Halifax High Interest Current Account

concerning prize bonds. My grandmother has held some since circa 1960 and hasnt won one cent.


About these new accounts, has anyone figured out the best (returnwise) place to lodge a lump sum of about 20 or 30 grand from which one could drip feed into one of these high interest current accounts ?
 
MrKeane said:
One area where competition could be improved is to reduce the hassle of so called switching. Surely once you are in the system then that should be it. For example to move from bank of ireland to UB all you should need is your bank statment, all automated deposits, direct debits and standing orders should just port over without any messing. I switched recently and bank of ireland refused to port my direct debits and standing orders which they are supposed to. I also had to switch my payment details and child benefit myself, as well as produce my identification and household bills.
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I thought that there already was such a system?
 
sign said:
About these new accounts, has anyone figured out the best (returnwise) place to lodge a lump sum of about 20 or 30 grand from which one could drip feed into one of these high interest current accounts ?
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What do you mean by this?
I would have thought the best thing to do is have your salary paid into this account and keep the balance in and around 2K permanently.
It is a good offer one problem might be the lack of branches...I know they'll have Internet banking but you do need a bricks and mortar branch sometimes...plus their online banking might be duff.
 
Hi Sign,
THe reason it is not clear what you meant, is that you mention 20K in the context of the current account. Surely you need a savings account.
The high interest current account only pays interest on 2K. If you have 20K, it is definitely not the account for you.
 
Thanks . Its all clear to me now. But now Im looking at a sum from 40 to 70 k (depending if I spend some) and rabobank only give that interest for up to 10 k you say
 
sign said:
Thanks . Its all clear to me now. But now Im looking at a sum from 40 to 70 k (depending if I spend some) and rabobank only give that interest for up to 10 k you say
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This isn't the right area to be discussing this but this post has already gone off on so many tangents.

Think you need a combination of lump sum savings accounts (rabo 5% 1st 10, NR 4.3% on bal>1K) and regular savings account (AIB 7.1%, Anglo 7%, Halifax 7%, BOI 6.65% etc.). If you think you won't need all of these savings in the short-to-medium term you might consider investing part of it in equities or a fund (think Quinn-life have the lowest rate).

I plan to use the Halifax current account as portal for my salary. Plan to keep 2K in their while my main current account will remain NIB account. At present I have my salary paid into my UL account which I opened for the €150. I then simply transfer balance to NIB from where I redirect funds to other savings accounts. Reason why the hub will remain NIB is that I've an ECB tracker fund (ecb +1%) keep current account at max €500 and simply transfer money from tracker account as I need it. I realise having salary paid into a separate account slows down the process but it does provide a certain stability.

Word of advice be careful when switching current accounts you may have to pay double stamp duty if you have more than one account if you have one operating. When I opened my UL account I made sure not to request cards - just to be sure.


Skrooge
 
ClubMan said:
I thought that there already was such a system?
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Recently implemented a direct debit system and there's certainly nothing the IPSO direct debit specs about it.

It might come down to the bank writing to the various business with DDs on your account asking them to change the details, which is slightly pathetic really.
 
When you deposit a min of €1500 monthly (Halifax), does that have to be a lump sum? For somebody who is paid weekly I would need to 'juggle' my money a bit.
Am with BOI at the moment: current account, savings, car loan + mortgage (yeah i know, being really lazy). More savings in Credit Union. Any advice?
 
Nermal said:
Recently implemented a direct debit system and there's certainly nothing the IPSO direct debit specs about it.
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I was referring specifically to the account switching code of practice which translates into processes which the banks implement with the aim of making switching easy/seamless.
 
whistler said:
When you deposit a min of €1500 monthly (Halifax), does that have to be a lump sum? For somebody who is paid weekly I would need to 'juggle' my money a bit.
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Probably best to ask them but some or all of these regular saver accounts allow you to deposit more than once each month as long as any monthly funding targets are met or not breached.
Am with BOI at the moment: current account, savings, car loan + mortgage (yeah i know, being really lazy). More savings in Credit Union. Any advice?
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Have you had a browse/search around the existing forums/threads for suitable tips?
 
