Do you remember when you were in your first week of college? There were free goody bags, lots of clubs to join, parties to attend, a few lectures to check out and lots of…banks. For some reason, in the first week of university the campus is covered with every bank offering some sweet deal to join their amazing institution. The reason they do it is quite simple, the beginning of college is the last time most people will ever consider switching banks.
If you don’t think you are getting a good deal from your bank then your own inertia is to blame. Banks are comfortable because they know people hate the idea of switching. All they have to do is give you something shiny to sign up and you are likely theirs for life. Think again.
Today it couldn’t be easier to switch banks and the benefits could be huge to you. If you pay any fees on your current account then you need to switch. The very minimum you should be looking for is a bank that doesn’t have the audacity to charge you for saving your money with them. After that, things get interesting.
You should research all the main banks in your area for online sophistication, credit card reward schemes, loyalty bonuses and more. Today artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly important to financial institutions so it is also worth looking at what intelligent resources they have to make saving easier for you.
While you may think there is a lot of pain in switching banks, there is only a little. Your employer will happily switch your payment if you give them notice. Your new bank will also do all the leg work on any direct debits you have. So take the plunge, shop around and start saving yourself some money.