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Banking and Finance
Opening An Account
If you're going to be in the UK for more than a few months, it makes sense to both open a UK bank account, and to get at least one UK debit or credit card. You can open an account with either a traditional bank or building society that often has both a branch network and internet banking facilities, or with an internet-only bank. Account opening requirements vary, but in general you'll need to complete an application form and provide proof of identity such as a passport. A letter of introduction from your current bank, and an employer's reference letter, are usually well received. 
Click here for information on bank accounts and how to open one. Click here to compare the current accounts, and bank charges, offered by all banks. If you're an expatriate, then please also review our section on Expat Banking 
Most towns in the UK have branches of the major British banks including National Westminster (NatWest), Barclays, HSBC (formerly Midland Bank), Lloyds TSB, Halifax and Abbey. Other major banks with branches in larger towns include Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of Scotland. The NatWest Bank is part of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, one of the largest banking groups in the UK, with over 1500 branches nationwide and access to many thousands of ATMs. 
Building SocietiesBuilding Societies are mutual companies that were once the primary source for mortgages for homebuyers. Nationwide Building Society is the largest of the few remaining mutual building societies and competes very successfully with the major banks, offering a range of accounts and financial services. 
Business HoursBusiness Hours for banks are usually between 09.30 and 15.30 on Mondays to Fridays and 09.30 to 12.30 on Saturdays. Building society branches usually have longer opening hours.
Internet-only BanksInternet-only Banks, i.e. Egg, Smile, Cahoot and Intelligent Finance, have all been started by their parent companies in recent years. Their innovation and use of technology has encouraged other banks to make major improvements to their services. 
Other Financial ServicesMajor supermarkets and department stores, i.e. Tesco, Sainsbury's and Marks and Spencer, have also introduced a range of financial services for their customers. 
Some Useful Web SitesFor useful financial information visit www.thisismoney.co.uk An
excellent site for comparing the many financial products available
is www.MoneySupermarket.com
Some Brief Banking HistoryWith the introduction of telephone and internet banking, many small town branches have been closed in recent years. This has resulted in whole communities in rural areas being without any local bank branch. Under pressure from the public, local businesses and government the big four banks, Barclays, HSBC, NatWest and Lloyds TSB are now planning to introduce a joint banking service for these rural areas. The deregulation of the banking industry in the UK in 1987 resulted in banks and building societies competing with each other on the whole range of financial services. Many building societies (such as Halifax and Abbey National) subsequently demutualised and converted to banks owned by shareholders. This in turn resulted in a number of mergers and takeovers and enabled the long established banks to benefit from the specialist products, services, and customer base of the former building societies. Demutualised insurance companies were also bought by these larger banks but still trade under their own name. Other pages in this section are:
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