RBS encouraging business customers to move to another bank

As many are probably aware the RBS is "encouraging" a large proportion of their Business customers to move to another bank, something to do with their bailout AFAIK.
Which bank is a good choice for me ? One of the main reasons I moved to the RBS is because, when I moved to them 10 years or so ago, it was easy to phone up the branch (incredibly HSBC had told me I was no longer permitted to phone my local branch....). I don`t know whether it`s because RBS actually want to get rid of (business) customers but it`s almost impossible to get through to the main city centre branch now and the Dinnington branch (which was very helpful even though that wasn`t technically my branch) is being closed.

So which bank can I move to who :

I can ring up easily.

Will accept personal and business accounts (I can`t be arsed to have two different banks and it`d make transfers a bit more awkward), including Issas etc.

Is reasonably easy to use Online, i.e. doesn't require me to use a card reader every time I want to pay anyone (even someone I`ve already paid in the past).

I`m not really interested in how easy it is to get loans, I don`t think I`ve ever borrowed any money off any Bank other than when I bought my shop 22 years ago !

 

Santander.

I have both business and personal accounts with them. Easy enough to transfer money between, I have to do a set of characters received by text to mobile phone when I want to set up a new payment (but not needed on repeat) and no card reader needed.

 

We're currently switching from HSBC to Santander, mainly because it'll half our bank fee's, and no additional costs using the post office rather than branch to pay in.

HSBC required the dongle to log in, set up an initial payment, and you can't change the payment references on the fly... it duplicates the payee for each reference, and heaven forbid you've a supplier who using the same factoring company as another of your suppliers... where you can't have the same account number/sort code for different suppliers.

No idea about what happens in branch, as it's been years since we've been in, and havent heard from our bank manager since we set the account up

 

Thanks for that, how easy is it to phone the branch ? And do they have business managers (who actually know what they`re talking about ! ) ?

 

I moved to the Coop Bank. Online only but very easy to phone. Making payments and transfers is easy too and they store the recipients details so making subsequent payments doesn't require entering all the details again.

 

I don't think I've ever phoned the branch, been with them over 2 years and not needed to.
Have rung twice to report a lost card, replacement with me 2 working days later.

I don't speak to the business managers so no idea if they are any good. After experiencing HBOS business staff I don't take it for granted the staff will know what they are doing at any bank.

 

More curious on this than anything, what can the branch do that phone calls to HQ customers services can't?

We have a Santander Business account albeit I think our account is an online account, we used to get told off when we put cheques in at the branch (now there is the pay-in machines there isn't an issue). I would give them a call and ask?

 

That depends (on what, I don't now). Sometimes payments to an existing payee go through, sometimes you have to use the OTP. Payments between Santander accounts are always immediate IME. Payments to HMRC almost never go through without the OTP.

 

I've done over 560 payments in 2 years with only initial setting up needing text message.

 

I`ve found it much quicker and less stressful to phone the branch> straight through to a real person without going through endless menus (or, even worse, having to talk to a soddin` computer, I absolutely refuse to do that). Then the branch staff ask for the minimum of security, which is as it should be as I`m not transferring money out, and, in many cases I`m asking generic questions which don't need any security, yet all call centres ask for that even if it quite plainly is not needed. Generally you`ll get through to someone who can answer questions on multiple issues without saying, I can`t help with that I`ll have t put you through to some one else etc etc etc.

This is all, obviously, assuming they phone is answered reasonably quickly at the branch. Since Banks (and many other businesses) these days want to save money by cutting back on customer service I accept that prompt phone answering by a human being is, VERY REGRETFULLY becoming rarer and rarer.

 

Got a letter from RBS this morning actually, the "Business Banking Switch" (away from RBS) is to launch in Feb next year. Apparently this is all being over seen by Banking Competition Remedies Ltd. Apparently "the scheme is designed to provide you with offers that are better than those normally available on the market". Shame they can`t offer "Phones will be answered by real human beings within 20 seconds", I`d go for that bank.

 

I prefer full security on any call. Protects me rather than makes it easy to bypass security.

 

Not easy to do that with Santander either, when you do change the payment reference you need to do the OTP thing on your phone (no need to do this each time if you don't change the reference).

 

Excuse me being obtuse, but I'm not sure if you are referring to an explicit request from RBS, or because service is crap and declining :

By the way :

HSBC? Thought you were talking about RBS.

 

I have educated myself, and I think OP is referring to RBS State aid: alternative remedies package. (context is the aborted revival of the "Williams and Glyn" brand https://williamsandglyn.rbs.com/ )

Happy reading!

 

I'm an RBS business banking customer and I don't think I've heard anything about this...have RBS asked you to find another bank?

 

Sorry, but if I`m asking generic questions, I don`t actually see why any security is needed at all.

 

Sorry for the confusion. I left the HSBC and went to RBS all those years ago. It was an interesting tale actually, a woman bounced a cheque on us, but I knew it had the card number on it. I was bleedin` p1ssed off because I thought I`d have hell of a job even finding out who to speak to at the RBS (it was an RBS cheque, I was with HSBC) and I was pretty sure their call centres wouldn`t speak to me because I didn't actually have an account with them. Thus I was very pleased to find the RBS branch phone number was still in the phone book (no other bank had their branch numbers in the phone book) so I phoned up their branch and they sorted it out. I resolved that if my bank (HSBC) ever p1ssed me off I`d move to the RBS, which is what happened within a few years when the HSBC told me to stop ringing the branch.

 

It`s here :

https://www.business.rbs.co.uk/busi...ss-bank-accounts/business-banking-switch.html

 

If its generic like what time the local branch is open then fair enough.
If its more person specific then yes I'd want full security.

Not that bank security is that great but its what they have.