Compare Bank Charges UK

How much does your bank charge you if you have no money in your account and a company goes in for a payment?

Direct debit may be a handy way to pay your bills but sometimes companies go into your account a day or two early leaving you with an unpaid bill and an extra charge from your bank to cover "Administration costs"

Banks love direct debits and standing orders because they make a lot of money from the charges they make, from people like you and I who can hardly make ends meet each month and just don't have enough money to spare, for companies who go into your account earlier than they were supposed to.

Below you will find a list of top UK banks and their different charges for missed payments, unauthorised overdrafts and foreign banking.

How much does it cost you if you miss a direct debit payment in British Banks? This is sometimes called a missed payment on your account statement.

A missed payment is usually taken when a company goes into your bank account for a payment and you don't have enough money in your account to cover the cost of it.

• Bank Of Scotland - £10.00 per item
• Natwest - £6.00 per item
• Barclays - £8.00 per item
• Clydesdale - £10.00 per item
• Santander - £0.00 (Free)
• Nationwide - £15.00 per item
• Royal Bank Of Scotland - £6.00 per item
• Lloyds - £10 per item
• T.S.B - £10 per item
• HSBC - £0.00 (free)

These charges are based on a basic current account and may vary according to the type of account that you have.

You should always try your best to have enough money in your account for your direct debits or standing orders because you not only have bank charges to pay for a missed payment but some companies also charge a late payment fee leaving you out of pocket twice.

Sometimes your bank will actually pay a direct debit on your behalf even if you do not have enough money in your bank account, this is called an unauthorised overdraft and of course the banks again have a small charge for this service. which if you are not careful can get out of hand before you know it.

Some banks like Clydsedale, Nationwide and Hsbc, charge a one off fee for unauthorised overdrafts whereas the others charge a smaller fee but this is per day that your overdraft is not paid which means that if you have an overdraft for ten days you pay the daily fee times ten.

• Bank Of Scotland - £6.00 per day
• Natwest - £6.00 per day
• Barclays - £10.00 per day
• Clydesdale - £25.00 one off fee
• Santander - £12.00 per day
• Nationwide - £30.00 one off fee
• Royal Bank Of Scotland - £6.00 per day
• Lloyds - £10.00 per day
• T.S.B - £6.00 per day
• HSBC - £25.00 one off fee.

Again it is better to be sure and have enough money in your account to cover your bills and avoid these charges all together.

These charges are based on a basic current account and may vary according to the type of account that you have. These charges were taken from the named banks individual websites

If you travel to a different country you will be able to use your bank card in most countries of course the banks like it if you do this because they will be rubbing their hands together counting the money that they are making from you every time that you use it.

The Bank of Scotland

charges 2.99% of every foreign currency transaction and has another charge of £2.00 minimum £4.50 maximum which is called a Non-Sterling transaction fee.

Using a bank machine to withdraw cash from abroad they charge a non-sterling transaction fee of 2.99% of the value of the withdrawal and they will charge a non-sterling cash fee of 1.5% of the value of the withdrawal which will be a minimum of £1.50.

Natwest

charges a Foreign Cash Fee of 2% of the value of the transaction, minimum £2, maximum £5. they will also charge a Non-Sterling transaction fee of 2.75% of the value of the transaction.

Using a bank machine to withdraw cash from abroad Natwest will charge a Foreign Purchase Fee of 2.75% of the value of the transaction minimum £1.

Barclays

Barclays will charge you a 2.99% Non-Sterling Transaction Fee for using your debit card abroad when making purchases, withdrawing cash On top of this, if you’re getting cash over the counter at a bank abroad (including Barclays), or using an ATM other than a Barclays ATM, you’ll also be charged a £1.50 Non-Sterling Cash Fee and the ATM provider may apply other charges.

Clydesdale

will charge one or both of the following:

Non-Sterling Transaction Fee 2.95%

Cash Fee 3%, minimum £3.00

For example, both Fees will apply together when withdrawing local currency from an ATM abroad. Buying goods from overseas priced in foreign currency will only incur the Non-Sterling Transaction Fee.

Santander

Charges a straight fee of 1.5% with a minimum charge of £1.99 for withdrawing money from a cash machine abroad and they also charge a Non-Sterling transaction fee of 2.75% of the total value.

Santander also charge a flat fee of £1.25 for every card transaction over the counter payments.

Nationwide

Over the counter purchases abroad using a Nationwide debit card will incur a 2% Non-Sterling transaction fee and a £1.00 Non-Sterling Cash Fee.

Using your Nationwide debit card at an ATM abroad will cost a 2% Non-Sterling transaction fee and a £1.00 Non-Sterling Cash Fee.

Royal Bank of Scotland

Withdrawing cash from an ATM abroad RBS will charge a Foreign Cash Fee of 2% of the value of the transaction (minimum £2.00 maximum £5.00). they will also charge a Non-Sterling Transaction Fee of 2.75% of the value of the transaction.

Over the counter payments are charged a Foreign Purchase Fee of 2.75% of the value of the transaction minimum £1.00.

Lloyds

A non-sterling cash fee of 1.5% of the value of the withdrawal. The minimum charge for each transaction is £2.00 and the maximum charge is £4.50.

Over the counter payments A £1 non-sterling purchase fee is made for each transaction and the amount is converted to sterling on the day it is processed by Visa, using the Visa payment scheme exchange rate. There’s also a non-sterling transaction fee of 2.99%.

TSB

where TSB are required to convert the withdrawal to sterling they will apply a non-sterling transaction fee off 2.99% to the value of the withdrawal and a non-sterling cash fee of 1.5% min £2, max £4.50 for both over the counter purchases and ATM withdrawals.

HSBC

HSBC customers are charged a 2% transaction fee, capped at £5, and 2.75% conversion charge for over the counter payments and for ATM withdrawals.

Overseas Bank Charges

These rates are based on a current account and may vary depending on which type of account that you hold with your bank.

These charges were taken from the named banks individual websites

Although it may be handy to take your debit card when you travel it could prove to be very costly as you are charged for every single transaction that you make by your bank.

Purchasing Travelers cheques or the currency of the country that you are visiting could prove to be the cheaper option you do not always have to carry it all with you all of the time as most hotels these days offer a free to use safe in every room.