"I had banked with my old bank since I started work in 1987. I was always proud of my bank as I thought that they stood for quality and high service standards. I was appalled when I heard that they had decided to open call centres in India. I wrote several letters to the bank expressing my concern that they were merely trying to make excess profits by exploiting a poor country. Although I had already decided to close my account I wanted to hear what they had to say. I got a standard reply saying that no jobs had been lost in the UK. I wrote again saying that it wasn't my concern about the UK but that they were just exploiting a cheap labour force and that it was immoral as all the benefits of this would go straight to the shareholders and not the customers or employees. Again they replied missing the point entirely and so I closed my account with them and came to a more ethically aware and caring bank."
(Susan)

"I joined smile pre 2000 at its birth, as I wanted to conduct all my banking online. It’s was the best decision I ever made. Excellent accounts, customer relations and policies have helped me understand and believe there is no better bank out there for me."
(C)

"I don't have lots of time during the normal banking hours and smile gave me the flexibility I needed. I can also now, manage my money a lot better because I can see it all at a time to suit me. Getting a fair interest rate on your current account and very reasonable rate on borrowed money makes me wonder how much money I have lost out over the years with my previous bank."
(Chris)

"I dumped my bank because I wanted ethical, hassle free, 24/7 banking with none of the attitude I was getting from my pervious bank. smile made sense to me and I’ve not looked back since. I joined smile in 2001."
(Jenny)

"After 18 years with my old bank it occurred to me that I didn't have to just accept them as I always had. I looked at the other options and smile stood out from the rest as a modern, helpful, friendly bank that allowed me to look after my money in a way that suited me and with extra options like high interest, travel insurance and breakdown cover, as well as the ethical investment policy, it seemed like the perfect choice."
(Harry)

“I moved to smile when I became a university student. It has allowed me to simultaneously run two accounts ‘a current and student account' which has made my life so much easier. I can just log in and transfer wages and money really quickly. I use my student account to save money each month, and have never opened my pin so I can't use that card! thanks to it all being so hassle free I have managed to save more money than I ever though I could!”
(Claire G)

“I was having a nightmare with a leading bank. They were cancelling direct debits without my consent and not paying them when they should I was in a right mess I wondered what or who I could turn to I saw an advertisement for smile and I thought why not only thing I regret it not doing it sooner you have been a wonderful bank I've been with you for about 5 months now and I'm so pleased I am keep up the good work.”
(Claire C)

"My old bank paid me 6p interest in 6 months! I'm quids in with smile and the cashback off smile Visa, it tots up to over £25 in the same amount of time."
(Amanda)

"I had a few unpleasant experiences with high street banks over the years when I was earning little. Small matters such as exorbitant charges, no interest on credit balances, a lack of help in trying to sort out errors, decrease opportunities to visit at times to suit me, and inflexible, customer-unfriendly attitudes. Then along came the Internet, and with it, Internet banking. And that brought the Co-op Bank's greener, ethical attitude, and a better all-round deal. I switched; then when smile appeared, I switched again. Any problems since? None that haven't been sorted out quickly. Any misgivings about security or trust? Absolutely not. Do I recommend smile to my friends? Absolutely, without reservation."
(Richard)

"I was with my old bank for over 13 years. I stayed with them out of habit more than anything else. They were very nice when you were in credit, but spoke to you condescendingly when you were borrowing from them. Plus their charges were high, and credit interest was rubbish. smile have lower charges, the staff are genuinely friendlier over the phone. I don't get that ’I'm reading from a script’ feeling I got from my old bank. There were some hiccups when switching my account regards direct debits, but smile were very helpful and professional when dealing with my queries."
(Clive)

"I moved from my old bank to smile in Jan 2004. I had been with them for approx 20 years. I have always been concerned about animal welfare, environmental and 'Third World' issues. I started an Open University course 2 years ago on the environment and, the more I learn the more concerned I become. I am also a supporter of and spent a year managing a shop for Oxfam. Quite simply the ethical policy of smile is the reason I changed banks-I agree with everything you do and don't invest in. The kind of world I want to live in is the kind smile believes in also."
(Moira)