Do these apply to you?
What about my banking options?
Many individuals with low incomes and/or a history of financial difficulties are refused full current account facilities due to bank and building society scoring criteria. However, many instant access accounts offer most of the same facilities except a cheque book.
Applications to open the following accounts do not normally involve credit reference checks and should, therefore, be available to anyone, regardless of income or credit history.
Bank & Building Society Instant Access Accounts
| Bank/Building Society | Name of Account | Min. opening deposit | Cash machine access? |
Are direct debits /standing orders available? |
Are counter cheques available? |
| Bank of Scotland* | Easycash | Nil | Yes | Yes | No |
| Britannia Building Society | Flexible Savings Accounts | £100 | Yes | No | No |
| Derbyshire Building Society | Cash Account | £10 | Yes | No | Yes |
| Dunfermline Building Society | Gold Account | £100 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Halifax* | Easycash | Nil | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Norwich & Peterborough B/Society | High Risk Account | £100 | Yes | No | Yes |
| Royal Bank of Scotland* | Key Account | Nil | Yes | Yes | No |
| Woolwich Building Society | Prime Gold | £50 | Yes | No | Yes |
| Yorkshire Building Society | Cash Transactor | £25 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
* These accounts are unavailable for bankrupts
NOTES
Proof of Identity - banks and building societies will require proof of identity and confirmation of address when opening an account. It is always worth confirming what constitutes acceptable proof in advance of attempting to open an accoount.
Charges - charges may be made for cash withdrawals at 'hole in the wall' machines not belonging to the bank or building society where the account is held. Charges may also be incurred on some accounts for counter cheques or counter withdrawals or if balances drop below a certain level
Changes to this Information - Banks and building societies change the details relating to their accounts quite regularly. The information above was correct in March 2000.