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Sort Out Your Family Finances: Banking

by Bob Reeves

The banks are not the nation’s favourite institutions at the moment. To be fair to them if you pay your wages in every month and stay in credit you can currently enjoy all the services they have to offer for free. This means access to internet banking and 24-hour cash machines on top of having somewhere safe to store your money.

On the negative side, banking can get expensive if you do not stick within the rules of your account. Charges for unauthorised overdrafts for example may be £25 a day.

High street banking is competitive. This can mean good deals for us the customers. Banks are always trying to get new customers to switch to them from their existing bank. To entice you they may offer a particularly good savings rate. It is worth shopping around and switching particularly if you are not happy with the service you bank is giving you.

Online banking is becoming increasingly popular and although there is a risk of being defrauded, it is debatable whether this risk is any greater than any other type of fraud. Security is important and you do need to be aware of common cons such as ‘phishing attacks’ where convincing but bogus emails ask you for your account details.


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