The Abbey Bank Account

The Abbey Bank Account
Why choose an Abbey Bank Account?
What benefits will I receive if I switch compared to not switching?
How does this bank account compare with others?
Other information
Opening your Abbey Bank Account

The Abbey Bank Account

With Abbey, you get to choose a bank account that matches the way you live your life. If you’re usually in credit, the Preferred In Credit Rate Bank Account offers interest of 6% AER/ 5.84% gross (variable) (see note 1) on balances up to £ 2,500. This rate is available for the first 12 months. Or, if you tend to use your overdraft, the Preferred Overdraft Rate Bank Account gives you an interest-free overdraft for the first 12 months. To benefit from these great rates you will have to pay at least £1000 into the account each month.

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Why choose an Abbey Bank Account?

Enjoy one of the highest rates of interest for a bank account in the UK
Choice – we are the only UK provider to offer two bank accounts depending on whether you are usually in credit or overdrawn
Access your current account around the clock with Online Banking, Telephone Banking and over 700 Abbey branches.
Open up a bank account and if your children are aged between 11 and 18 they will receive a preferential rate of interest of 5% AER (see note 1) on balances up to £500 if they open a Youth Plus Account

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What benefits will I receive if I switch compared to not switching?

	Customers who switch	Customers who do not switch
Abbey - Preferred In Credit Rate Account Rates for the first 12 months	6% AER (fixed) on balances up to £2,500 and 0.10%AER (variable) on balances over £2,500. 0% EAR overdraft for the first four months (depending on your circumstances)	6% AER (fixed) on balances up to £2,500 and 0.10%AER (variable) on balances over £2,500.
Abbey – Preferred In Credit Rate Account Rates after 12 months	1% AER (variable) on balances up to £2,500 and 0.10% AER variable on balances over £2,500.
Abbey – Preferred Overdraft Rate Account Rates for the first 12 months	0% EAR for the first 12 months, then typical 12.9% EAR (variable)	Typical 12.9% (variable)
Abbey – Preferred Overdraft Rate Account Rates after 12 months	Typical 12.9% (variable)

Comparisons are based on accounts where £1,000 is paid in each month.

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How does this bank account compare with others?

	In credit rate AER (see note 1)	Overdraft rate EAR (see note 2)
Abbey – Preferred In Credit Rate Account	6% (fixed) on first £2,500 for first 12 months (see the note below), then 1.0% up to £2,500 after 12 months	19.90% (variable)
Abbey - Preferred Overdraft Rate Account	Earn 0.10% AER/0.10% gross (variable)	0% interest rate for 12 months then Typical 12.90% (variable)
Barclays	0%	19.30%
HSBC	0%	19.90%
Lloyds TSB	Tiered rate of 0.10% to 4%	19.30%
NatWest	0.10%	19.24%

(Source: competitor websites)

Rates correct as at 9 November 2009

Note: we currently pay 6% AER (fixed) on balances up to £2,500 for one year when you pay in at least £1000 a month.

Comparisons are based on accounts for customers over 18 who pay in at least £1000 a month. This does not include student and graduate facilities.

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Other information

To qualify for the rates above you will need to pay in at least £1, 000 a month.
If you do not pay in at least £1, 000 a month, but you are in credit, the Preferred In-Credit Bank Account pays interest of 0.1% AER on the whole balance.
If you do not pay in at least £1, 000 a month the Advance Overdraft rate on the Preferred Overdraft Rate Bank Account increases to a typical 19.9% EAR (variable).

Note 1. AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate and shows what the interest would be if we paid interest and added it each year. The gross rate is the rate paid before income tax is taken off. Rates may change and we pay interest each month.
Note 2. EAR stands for Effective Annual rate and represents the yearly cost of an overdraft, which takes into account how often we charge interest to the account and does not include any other fees or charges.

For more information, please read the full terms and conditions and Interest rates pages.

Rates correct as at 9 November 2009

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Opening your Abbey Bank Account

You can apply if you are

at least 18 years old; and living permanently in the UK (non-UK residents click here);

What you’ll need to apply

Your personal and address details.
A valid email address (we will contact you by email about your application)

What you need to do

You should read our Terms of Business, the Bank Account Key Features and Price List and the you and your bank account leaflet.
In addition, if you also apply for an eSaver, you should also read the eSaver current savings rates, our savings range summary information and the savings accounts terms and conditions. We recommend that you save or print these documents for your records. They are all in PDF format, so you will need Adobe Acrobat to view them.
We recommend that you save or print these documents for your records. They are all in PDF format, so you will need Adobe Acrobat to view them.
You need to complete the online application form from the ‘apply now’ link. This should take about 10 minutes.
We recommend that you add ‘customerservices@abbey.com’ to your email contacts. This should help prevent our emails to you being filtered out by your internet service provider.

What we do

We aim to process your application and send you an email, within three working days. (Please remember to allow for weekends and bank holidays.)
This email will either be a welcome email to confirm that your account is opened, or to ask you to provide some proof of ID before we can open your account. Click here to find out why we need to see this information.
Once your account is open, we will send you a welcome email and, within seven to 10 working days, post your eBanking log in details and new card to the address you provided.

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The Abbey Bank Account