Basic Bank Accounts Provide Financial Confidence

With many of us feeling the pinch and struggling to make ends meet it may be good news that we can now get a simpler bank account to help with our finances. The Basic Bank Account is easy to use and is designed for people who want to ensure that they cannot overdraw their account or who might not meet the banks' criteria for opening a standard current account.

Over three quarters of basic bank account users say it has given them more financial confidence, according to a survey commissioned by the British Bankers Association (BBA).

The research, which looked at 1,000 people who had opened a basic bank account recently, found that around nine in ten are happy that the account meets their needs, while a similar figure said the opening procedure was straightforward.

Over 1.6 million basic bank accounts have been opened since banks began to offer the service in April 2003, with most able to access their accounts through local post offices. The survey also found that nearly 90 percent of basic account customers are happy with the functions that it provides, while more than nine out of ten consumers had nothing bad to say about the way the account was dealt with.

The chief executive of the BBA, said: "Access to banking services is the lynch pin to financial inclusion and this research clearly shows that the features of the basic bank account closely match peoples' needs.

"As customers become more confident with their finances, a change to an account with fuller features may be appropriate."

Basic Bank Account features typically include the ability for payments, for example pensions and benefits, to be credited direct to the account, withdrawals by plastic card through cash machines and the facility to pay bills by direct debit. This type of account does not provide overdraft facilities nor, typically, a cheque book.

If you would like to know more about basic bank accounts why not ask AnswerBank Business and Finance.