75% of all UK citizens bank with one of five major banks in the country, you will find ‘branches’ of these banks in most town centres and on most local high streets.

The other 25% of the country use one of the many other banks that operate in the UK, and you may even find that your home bank operates here too, although it will probably only have a branch in London and possibly one or two more around the country.

British banks offer two main different sorts of accounts, called savings and current accounts. A savings account is a place where you simply save your money, whereas a current account is what you use each day to manage your money.

To open an account you will be required to prove that you have a job or  some form of regular income being paid into your account each month, you will have to visit the bank in person to open the account and you will need to complete an application form and provide official documentary evidence of who you are (your passport), where you live (utility bills addressed to you) and proof of employment (payslips).

Opening an account in the UK can be a little bit difficult when you first arrive because of the need for all of these official documents, but the UK banking industry has had to introduced these strict rules to combat criminal activity such as money laundering.

However, you will find that the banks in the UK are very accountable and straightforward to deal with, they do  not allow utility companies to take money from your account without permission, as they do in other countries, and they generally provide you with a safe, secure and efficient level of service. Visit our "Find a..." section to discover more.

Once your account is opened you can arrange for an overdraft facility, receive a debit card and cheque book, set up standing orders - which allow you to pay your rent and your bills directly from your account each month -  and access your money 24 hours a day via the banks cash machines.

Most current accounts are free to open, as the banks make their money from you by ‘bank charges’. These vary in cost from bank to bank, they are charges for things such as going overdrawn, cancelling or ’bouncing’ cheques and arranging loans or overdrafts. Going overdrawn on your account will usually cost you between £25 - £50 in charges.

 
According to recent research, over one third of all UK adults rely on their overdrafts to get by each month, with many of those going over their limit, so you can see how UK banks regularly made annual profits of over £35 billion despite offering ‘free’ banking services. However, since early 2008 and the 'sub-prime' mortgage crisis in the US the banking industry has been in a bit of turmoil. Presently banks are continuing to operate as normal, although changes to the system may occur in the near future, we will update you on any developments as soon as we hear of them.

Savings accounts are much simpler and straightforward to set up, you do not have to show that you are employed, you will just require some money to deposit in the account. This will then give you a cash withdrawal card, but you will not be able to pay bills direct, set up standing orders or write cheques. These are not practical accounts for working people but places where you will save money over a long period of time.

So many people choose the big 5 simply because they happen to have the most branches, making it easier for you to go in and visit your branch when you need to. Having your local bank close to your house does make it much easier, although it’s worth thinking about the fact that you are paying a premium for this service.

For example, a customer at a high street bank would be charged an average of £204 for exceeding an agreed overdraft limit of £250, by £50, on three occasions in one year. By comparison, a less well known internet bank would charge only £81, so online banking does appear to be much cheaper if you are prepared to live without that local service.  

By John Hillman 

USEFUL WORDS

open an account

account number

cheque book

pay in cash / a cheque

withdraw cash

sort code

bank charges

base rate

central bank

standing order

bank statement

overdraft facility

cashpoint

local branch
online banking

direct debit

BACS transfer
interest rate

long-term savings account

proof of identity / address

Money Idioms

Very Rich                                                      Very Poor
He’s rolling in it                                              He’s living on the breadline

He’s stinking rich                                           He hasn’t got enough to get by on

He’s got money to burn                                He’s not very well off

He’s worth a fortune                                      He hasn’t got a penny to his name             

He could buy and sell you                            His account’s in the red

He makes a good living                                He’s a bit hard up

He’s very comfortable                                    He can’t make ends meet

He’s loaded                                                    He’s living from hand to mouth

He’s not short of a bob or two

GRAMMAR SPOT

Expressing Reactions

Use intensifiers (rather, quite, fairly, very, really etc.) with adjectives to strengthen or weaken what you are saying.

Some intensifiers weaken the adjective:
The bank’s service is fairly good (it’s ok – not very special)

This statement is slightly worrying (I’m worried about it, but not too much)

Other intensifiers strengthen the adjective:
The interest rate is really good (it’s good – I like it a lot)
That is a particularly interesting suggestion (it’s very interesting)

Quite has two meanings:

quite + gradable adjective:

My local branch is quite close by (it’s close by not very close)

quite + non-gradable adjective:
The result is quite brilliant! (it’s completely brilliant)