Smile

...or the co-op of which smile is a subsidiary. You can setup standing orders, direct debits, pay bills, transfer funds and all the usual banking tasks. Best to look at the online demo to see all this in action. I have used the web site on both mac and pc and even linux and unix. I have used it on netscape 4 and IE. I am currently using netscape7 with no problems. They only validate explorer but the other browers work though with the exception of Opera ...
...a focus group to discuss smile and banking. The meeting was in a pub rather than the more usual hotel room. The market researcher explained that smile had asked for this specifically as they felt the money should be better spent on the customers than on providing big conference rooms for focuse groups. THe marketing guy was so impressed with his clients that he set up a smile account to. He said they were some of the friendliest and most sincere ...

angelman 20.08.2002 · Read full review
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Review of Smile

...on TV insisting that everyone smile (a nice thought!). The first internet bank that I set up with was First-e, but due to the fact that at the end of September 2001 they stopped trading in the UK I had to get a new account. The only place that I could think of was Smile, this appealed to me for several reasons, well just the one, I wanted a card with a smile on it! ** Services Offered** Current Account - They offer you a whopping 3.29% gross AER ...
...from £1500 to £15,000. Smile also offer ISA's, Mortgages, Motor Insurance, Travel Insurance and Student Accounts all of which are great value for money. ** Opening an Account ** This is very easy, all you have to do is fill in a few details about yourself like name, date of birth, address, e-mail address and what account you want (if you have an account already fill in the deatails about this too). Having done this you will get an enrolment number, ...

ia_young 08.10.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Smile

...fault of our old bank. Smile were always helpful when we rang to check what was happening the operators are always polite and cheerful. Logging on to the site is easy and the information is well laid out. Being able to access real time statements is extremely helpful, especially when you need to check when a particular payment or debit has gone through. Cancelling direct debits is very easy( no writing and hoping it has been done). The use of ...
...remember telephone helpline. You enter your details first and go through the security checks and are greeted by name by the operator. The staff listen and you are not rushed or fobbed off. All in all I would thoroughly recommend Smile to anyone looking for a quality bank account. ...

rlmjam 14.07.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Smile

...Savings account balance too. SMILE is simple to operate, easy to set up and apply for – all done online. Go to www.smile.co.uk and select what account you would like. As well as your regular details, they ask for several ‘security’ favourites like ‘place of birth’, ‘mothers maiden name’ etc and you are asked these – at random – each time you log in to your SMILE Account. In addition you are requested ...
...until you make contact with SMILE Customer service – by phone – to address the situation. If someone has tried to gain access to your money, they’d be blocked, unless they knew your answers and code. • Who are SMILE? Well, they are part of the Co-operative Bank, so an extremely sound and well backed company. Your hard earned money is safe and secure with the Co-op. • How do you pay money in and take money out? If ...

flashpointz 28.11.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Smile

...Current account credit balances on Smile (now 3.04% gross), and that there was a fee free overdraft of £500 attached to each Smile Current Account (handy for those occasional lapses in budgeting), I was very interested. Two other big plus points were that transfers between Smile accounts are instant, and that you can pay money in through your local Post Office. That meant that I could put my wages from my part time job into my partners Smile Savings ...
...also have a Smile Current account) or one of my Smile accounts via the Post Office. All I had to do was fill in a deposit slip in his paying in book, hand over the book and the cash, and wait for the cash to be checked and the counterfoil and the deposit slip to be stamped. Funnily enough I found that I could have been depositing over the Post Office counter to my original current account with Barclays! Unfortunately I have been taking the bus 5 ...

assethound 26.12.2002 · Read full review
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Review of Smile

...calls itself ‘Smile:The Internet bank,’ Smile is an internet bank. Accounts, therefore, can only be managed via the internet or (to a lesser extent) over the phone. You probably already know what an internet bank is, so I won’t bore you with any further details. Instead, I will offer a quick comparison between Smile’s current account and those of some other companies. COMPARISON One of the first eye-catching things about ...
...substantially lower overheads. Anyway, Smile is one of the market leaders in this respect, offering a cool 4.79% on all balances in the black. By way of comparison, here are the top interest rates for cheque accounts as of March 11th 2001: Cahoot 4.90% Intelligent finance: 4.89% Smile: 4.79% The other banks that offer comparable interest rates all require a minimum deposit of £2500 or more, so I won’t include them. Another bonus on ...

Amadahn 21.03.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Smile

Smile is an internet and telephone bank, one that does without the high street branch. But that doesn't prevent it offering great customer service, and a variety of decent products. It's part of the Co-operative Bank, so its customers can make use of Co-op branches if really necessary, however in the 4 or so years I've been a customer of smile, I've only had to use a branch once - everything else I was able to complete online or over the telephone. ...
...that was joined by a Smile (joint) current account about three years ago, and a credit card shortly afterwards. To be honest, I've got nothing but good things to say about the company. So, onto the details: 1. Smile pays 30 times the interest rate of other current account banks. OK, this is slightly less true now than it used to be, but Smile still pay one of the highest rates of interest available on a current account, and they have less conditions ...

