Hi All,
I have been with HSBC for a while. Decided to open a second current account with Barclays, so that when I get paid I can dump a chunk of money into there and basically save that way.
Was looking at saving schemes and such but interest on them was so low I thought what was the point and also HSBC’s saving schemes limit how much you can put in each month and Im saving more than.
I’ve basically opened this account as an alternative to withdrawing cash and putting in a box…..
My Finance knoweledge is pretty rubbish, so this could be a dumb move? Are there any legalities or issues with having two current accounts?
Any help is greatly appreciated….!
15 comments
You can have as many as you want
You can literally have as many current accounts as you want! I have 7! It allows me to budget for different things and not be tempted to spend the money if it’s sat in my “main” one.
You can have as many accounts as you like, just as long as you are not attempting to commit fraud with them, which you are not.
We have several accounts with our main bank so that we can move money for bills into one account where all the Direct Debits go from. That way we can see how much we have left for saving or shizzney.
If you have accounts for savings it might be an idea to look accounts with high interests in the current account.
look at Moneysavingexpert for the best advice.
You can have as many as you want, though be mindful that they will usually credit check you so it may have a short term negative impact on your overall score (too many credit checks and account openings can be a sign of potential fraud).
Loads of people have more than one. Can just be a convenient way of ‘filing’ your money- e.g. you might have two jobs and want to be paid one into each account, or have all your direct debits go out of one account etc etc.
You can have more than one but they sometimes want you to pay in a minimum amount per month (i.e. your wage). A chap at work gets his wage paid into account A, then transfers his wage minus £100 to account B. He gets benefits with both accounts, plus account A pays for a holiday each year.
I’ve got five for various reasons opened over the years.
I have 5 or 6 current accounts, absolutely nothing wrong with it but it does make it a bit of a PITA when your mortgage broker needs 3 months of statements for all of them.
Why would a bank want to limit what you can save with them? It certainly could not be that they think they will lose money on the measly few percent they will have to pay you while they gamble your cash on the trading floor and make literally trillions then dodge paying tax on it *UK
I certainly am not good with money, its like a gas and just dissipaites around me . But if I could do it all again I would look into getting a decent investment portfolio together, take some advice on some long term low risk investments from a reputable company and spread them so you don’t have all your eggs in one basket.
Do not, take cocaine, marry thai prostitutes or get addicted to gambling.
Some of them have offers where you get good interest etc if you pay a certain amount in per month. I know someone that gets paid into one and then moves it all over the place.
I have 3 current accounts and 2 instant access savings accounts, I keep money for different things in each. With transfers being instant now it makes managing money so much easier.
Just remember that if you need to claim means tested benefits for any reason they can access ALL the accounts you hold, so don’t think that just because it’s in a different account they can’t find it.
You can have as many as you want, if it helps Barclays can open a savings account alongside your current account and issue a separate card for it so you know what money is where. For convenience I like to bank with same bank but it’s whatever works for you.
Mate. I had 5 or 6 student accounts. All had at least £10k overdraft. All defaulted and written off. None had my real names on. Gotta love the fucking 90s.
Nope. I had two, one was a student account. But I made one of my accounts into a joint account to share with my partner. They only had the one account so it seemed simplest for me to just add his name to one of my accounts and rejig where my direct debits and pay etc went too.
Absolutely fine to have multiple current accounts. Theoretically you could even have two current accounts with the same provider (some providers may have a policy against doing so, however).
The main thing to consider is interest. Many current accounts offer no interest, although there are a handful that do.
What you might find advantageous is to open a separate savings account (or more than one) and set up regular payments to come out of your main account when you get paid.
For example, let’s say you’re keeping back £500 per month and yoj move it into your Barclays account which pays no interest. After 12 months, you’ll have £6,000.
Now let’s say you open a savings account with Barclays instead, and they allow you to pay in up to £250 per month. You then open a savings account with Nationwide, which also allows you to pay in up to £250 per month.
You then arrange for HSBC to set up 2 standing orders, one to send £250 to your Barclays account every payday, and one to send the same to your Nationwide account. After 12 months, you’ll have £6,000 plus whatever interest those two accounts earn.
Feel free to PM me if you want more specific information on what options are available to you.