Santander extends eligibility on ZERO Current Account

Santander is extending the eligibility on the UK's first fee-free current account.   From January 2010, the Santander ZERO Current Account will be available to customers who hold £10,000 or more in a Santander savings account, in addition to the current eligibility of mortgage customers and those with a Santander investment product.

The Santander ZERO Current Account has no overdraft fees (no arranged or unarranged charges and no fees for paid or unpaid items) and if customers do go overdrawn the interest rate applied will be a very competitive 12.9 per cent.

The Santander ZERO Current Account also offers free ATM access around the world,  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 trips overseas each year, the convenience of using a debit card abroad will be appealing.

The Santander ZERO Current Account also offers a market leading in-credit interest rate in the first year.   This is payable on balances up to £2,500 providing customers credit the account with at least £1,000 each month.

By extending the eligibility to include the bank's savings customers, Santander has now made this revolutionary current account available to almost 6 out of ten of those who hold a current account in the UK.    There are now 4 million Santander customers who hold their current account with another bank, who could switch immediately to take advantage of the Santander ZERO Current Account.

Vim Maru, Director of Retail Products, Santander UK, said: "At Santander we set out to offer the best deals to customers who bring or hold their main bank account with us.  This is why we developed the Santander ZERO Current Account to offer those that have chosen us for their mortgage, investment or savings needs the very best bank account. I encourage every one of them to visit a Santander branch, visit us online or call us, to discuss how they can take advantage of our dedicated switching service and start to save money on their banking by moving to the Santander ZERO Current Account."