Santander launches ZERO Current Account
Santander has outlined the first of a series of initiatives aimed at radically changing retail banking in the UK, giving existing customers the chance to benefit from its success in becoming the most efficient bank in the UK.
From January 2010 the Santander Zero Current Account will be available to anyone who currently holds a mortgage with the bank, or opens one. The deal will be available to all customers of Abbey and Bradford & Bingley when the two banks become Santander. It will be extended to Alliance & Leicester customers when it rebrands to Santander later in 2010.
Antonio Horta-Osorio, Chief Executive of Santander UK, said: "Santander is uniquely placed amongst UK banks to change the way it does business, and our new approach is one based on simplicity: the more business you do with us, the more we will offer you in return.
"We can only deliver on our promises because we are the UK's most efficient bank and have the backing of one of the world's best retail banks. We can share the benefits of efficiency and scale with our customers through market-leading products and improved service."
No Fees
The Santander Zero Current Account will have no overdraft fees and if you do go overdrawn the interest rate applied will be a very competitive 12.9 per cent.
Fee-free ATMs and free purchases abroad
The Santander Zero Current Account also offers free ATM access around the world. This is for withdrawals customers make using the Visa Debit card associated with the account. There is also no foreign exchange loading charge and there will be no charges on the use of the Visa Debit card to make purchases world-wide. With UK residents making 61 million trips1 overseas each year, the convenience of using a debit card abroad will be appealing.
Market leading in-credit interest
The Santander Zero Current Account offers a market leading in credit interest rate of 6 per cent in the first year. This is payable on balances up to £2,500 providing you credit the account with at least £1,000 each month
Vim Maru, Director of Retail Products, Santander UK, said: "There are 15 million people in the UK with a mortgage. I encourage every one of them to switch to one of our best buy mortgages that offer great value for money so that they too can take advantage of fee-free banking with the Santander Zero Current Account.
"We will, of course, continue to offer great deals for new customers but the greatest opportunity lies with our ability to do more business with our existing base of 25 million customers. Today's announcement is the first stage in what we want to become and how we want to build our business in the UK as Santander."
Mortgages
Abbey currently has a number of best buy and market leading offerings: including a 2-year fix, 70 per cent loan to value at 3.69 per cent with a £799 fee; and, a 2-year tracker, 70 per cent loan to value and a £995 fee at 2.69 per cent.
Why can we offer this?
Santander's UK strategy has been built on three pillars - improving efficiency at a faster rate than its peers; using this competitive cost advantage to give customers better value-for-money products; which in turn drives more customer business to the bank.
This successful strategy has seen Santander outperform its UK retail competitors for the last two years and become the most profitable and efficient personal finance service provider in the UK, allowing us to share the benefits of that efficiency and scale with our customers through market-leading products.
Consumers wishing to pre-register interest should call 0800 234 6058.