Calling All Students (firstdirect.co.uk)

Member Name: kxyzle

Product:	firstdirect.co.uk
Date:	27/02/06 (360 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: £50 CASH TO START

Disadvantages: Mainly online

First Direct is they type of bank that you will want to stay at, for starters they offer you £50 for switching your account to theirs.
Once signed up their website provides an easy to use interface which is very secure; something that we all appreciate in this day and age.

They Offer:
free day-to-day banking
automatic fee free £500 overdraft - subject to status 10.9% EAR variable
£500 a day cash machine withdrawals
bank online, by telephone and text message
we help you transfer your salary, standing orders and direct debits
up to 2.00% AER (1.98% gross) interest on credit balances
card with chip and PIN technology for greater security
a 15 year proven track record of satisfied customers.

On the downside there isnt a student type account at the moment and no plans for one in the near future therefore this bank tends to be for an established banker who doesnt have time to go into the branch and would rather setle everything online.

They are reletively standard in terms of other products and services, the loans offer a rate of 7.4% APR typical which is pretty reasonable, the morgage rate is about 5.4-5.6% depending on the type.

Something that interested me though is the fact that they have introduced text message banking which seems to me rather pointless and unsecure. However it will be nice to see if this takes off. The idea is that your transactions and mini statements are texted to you by Firstdirect on a regular basis for a fee of £2.50 per month, this is so you can keep track of your spending and i suppoes it wil offer insight into aqny fradulent activity a little earlier.

In conclusion i think that first direct is worth a bit of personal research and even if you dont use the account its nice to have £50 for nothing isnt it?

Summary: First direct £50 for joining