Let us take a look at some of the financial benefits of opening an account with Santander.
Remembered as being the strongest bank to weather the recession, Santander bank accounts are now attempting to attract new customers with a series of ‘innovations’ in banking which are aimed at those who are reticent about making any financial risks or difficult moves in the current climate.
This article on Citywire Money gave one of the first reviews of Santander’s newest account – the ‘123’, a bank account which pays cashback on household bills. The Spanish-based bank – which has branches across the world, including the UK and Latin America, has called the account groundbreaking and the first of its kind.
It certainly is an initiative which will have attractive benefits to families with busy accounts and plenty of direct debits. And it is no doubt aimed at these kinds of people who would really appreciate seeing a return on their year of expenditure.
To make the most of it, that expenditure needs to be pretty significant, and you need to keep your balance up. Customers are expected to pay a minimum of £500 into the account per month, and to have at least two direct debits (council tax and gas, for example, but also any kind of phone or broadband expenditure).
So here’s the lowdown. The Santander 123 account works as such: customers pay £2 a month into the service, and in return, they receive cashback benefits on the following household bills:
• 3% cashback on all direct debits for home phone, broadband, mobile and paid for TV packages
• 2% cashback on direct debits for gas and electricity
• 1% cashback on water and council tax direct debits
On top of this, there are also benefits on interest (again, following the 123 sequence; please note that balances under £1,000 do not earn interest), in the following structure:
• 1% interest on entire balance once over £1,000
• 2% interest on entire balance once over £2,000
• 3% interest on entire balance once over £3,000 – up to a maximum of £20,000
So for those of us already looking at the requisite status and thinking – this sounds like my current bank account anyway – this could be an excellent way of keeping things as they are, but getting some much-needed money back on it all at the end of the year.
