first direct information

Review of First Direct's Bank Account

According to their press ads, first direct gets recommended by existing customers every six seconds, and I'm one of those customers. I've been with First Direct more or less since their launch fifteen years ago. At that time, the idea of 'branchless' banking had an appeal - For me, the biggest selling point of First Direct, and the key reason I recommend them, is the fact that they provide easy access to your account, 24 hours a day.

Prior to moving to First Direct, dealing with my daily finances was a hassle - dealing with cheques, and fitting in with my branch's opening hours. The idea of fitting in with standard high-street banking hours fills me with dread, but the option to manage an account online, pick up the phone and get to a human (without the "press hash" nonsense), their text message statements, and the option to communicate with them electronically, happens to suit my lifestyle perfectly.

First Direct offers a full range of financial services as well as their current account, including savings, ISA, mortgage and loan accounts - rather than list all that they do here, it's easier to suggest that you look at www.firstdirect.com to see if they can suit your needs.

More on first direct: First Direct operates from offices in Leeds, with their call centre based in Hamilton, Scotland (pictured). According to their site, they have 1.2 million customers, 380,000 of which use their SMS text message banking service to stay up-to-date with their accounts. Their efficient call centre staff handle around 235,000 calls a day, and work 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. Nine out of ten calls are dealt with by the first person who answers the phone. They were voted Best Online Bank in 2005 by Personal Finance & Savings Magazine, and Best Current Account Provider in the Guardian/Observer 2004 Consumer Finance awards.

Their online Internet banking service does the job really well - the interface is clean and easy-to-use, and you can download your statements in a few different formats, for importing into Excel, or Microsoft Money. Their system also lets you set up electronic payments online... something you previously had to do over the phone, so if you owe anyone money, logon, type in the bank details and pay online.

Screenshot of the First Direct statement screen