As far as I know €1500 to be lodged in month but not necessarily in a lump sum. I think Whistler needs to take a good look at his/her finances.
(1) Current account with BOI - probably no interest.
(2) Car loan - at what interest?
(3) savings - at what interest?
(4) mortgage - what interest? What type? variable, tracker, fixed, LTV?
(5) How much in Credit union? What interest? Have you Credit Union loan?
I bet you are paying a hefty price for ''being really lazy.''
 
ClubMan said:
I was referring specifically to the account switching code of practice which translates into processes which the banks implement with the aim of making switching easy/seamless.
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Bank of Ireland refused to assist with my switch and no reason was given, I had no bad debts or history other than 10 years of paying them juicy fees each 1/4, and a nice sized loan too, which they have now lost over this.
 
New Visa Debit Card From Halifax!!!

DublinTexas said:
I just hope that next to what they say on the webpage they will offer

  1. Visa/Mastercard Debit Card linked to the account (rather than an outdated Laser system) so that you can pay worldwide with it
  2. Online International Transfer (The clause about national transfer free might suggest that international might not be available online)
  3. Free withdraw on Halifax/Bank of Scotland Cash Machines in the UK, when you are forced to use £ (obviously the currency conversion charge still applies)
One can dream.
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It looks like your first request has been [broken link removed] I had the same requests and had nearly lost all hope (VISA debit cards have been available for 15+ years in other european countries)...I am switching to Halifax on the day this goes live!!
 
Re: New Visa Debit Card From Halifax!!!

cool_cat said:
It looks like your first request has been [broken link removed] I had the same requests and had nearly lost all hope (VISA debit cards have been available for 15+ years in other european countries)...I am switching to Halifax on the day this goes live!!
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I noticed that yesterday in a newspaper and I'm happy, it's way better than Laser.

Now let's hope that 3 (Free withdraw on Halifax/Bank of Scotland Cash Machines in the UK) comes true too than Halifax current account is going to be my number 1 choice.
 
Re: New Visa Debit Card From Halifax!!!

DublinTexas said:
I noticed that yesterday in a newspaper and I'm happy, it's way better than Laser.

Now let's hope that 3 (Free withdraw on Halifax/Bank of Scotland Cash Machines in the UK) comes true too than Halifax current account is going to be my number 1 choice.
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What about number 2? (online international transfers) - I would love that too...

Cheers.
 
I don't understand what's the advantage of Debit card over Credit card? Surely it would be preferable to purchase goods/services using your credit card and avail of the 50 or so days free credit? This is even more important if you want to mainatin a level of €2000 in your current account to maximise the interest earned on your current account.

With regard to money witdrawal through an ATM I can see that the fees are expensive if you use a credit card. Is this the only advantage of a debit card over a credit card? Having your cards(credit+Debit) combined into one with the same pin number is handy also.

I think once I've seen that the Halifax on-line banking is up to scratch, I'll be saying goodbye to Bank of Ireland.
 
Just wondering if its possible to have more than one current account in your name? I with AIB high interest at the moment and have a long standing relationship with them so dont particularly want to cut the strings as i might need them for a mortgage one day! Would it be possible to say leave €2000 in with halifax and move €1500 in and out of it to get the high interest rate?
 
aishling said:
Just wondering if its possible to have more than one current account in your name? I with AIB high interest at the moment and have a long standing relationship with them so dont particularly want to cut the strings as i might need them for a mortgage one day! Would it be possible to say leave €2000 in with halifax and move €1500 in and out of it to get the high interest rate?
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There’s no issue with having more than one current account with more than one bank. I plan to do something similar. Use the Halifax account as a savings account, albeit it passing €1500 a month, and using my NIB account as my “normal” current account.


Don’t get hung up on banking with one bank in the hopes of developing a good “relationship”. This will make very little difference when it comes to asking for money. Mortgage approval is mainly a mechanical procedure. Once you can prove your income, savings etc. your salary is plugged into a computer and it spits out what you are entitled to. AIB will not lend you any additional money purely because you’ve been banking with them for 20 years. Besides you should look at what other banks have to offer, might get a larger loan amount or a better rate etc.
 
That's great! Yeah your probably right about the relationship with your bank having no impact on decision these days, don't worry I'll shop around!
 
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