xalala 12.09.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Smile

...best deal, it seemed that Smile (run by the CO-OP) offered the best rate of interest for a no strings attached plan. (I have deliberately not stated the interest rate as they change frequently, and by the time you read this, could mislead you.) If you are a tax payer, you are allowed to invest up to £3000 per year (April to April in a cash ISA) - You can increase this to £6000 if you also buy a Stocks & Shares ISA - that's another story... Opening ...
...within a few days. Smile operate an internet only account, so if you have a phobia about using online services for your money forget it, but let me reassure you that I have found Smile to be totally secure. In fact, if I did have to make any critisism at all, it would be that if anything, the site does go a wee bit OTT with passwords and verification questions, but then, that's all to the benefit of keeping your money safe. Also if you have a phobia ...

jacksonandy 14.05.2002 (28.05.2002) · Read full review
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Review of Smile

...easy to transfer money between Smile accounts - the majority of things that you might want to do are available on an easy to use menu e.g. order envelopes, stationery, query transactions - secure email system (self contained within the application) - pretty good turnaround for secure emails - almost always within 24 hours. Compare and contrast with Cahoot (I have one of their 0% credit cards) who have only responded once to some half a dozen emails ...
...Orders quickly, queries re system, responses to follow-up emails indicated that they had access to the previous emails so you didn't have to re-explain the context - good interest rate (used to be at the top but slightly fading now) - deposit cheques by post, using postage paid envelopes Negatives (minor): - The process for setting up standing orders is a bit picky. In theory, you select the option, select the company from the pull down menus ...

Brax 14.05.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Smile

OK. I've been with Smile for nearly a couple of years now. I've had a Student Account (now converted to a normal Current Account), a Savings Account, a Personal Loan and an ISA account with them. In fact, I am so happy with their service and policies, that I finally told my existing bank (the Halifax) where to stick their accounts and moved over. The interest rates are high, and if you're a student, so's the overdraft of 2k as standard in your final ...
...But after referring them to Smile to prove they existed, I have had no problems at all. For those who are afraid of security on the net, Smile say they are the only online bank in the world to have been awarded BS7799 accreditation for their security setup - and I believe them. From an article I read in the computer press, they know what they are doing. Customer Service is fast, excellent and polite. I have very rarely had to use their phone service ...

harvster 03.06.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Smile

...that if you have a smile current account, then you can make instant cash transfers, but if you don't then it takes 4 days for the money to appear in your account. I had assumed that, as smile was owned by co-op, you would be able to get the cash from one of their branches, or at least get a cash card. This is not the case. The site itself is about as good as it gets, simple and informative (and very, very purple!), and the feeling of security is ...
...- my monitor only does 640x800 and consequently I can't see the whole of the screen. This caused problems when signing up as I had to use the tab button quite a bit to access parts of the screen I couldn't see, but it's nothing a bit of patience can't solve. I'll still keep the ISA going despite having the option of a 14 day cooling off period to cancel, as the interest is excellent and access to the site is fast and secure. I would recommend it ...

bphester99 12.07.2001 (17.07.2001) · Read full review
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Review of Smile

...pay my landlord. On contacting smile thorugh the easy (and safe) secure email service, I got a same-day reply that they will set up both the above transactions if I send them the details. So the above problems were quickly and efficiently solved. I started receiving all my cards and stuff in bits and pieces. Unfortunately, when they said I will be receiving my checque book in three days, it took five days. My credit card took 10 days (supposed ...
...leave Smile bank, because I really found their facility easy, powerful, fast, reliable and friendly. Not receiving a debit card is unfortunately unacceptable and has dented my confidence in them. Overall - if you get all the stuff you need - I must say they are a great bank. ...

franna 05.03.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Smile

...plunge and applied for a Smile current account. Not only did they have a good online presence, and an interest rate comparable to their savings account, they also practice ethical investment, more details on their investment policies can be found on their website at www.smile.co.uk --The application process The application process was harmless enough, filling in various forms with personal data, plus about 5 security questions (birthplace, memorable ...
...get rid of this headache Smile offers an account switching service. Basically this involves signing a form which they send to you that gives them permission to request all the direct debit details from your old current account provider. They then contact all the companies and set the new direct debits up for you. I think I only had to manually switch a few myself. --Facilities The online service itself is very good allowing you to view all your ...

AdamCristos 09.01.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Smile

Smile is the only on-line bank account I have and I think it's very good. It's the first one I've tried so I was a little wary but the fact that it's part of the Co-op bank swayed me. I opted for the savings account and signing up was quick and easy, no sending off passports or driving licences to prove who you are or visiting the local branch. I just had to wait a few hours while they verified everything then log on to smile. I think it's strange ...
...office. I find smile very quick and convenient, with no special programs to download. I have transfered money to my sons account which is with another bank with no problems. Paying in is simple either by transfer or at the local post office. Admittedly the first time I tried to pay in at the Post Office they looked at me with a glazed expression but that was because smile had just started and they had never dealt with them before. The postmaster ...

anguk 15.07.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Smile

Smile is a new Internet-only bank from the respected Co-operative Bank (famous for their refusal to use funds to contribute towards businesses that are ethically unsound). It is the all-smiling friendly in funky pink bank that at the moment provides currents accounts, credit cards, savings accounts, including a cash ISA, and personal loans. I have been a member of Smile for over 6 months now, and have an awful lot of praise for their efforts. I ...
...from my previous bank to smile automatically. Now, the main problem that stops people changing their current accounts as often as they do credit cards is the fact that they have to contact all the organizations that they have direct debits and standing orders with personally, in order to change the details. If you are like me and have lots of direct debits this is no mean feat. However, smile promise to care of all the transfers of debits and standing ...

peppermint 15.02.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Smile