside. Pick a combined current/savings account and separate your holiday fund, or new computer fund, or car-buying fund, or whatever. It makes personal self-control easier if you do this, rather than having all your money in one place.

And finally, though it won't apply to most people, to keep funds on deposit under the £50k limit of the FSA protection .... but if you do need to do that, make sure that two or more apparently different organisations aren't, in fact, sister companies sharing one FSA authorisation, and therefore one common £50k limit.

Personally, reason 1 is enough. But, depending on your circumstances, there might be several other reasons why a standby account is a good idea, and while personal banking and current accounts are free ..... why not?

[Phage]

Everything Saracen said is absolutley true. If you've got the time to manage the accounts properly, and/or >£50k. If you don't, I can't see a huge benefit.

[AledJ]

I have 3 accounts that I use for different reasons. Nationwide is used for some spending but mainly for the savings accounts I have with them. Halifax is sued to pay bills and direct debits. And Natwest is for my ISA's. I find it very useful to have a few accounts I do have an old Abbey account which I have not used for 10years of so. Still keep in case they have some savings offer I want.

[usernameisvalid]

Well i've got two. Halifax couldn't upgrade my current to a student, so now I have both.

Use one for your interwebs purchases.

[TheAnimus]

good reason to have two current accounts.

Tuesday i noticed a fraudulent transaction on my LloydsTSB credit card.
Wednesday i noticed a fraudulent transaction on my LloydsTSB debit card.

All my other credit cards are fine. My other debit card is also fine.

I have no access to my LloydsTSB current account outside of banking hours

[Clunk]

good reason to have two current accounts.

Tuesday i noticed a fraudulent transaction on my LloydsTSB credit card.
Wednesday i noticed a fraudulent transaction on my LloydsTSB debit card.

All my other credit cards are fine. My other debit card is also fine.

I have no access to my LloydsTSB current account outside of banking hours

How did you notice the fraudulent transaction? And if you thought it was fraudulent on Tuesday, why not put a stop to it right there and then?

[emzallan]

As long as it isn't causing you significantly more energy to maintain two bank accounts I would agree with the other posters above about the benefits of having two accounts. Even if it is something as simple as being able to access money in an emergency if one account is hacked, or keeping one as a temporary savings account, or as a direct debit account or whatever- it can be really useful to have two.

[Whiternoise]

I've got a student account and the account they didn't upgrade by mistake. I find it quite handy, if i ever lose or get a card stolen, i keep the other in a safe place. If either is stolen i can just whip all the money into my other account and not worry about it getting taken.

[Marcos]

Cool, great information!

I'll keep £21 in there in case i'm in real trouble and need to take out some little extra cash.

[TheAnimus]

How did you notice the fraudulent transaction? And if you thought it was fraudulent on Tuesday, why not put a stop to it right there and then?

Internet banking, i check my accounts most days, also do a "daily" update to my accounts + tax returns, saves it been a massive chore at the end of the year.

I reported my credit card transaction that day. less than 12 hours later i get a call asking me to conferm transactinos on my debit card

Funny thing is, no one has the details of my debit card, i NEVER use it online as you get so much less protection, and only ever really use my debit in cashpoints + waitrose. I can't think of anyone who would have both details, i also shred all my paper before binning it.

[Phage]

Funny thing is, no one has the details of my debit card, i NEVER use it online as you get so much less protection, and only ever really use my debit in cashpoints + waitrose. I can't think of anyone who would have both details, i also shred all my paper before binning it.

That's actually worth bringing to the attention of your bank. Sounds like a different security issue to the usual CC. Not to get more compensation, but because the people who re-credit your account don't often talk to the engineers who need to know.