Financial Services Compensation Scheme

Your eligible deposits with The Co‑operative Bank plc are protected up to a total of £85,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the UK's deposit guarantee scheme. This limit is applied to the total of any deposits you have with the following: The Co‑operative Bank, Britannia and smile. Any total deposits you hold above the limit between these brands are unlikely to be covered.

Please click here for further information or visit www.fscs.org.uk

How we limit overdraft charges

Go in to your unarranged overdraft and fees will be charged. Thankfully, we have 3 ways of limiting these:

£20 Buffer

This applies when you exceed your arranged overdraft limit or go into an overdraft without agreeing it with us first. The first £20 of an unarranged overdraft is a buffer zone and means you don’t have to pay any overdraft charges, provided you do not exceed the £20 buffer.

You will still need to pay debit interest on the full amount you are overdrawn.

Annual waiver

If you go over your £20 buffer, you’ll have 6 working days to bring your balance back inside your arranged overdraft limit. Or, if you don’t have an arranged overdraft limit, bring your balance back into credit.

You’ll still need to pay debit interest on the full amount you are overdrawn.

This waiver is available once a year. So if you use your annual waiver on 28 January 2018, you can’t use it again until 28 January 2019.

£60 Monthly cap

We cap our overdraft fees at £60 per month.

You will still need to pay debit interest on any amount you go overdrawn.

The monthly cap on unarranged overdraft charges for your current account is £60.

Each current account will set a monthly maximum charge for: (a) going overdrawn when you have not arranged an overdraft; or (b) going over/past your arranged overdraft limit (if you have one).
This cap covers any: (a) interest and fees for going over /past your arranged overdraft limit; (b) fees for each payment your bank allows despite lack of funds; and (c) fees for each payment your bank refuses due to lack of funds.

This is a standard definition to allow you to compare unarranged overdraft charges across different providers, but in practice we don't actually charge fees for refusing payments.

The monthly cap refers to the charges applied in a charging period not a calendar month. Please refer to the Account Charges Leaflet for details of the charging periods.

We will not charge you more than £60 for any type of overdraft charge (including debit interest) in one charging period. This means that whatever type of overdraft you use (arranged or unarranged or both), the maximum you will pay per charging period will be £60.

How our overdrafts work

Overdraft are intended for short term borrowing and not suitable for long term borrowing.

An arranged overdraft is a set amount you've agreed with us in advance. There are no charges for an arranged overdraft but you'll pay interest.

If you go over your arranged overdraft

You'll go into an unarranged overdraft if you go over your arranged limit or your account balance falls below £0 without an arranged overdraft in place.

Your payments might be refused if you try to go over your overdraft limit or you try to go overdrawn without an arranged overdraft.

How overdrafts affect your credit reference file

Any type of borrowing shows on your credit file. However an unarranged overdraft shows as arrears which can negatively impact your credit file and may make it harder for you to obtain credit in the future.

Charges

When you use an overdraft. you will be charged:

interest on the amount you are overdrawn by
daily and monthly charges if you go into an unarranged overdraft

More information on account charges

How you can manage your overdraft

Change your overdraft limit

You can request to change or remove your overdraft limit at any time by contacting us. You must make regular payments into your account to reduce the amount you owe.

Text alerts when you go into your overdraft

To help manage your money and avoid/minimise charges you might pay, we send overdraft text alerts if you go into or you're about to go into an arranged or unarranged overdraft. We will also send alerts if you have payments due that may not be paid.

As long as we have your mobile number, you'll be automatically opted in for overdraft text alerts. You can opt out of arranged and/or unarranged overdraft alerts at any time by contacting us.

More information on overdraft text alerts

To apply for an overdraft you need to be:

18 or over
An EU resident

If you wish to switch an account to us and an overdraft forms part of your decision to do so, please wait for confirmation of your overdraft before making an application to switch.

