Abbey Online Banking

I have been banking with Abbey, formerly Abbey National now for years. Their branch service is wonderful, and all positions are nearly always open, meaning I never have to queue, unlike my other bank, NatWest, where the queuing times are hurrendous.

Abbey, always seen as the scruffier of the big banks has recently changed itself into the bright, jargon free and friendlier bank on the high street, with branches all over the country in nearly every area I can think of.

So why, If i appreciate their in-branch banking so much, do I bank with Abbey on-line? Simple. Because I dont have to leave the house! Read on to find out my other reasons!

~How do I register?~

If you bank with Abbey, you can register by phoning their telephone banking service. You can also register in the branch, or, the easiest and quickest of the lot, at the Abbey cash machine. These are located outside all of their branches, outside supermarkets and on retail prks and in shopping centres.

You will receive, separately, through the post, a registration number, and an e-banking pass code, within a few days of registering in one of the above ways.

Thas it you are ready to go! Go to www.abbey.com, and click on e-banking log-in, and have your Visa debit/ Visa Electron card ready. You will need the card number. Log in using these details and you are all done!

~What accounts can I manage on-line?~

Any accounts, like current accounts, easy ISAs, and savings accounts that allow you to have a Debit card, can be managed on-line. You will need to go into your branch, or phone telephone banking, and ask to have all your accounts linked to the card from your main current account. Usually a Visa Debit/Electron card.

You can then access all your accounts at the Abbey cashpoint too!

~How simple is it to sign in?~

I have friends and family who bank with NatWest, HSBC, Barclays and Smile.co.uk, and they seem to have to tap in all sorts of info to get into their accounts. All you have to do with Abbey is to type in your card number, registration number and your passcode, which you can change once you have registered to anything you like. Thats just 3 short and straight forward peices of information, and seems to be the easiest around.

That's it. You're in!

~What can I do on-line?~

You can:

~View Balances
~View and print off Statements
~View Payments
~View and manage, including setting them up, Standing Orders
~Manage Direct Debits
~Set up Regular Transfers
~Set Up New Payment
~Move Money to other Abbey accounts
~Pay Money In
~Arrange Overdraft
~Replace Damaged Cards
~Duplicate Statements
~Learn more about Telephone Banking

It's really easy to do all of these, just go to abbey.com and you can take a guided tour to learn how to do it. Replace Damaged Cards is great for when you have left your Visa Debit card in the tumble dryer!

~What else does Abbey have to offer?~

Abbey, like most other banks, offers current, savings and childrens child trust fund accounts, along with mortgages loans and credit cards etc. ISAs are available, and I also have a fixed rate monthly savers account, which has a whopping 7% gross interest rate applied to it.

~Overall~

I really like this service, and if you bank with Abbey, then I suggest you try it out. If you don't bank with Abbey, I suggest you give them a try, I beleive they are the best bank on the high street, and on the internet.

www.abbey.com

Thanks for reading, I hope you will comment and rate my review.

Mike x