compareandsave.com - your money matters™
Sign in

Poll

Are you currently using your credit card more than usual to pay for essential bills?

Are you currently using your credit card more than usual to pay for essential bills?

Did you know?

The average UK house price for first-time buyers in December 2007 was £166,734.

Source: Credit Action (www.creditaction.org.uk)

Home / Money / Bank Accounts / Bank Account Types / Current Accounts

Current accounts

Current accounts quite simply allow you to keep your money in a bank and access it in a variety of ways. It’s often not convenient to pay by cash or move your money around as cash but with cheque books, debit cards and online transfers it’s possible to pay bills and make other payments directly from your current account.  Read more...>

AER Min Monthly Deposit
Alliance & Leicester Premier Direct

Alliance & Leicester Premier Direct

Feature packed current account with a superb interest rate + benefits
8.50% £500
HSBC Bank

HSBC Bank

Free telephone banking and 24/7 Internet access
2.50% -
HSBC Plus

HSBC Plus

Fee free cash withdrawals worldwide and family travel insurance
8.00% £1
Intelligent Finance

Intelligent Finance

A great current account with the benefit of offsetting
2.75% £500

Like other accounts current accounts also allow you to receive money that’s paid to you as a cheque or bank transfer. 

Although there are some offer based exceptions, generally current accounts are not designed to be savings accounts so they do not pay a high rate of interest on the money in your account. The idea of a current account is not to so much to help you to save money as much as helping you to use your money easily.

Current accounts are not intended as access to easy loans so spending more than you have in the account and going overdrawn will result in penalties and overdraft charges which can be quite high.  Some current accounts may include a small interest free overdraft facility but this is a special feature and not one generally available to current accounts. 
 
All high street banks run current accounts for their customers and the differences between them can be hard to spot.  Features such as overdraft facilities, interest rates on overdrafts, interest on remaining balance or higher interest on a balance over a certain amount may all be part of the choice. 

New current account customers are much sought after by banks as they are more likely to go on to use other services from that bank, so introductory offers and incentives are often available to new customers.  

Top Tips

  • Access is everything for a current account so make sure that the facilities match your needs
  • You won’t make much interest on a balance in your current account so consider transferring spare money to a high interest savings account
  • Make sure you know what the overdraft conditions are. Accidentally slipping overdrawn can prove costly
  • Check to see if your current account gives you discount or benefits on other banking services

Save up to £503* on your Energy bills

Enter your estimated annual bill amount to the nearest pound

Enter your estimated annual bill amount to the nearest pound(£) e.g. enter 300 if bill is £300.10.


  1. £  e.g. 350

  2. £  e.g. 350

  3.    

Leave amount blank if not applicable.
*Average saving £202

News

Compensation by 30/11 for Icesave customers
Compensation by 30/11 for Icesave customers

27-Oct-08

230,000 customers to receive details of process to get savings back
Government reveals £37bn UK bank bail-out
Government reveals £37bn UK bank bail-out

14-Oct-08

Taxpayer cash goes to RBS, Lloyds TSB and HBOS
Icesave customers to receive extra help from government
Icesave customers to receive extra help from government

08-Oct-08

Chancellor tells UK savers they “will get their money back”

©2008 compareandsave.com is a trading name of Freedom Marketing Ltd.
Registered in England No. 05349340. Registered Office: Heller Ehrman (Europe) LLP, Condor House, 10 St Paul's Churchyard, London EC4M 8AL, UK.