Approval is based on a credit check, an assessment of your personal circumstances and is subject to status

Find out more about our overdrafts

Representative example for our overdraft

Assumed credit limit:

£500

with debit interest at

18.9% EAR variable

Charges and fees

Overdraft charges

How we limit these charges

Foreign transfer fees

Electronic payments

Other services

Account fees

You don't have to pay a monthly fee for having this account.

Please note there are important changes to our Account Charges and Terms and Conditions which take place from April 2020. These include an increase to our Overdraft Annual Interest Rate and the removal of fees for unarranged overdrafts. Please read our Summary of Changes for more information.

Overdraft charges

We apply charges when you use an unarranged overdraft (that’s when you go overdrawn without agreeing it with us first or you exceed an arranged overdraft limit).

Monthly charge for using an unarranged overdraft

When you go over your arranged overdraft limit (by more than £20) we'll charge you:

£10 each month

Daily charge for increasing your unarranged overdraft

For each day you go further overdrawn, we will charge you:

£10 each day

How we limit these charges

We limit these charges in 3 ways, including a £20 buffer, an annual waiver, and a cap of £60 per month.

Other charges

There are some other things we charge for that you can find more information on here.

Foreign transfer fees

Currency conversion charge

A currency conversion charge is applied to any payment made for cash goods, or services using your debit card in a currency other than sterling. The conversion charge will be:

2.75% of the value of the transaction

Sending money outside the UK

Swift

Transfers in sterling or foreign currency to almost anywhere in the world within one to four working days. You will be charged:

0.25% of the value of the transaction (minimum £13, maximum £35 - plus postage, transmission and agent’s charges, where applicable)

Structured USD payments

Low cost way of sending US Dollars to the USA which will take up to five working days. You will be charged:

£8

Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA) payments

Transfer euros to all EU Member States, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Monaco and Switzerland. Funds should be received by close of business on the next working day and both the remitter and beneficiary have to have an account within the SEPA region. You will be charged:

£0

Real Time Euro Payments (TARGET)

This is a method of sending money outside the UK as euros. This payment will normally be received on the same day if we receive your instructions before 2pm, but can take one to three working days if there are problems from the recipient’s side. Fax confirmation of instructions required if transfer is over £10,000 in value. You will be charged:

£25 (plus postage, transmission and agent’s charges, where applicable)

Enquiries, amendments and cancellations

A fee will be applied if you make an enquiry regarding a payment you have made outside the UK or request to amend or cancel the payment. These fees are also payable for our handling of enquiries from overseas banks concerning your payment instructions. However, where this investigation has resulted from an error by us, or one of our agents, the fee will be waived.

£20 (plus postage, transmission and agent’s charges, where applicable)

Receiving money from ourside the UK - in sterling or foreign currency

If the payment is equivalent to £100 or less.

Free

If the payment is over the equivalent of £100 and received in either euro or Swedish Krona currency.

Free

Payments over the equivalent of £100 received in a currency other than euro or Swedish Krona. You will not be charged where the charges are for the remitter's account.

£6 (plus postage, transmission and agent’s charges, where applicable)

Where the charges are for the remitter’s account.

Free

Overseas cheques

Cheques issued

If you write a cheque which requires a currency conversion, we will apply a fee for the processing work we undertake.

£10

Cheques returned unpaid

£10

Electronic payments

Transfers by CHAPS

CHAPS is a same-day sterling transfer service (though instructions need to be received by 4.30pm on a working day).

The charge for using this service is

£25

Faster payments up to £100,000

The Faster Payments Service allows you transfer up to £100,000 to other banks. Payments should normally reach the payee's account immediately.

Once you have made the payment, you can check to see how long it'll take to arrive with the other bank. Simply log into Online Banking, click on the 'View Account' box and then 'Planned payments'. After that, just click on the 'View Faster Payments status' link and you'll see your most recent payments and the timescale for each of these. Please note - Faster Payment transfers will only show on this screen for seven days.

Using this service is

Free

Other services

Cash fee

We will charge you a cash fee if you withdraw cash over the counter at a branch of any other bank in the United Kingdom which is authorised by Visa.

