This comparison simply includes all savings accounts.
RBS Current Account
Why we like it: 2.00% interest for 12 months on balances up to £1,500 for the first year. You must pay in £1,000 or more each month to receive interest (excluding transfers from any Nationwide account held by you or anyone else). 12 month fee-free arranged overdraft available. No monthly fee. Access to Flexclusives - Select Credit Card and low personal loan rate. Must be aged 18 or older
Why we like it: Earn 0.60% AER (variable) interest on balances up to a maximum of £20,000. Up to 3% CASHBACK on various household bills. Monthly fee of £5. Cashback capped at £5 for each cashback tier each month. Must pay in £500 pm.
Why we like it: Get set up in minutes. No paperwork, monthly fees or branch visits. Send money abroad: Fast and secure money transfers to bank accounts in 38 countries worldwide. No fees when you pay with your card abroad or withdraw money. Real Mastercard exchange rates and real-time notifications in both currencies. Get a spotlight on your spending: See what you’ve spent instantly with real-time payment notifications. Current account is completely free.: No charge for making electronic payments, domestic transfers or ATM withdrawals. Three-month interest holiday on the first £500 of an arranged overdraft. Earn Interest: current account pays 0.05% AER on balances up to £85,000.Card gone missing? Lock it in-app temporarily while you look for it or cancel it with a tap if you think it’s gone for good. Personal loan available that’s straightforward to use, competitively priced and tailored to you. Best British Bank and Best Current Account in 2018, 2019 and 2020 at the British Bank Awards. Awarded 5 stars by Defaqto too. Fully registered bank and a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), so any money you keep will be fully protected, up to £85,000
Why we like it: UK & Europe Breakdown Cover, Worldwide family travel and mobile phone insurance, and commission-free cash withdrawals and card payments abroad. Free mobile banking app, text alerts and secure online banking. Access to Flexclusives - Select Credit Card and low personal loan rate. £13 monthly account fee
Why we like it: Everyday current accout. No monthly account fee. Access to Flexclusives - Select Credit Card and low personal loan rate.
RBS Current Account
RBS offer a selection of accounts from a basic everyday account to make life easier to paid monthly reward accounts.
Their Basic Account offers the following features:
- 24-hour telephone banking and online banking.
- Emergency money available from ATMs if you forget or lose your card.
- Access to your account at any time with 24 hour call centres, using the mobile app, online banking or by visiting one of 600 branches.
- Apple Pay, a secure way to pay using your Royal Bank of Scotland debit or credit card and Apple device.
- An arranged overdraft with a ten pound buffer.
Rewards and Offers
- 3% cashback on household bills
RBS also offer a reward account. It’s worth noting that this account is not available to customers in England and Wales but as NatWest is part of the RBS group they offer the same account to English and Welsh residents.
There are no monthly payments for this account, which makes it a great option for those who are unable to meet the high minimum payment requests of some other accounts. There is, however, a charge per month of £3.
The rewards you can earn on this account are similar to the Santander 123 account in that you can earn cashback on your household bills. As this account is a cheaper option than the Santander account, it’s a great choice for those who pay a lot of household bills out of one account and would like to see some return on that. Although, in order to see any profit on this, you would need to spend over £100 on bills per month in household bills.
The scheme is quite simple, you can automatically earn 3% on seven kinds of household bills, including council tax. As soon as you reach £5 in rewards you can exchange it for £5, which you can convert to money and transfer in to your current account or even use towards your RBS credit card balance.
RBS state that there will be no limits to the rewards you can earn and on average customers can earn around £120 per year in rewards.
- You are also able to exchange the rewards for gift cards or codes to spend at selected UK retailers or donate to one of four charities.
You can earn your ‘rewards’ on the following bills when you pay by Direct Debit from your Reward Bank Account; council tax, mobile, landline, TV package, gas, electricity and broadband.
However, they don’t allow you to earn rewards on payments to organisations such as insurance providers, repairs or home maintenance.
Other Useful Information
- If you go overdrawn without having an arranged overdraft (or if you go over your agreed limit), then you may be charged an unarranged overdraft Usage Fee of £6 per day if you go past the £10 buffer and an unpaid Transaction Fee of £6 for each transaction not paid.
- It’s worth noting that no interest is paid on either of these accounts for in-credit balances.
Overall the basic bank account is a very good option for those who want a standard bank account.
The Reward Account is a great account for cashback and with no minimum monthly pay-in, it is a cheaper option than other current accounts. The £3 a month charge would be covered by your rewards if you take full advantage of the offer.