2% of the value of the transaction, minimum of £2

Subject access request

Under the Data Protection Act you are entitled to a copy of the personal information we hold about you.

Free

Status enquiry

A request made to a bank asking if you're likely to be able to pay back a loan, credit or meet regular payments such as rent.

£10

Stopped cheques

When you instruct us that a cheque you have issued should not be paid.

£10

Copy statement (per statement)

If original statement is less than a year old and available online.

£2.50 (or free if you print it yourself)

If original statement is more than a year old and no longer available online.

£10

Copy cheque

This is a copy of a cheque that has already been debited from your account.

£5 (per cheque)

Banker's cheque

To assure payment when buying goods such as a car, by cheque.

£10

Statement of Fees

A Statement of Fees will be sent to you at least once every 12 months. It’s an overview of all the fees and charges applied to your current account within the time period shown on the statement. We will also include any debit or credit interest and refunds where applicable.

It will be sent to you by post, even if you have opted in to paperless statements. You won’t be able to see this when you are logged into online banking.

Switching

We'll make sure switching your current account to us is completely pain free.

That’s why, when you have your new current account, we’ll get in contact and ask if you’re interested in switching. Then, if you want to fully switch your account to us, we’ll sort it all out for you as part of the government-backed Switch Guarantee Scheme .

Payments are transferred automatically

All your Direct Debits, standing orders and bill payments will be automatically transferred.

Payments are redirected

Any payments made to or from your old account will be redirected to your new account.

We’ll cover any financial loss under the Current Account Switch Guarantee

If anything goes wrong, we guarantee to sort it out for you and repay any interest (paid or lost) and charges you might incur. This is covered under the Current Account Switch Guarantee .

Switching with an overdraft or overdrawn balances

If an overdraft forms part of your decision to switch your account to us, please wait for confirmation that this is in place at the level required before you proceed with a switch to us (as approval for the overdraft is based on a credit check and assessment of your personal circumstances).

You can still switch your account if you're overdrawn, but overdrawn balances are not transferred as part of a switch.

You have the option to pay off any overdrawn balance including any fees or charges on your old bank by using available funds with us or an arranged overdraft. (Your Old Bank will be able to advise of the best way to pay off any overdrawn balance with them).

It'll take 7 working days or less

Switching your account takes around 7 working days. But don't worry, you can use your old account as normal in the meantime.

The Current Account Switch Guarantee only applies if your old account is closed as part of the switch

If you choose a partial switch, not a full switch, we won’t cover you for any potential financial loss.

If you keep your old account open we won’t cover the costs of any problems like missed payments.

There's other stuff you may want to do

Tell your friends, family and anyone else who needs to know, that you've changed your account details.
Change your bank details on retail websites.

Why a joint account?

If you’re two people looking to consolidate your finances, a joint account could be the right option for you.

It’s ideal for helping to manage household bills, as you’re not working out who’s paying what or when. It goes out from the same account, at the same time. Simple.

You don’t even have to transfer everything to your new joint account. Your personal one can stay personal, while you have a joint one to sort out the shopping, bills, or anything else you might need.

But don't forget:

If you’re both setting this up and haven’t known each other very long (for example, if you’re new housemates) then it’s worth setting up some ground rules. If you’ve money left over at the end of the month, talk about how you’re going to spend it or save it.

Also, work out what you’re going to do with the account if you split up, move out, or go your separate ways for whatever reason. It saves a lot of hassle in the long run, and gives you a plan of action if something unexpected happens.

What you get from us

Representative example for our overdraft

Switching your current account is easy

Apply for our joint Current Account

To apply, you both need to be:

Before you apply

Please make sure you've read our overdrafts information

Check your eligibility for an overdraft

Calculate how much an overdraft will cost

Apply online now

Important documents

Apply for our joint current account

To apply you both need to be:

Apply online

To apply for an overdraft you need to be:

Representative example for our overdraft

£500

18.9% EAR variable